Richard Logue

Re: Your "2011" Pet Gaming Projects I'm with that guy. However, I will say that I really want to try running a Kerberos Club type setting. Boy, do I have ideas for a Victorian supers campaign! I keep waiting, and waiting, and waiting for the Hero version of KC to come out, but I may end up having to do this in the original Wild Talents rules. This makes me sad, but I do like learning new systems. Currently, I am running a Deadlands campaign with a 13-year storyline involved. I'll definitely be continuing this! I am planning to run a couple events at Gen Con, although as yet I am still putting together my ideas for that. What else... More miniatures gaming! Malifaux, AE-WWII, Pulp City, Uncharted Seas, and more! I have my awesome new 10' by 4' gaming table and a real desire to create scenery and paint figs. Richard

Re: Your "2010" Pet Gaming Projects I'm putting together a game featuring Victorian steampunk horror and masked mystery men. It's sort of pulp meets dime novel meets penny dreadful. I'm using the 7th Sea setting (Théah) advanced to 1888 with inspiration and material from Rippers, Victoriana, and Malifaux. And, of course, I'm using 6th edition HERO System. Does it sound like fun, or does it sound like a trainwreck?

Re: Heroes from simpler times in the modern setting Thanks, everyone for your collective input. I guess it really sums up with "build NPCs with as many points as needed to do the things they need to do." This is a philosophy I've always used, but with the idea that these particular people are from another time, I got mixed up in the minutia of build points. Ghost-Angel, I wish my players were that easy! I tell them the theme and background and genre for any given campaign and ruleset and I still often have to coach them during chargen to make sure they stay within form. Some get it, some don't. Saul Goode. Lucius, I very much appreciate the examples of the sorts of Limitations that could be used for such characters!

Re: Heroes from simpler times in the modern setting Also, as a secondary question, were I to run a League Extraordinary Gentlemen-styled game set in the late Victorian era, how should I have the players make their characters? I would think I'd set them up with the parameters for "powerful heroic" or possibly even "very powerful heroic" with requirements like powers have to be focus-based or spellcasting-based, but I'm not sure. I've never run anything using HERO System other than modern supers games.

I could use some advice on this. (And if I've put this thread in the wrong area, please accept my apologies and move it to the right area.) 6th edition. If you go with the accords that superheroes in simpler times (pulp era, Golden Age, Victorian, etc.) should be built on fewer points, what happens when they "time travel" to more complicated times? Do they just become underpowered compared to their new contemporaries, or should they be adjusted somehow to be more or less equal? Specifically, I am trying to decide how to make a group of NPCs I'll have in my modern supers campaign. They are a team of "supers" from the Victorian era in the same vein as the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. In the background story of the millieu, they've come to the future and are having trouble getting back to their own time, so they may be here awhile. So how should I build them, do you think - on a lower amount of points because they're from a less-powered time, or on a more standard amount of points because they're here now and may never be able to go back home again? How would you do it?

Re: The Price of Hiring a Villain Aww... Did they devise a cure without his help?

Re: Most Obscure Reference You've Ever Worked Into a Game

Re: Most Obscure Reference You've Ever Worked Into a Game LoL... You guessed it! Also, he's "the mayor o' the town!" (He's gotta start somewhere...)

Re: Most Obscure Reference You've Ever Worked Into a Game In Deadlands I use a lot of name references. In one story, the PCs rescued a muckraker named "Diamond" Neal Johnson. In another campaign, the PCs were hired on as troubleshooters for the Tombstone Epitaph. they worked directly for an editor named Wolf Muldoon who had a partner named Denise Kelly. I called the campaign the E-Files. This weekend I'm running Deadlands and they'll be going through a town where the mayor's name is Cameron James.

Re: My yang needs a little help Good stuff here. I've come up with an interesting idea based on your suggestions. How does this sound? Just to review from my original post, my player purchased a Hunted Disad who is "more powerful" and wants to "harshly punish" the PC, and he told me to work it all out myself. The only suggestion he made was that his enemy could be a yin martial artist to his yang martial artist. Is she right, or is she merely insane? The "yin chi" enemy is a woman. She is not a martial artist, per se, but rather a sorcerer/mystic type. She has discovered ancient texts/knowledge that allude to yin and yang coming together to form a perfect being of great power. So she has decided to mate with the PC and produce the "perfect being." And then when the child is born... She has a dark plan. She is going to kill him, but not just yet. She knows his secret ID, and she is going to break him first. She is going to introduce herself into his civilian life and will manipulate a love affair between them. While this is going on, she is going to embarass and kill a friend and ally of his - a superheroine who is going into semi-retirement and whom my player wants to make as a contact. (Should I do it before he spends the points on her to make her a contact, or should I do it afterward and just have him respend the points, or does it not matter?) She will also innocently introduce a young man into his life who needs a mentor. He has "escaped" the clutches of an evil martial arts-based organized crime syndicate and needs a mentor to show him the proper path of enlightenment. (It's nice because my player is toying around with the idea of purchasing a Follower sidekick.) She will, over a long period, twist the young man's mind behind the scenes into hating the PC. She will eventually (say, when she's a good nine months preggo) "help" the PC discover evidence that the sidekick was responsible for the friend's murder and further evidence will show that the sidekick has all along been... duh duh DUH... the "yin chi enemy martial aritst" he's been expecting from the beginning! He did, after all, come from an evil crime syndicate. He's just been "deceiving" the PC all this time! Of course a fight will ensue and she will be present. Because, as we know, yin and yang chi cancel each other out, right? My player will discover that his yang chi powers just aren't working against his "evil sidekick" whose supposed yin chi powers are also "not working." I think the sidekick will accidently die in this fight. The child will disappear after he/she is born. Further distress for him, but she will seem calm, as if it were "okay." (She has made previous arrangements, of course, to give the child to some sort of foster care. She does not want to contaminate him/her with the opposing yin and yang forces present in the couple.) She will now attempt to kill him, and afterward, herself. Perhaps through poison. After all, yin and yang chis does cancel each other out, and she's no martial artist. As an alternative ending, he can pursue the "kidnapping." When he finds the lair of the people that stole the child, she is there ready to finally and ultimately break and thwart him. The child? He/she/(both?) will grow up to achieve inner harmony and balance and become the "perfect being" known as Tao. That's her plan anyway. Suggestions? Ideas? I think its a decent way to incorporate all, if not most, of the ideas you've all proposed.

What kind of trick arrows would a villainous trick arrow archer have? Would it just consist of a bunch of clever takes on Killing Attacks? Or would there be some more interesting arrows in his quiver? Radiation Tipped arrow - CON or BODY Drain with a weeks-long return rate Acid Bomb arrow - AOE RKA Industrial Goo arrow - an Entangle with a STR Drain mixed in Numb Dumb arrow - Flash Touch Group Paralytic arrow - Dex Drain Thoughts on these? What else?

Re: [Character for Review] Marksman What kind of trick arrows would a villainous trick arrow archer have? Would it just consist of a bunch of clever takes on Killing Attacks? Or would there be some more interesting arrows in his quiver? Radiation Tipped arrow - CON or BODY Drain with a weeks-long return rate Acid Bomb arrow - AOE RKA Industrial Goo arrow - an Entangle with a STR Drain mixed in Numb Dum arrow - Flash Touch Group... what happens in-game if your Touch sense is gone for awhile? Paralytic arrow - Dex Drain What else?

Re: Best Avengers Group In my home-grown Champions campaign, I have two groups based on Avengers homages. I have a hero group that consists of Captain America, Hercules, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau), and Starfox. And I have a villain group based on the antitheses of Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Henry Pym, and Wasp. I guess that says something about the Avengers I like. Oddly, enough, aside from Cap, I think my favorite is Hawkeye, who is not part of either of the above homage teams. The starting lineup of the West Coast Avengers has been my favorite single team of Avengers, and some of my favorite Avengers tales. .02

Re: City of Heroes to HERO conversion? To answer the original poster's question, I have not personally done any conversions. Now, that being said, I'm not sure "direct" conversions would be all that easy or fruitful. I think it would be much more useful to simply convert the "feel" and the "theme" of the character to HERO System. One could certainly use the power sets for ideas of the major powers and abilities to use in a Champions CoH/V-based character. That should be simple enough. Personally, I would love to see write-ups for all the wonderful Council agents and Crey personnel. The Carnies and the Tsoo would make for fun write-ups too. It would be a fun, but massive, project to write-up all the mobs from the game. Not to mention the actual heroes and villains of the CoH/V universe. Who doesn't want to see Ghost Widow's stats! Richard

I am putting together a team of villains called the Natural Order for my campaign world. They are known for their hatred of magic, sorcery, mystical things... and those who would use them. They pursue magic-based characters - heroes, villains, PCs, NPCs - and kill them. I have four so far, but I would like to have five or six in the group total. I am stymied for ideas, though, so I was wondering what you folks could come up with. Here's what I have so far... Witch Hunt. He is a very skilled fencer (rapiers... not backyard or stolen goods) and hunter. His job on the team is to go out and find leads for the team to pursue. Once he finds a magician/sorcerer/mystic/supernatural/paranormal type individual, he shadows them and studies their weaknesses and such. when the team engages, he is right there in the fight with his rapier. Star Chamber. He is a fairly simple individual. He has a special uber handgun with a variety of loads and isn't afraid to go hand-to-hand when need be. He is an executioner - cold and impassive. Anvil. He's a typical power-armored brick. He has lots of strength and toughness and armor. And as his name somewhat implies, he wields a powered hammer. Sometimes the magic types pull out the "big guns," and Anvil's job is to counter them. He especially loves when demons or elementals get thrown into the battlefield mix. Gallows. He is a mentalist and the group's leader. He maintains telepathic links to the others during a fight, for better coordination. His powers include mind control and telekinesis. Other ideas? One or two more should really fill out this team nicely, I think. Or perhaps my existing ideas could use some advice. Thanks! Richard

Re: [Character for Review] Marksman Very nice, Jm. Seems a bit powerful (to me and the campaigns I'm used to), but well designed. Good write ups on the arrows and equipment. I appreciate a working example of a trick arrow hero. Is there a pic of him that you use? Richard

Re: To Create a Sin

Re: To Create a Sin Of course.. For a very sardonic twist of evil.... This is from About.com "Years ago, CBS had a popular little series called "Gilligan's Island". There is, however, a dark secret about this "comedy" you may never have realized. The island is a direct representation of Hell. Nobody on the island wants to be there, yet none are able to leave. Each one of the characters represents one of the 7 deadly sins: Ginger represents LUST - she wears skimpy outfits, is obsessed with her looks, and is a borderline nymphomaniac. Mary Ann represents ENVY - she is jealous of Ginger's beauty. The Professor represents PRIDE - he is an annoying know-it-all. Mr. Howell represents GREED - no explanation needed. Mrs. Howell represents SLOTH - she has never lifted a finger to help on any of their escape plans. The Skipper represents two sins: GLUTTONY - again, no explanation needed and ANGER - he violently hits Gilligan on each show. This leaves Gilligan. Gilligan is the person who put them there. He prevents them from leaving by foiling all of their escape plots. Also, it is HIS island. Therefore, Gilligan is SATAN. Crazy? He does wear red in every episode."

Re: To Create a Sin How about a suite of Drains and various sense Flashes? He takes away the heroes' abilities to fight. Sucks 'em dry. But of course, it would make ya have to rework Envy. Absorption is an idea along the same lines, but that would require Greed to be attacked... and Greed doesn't want that. Greed is a squishy. Transfer isn't bad either, but Greed doesn't want to fight. Its not that he's Sloth, but he knows there are better things to do with his time. .02

Re: Quick rules question for HA MAs Thanks, the both of you! I checked that link that went to an old (2005) question Zornwil had for SL, and from there I referenced the book which referenced page 408 which really cleared it up for me. "the character only uses his STR up to the unmodified Active Point value of the HA" So as long as the player doesn't use his full 20 STR on the Martial Strike, he can utilize the AP HA with it. And the bonus damage from the maneuver and the DCs add on top of it. And yes, it can be munchkinned if the GM doesn't not allow it somehow. Suggestions on how to do that would make for interesting debate. Richard

Re: Quick rules question for HA MAs Might it be better to just buy a Naked Advantage AP based on the active cost value of his STR plus the +2 HTH DC? And the Increased End Limitation? Add that to the Naked Advantage... but does it increase the End for STR as well?

Re: Go home, Superman! Perspective. Thank you very much, wylodmayer. I would rep you if I hadn't already repped you for another bit of wisdom. I'll owe ya. Richard

My player has a martial artist character in a superhero genre campaign He has a 20 STR... 4d6 damage, 2 End cost He has Martial Strike maneuver... +2d6 damage He has +2 HTH Damage Classes... +2d6 damage No problems so far. He throws a martial strike for 8d6 damage with an End cost of 2. Got it. Now we add this.... Chi Punch: Hand-To-Hand Attack +3d6, Armor Piercing (+1/2) (22 Active Points); Increased Endurance Cost (x3 END; -1), Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2) ... and I start to get confused. Descriptively, he charges up his martial arts with his chi for extra pow. What's the total here? Do they all combine for 11d6 damage, Armor Piercing? Or do they not combine? Does the Increased Endurance cost apply to the STR End as well? I kind of think it would, but maybe not. I know the rules of the game fairly well, but this is one of those grey areas for me that make me wonder how well I really know them. Thanks! Richard

Re: Go home, Superman! All great ideas! I have rep'd a few of you who really got me thinking about the situation. I appreciate it. One of you stated that it would be easier in Gotham than in Metropolis. And that's interesting because the campaign city as been described as being my world's Gotham (but with more of a mystical element adding to the creepy gloom.) And the uberhero I'm concerned about is very Batmanny. So after reading your ideas and advice, I'm tending toward the Batmannyuberhero understanding his role in the city and the PC group's role in the city. He haunts the underworld and goes after the organized crime, "street-level" crime, and the occasional masked maniac serial killer. that's his demesne. He knows that. When flashy supercrooks and city-conquerers make their appearance, he leaves that up to the PCs to take care. That's *their* lot. Of course, he covertly watches over them from the shadows and makes sure they aren't threats themselves and such, but he knows everyones' roles and he won't unnecessarily step on anyone's toes. In the meantime, nothing happens in "his city" without him knowing about it. (Or, at least, its a nice fantasy to have.) Perhaps, he is pulling extra duty as one of the PC's contacts, feeding them good info, without butting into their role. Making him a villain posing as a good guy is a neat idea, but not for this hero or this campaign. But its in my list of fun plots for future use. Thanks. Killing the uberhero to allow the PCs to step up in the city is also a fun idea, but it doesn't work with this particular NPC. I have other plans for him, and his future death has already been written. Good ideas, everyone! Richard

One of my players has created a martial arts type character. Its a good character concept using chi to power his super fu. In coming up with his Disadvantages, he opted for a (More Powerful) Hunted. And of course, he wants it to be more of a mystery than known, so he left it up to me to come up with the villain. After discussing his character a bit, we came to some conclusions. In the world, there is yin chi and yang chi. His martial artist is one of those folks who overflows with yin chi. Among a few other things, it powers his style and he can use it to make extra-hard punches or steel himself up good to ward off attacks. I want, and need, of course, to create his nemesis. My immediate idea is to have a yang-powered master fill the role. But I feel it would be somewhat of a cop-out and not very creative to simply have an opposing martial artist with super yang chi fu attacks. (Which I think is exactly the sort of thing my player would be expecting!) So I've come to our world-wide community here for your awesome ideas. Thanks Richard