Christopher R Taylor

The power is designed in such a way as that it works to prevent taking physical action, not prevent being picked up and moved about or flying away. Nothing about the power disables flight, for instance, or necessarily sticks you to a specific spot or immobilizes you. Special effect is what defines how the power looks, not so much how it behaves in game terms.

Glad you like it, I have a few D&D-style modules for sale as well, some dungeon crawly stuff you might find useful. As for starting out low level: I agree, I like very small power that builds rather than starting capable right away. Its not hard to do; 6th edition suggests starting with 175 points for a heroic campaign like Fantasy. I recommend fewer points like 100-125 max. You can start even lower for a "zero level" character feel like 50 points; this represents a basic character with a small amount of abilities, maybe famliarity with some weapons and a professional skill.

Well clearly magic swords didn't exist in our history, so I guess I mean 'the history of magic swords in literature and myth' and treating ones like Excalibur as if they are real historical artifacts.

No inscription is mentioned in the books, and in the Hobbit Movie you can see it has none. the inscription was added later in the movie (supposedly Bilbo had the elves put it there in Rivendell), and while that's not 100% canon it does make sense.

My rule of thumb is that point values being equal, every 50 points over doubles power. So if you have 100 point characters, a 150 point monster can fight 2 of them, a 200 point can fight 4 of them, and so on. Its very sketchy and depends a lot on how the points are spent, but it gives you a really quick and dirty rule of thumb to throw at characters in a pinch. There is probably a break point at which it doesn't work any more, as well (high enough points, like 400 or more).

This is more or less what I did in the Fantasy Codex suggested spell system. You buy talents based on the maximum power level of what kind of magic you can learn, and then you buy, learn, or figure out the spells like equipment.

Seems like AE 1m would do it; that way you and what is nearby is entangled. Otherwise, you only wrap up your target like a cable around their arms and legs.

We have too little info on the Balrog fight to really even try to game it out.

STING Sting is an elven-made blade of mithril which passed to the ringbearer hobbits in the end of the third age in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien. It is leaf shaped and silvery, with runes down its length. Not a large sword, it was good for hobbits, but for an elf it would have been a short sword or even a long dagger, probably used in the off-hand or by youths (elves were larger and stronger than humans in Middle Earth). The script on the blade reads "Maegnas aen estar nin dagnir in yngyl im." or "Sting is my name; I am the spider's bane." The base sword is a shortsword, which is modified into these stats by its mithril construction: +1 OCV; d6+1 HKA; Strength Minimum: 5; Body 3; PD: 9; ED 8; Weight .65kg; Size: Small; Concealment Mod: -1 Powers 5 pts "Maeg or Sharp" Armor Piercing damage to HKA up to 3d6: (11 Active Points); OAF Sword (-1) 5 pts "Glows blue around goblins" Detect Goblin or Orc, Sense, Ranged, Detect a Class of Things: (10 Active Points); OAF Sword (-1) 5 pts "Mithril" Power Defense 10 pts: (10 Active Points); For Sword Only (-1) 2 pts "Elven Artifact" Perk (2 Active Points) Total Cost: 26 (including base shortsword); Active Cost total 62 pts COMPLICATIONS 15 pts Distinctive Looks (Mithril magical sword) Concealable, Reaction Compared to a lot of the other swords posted here, Sting is relatively cheap and doesn't have a huge amount of power. I gave it Power Defense to represent its magical properties and mithril being hard to break or harm. The defenses and body of the weapon represent its mithril construction, and the sword is variously described as incredibly sharp such as when Bilbo shoves it casually into deep into a wooden beam at Rivendell. I also gave it a perk to represent being an elven magical item, so that the GM can construct effects in the setting such as armor that is not as effective against elven artifacts (or even the defenses of a creature such as Shelob, and her webbing). This is not a very impressive effect, but it would have long-term campaign significance, as it did in the Lord of the Rings.

Yeah those were two other types that showed up in the later silver age; the Johnny Quest/Fantastic Four team that did weird science missions without real superhero identities, and super-spies after James Bond was popular.

The problem with damage to negate healing is you'd need some limits such as "cannot stun", "does not cause bleeding", "cannot impair or disable", and even "does no knockback" so it won't have any secondary effects. Pus to make it actually harm the target reliably, it would have to deal AVAD damage so it doesn't get resisted. And max damage of the wound healing.

The first "modern era" superhero after WW2 in my campaign was DYNAMO! He could turn himself into electricity and travel through wires, teleporting instantly between connections like telephone calls, blast things, etc. He basically set the standard for hero behavior and how they dress etc. WW2 guys were more pulp crime busters and costumed soldiers.

As I showed, though, it doesn't have to be any special maneuver, just cinematic timing of a held phase

This is a good place for my "cool plane names" superhero group. Air force pilots caught in a strange lightning storm while trying out experimental radioactive bullets (hey, its the 50s comics) crash and are hospitalized, but upon recovering have amazing new powers! After the war, they form JUSTICE SQUADRON: Airacobra - flight, poison blasts, tough scales, stretching Mixmaster - flight, blades he can deflect and strike with (never killing, of course) Dauntless - The team brick; flight, tough and dour, quiet, but always there and never stops Supermarine - flight, swim, breathe water, use water as TK and blasts, strong, tough Nighthawk - flight, invisibility, see in darkness, blind people Scramjet - flying speedster

I like the idea of kids or older versions of golden age being in silver age. Sidekicks that grew up, young heroes that are now older and wiser, etc.

Yeah this is one of those gaps in the Hero system that are really tough to model. A lot of curse-like effects fall into this area, usually "solved" with transformation. Probably a modifier based on how common and accessible magical healing is in your campaign is best. I wouldn't think its worth more than -½ unless magical healing is super common.

I always understood that to be shorthand for a big combination of different things that typically indicate living organisms, such as gasses, movement, heat, radioactive signature, movement, waste, etc.

The very old version is usually called Caledfwlch, Calesvol, or Caliburnus. The use of Excalibur didn't show up until later French versions of the tale and Mallory standardized it. So I'm treating this as the later more established medieval concept of Arthur.

Because of comics code stuff they avoided a lot of creepy things, but there were light hearted version of spooky guys out there too. There was even a Frankenstein's monster-as-a-hero comic.

For some concepts, the era was characterized by two major themes: -Future/Atomic Power/Technology (Captain Atom, Iron Man, Hulk, etc) -Anti Communism (Red scare, etc) The second part was mostly played out in villain types, with red-x as a common enemy type. Communist bad guys and infiltrators replaced third column Nazi saboteurs and spies. The game Freedom Force has a lot of great types for this era. Strange aliens were also a common enemy and hero type, with a fascination with flying saucers etc. Magic was very downplayed and less common at the time.

Massey brought out some great bits too, stuff I missed like the cover maneuver on Skinny

Projectiles like the gyrojet or more modern "steerable" bullets would be a better choice in space, I agree. You would eventually still have some overheating issues, but it would take a lot longer. Probably a dual-stage system for guns in space makes sense: a mechanical catapult to get the thing in motion toward your target, and a delayed firing that launches the rocket and steers it toward your target.

Unforgiven, the final gunfight. This is a gritty Western Hero game, so it uses heroic rules: hit locations, disabling wounds, etc. Its raining and night time, with Sheriff "Little" Bill Daggett celebrating the shooting of hired assassin Ned Logan on display outside the store. Enraged and fueled with cheap whiskey, William Munny walks into the room with a rifle and confronts them. First phase: Munny fires at the shopkeeper Skinny, who is immobile and not dodging, he has DCV 0. Munny aims carefully, taking a Set maneuver for +1 OCV, and fires. The GM rules that the Spencer W. Richards 10 Gauge is wet and mistreated, so it has a 14- jam "requires skill roll" limitation and may not fire. Munny pulls the trigger, rolls a 7 for the activation roll, the rifle fires, and Munny hits Skinny dealing 3d6 reduced penetration damage, hitting Skinny in the chest with a location roll of 11. Skinny has no resistant defenses, and takes the full 11 body and 44 stun to the chest so he falls to the ground, bleeding rapidly to death and unconscious He suffers so much stun that he recovers once per minute, and will not wake up before he bleeds out and dies. The GM rules that he took such a catastrophic wound to the chest which is disabling and impairing, so that he dies instantly, since he's an insignificant NPC. The GM rules that this is a presence attack against the crowd: Munny's 20 presence is a 4d6 base plus a very violent action +2d6, surprise for +1d6, the GM rules that Munny's line 'You'd better clear out of there" is worth +1d6, and he has a weapon of superior power to the handguns in the crowd +1d6. He rolls 31 which is 20 greater than the onlookers, resulting in hesitating a full phase, other than Bill Daggett for whom it is only 10 better, and hesitates a half phase. He holds half a phase and gives a soliloquy, trying to inspire the crowd. All right, gentlemen, he's got one barrel left. When he fires that take out your pistols and shoot him down like the mangy scoundrel he is. The GM rules this as 4d6 for Daggett's natural presence, -1d6 for being at a disadvantage (under the rifle), -1d6 for being now in combat, and -1d6 for the psychological complication of the men being basically cowardly, but +2d6 for being a great soliloquy. He rolls well, a 14, which gives the crowd +5 presence to resist another presence attack and ready themselves to shoot at Munny. Here speed comes into play. Daggett is speed 3 and Munny is speed 4, but the crowd is made up of ordinary sodbusters with 2 speed and deputies with 3 speed. Phase 3, Munny shoots his second barrel at Daggett but this time the activation roll is 15, and it jams. The attack and failure to die is so potent that its another presence attack, which causes Daggett to hesitate a half phase and the rest of the crowd a full phase despite the earlier presence bonus. Daggett spends his held half phase pulling his pistol (remember: he does not have the Fast Draw skill as shown earlier in the film). Phase 3, Munny throws the useless rifle at Daggett. Munny rolls a 10 and the rifle hits Daggett. It deals no damage, but the GM rules its a -1 penalty to his next attack because of the interference with his hands. Phase 4, Daggett gets his short barrel Single Action Army .44 out, cocks, and fires at Munny, but with the penalty, rolls a 14 and misses. Phase 6, Munny's higher dexterity makes him fire before all the sodbusters in the room, and he draws and fires his Starr 1888 double action revolver. He rolls a 11, hitting Daggett, and a 12 for location: gut shot. The 2d6-1 killing attack rolls 7 body and with the stun multiple, 35 stun. Daggett has no resistant defenses, but gets his sizable 6 PD against the stun damage; he has 25 stun so he is knocked out and falls to the floor, but will recover his next phase. Phase 8, the deputies open fire at -1 OCV after seeing their unstoppable leader shot down. Panicking and sloppy, they fire all over the room with their 4 OCV (now 3) shooting up the place, but none of them hit William Munny. Dagget wakes up but has 1 Stun and 1 Endurance, and his gun is lying somewhere away from him. He lies helpless on the ground. Phase 9, Munny shoots one of the deputies, dealing 6 body and 24 stun, knocking him out; he collapses to the floor but will recover next phase. Phase 12, Munny shoots another deputy, this time dealing 9 body to the vitals (doubled for 18) and dealing 72 stun. The GM rules this guy is just dead instantly. The sodbusters panic, hiding, and some of them flee. Most of them aren't even armed since Daggett disarms everyone that enters town. Daggett recovers one phase. Post-12 Daggett has suffered an impairing wound, and cannot get his usual post-12 recovery. All the deputies do, and one is conscious again, but has 1 END and Stun and is lying helpless. Daggett bleeds, having suffered 7 body he suffers an additional 2d6 of damage and rolls a 6 and a 1 for 7 stun. This does not stop his bleeding, and he passes out again from the blood loss, and suffers an additional 1 body because he rolled a 6. Phase 3, Munny holds, as the shooting has died down. Phase 4, one of the deputies tries to flee out the back. Munny uses his held phase and shoots him in the back, dealing 8 body and 32 stun to the big man, knocking him out. Munny holds again, sees no living deputies. At least one sodbuster has a weapon but is cowering behind a pillar rather than fighting the seemingly invincible Munny. He makes a half move up to a group of cowering people, walking past the kid with the gun ignoring him, and delivers another presence attack: Any man don't want to get killed better clear on out the back. Combat is basically over, but the GM still rules its -1d6 and another -2d6 for being a third presence attack in a row. However, Eastwood gains a +3d6 bonus for incredibly violent action and +2d6 for soliloquy, +1d6 for setting (striding over corpses of his enemies), and +1d6 for reputation (people think he cannot die now). He rolls 8d6 and gets a 30. Hit with +20 and inclined to leave anyway, the entire room cleans out except for the dead, dying, and the journalist Beauchamp who has likely wet himself again. The rest isn't a fight, but Little Bill wakes up again, has his exchange about fairness and is shot in the head by Munny, and dies. Munny picks up and checks the load in Ned's Spencer rifle. When Munny leaves, he fires point blank into the chest of the deputy who is recovering with his pistol, then puts it away. Then comes the post-combat presence attack as Munny ducks by the door, knowing there are men outside who might try to ambush him: All right, I'm coming out. Any man I see out there I'm gonna kill him. Any SOB takes a shot at me, I'm not only going to kill him, I'm going to kill his wife and all his friends and burn his damn house down. The GM rules that he has a +1d6 bonus for reputation, +3d6 incredibly violent reaction, +1d6 for targets in retreat, +1d6 for setting, +3d6 for soliloquy, and his base 4d6. With 13d6, he rolls average for 45 which is 30 more than everyone out in town, the prairie dogs, mice, and dogs hiding under the porch and they all cringe in abject terror. Munny rides away. [this would be where the video goes, but I cannot figure out how to get this forum to show videos I link] I'd like to thank the Internet Movie FireArms Database for info on the weapons used, and Steve Long for the 6th edition Equipment Guide that actually had all these weapons statted out. Edit: added more specific info about Daggett's wounds and bleeding, plus post-12 recovery. Also corrected the firearm used to kill Skinny; it was not Ned's Spencer as I originally posted but a double-barreled shotgun.

Problem with using Summon is the one-phase disorientation period and the control roll. It gets kind of hazy to use in combat.

This is true, it would start out insanely cold but warm up very rapidly and stay that way because there's nothing to take the heat away. You'd need something. A recycling water system would only work until the water was all superheated.