Vassoom

Re: Low recoil gun-fu 25 meters?!? Yikes. No way I could pull any of that off. I guess that's why it's a competition for experts, huh? - Vassoom

Re: Woot!

Re: Low recoil gun-fu Interesting point. However, is it your contention, then, that the "average" person can successfully pull off firing 5 aimed shots on target in 10 seconds? I would tend to think the average person would definitely NOT be able to do so. (Shoot five rounds, sure. On target? Not likely.) When I think of my mother, or my sister, or my uncle, or even a couple of the guys I game with each week...I don't think they could do it. I could do it (and did so with moderate success just last week), as could my wife and her father (former law enforcement, he has multiple skill levels), but the "average" person? Not likely, imho. You have to consider that 1) the "average" person in the real world (as well as in HERO) is decidedly not very competent at things like that, and 2) the subset of the general population you would expect to get for a marksmanship test is probably not going to be truly "average". Nearly all of them are probably significantly better at such tasks than the random 2 SPD/6-10 DEX mook grabbed randomly off the street. I would counter that almost anyone trying to accomplish this particular feat in the first place would either A) have had significant weapons practice, and therefore own a couple of skill levels to help them achieve success, or possibly have less practice, but slightly greater physical gifts than average (higher SPD and/or DEX) to help them achieve success. I doubt very few people without at least one of the two options above would even have an interest in marksmanship or target shooting, since they would royally suck at it. But the average cop could do it easily, because of their extensive training (skill levels), and anyone at an NRA-style contest with any marksmanship yearnings is likely to be more gifted or sufficiently practiced to squeeze off a few quick rounds and hit the target. (Of course, in the interest of full disclosure, I also tweaked my campaign's rules to make Rapid Fire a little less difficult, dropping the penalty to a mere -1 OCV per extra shot rather than -2. ) So while I agree with you that the HERO system definitely starts to break down a touch at the extremes (as nearly all systems do), I don't think this example is necessarily a very fair test to gauge the ability of an "average" person. The next time you're standing in line at the DMV, consider a random sampling of them trying to rapid fire a gun on target. *shudders* - Vassoom

Re: Knightshift Stories -- Campaign Log I would like to echo the "Great jyorb!" on the Session 6 writeup. I also like the puzzles you put into the session for the players. (I'm a big fan of in-game puzzles.) Although I rarely (if ever) have the cajones to write-up a session summary in first person narrative using the voice of one of the PCs, it reads very nicely...so if the players seem to like it, too, then more power to ya! - Vassoom P.S. I very much enjoyed your dramatic use of the non-consecutive entries, as well.

Re: Low recoil gun-fu LOL. Ummm...YES! Yes, there is! Just rep me, and I'll make sure it gets to Tim! Speaking of which, here's some rep for Inu for posting the URL to the awesome video! - Vassoom

Re: Low recoil gun-fu First of all, I hadn't seen that...and as someone who's been skeet shooting before, all I can say is: HOLY CRAP! As for simulating that in DC, I'd take the following stab at it: I know nothing about the Beretta Xtrema2, (except to NEVER piss off Tim Bradley if he's holding one!), but I would assume the weapon has RC2, which is a very high level built-in recoil compensator. As for the shooter's skills: 1) Assume DEX 18. Within human norms, but at the very top of the "Competent" range and equal to those enormously gifted few who have also trained extensively, such as "Olympic athletes" and "elite soldiers". That gives a solid CV of 6 and any DEX-based skill roll of 13-. 2) WF: Shotgun (duh!) 3) The video tags him as an exhibition shooter, which is clearly evident. In the video, he mentions the accuracy challenges for shooting both rifle and shotgun, although we never see him shoot a rifle in this video. However, I'm willing to bet that he's probably pretty good with them as well...so let's be generous and give him four 5 pt CSLs: +4 w/ Ranged Combat. That gives him a very impressive 10 OCV w/ that shotgun before we get to anything else. 4) He executes a LOT of multi-target shooting, one of which shows him walking over to grab the shotgun and then wheeling around and firing, which indicates that he clearly has "Rapid Attack - Ranged". 5) The fraction of a second it takes him to bring the weapon up, aim, and fire in several of the tricks is extremely impressive, so I'd also give him the Lightning Reflexes Talent, +5 w/ Shotguns, giving him an effective 23 DEX when it comes to acting first with a shotgun. 6) Since he's hand-tossing them, nearly all of the pigeons that he shoots are well within 8" (50 feet), which would only call for PSL: +2 vs. Range with Shotgun. However, he probably has lots more than that... 7) We see him shoot the shotgun one-handed using each hand, so he would have a decent STR (perhaps 15, or maybe just 13 with a relatively low STR min for the weapon) and the "Ambidexterity" Talent (or maybe the "Two-Weapon Fighting" Skill, if you want to push it). From this point, there are plenty of different ways to buy his impressive targeting skill with the shotgun, including quite a few more shotgun-specific 3 pt CSLs, tons of hit location PSLs to hit the small targets, tons of PSLs to offset Rapid Fire penalties, and/or maybe even Autofire Skills, if you really want to stretch it. However, in my opinion, the easiest way would be to just use the "Power" skill. This 3/2 skill would allow him to base his "Shooting Tricks" on a DEX-based skill roll rather than straight combat maneuvers. I would figure that he has "Power: Shotgun Shooting Tricks (DEX)" on about a 21 or less, a 19 point skill. Depending on how hard some of those stunts really are, you could bump it up even more. (Remember, they don't show the clips in which he may have missed one or more of the targets... ) Since we don't know what his shotgun's load is, and assuming the choke is wide open, a few of the tricks are probably just "difficult" or "challenging" rather than "ridiculously hard". But there were several of them that were downright "insane". No matter how you would end up building them, that guy's definitely got some mad shotgun skillz! - Vassoom

Re: Arcane Personally, this Invisibility option seems like the most elegant solution to me. - Vassoom

Re: Knightshift Stories -- Campaign Log Nice sig, Shawn. As a fellow GM who also drafts extensive session write-ups, I actually look forward to the significant time it takes to embellish the "original" dialogue and descriptions to match the more intricate story I visualize in my head during the game. In the moment-to-moment improvisation that is role playing, we rarely have the opportunity or the time to come up with the precise words or the ideal phrasing to perfectly match our characters' inner thoughts or the intricacies of the physical world they inhabit...but we all try our best to approximate them as best we can while "in the moment". The extra time during the write-up allows us that chance to truly put to paper the more subtle and exact feelings and perspectives of the characters, making it yet another tremendous opportunity to significantly enhance the storytelling for everyone involved. And I, for one, also appreciate the obvious effort you put into it, Matt. The extremely enjoyable results speak for themselves. - Vassoom

Re: Building a Cybernetic "brainjack" Er, I already did. I'm guessing you didn't read the attachment to my post on the 26th detailing my SmartLink weapon system accessory? - Vassoom

Re: Knightshift Stories -- Campaign Log

Re: Weapon Designs -- opinions wanted OR..."Frames Per Second", which can be critical in "First Person Shooters". - Vassoom

Re: Popular Guns I did some searching of my own on this subject, and found a couple of interesting tables courtesy of the Violence Policy Center. Although the two articles are dated and as a result the data is fairly stale, they nonetheless seem to indicate that "cheap" and "small" (easily concealable, plus more "affordable" ammo in the small calibers, I presume) appear to be the key factors among weapon types for your typical street thug. If true, that would seem to lend credence to the idea that the small "pocket pistols" (or "pocket rockets") are probably some of the more common handguns used by your typical street punks, with brands such as Bryco Arms (producer of both Jennings and Bryco branded pistols), Davis Industries, and Raven Arms being added to the more well-known Smith & Wesson and Sturm, Ruger & Co. names. The VPC attempts to explain this trend in their article: "Bryco's rise to number one is the culmination of a trend that began in the late 1980s. By 1990 three of the top six pistol manufacturers in America were Saturday Night Special manufacturers. Its ascension reveals that not only has the market switched from six-shot revolvers to higher-capacity pistols, but is now dominated by inexpensive, low-quality Saturday Night Specials. Up until the early 1980s, the handgun of choice for law-abiding citizens, law enforcement, and criminals alike was the six-shot .38 revolver. In 1980 pistols accounted for 32 percent of the 2.3 million handguns produced in America. The majority were revolvers. By 1991 this number had reversed itself with pistols accounting for 75 percent of the 1.8 million handguns produced that year. With an estimated manufacturing cost as low as $13 per unit and wholesale prices that start at $35, Jennings family pistols have become a favorite of criminal gun traffickers and gained a cache in the inner cities. In crime-gun traces Jennings-produced handguns have increasingly turned up in the hands of criminals and illegal gun traffickers. With the increasing popularity of 9mm pistols, Bryco has begun manufacturing compact, inexpensive versions of these more powerful handguns. In 1993 the company began marketing a low-cost 13-shot 9mm pistol known as the Jennings Model 59. With a dealer cost of $80, it is expected that the Model 59 will herald a new generation of more deadly Saturday Night Specials." It would appear, then, if this admittedly biased article is to be believed, that the higher end/"fashionable" brands such as Beretta, Glock, H&K, and Sigs are probably not going to be all that "common" amongst your typical street thugs. Rather than try to paste in their tables, here are the links: http://www.vpc.org/press/9309sns.htm http://www.vpc.org/studies/pockintr.htm Also of interest is the Wikipedia article on "Saturday Night Specials" which details all of the LA-area gunmakers Bryco Arms, Jimenez Arms, Jennings Firearms, Raven Arms, and Phoenix Arms: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturday_night_special Hope this helps a little. - Vassoom

Re: Building a Cybernetic "brainjack" Of course. I didn't mean to imply it wasn't "appropriate" for anyone. As I said' date=' it's just way too overpowered for [i']my campaign[/i]. - Vassoom

Re: Building a Cybernetic "brainjack" +6 OCV? Holy crap! They may snicker at the users, but I bet they still get hit by them. Yeah, that's way too powerful for my campaign. - Vassoom

Re: Building a Cybernetic "brainjack" Your CACs are intriguing, however, and might work if I scale them down a touch to match my lower-level campaign. (My characters started as only halfway between Skilled and Competent normals at only 35 base + 40 disads, all of them were essentially working poor, and they are only now up to 100-105 pt characters with earned XP). I'll have to give them some thought... After reviewing Killer Shrike's excellent CACs and giving the idea some thought, I decided to throw a little more cyberenhanced-weapons lovin' over to the combat members of the group by fully fleshing out my campaign's "SmartLink weapon system". Since they are purely limited to combat, I didn't have a problem adding a few "new" combat skills along with things like Combat Skill Levels and PSLs. Also of note is the pricing. Since everyone in my group is starting from "the ground up", the prices (to them) are "astronomical", and it would take them upwards of 6 or more highly-paid runs to afford just one of the more expensive SmartLink modules. That will limit their introduction, but will also give the players yet another equipment "money sink" to save up for. Since the group's "combat monster" just spent most of his money to acquire his brainjack in preparation for such things, I've attached the associated handout that I gave to the players for anyone who's curious. It is basically the glossy sales brochure (complete with "market-speak") that introduces the SmartLink system to the characters, coupled with the HERO builds and in-game pricing. They drooled over the advantages, but also suffered major sticker shock (as intended) at the prices. - Vassoom P.S. The name of my Dark Champions campaign is "The Iron Bridge", hence the handout's filename.

Re: Building a Cybernetic "brainjack" These are great. I especially like the "short duration relevance" for the Streetwise chip and the Sensory Jack. <makes notes to add similar items> Thanks for sharing! - Vassoom

Re: Building a Cybernetic "brainjack" Will do. I look forward to hearing your ideas! - Vassoom

Re: New campaign, new member here... Looks like a great start. Thanks for posting the writeup. And definitely try to get those "lazy players" to draft the log next time...it's a ton of additional work for you as the GM if they don't. - Vassoom

Re: New York Nights - Dark Champions PBeM Looking For Players MMMmmmm...fruit cup... *drool* Very nice intro. - Vassoom

Re: Knightshift Stories -- Campaign Log Tremendously enjoyable read. Kudos to you, sir! Kudos, I say! - Vassoom

Re: Dark Champions Holdout giveaway Assuming it's copacetic, I'd be happy with just an image. No need to go and OCR it and stuff, unless you've got some time to kill and a general lack of interesting hobbies. - Vassoom

Re: [Possible game] Jonestown Blues

Re: Dark Champions Holdout giveaway The "Dark Champions Holdout"? Is that, like, one of these? - Vassoom

Re: [Possible game] Jonestown Blues

Re: Monster Slayers Archtypes Good one. This also sounds a lot like Xander from Buffy. Unlike most of the others characters, he always seemed completely outclassed by the monsters, but that rarely put a dent in his desire to try and help out. - Vassoom