Tedology

Thank you all for taking the time to help me understand this better!

Hello all,

As a GM, I have created a siren-type NPC who has a fully invisible EGO drain only vs. men.

I'm curious - what would the male heroes feel (if anything)?

Would they feel just more susceptible to suggestions or would they not feel anything until she uses one of her mental powers on them?

Thank you!

Hello all,

As a GM, I have created a siren-type NPC who has a fully invisible EGO drain only vs. men.

I'm curious - what would the male heroes feel (if anything)?

Would they feel just more susceptible to suggestions or would they not feel anything until she uses one of her mental powers on them?

Thank you!

Thank you, @Grailknight! Oh, how I've missed City of Heroes.

I have a Mac and not sure I could even run CoH, but I loved playing it when I could!

Maybe I need to purchase a Windows PC just to play it! LOL  

I appreciate that, @Lord Liaden! Thank you!

I appreciate you taking the time to respond, @steriaca! 

I'll have to search for it.

Hello all,

I was just wondering if there is a site or source where I can print out the outline of various heroes (bricks, flyers, etc.) and my players can design the costumes, etc.

Thanks for any guidance!

8 hours ago, Brian Stanfield said:

Not at all. I figured it out in minutes, and it’s designed to integrate with Slack, so it’s pretty seamless. 
 

I just looked at Obsidian Portal and another called World Anvil, and they both look like they are better versions of what I just set up. I may switch over to one of those instead, after I do a bit more research. I’ll let you know what I find.

 

The one thing Slack has going for it is that it has become a standard in the business world, so people are likely to either already have it, or may find a use for it outside of gaming if they get it.

 Many thanks! I'll check into Slack.

Thank you all for your willingness to help!

 

Just now, Brian Stanfield said:

It’s really odd timing that you ask this. I just started a Slack group three days ago, which is really a chat site, but I integrated Google Drive for file sharing, and Tettra for wiki support that everyone can modify. I’m not sure it’s the best way to do it yet, but so far so good. It’s all free, so there are no barriers to entry. 

@Brian Stanfield - I haven't heard of Tettra - is it hard to use?

Thank you all for the helpful tips!

57 minutes ago, Matt the Bruins said:

You can also print out a template you want, cover the general area of the figure on the back of the sheet with a flat sketching pencil, and then trace the template outlines lightly over a blank sheet of the paper you want to use for the finished image. An old low-tech tip from my Art degree days.

I really appreciate the tip, Matt. Thank you!

13 hours ago, IndianaJoe3 said:

Like this?

 

Thank you for this, @IndianaJoe3! I appreciate it.

Hello all,

I'd love for my players to be able to journal or add to our campaign when we don't meet. We currently meet every two weeks.

Is there any type of (preferably FREE) service where I can have members register and add to the content? For example, either a wiki, or a forum (such as this) or a group (like a Facebook group)?

Only one other player besides me has Facebook, so I can't do a Facebook group unfortunately.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Hello all,

I'm wondering if anybody knows where I might find templates where my players or I could use to draw our heroes, villains, etc?

Thanks much!

Thanks very much for all the help and input, everybody!

20 minutes ago, Scott Ruggels said:

Herosystem Mobile has a Die Roller that works well.  The best Die Roller though is probably the one in Brenall's Tabletop Simulator Module for Hero system that he's working on, as it's physics based, so it's probably more random that the pseudo-random number generators. His also calculates body and stun.

Thank you, @Scott Ruggels. I'll have to look for that. I appreciate your help!

Hello all,

I'm wondering if anybody uses a dice (randomizing) app instead of actual dice when playing Champions. Seems like it could save room/time.

Don't get me wrong, I love rolling dice, but I'm just curious if anybody goes 'new school'. And I'm also wondering if it's truly as random as with good ol'-fashioned dice.

And don't tell @Duke Bushido about this post. I just read how much he loves dice! 

4 minutes ago, sinanju said:

I'm 61 and I've been gaming a long time.

 

I use 1 hex = 1 meter, since we're using the 6ED ruleset. Occasionally I use scaled down print-outs of buildings (restaurants, apartments, bases) so everyone has an idea of the layout, but the actual combat takes place at 1 hex = 1 yeard on a Battlemat.

 

I always write up my notes before a session. I create NPCs in Hero Designer and print them out. I have a binder with the NPC character sheets, and another binder with NPC "headshots" with their names and hero names/job titles as appropriate. I write up notes on what's going on in the campaign city, and what the bad guys are up to, and how the PCs might encounter them. In the most recent session, the PCs (who have made a name for themselves in the game) began encountering NPC journalists (some hostile, some friendly) in planned encounters initially; after that, it depends on how the PCs react.

 

My notes on the NPCs (Villains in particular) tend to cover the same things:

1. What does he want? (Wealth? Power? Revenge? What, specifically, does that mean to him?)

2. How does he plan to obtain it? Rob a bank? Hold the city for ransom? Murder someone?  [This is his plan. Unless he's a newbie, he knows it will go awry, probably sooner than later--but this is the plan.]

3. What resources are available to him? His own powers? Minions with guns? Minions with powers? Allies? Pawns?

4. How does he plan to handle resistance (from the authorities,  bystanders or victims, or the PC heroes)? Will he try to bribe people (mostly early on, before the overt crime happens)? Threaten them? Hostages? Murder? Distractions?

5. When things go off the rails, how quickly does he recognize it, and how quickly does he abort? [This often plays into his Psychological Complications. How clear-headed is he about it all?]

 

While the NPC has a plan, I don't need a detailed if/then flowchart. I don't assume the PCs will do anything in particular, and whatever they do, I can improvise the bad guy's reactions. Sometimes they ignore what's happening and the bad guy happily proceeds with his plan behind the scenes and they only find out later. Sometimes they do exactly the right thing and foil him without ever even knowing it. Mostly they stumble across a plot, investigate, and face increasing resistance until the big battle.

Thanks so much, @sinanju! I especially appreciate the leading questions. Good stuff!

16 minutes ago, Chaon said:

2) I'm also 52 years old, and I love spreadsheets and tables. I create and print a notes document that is about two pages long. There only dialogue/soliloquy stuff in it is when I have come up with something especially cool for a villain or NPC to say. 

 

Then I make a speed chart, showing all possible combatants and their dex's. I use the chart for every combat, and it lets me always know where we are and who's up next. It is easy to skip over characters who are on the chart but not in that specific battle. 

 

Last is combat reference chart, where all possible combatants are listed with their stats that are used in combat (OCV, DVC, PD, RPD, ED, etc.). This really simplifies the game creation process - easy to add one-dimensional villains/NPCs as needed, without having to draw up a character sheet for each one. 

 

So each game is run on about five pieces of paper, plus the laptop. 

 

Maps, villain and NPC pictures, etc. are all done in PowerPoint. Figurines* are played/moved on a blank table, with me just announcing how far away everything is when players need to know.

 

*Lego figurines, actually.    
.  

Thanks for your iput, @Chaon.    When you say the maps are done in PowerPoint, do you have some type of hex grid already saved? Or do you draw/scan them into your computer?

7 minutes ago, Scott Ruggels said:

 Scale depends on which edition you are using, For 6th edition use 1M per Hex, otherwise it's 2M per hex.

 

Never plan ahead in the campaign.  But, Know the world as intimately as you can.  Three years of world Building, through three campaigns, gave me a good idea of who was where, and how they reacted. In general though, other than the first session or two where I did have to prepare some background and packages and the like for the players,

 What would happen is that during the wind down half hour after the game, while everyone is packing up their books and binder, I would take a half hour to think and elaborate on the notes I took during the game.  a half hour before the next session I would make some notes as to who would do what, make some rolls, and remember where thye players were at the end of last session. So any "planning" was just an intro into the next session and then the players would be off, like frightened cats, all over the background. 

Here are some of my note from the last time i ran that campaign, back in 1993 or so:

https://imgur.com/a/YMeqPys

 

They are in chronological order. (until the final retcon that derailed and ultimately sank the campaign.)

Wow! Thanks very much for the inclusion of the actual notes, @Scott Ruggels! I'm very much impressed.

51 minutes ago, Gnome BODY (important!) said:

1: I tend towards whatever looks best on the map.  I'll generally default to 1":2m but I'll happily disregard that to get a better battlemap with neither too many nor too few hexes in it. 

 

2: I make characters with motives and events with causes.  Baron Burgle wants to rob the bank.  Mechanon wants to kill Baron Burgle.  At midnight, a freak thunderstorm will make lightning strike the bank, and if nothing diverts the bolt it will disable the bank security.  At midnight, Baron Burgle will just happen to be near the bank unless criminal opportunity strikes elsewhere.  At midnight, Mechanon will be sending scout drones to look for Baron Burgle, and have found him unless Baron Burgle is indoors. 

So unless the PCs do something crazy earlier in the session, Baron Burgle will be robbing the bank, the heroes will arrive to stop him, then suddenly Mechanon.  If the PCs do do something crazy earlier in the session, I know who's doing what and can quickly figure out what happens. 

Thanks for the tips, @Gnome BODY (important!)! I like the idea of just motives/events/causes.

Wow! So much great input. I really appreciate it, @Duke Bushido!

Hello all,

Two questions for the more seasoned GMs out there.

1. What map scale to you customarily use? I know it's suggested that 1" (hex) can be two meters. I'm seriously thinking of just making it a 1:1 ratio for ease of calculating map movements, range modifiers, etc. I realize that's it's up to the GM discretion, of course, but I'd love to hear your thoughts.

2. In preparing for your campaign, how do you do it? Do you create a Word/text document and just have it on a nearby screen? Being 52 years old, I love analog, so considering just printing out my session and putting it into a binder. Easier to reference back to previous sessions if I need to.

2b. Do you use bullet points in creating your campaign/session? I'm leaning towards this because we know that things always change within a game, so I figure it's easier to be more flexible this way. Of course, if there's any soliloquy that needs to be spoken, I could type it up word-for-word, etc.

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated!

On 2/16/2020 at 4:43 AM, Doc Democracy said:

A lot of folk obviously use Hero Designer and post files.  That excludes those that have not bought the software.

 

I tend to design my own sheets for my games (using PowerPoint actually) and convert them to PDF to post to the board.

 

Doc

Doc,

I was wondering if you'd be willing to share what your sheets look like. I don't have Power Point, but I do have the Google Docs equivalency (I think!)

10 hours ago, dsatow said:

 

As a disguise, shape shift mental could mimic (with imitate) a person's mental signature.  But it would not, mimic someone's mental powers.  So, if a impersonated person has a tendency to read thoughts in non-combat time, a intuitive hero might suspect something being wrong.

Very good point. Thank you, @dsatow!