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Christopher R Taylor

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Everything posted by Christopher R Taylor

  1. Christopher R Taylor
    The Free Market at work
  2. Christopher R Taylor
    Well its good to study the other frameworks for limitations and structures. For example: what are the limitations on Power Pool that make it have a discount over buying every power you can think of in a list? What are the limitations on Multipower? Because with that as a basic foundation it gives us the concepts to use for a new framework. For example, Elemental Control was rejected because it didn't really actually limit anything but just gave people free points to offset the cost of some build concepts.
  3. Christopher R Taylor
    I disagree with the first, because I think a framework that only can do one thing has no place in the hero toolkit; it should work well with martial arts, but be applicable to other concepts, such as spell systems, skill trees, etc. Certainly lit should be limited in some ways like other frameworks - require GM permission to put some things in. But the rest is just an attempt to duplicate martial arts as it is now structured, and I think that's not going back far enough. Whatever we call the framework, it should be more flexible, then can be limited to specific concepts when used for martial arts.
  4. Christopher R Taylor
    Disabling a location agree that it would be necessary to make sure that it either doesn't apply to some things (stats, for instance) or it is no more cost effective than, say, "only in Hero ID."
  5. Christopher R Taylor
    As they are presently priced and function, martial arts are a good deal ,but not overpowered. To me that means slightly cheaper than they should be, but not much - maybe a point or two at most. For example, Legsweep (3 points) is massively valuable, but if it was more than 5 points, probably not worth buying.
  6. Christopher R Taylor
    Well, and again, he didn't run in with two swords flailing, he used them as described above several times by various people: offhand is used primarily for defense, feint, distraction, and alternate attack.
  7. Christopher R Taylor
    Right we need to make sure we don't create another Elemental Control that just gives people cheap stuff for the sake of making it cheap. At present, neither power pool or multipower really does what we need for martial arts.
  8. Christopher R Taylor
    Balancing Fantasy Hero is much the same as with Champions, you just have to think in much humbler terms. Your damage class output is going to be more along the lines of 6 rather than 12. 30-40 active points is a lot for a spell. Having 10 resistant defenses makes you very difficult to harm.
  9. Christopher R Taylor
    Yes, it makes them require less strength to do the same damage. not exactly going to be a problem, is it?
  10. Christopher R Taylor
    That's easy enough to modify Have it require a roll (successful to hit roll), limit how often it can go off (or put a modifier on the hit roll by each successive counterstrike) and you've got a maneuver that doesn't require a trigger, functions the way people figure a counterstrike ought to, but is limited to a reasonable martial arts function. The thing is, creating the maneuvers doesn't really quite do what I had in mind. All this does is simulate each maneuver in combat through the powers, which is fine, but martial Arts functions as a power framework: its specifically built to be cheaper to better simulate a specific set of limited actions with a tight concept. I think we need a new power framework that works for martial arts -- and for other structures such as "skill trees" and related magic systems.
  11. Christopher R Taylor
    Yeah while intellectually I like that idea, its way too much work and too complicated to be worthwhile.
  12. Christopher R Taylor
    I prorate my explosions to the dice to make life easier for the math; a 6d6 blast can have 3m (-2d6/m), 6m (-1d6/m), 12m (-1d6/2m), etc. Odd shaped radii is just asking for trouble.
  13. Christopher R Taylor
    Damage shield does fine for a counterstrike, just build an attack that the counterstrike consists of with a damage shield so it goes off immediately. Its just going to be spendy.
  14. Christopher R Taylor
    OK that makes an even bigger problem because then you can't port between genres or games. Now each game has its own different ruleset. And supers just exaggerates the problem; its still an issue if you wanted the guy that can lift a horse. Now he can lift a goat.
  15. Christopher R Taylor
    I built 0 cost martial arts maneuvers for my fantasy hero campaign for everyone to use if they wanted. Sure, you don't hit as hard or accurately, but you can try any of the maneuvers. That seems like a good place to start: how to build the very basics.
  16. Christopher R Taylor
    This is probably going to be more expensive in the long run but worth considering at least. Counterstrike was brought up as a real poor build in the present Martial Arts system and I agree, but making it cost effective is challenging, at best. Which is why I think a framework is the way to go more than just builds. Something that ties it all together as a tight concept separate from other power structures (and safe from certain builds such as links etc) and makes a more universal answer than simply martial arts. Oh, and you need Usable as an attack on that throw maneuver! But... does anyone else feel a bit like a heretic tearing down one of Aaron Allston's biggest contributions to Hero rules?
  17. Christopher R Taylor
    I agree, there have been exceptions but for the most part, the battles have been hero vs mooks. Loki was in the Avengers, but wasn't really a combatant so much as a mastermind - which again, he should be but it was just monsters vs heroes. All three of the Iron Man movies were caused by Iron man - if he hadn't been there none of that would have happened. The third one had a supervillain (a crappy one, but super) and the first kind of did with Stane wearing armor, but for the most part its not quite the same as you'd think of in a Champions battle.
  18. Christopher R Taylor
    Axes are pretty much the ultimate weapon, they're just a bit less easy to use than a sword. Hammers are a close second, mostly because you can hit someone with the side and its almost as effective as a straight on blow. Swords are just cooler, have that cruciform look, and are easier to damage with (larger area). Knights used two handed weapons too: spear, halberd, etc.
  19. Christopher R Taylor
    Changing strength minimums is a matter of adjusting one column on a chart. Changing the strength stat means rebuilding every single character you've ever made and everyone else has ever made to match up with the redefined values for strength. No, Hulk, you don't lift 100 tons any more, the new chart says 72.573. And your INT, based on that STR chart as a benchmark? Its lower now too. Rebuy.
  20. Christopher R Taylor
    I hate to repeat myself but there's a difference between "florentine" style fighting with two blades (using one for defense, etc as described above) and using both weapons for offense at the same time as a primary technique.
  21. Christopher R Taylor
    I don't get that at all. How is that more convenient or useful than just wearing a holster? Adding all that weight to the front of your gun for what reason, exactly?
  22. Christopher R Taylor
    I'm okay with that for Captain America, he was more about bad guys than supervillains, but you're right the movies in general have very much downplayed supervillains for mooks. And almost every superhero movie is about how the alleged hero creates all the problems then solves them and poses for the cameras. Its almost as if the writers cannot seem to conceive of there being any actual bad guys or heroes, only problems created by and dealt with by the alleged good guys.
  23. Christopher R Taylor
    That, and the other point people have brought up, that Strength is the benchmark that you determine values for other stats, based on brute lifting force and real life experience. Vary that and it throws all the other stats out of whack. Too big a change for too little value when you can just alter strength minima to a more reasonable level. I mean, seriously, you can't use a dagger properly unless you can dead lift 80kg over your head?
  24. Christopher R Taylor
    I played a lot of D&D and read the Dragon hardcore for a long time and you know how often dual wielding came up? Never. People didn't do it because a big heavy weapon was always better. People never used two weapons, they used a two-hander or a shield and a sword. It wasn't until 3rd edition came around and changed how it worked that dual wielding became a valid option - after video games popularized it.
  25. Christopher R Taylor
    Probably not, but "fixed" or something like that would cover it - must be used at full power, cannot be pushed or haymakered, etc.
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