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Crusher Bob

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  1. Like
    Crusher Bob got a reaction from SteveZilla in Extra CON, only to avoid becoming Stunned?   
    I've built characters with this as an (1/4) limitation, mostly because I wanted the characters to preform in a mechcanically appropriate way without have superhuman CON.
     
    If your character needs 28 or so CON because you want to make a character that isn't stunned that often, but thematically can't stay awake for long periods, work tirelessly, resist strong drink exceptionally well, etc.  So the character would have a much more human CON of 15 or 18, and then an extra ~10 points of stun resistance on top of that.  
  2. Like
    Crusher Bob got a reaction from Ninja-Bear in Extra CON, only to avoid becoming Stunned?   
    I've built characters with this as an (1/4) limitation, mostly because I wanted the characters to preform in a mechcanically appropriate way without have superhuman CON.
     
    If your character needs 28 or so CON because you want to make a character that isn't stunned that often, but thematically can't stay awake for long periods, work tirelessly, resist strong drink exceptionally well, etc.  So the character would have a much more human CON of 15 or 18, and then an extra ~10 points of stun resistance on top of that.  
  3. Like
    Crusher Bob got a reaction from massey in Reasonable Character Creation   
    Hard to look at a complicated power build without some description of 'how' things are supposed to work.
     
    But some commentary:
     
    Multiform is of characters who transform into different 'selves' not make multiple copies of themselves.  Making a copy of yourself is Duplication, or Images, or Summoning, or Followers or something like that, depending on your implementation.
     
    Also, multiform is generally for characters who have different mentalities and skill sets.  For example, your your 'base form' character is a surgeon who wants to help all the peoples and your multiform is a werewolf who wants to eat all the peoples (and also can't perform surgery).  If your character keeps the same mind and skillset, (Only in alternate ID (-1/4)) is probably the disadvantage to use.  Though note that there has to be some limitation between switching between IDs for this disadvantage to apply.
     
    I'm not exactly sure what the self Aids are supposed to be, and why you would use them over just buying more stats with additional limitations.  In general, power constructs like this are frowned upon because they cause additional book keeping and make it look like you are trying to get those stat points through some power construct that makes them cheaper.
     
    A 75 point multipower for movement powers is way overdone.  75 points is larger than most 'normal heroes' main attack abilities (which would be 50 or 60 points, usually).  Tone it down to 40 points or so.
     
    Your are not using the linked disad correctly.  Linked applies only when there is some disadvantage to linking the powers together.
     
    Example: I can only do X when my fire aura (that sets most things around me on fire) is active
     
    So you can't, for example, link your movement multipower to your instant change.  That sounds like Only in Alternate ID, which you already have. 
     
    Your low CON and low Def means that you will be stunned almost every time you are hit.  Especially if you have low Def, you need a high CON to prevent being stunned when hit.  Exactly what CON and Def totals are required are in the Stun Avoidance table I did up in the other thread.
     
    ------------------------------
     
    So lets look at build a basic sorta ninja character.  He'll be a bit based on Might Gai, from Naruto.  In his non-heroic form, he's a super human ninja, but below super-hero powerful.  He's able to hulk out and gain lots of boosts to his stats (Only in Hero ID).  To satisfy the requirements of OHID, he has to make several ninja hand signs (and use, I dunno a few full actions) to hulk out.  So if his hands are restrained, or damaged, or something, he can't hulk out.
     
    His power balance will be:
    DC 10 (average (+0))
    CV 9 (high (+1))
    Def 20 (low (-1))
    SPD 6 (high (+1))
     
    High un hulked stats  will be something like
    STR 25 (assume +2 DC from martial arts, so expected un-hulked DC is 7)
    DEX 18
    CON 15 (plus an additional 15-20 CON (Only for stun avoidance (-1/4))
    Def 15 (with around 8 resistant defense)
    OCV 8 (rem: this is after the changes for whatever martial maneuvers are chose, if any)
    DCV 8 (rem: this is after the changes for whatever martial maneuvers are chose, if any)
    MDCV 9
     
    Then, he'll have a bunch of stats bought with Only in Hero ID (-1/4), and maybe a few other limitations (one recoverable fuel charge? side effects? some cost END? i dunno)
     
    And his hulked out stats will be:
    STR 40 (assume +2 DC from martial arts, so expected un-hulked DC is 10)
    DEX 23?
    CON 15? (plus an additional 15-20 CON (Only for stun avoidance (-1/4))
    Def 20 (with around 12-15 resistant defense)
    OCV 9 (rem: this is after the changes for whatever martial maneuvers are chose, if any)
    DCV 9 (rem: this is after the changes for whatever martial maneuvers are chose, if any)
    MDCV 9
     
    Then, you have maybe a 30 to 40 point pool movement multipower
     
    Then, you need to add around 30 points of skills, and then spend you last 30 or so points on making your character able to do something other than move and punch people.
     
  4. Like
    Crusher Bob got a reaction from Doc Democracy in Help me build a character   
    Making a 'high power' character that is able to hang around with other 'high powered' characters in champions can actualyl be pretty hard.
     
    Examples of why this is so:
    So, you guy can sling 20d6 attacks.  So we expect an opposition to sling 20d6 attacks back at him.
    A 20d6 attack, on average, does 70 stun.  So you need DEF + Stun to be able to soak up some number of these attacks.
    Plus, you need enough Con + Def to avoid being 'stunned' when those attacks get through.
    How much is enough Def + Stun?  Well, that's complicated too, as it depends on how the campaign is setup.  In general,your character should probably be able to soak up around one full rounds output from a similar power character.  How much is that? well, it depends on how much speed the average character has.
     
    What about your OCV and DCV?  those have to match up to the campaign limits too.  If you charcter comes to the table with OCV and DCV 10, and someone else comes with OCV and DCV 15, someone is probably going to be unhappy.
     
    And what about all the other ways your character can get attacked?
    In champions, a character that can expect to run into 20d6 punches can generally also expect 20d6 flashes, 20d6 mind control, 20d6 drains, 20d6 entangles, 20d6 presence attacks, and all sorts of other things.
     
    So most champions characters can't really be built well without building some idea of the world around them first, because you can only answer questions like, 'how much mind control will I have to expect to try to resist?' when you know what kind of mind control is going to be out there.
     
    here is a thread I did some time ago, showing examples of how these campaign limits interact, sample characters, callouts to various bits of design implementation, and so on.
  5. Thanks
    Crusher Bob reacted to RDU Neil in Alternate END/Pushing/AP limit rule - Nitpickers wanted   
    So, I know I'm much less detail oriented than some folks on these boards, and pretty loose in my rule interpretations if they make the game unfun, but I do appreciate the more structured views of others, and wanted to get some feedback.
     
    Drivers for making new rule:
    For END, we never liked tracking END in the RAW sense, and generally ignored it, even in supers games.  BUT, we always enjoy "Pushing" as a way to feel quite superheroic. and END is necessary to balance Pushing, obviously. ALSO, Active Point caps were important, but hazy and over time were often ignored when certain complex builds "broke the limit."  
    What I came up with to address all of this is as follows.
     
    END is a stat that indicates the maximum AP output of any one attack, allowed for that character. The END stat of the character shows the AP cap for the character/game. The END stat for a character must be bought to the AP level desired for their standard attack. (e.g. if they tend to have max 14d6 Energy Blast, they need to have 70 END on the sheet.) No limitations allowed for this base END stat. No attack can surpass that AP limit without pushing, this includes added DCs for maneuvers. (This means, even if the character bought a 15d6 EB, they could only do 14d6 if their END was only 70).  
    So at this point, essentially I'm just establishing the AP limit for the character/campaign, right on the sheet. Look at the END stat, and you know what their max attack is. Done.
     
    Any use of powers at the END/AP limit or below, do not cost incremental END. (Don't have to track action by action END costs.) Any use of a power above the END/AP limit require "Pushing" the power. A character can Push for up to 1/2 the active points of the attack. Pushing costs the AP being pushed, as a reduction in the total amount of END available for the character. (e.g. Push my 10d6 EB up to 15d6, so my END of 50 is reduced to 25.) Characters with reduced END are limited to the AP of their REDUCED END for further attacks. (With only 25 END, I can only do 5d6 EBs for the moment.) END is recovered as normal. (Spend an action to add Recovery to END total.)  
    This does a really good job of making the cost of the Pushing dramatic, as the character just unleashed hell, but is now weak and can't really fight well until they take time to suck it up.)
     
    Overall, the basic approach feels very elegant. Easy to see the AP of a character's attacks. (And Defenses almost always are less AP than the attacks of the game, in my experience.) It helps to avoid the work around, where various abilities stack to put the attack way beyond the AP level of the game. (The 40 AP game with the 40 Str, Martial Artist with Damage Classes and 8d6 Hand Attack and a weapon, etc. Suddenly dishing out 24d6 or whatever.)  The damage of an attack can't exceed the END of the character. Very simple.
     
    Pushing also becomes very dramatic... not being something you can do every time... as you need to recover just to get back to normal operating levels.

    You can get really specific, and make any Defenses that also would normally use END be reduced as well, until recovered. This tends to only come into play with "active defenses" like force wall/barrier, since normal resistant defense, no one buys it "costing END" even for force fields, but if they did, it would.
     
    In play, this has worked really well, where heroes realize they need to Push to really hurt the big bads, or save the crashing bus, lift the battleship, etc. But they know they will be weakened and ineffective after the fact, for a couple rounds at least. So they have to be strategic with its use.
     
    The only downside, is that allowing 1/2 AP pushes, can send certain attacks into really high dice, so understanding that a 70 AP/END campaign will have some 21d6 shots being thrown at least a couple times during the game, so usually it is the GM that needs to be prepared that their villains defenses are appropriate.
     
    Thoughts on this? We generally like it. It helps in character construction, campaign balance, and dramatic super-combat moments.  (Heroic level games, where pushing is NOT common, really just ignore the whole END thing in general.)
  6. Thanks
    Crusher Bob got a reaction from Mister E in Beginning   
    Here's where I write up some stuff on Hero system tricks, build philosophy, show sample characters, and so on.
  7. Thanks
    Crusher Bob got a reaction from archer in Beginning   
    Here's where I write up some stuff on Hero system tricks, build philosophy, show sample characters, and so on.
  8. Thanks
    Crusher Bob got a reaction from Maccabe in Beginning   
    Here's where I write up some stuff on Hero system tricks, build philosophy, show sample characters, and so on.
  9. Like
    Crusher Bob got a reaction from SteelCold in Plot Ideas   
    Hmm, I'd say that the simplest way to do this is to have the character be a consequentialist who is able to provide very supportive arguments/data that whatever 'bad' thing they are doing will result in good stuff.
    You'd want to avoid too much real world detail, but instead just have the character be able to provide 'good data' that their actions are probably going to result in good stuff.
     
    Example:
    Consequentialist has just appeared in front of a bunch of grade schoolers out of a field trip.  He produces a basket of puppies in one hand and a portable wood chipper in the other.  He then proceeds to apply to puppies to the grade schoolers using the wood chipper.  It's pretty horrific.
     
    If the PCs give Consequentialist time to explain his actions:
    He gives the following presentation:
    According to [good data] people who are exposed to horrible events are [somewhat likely] to develop super powers.  However, most people that are exposed to horrible events in their regular lives are more likely to be villains, because their regular lives are the kind that tend to produce horrible events.
    People who have things in their lives like good social support structures and a well developed moral code are less likely to have super-power granting horrible events in their normal lives.  [data on these statistics]...  and that's why the villains tend to outnumber the heroes so much.
    As these gradeschoolers come from one of the better local schools, they are generally more likely to have 'good' lives than a random selection from the population: [data to back this up].
    In addition, exposing them to a super-power granting horrible event at this young and age means they'll still have the support of the parents, etc.  So they will have plenty of time to be socialized about the potential good uses of their potential super power.
    My puppy and wood chipper method is the least morally objectionable thing I've been able to develop that still shows good results on being horrible enough to cause super powers in [enough] of the target population.  Here's my [data] on what other ideas I've had for horrible things, and their projected returns. 
    So, in conclusion, I have to go out and spray freshly minced puppy on several more grade school classes.  We'll need all those heroes to defeat the alien invasions that statistical modelling say are coming in the next ten to fifteen years.
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