dialNforNinja
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Posts posted by dialNforNinja
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19 hours ago, Ninja-Bear said:
Btw the Competent Normal in CC is off a little-not much but still. When I get to my notes, I’ll show the corrected version.
I think I found the issue: Competent Normal has +2m of Running speed baked in on the table in the book, with no further note to remind you that needs to be bought as a Power. That and putting Stun to 26 instead of down form Noteworthy Normal's 24 should do it.
3 hours ago, Duke Bushido said:That, Sir, is precisely why I like retired / heroic deaths for favored heroes that have seen "too much" play: i.e., "I have done everything I have ever wanted to do with this character; I have explored him as fully as I ever wanted to. I want to stop playing him before he becomes a godlike mockery of the conception I once had."
After being more-or-less blackmailed into playing the same character for twenty years (off-and-on for the last five of those, to be fair), I almost _enjoy_ a noble death for a character I have thoroughly enjoyed.
I'm the only person I know who thinks Ben Reilly was the best Spider-Man, for precisely this reason - he had a wealth of unexplored backstory in the time between the original clone arc and his return and a different mindset to carry new stories forward, he had new takes on the classic gadgets and formulas, and he let Peter progress to a new arc of his own ... up until it all got editorialized back to the status quo, of course. (I liked his costume designs too, but those are secondary to this point.) Yet even the people who utterly hate the IC-retcon from the end of Civil War that washed away everything since Pete and MJ got married along with the wedding itself seem to think that only Peter can be "the real" Spidey...
...and I'm not immune either, Civil War was where I stopped collecting comics because I didn't like the changes it made, to the point that having it namedropped as one of the future movies in whichever media event was where I stopped following the MCU.
- Duke Bushido and Spence
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You'll notice the lift weight on Ten-tickles' stats up above mentions filling in the table. One of the things I really hate is "dead levels" in things like lift strength where several different scores are stuck with the same value before making a big jump that could easily have been spread out between them. Now, I understand that the last thing a Hero rulebook needs is to add another extra page to the count unnecessarily, but like I said, it bothers me. So I filled in the chart, at least to the point that the pattern repeats. Here it is so you don't have to. Yeah, it gets weird around 45, there's nothing I can do about that with the only decimal point on the official chart being stuck in there.
STR Lift
0 n/a
1 8 kg
2 16 kg
3 25 kg
4 38 kg
5 50 kg
6 57 kg
7 63 kg
8 75 kg
9 88 kg
10 100 kg
11 113 kg
12 125 kg
13 150 kg
14 175 kg
15 200 kg
16 225 kg
17 250 kg
18 300 kg
19 350 kg
20 400 kg
21 450 kg
22 500 kg
23 600 kg
24 700 kg
25 800 kg
26 900 kg
27 1000 kg
28 1200 kg
29 1400 kg
30 1600 kg
31 1800 kg
32 2000 kg
33 2400 kg
34 2800 kg
35 3200 kg
36 3600 kg
37 4000 kg
38 4800 kg
39 5600 kg
40 6400 kg
41 7200 kg
42 8000 kg
43 9500 kg
44 11 tons
45 12.5 tons
46 14.5 tons
47 16.5 tons
48 19 tons
49 22 tons
50 25 tons
51 28 tons
52 31 tons
53 38 tons
54 44 tons
55 50 tons
56 57 tons
57 63 tons
58 75 tons
59 88 tons
60 100 tons -
7 minutes ago, Lucius said:
...as he walks away and leaves them entangled as he leaves the building.
Yes, it's a bit of feature creep - he stretches his normal ones out (possibly to much further than normal range) and weaves them together with a lot more squirmy bits that appear via alien space magic, then pulls his normal ones back once the effect is in place. Adding Dismissable is as close as I can see to anything that would directly be "form this shape, then go back to normal when done" and the amount of area the wall would cover always required some kind of space magic volume fiddling. I mean, range could be specified as "within Stretching distance" instead of just "half standard" but what more would you suggest?
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Yeah, I think I'll keep it that way. Well, mostly, because after checking what Standard Range actually is and finding it's really long, and checking Entangle as a possible alternative and finding that no, it didn't really do that at all but also serves my lols just as well, I decided to replace the existing versions of that and Water Shot with this:
* 4f Wall of Tentacles: Barrier 8 PD/8 ED (24cp), 14 BODY (14cp), 4m L x 3m H x .5m (12cp), Dismissable (+5), Opaque (Sight Group) (5cp), Limited Range (1/2 std) (-1/2)
* 4f Grabby Tentacles: Entangle 5PD/ED 5d6 BODY (50cp), Additonal PD/ED (+1ea) (5cp), Dismissable (+5), Limited Range (1/2 std) (-1/2)
* 4f Water Shot: Blast 8d6, Double Knockback (+1⁄2), Limited Range (1/2 std) (-1/2)Grabby Tentacles, of course, creates a patch of more active ones in a similar way tot eh wall, but which gently supports the target and gives them a lovely, relaxing massage. Because he's a physical therapist specializing in sports medicine.
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10 minutes ago, Lucius said:
If I understand this, it allows you to create a wall and walk away from it leaving the wall standing there.
Well, as long as you're within Stretching range, yes... I suppose it could be some kind of "tear off and immediately grow back" thing, but without regen anywhere else in the build that's, ehh... Stretch range has been cut down a fair bit from the original "this seems like a good length" too as other things ate the points and honestly I just plain forgot to come back to it to examine in detail after copying it from a different build on the internet and renaming it, because it was sitting there working as is. ...I kind of like the idea of the not-hentacle being able to quickly throw up a bunch of tentacular walls around the place actually, but it doesn't fit the theme as written.
Botheration.
Now I'm all conflicted about it.
What is with people being all logical and making me think when I just got up because as I was waking up a voice asked me "What if Smurfette found the Witchblade?" and I wanted to come write that down? Then the browser had to bloop at me with an alert since I forgot to turn scripts back off here earlier. Now I'm going to be too haired up to get back to sleep
- Amorkca, Chris Goodwin and assault
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Okay, so after flip-flopping a couple times I have to ask, how much KD do you actually typically see in use? How much Resistant Defense is enough before it starts getting excessive? I don't think I've seen more than 3d6 in the builds I've looked at, at which point 18 or 20 points seems like it would be plenty, and 12-15 decent. Opinions?
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42 minutes ago, massey said:
On your character build, I'd drop the Damage Reduction. It's a pain in the butt to calculate during battle (particularly the 25% version), and you could probably use those points elsewhere. Generally Damage Reduction isn't worth the points compared to just putting more into PD and ED.
Okay, that's easy enough. Pushes them up to right proper tanky if I do that directly, though maybe I'll add some stretching back in too, or get them to 25 and then split the rest between that and movement speed. A little Running to keep people from getting out of reach would be helpful, I'm sure. Or any of the stuff in the doggie bag.
edit: and so I did, PD/ED 25, Stretching to 15m, and Turtle Fin Slap moved from the doggie bag to the bought Martial Arts list. Still not sure about whether to do that or add another CSL though...
41 minutes ago, Amorkca said:Sorry DialNforNinja I totally missed seeing the page with the character on it!
Please note that your Complications are 85 points not 75.
So they are... Since he's from a literally cosmopolitan galactic society, I'll say to drop the Enrage - he amy not be knowledgeable about our pre-space backwater specifically, but the idea of other cultures is familiar enough not to lose his temper over unintentional provocations.
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4 minutes ago, Ninja-Bear said:
Oh for the Pelican pouch? I’d say EDM - Base of 20 CP and Gestures (-1/4) as it seems he needs to swallow the object which is more involved than touching it.
Not really - In the original conception, before he developed his TK he was a D-list villain called Locker-Man who had an armoured costume with a door on the front of it that he originally believed he needed to put things through in order to store or retrieve them. After being captured and convicted for assault, battery, and felony theft, he discovered in prison that he still had access and began making plans to use it to escape, but also discovered his strength seemed to shoot up at an unnatural pace as he worked out on the weight equipment - actually his TK developing. Like any kid he'd had dreams of becoming a superhero when he was younger but a poor upbringing and the way his original power seemed useless for heroics - what would he do, carry a bunch of guns and shoot people? Just a villain in a gang war anyway, at that point - had led him down a darker path. With superstrength coming in and soon discovering he had a TK force field making him super tough as well, he figured it was his chance to try to go legit, and worked on training himself and trying to reach out to existing heroes with good reputations to try to get a place to go and a support network to help stay on the side of the law after doing his time. Eventually he found $teammentor, and after foiling a mass breakout attempt was released to the team's custody, partly for his own safety and officially as a model of the success of the rehabilitation program. Supposedly. Well, he's a good guy now at any rate, so I guess so?
Anyway, he just calls it his Pelican Pouch, all he really has to do is get solid skin contact on whatever he wants to store and pick it up, with TK assistance if necessary. If the thing is big it appears to squish down cartoonishly into where he's holding it by, but no damage is done.Of course, all that is irrelevant to how I plan to use him here, or perhaps it's just the very beginning of that career, or his grandfather or something. He's the opposition for the pregens in the 1930s pre-title card scene introducing the Precious MacGuffin (and the common tasks of playing with Hero System) to the players.
Oh, and in case it isn't clear just from looking at the sheet, (probably not) Ten-tickles' job in combat is first to put the opponent on the ground with his water blast or martial arts, then to blind them with ink, and to grab or block with his wall if they need further wrangling. He can, of course, also throw them heluva far, or into other enemies for crowd control. Actually doing damage is mostly the rest of the team's job, though he does of course have Crushing and Penetrating Tentacle attacks if needed, as well as the previously mentioned KD/KBs.
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That'll be good, Ninja-Bear. Thanks!
Here's the revised version of Ten-tickles, now with flying saucer stats at the end as well. It came out to 50 real points exactly including the flight computer, somehow...
Edited again with the revisions suggested further down the page. Gettin' propa tanky now, wot?
And again to mess with the Multipower slots, reducing some ranges and adding Grabby Tentacles.
One more thing! Added Group Grabby Tentacles to the doggy bag.
One more thing! Switched 6 resistant PD/ED for two levels of the Combat Luck talent, and brought up BODY and END with the six CP saved.
Rulishness:
10d6 max on attacks, PD/ED should be 20-25, or 30 for someone it takes a whole team to fight
Ten-tickles Therapist (pseudonym)
real name requires chromatophores, telepathy, or images (sight)
Public identityHeroic Alien (cephalopod, humanoid)
Physical description:
The first thing anyone will notice about Ten-tickles is his sheer bright colours like a living tie-dye or kaleidoscope with constantly changing patterns flowing over his skin, which is almost entirely exposed except for a pair of sunglasses and a flowing red-orange sash around his waist. The sash conceals an inner belt with many pockets for personal items.
Similar in overall size and build to a typical human, he has a tall conical head with a narrow fin on either side, large eyes and a snout-like siphon but no other apparent features. A wide flap of skin wraps around his shoulders down to the bicep like a mantle, connected to his arms and the four prehensile tentacles that are evenly spaced across the front and back of his upper body. His mouth is underneath this flap on the front, and the openings for his lungs/gills and water jet to assist in swimming in the back, with the siphon on his face only used as a respiratory intake or to spit blasts of water or ink.
His arms, hands, and fingers are slightly longer than normal human proportions and unless he deliberately spreads his fingers the partial webbing between them tends to blend into a diamond shaped pad like a squid's arms. There are suction cups on Ten-tickles' fingers, the palms of his hands and soles of his feet, as well as all along the eight tentacles and the inside of his forearms. These allow him to cling to surfaces or targets and his body is exceptionally flexible and elastic, allowing him to move on any reasonably solid surface or through tight spaces and reach things a considerable distance away.
His legs have a fin on the outside of each calf, but he has no hair, fingernails, or toenails, and no visible genitals below the sash. His skin is no more wet or slimy than a human's under normal circumstances, though it rapidly generates a thin, protective mucus layer when wetted which may take several minutes to reabsorb after returning to open air.
History:
A personal trainer specializing in sports medicine and massage, Ten-tickles was flying a private saucer to an interview where he was scheduled to meet a prospective new client. Unfortunately, he managed to plot a course directly through a hyperspace vortex and ended up crashing on Earth, leaving him stranded.
Unable to produce any sort of vocalization and having a name that can only be expressed as a flowing pattern of colours, he adopted the rough approximation of his professional title suggested by the first local he met who didn't attack on sight or run screaming, not realizing that it could be taken to have unfortunate implications if mispronounced or interpreted through certain pop-culture tropes.
At least getting legally settled as a disaster refugee wasn't too difficult, and while the authorities do consider Ten-tickles a person of interest they aren't too intrusive about keeping an eye on him. Medical accreditation is a trickier matter, even if experience with the wide variety of body types in galactic society means he'll only need a bit of brushing up on humans' specific physiology to be just as effective as a dietician and excercise coach. Perhaps this "super hero" thing will be an interesting new current to follow? If nothing else, his professional skills will be useful to such a group.
Characteristics:
STR 33 23cp 14- Lift 2400kg (1600kg w/o filling in the table); 6 1/2 d6 HTH dmg
DEX 18 16cp 13-
CON 23 13cp 14-
INT 13 3cp 12- PER roll 12-
EGO 13 3cp 12-
PRE 13 3cp 12- PRE attack 3d6OCV 6 15cp
DCV 6 15cp
OMCV 3 -
DMCV 3 -
SPD 5 30cp
PD 19 17cp 14r, +6r from Combat Luck
ED 19 17cp 14r, +6r from Combat Luck
REC 10 6cp
END 50 6cp
BODY 20 10cp
STUN 50 15cpTotal characteristics cost: 192
Powers:
5 Extra limbs: relatively standard arms and legs plus eight prehensile tentacles
10 Clinging (normal strength)
30 Stretching 15m, x8 body dimension
5 Amphibious: Life Support (Expanded Breathing: Underwater, Safe Environment: High pressure & Extreme Cold)
10 Swimming +20m
14 Resistant (+1⁄2) for 14 PD & 14 ED
92 Cuttlefish Powers: Multipower, 60pt reserve
* 1f The Best At Cuddles: +30 STR; Only To Disarm, Escape, Grab, And Throw (-3⁄4)
* 2f Crushing Tentacles: HA +4d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1⁄2); Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1⁄4)
* 4f Piercing Tentacle: HKA 2d6, Armor Piercing (+1⁄4)* 4f Wall of Tentacles: Barrier 8 PD/8 ED (24cp), 14 BODY (14cp), 4m L x 3m H x .5m (12cp), Dismissable (+5), Opaque (Sight Group) (5cp), Limited Range (Stretching range) (-1/2)
* 4f Grabby Tentacles: Entangle 5 PD/5 ED 5d6 BODY (50cp), Additonal PD/ED (+1ea) (5cp), Dismissable (+5), Limited Range (Stretching range) (-1/2)
* 4f Water Shot: Blast 8d6, Double Knockback (+1⁄2), Limited Range (1/2 std) (-1/2)* 4f Ink Shot: Sight Group Flash 12d6, Limited Range (1/2 std) (-1/2)
* 3f Electro-Encephalopod-O-Gram: Telepathy 6d6
* 3f Electromagnetic Aura Sense: Mind Scan 6d6
* 3f Hypnotic patterns: Mind Control 6d6Skills, Perks, And Talents
12 Combat Luck x2: +6 Resistant PD/ED unless surprised/unable to percieve the attack and fail non-Target PER
15 Martial Arts: Way of the Squirming Tentacle
* 3 Toppling the Heron (Legsweep: 1⁄2 Phase; +2 OCV; -1 DCV; STR +1d6 Strike, Target Falls)
* 3 Uprooting the Clam (Martial Throw: 1⁄2 Phase; +0 OCV; +1 DCV; STR +v/10, Target Falls)
* 4 Swimming Scallop (Martial Dodge: 1⁄2 Phase; no OCV; +5 DCV; Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort)* 5 Turtle Fin Slap (Passing Strike: 1⁄2 Phase; +1 OCV; +0 DCV; STR + v/10 Strike, Full Move)
1 Familiarity: Navigation (Space) (8-)
3 Mechanics (INT) (Galactic-standard level technology)
3 KS: Sports Medicine (INT)
3 KS: Way of the Squirming Tentacle (INT)
5 CSL: Way of the Squirming Tentacle (assign +1 to OCV or DCV as a zero-phase action)Specific Everyman skills:
KS: Area Knowledge (Tower district, Iedo City, Sunrise Archipelago, planet Thalass) (INT)
Language: chromatophore color display/tentaculiform ideograms/GalBank Esperan phonetic glyphs
PS: Sports Medicine (INT)
Transport familiarity: Small Galactic standard spacecraft (8-)Total Powers & Skills Cost: 208
Total Cost: 400
Matching Complications
25cp Physical Complication (has no voice): All the time 20, affects slightly 5
15cp Distinctive Features: 15 Not Concealable, 5 Always Noticed/major reaction, -5 not unusual for species
10cp Social Complication (unfamiliar with Earth culture): Frequently 10, minor
15cp Psychological Complication (Code Versus Killing): 10 Common, 5 Strong
10cp Hunted (the authorities): Infrequently, More Powerful, Non-Combat Influence, WatchingTotal Complications Points: 75
Experience Points: 0
The Doggy Bag (items saved for later):FIRST THREE XP: Learn the local language, because while not being able to talk except via telepathy is a little annoying, not understanding what anyone is trying to say when using powers other than telepathy sucks a lot. Unless it still counts as an everyman skill and can be had for free, because there's always more to spend points on.
More INT/PRE/EGO DMCV/OMCV, by rough order of preference. Psychic stuff is more of an afterthought on this build aside from TP to communicate.
Running/Leaping - might as well make full use of that super strength
More CSLs
Martial Arts: WotST
* 5 Nautilus Whip (Defensive Strike: 1⁄2 Phase; +1 OCV; +3 DCV; STR Strike)3 Defense Maneuver I (No attacker is considered to be attacking “from behind.”)
2 Defense Maneuver II (Eliminates Multiple Attackers Bonuses for attackers the character perceives.)
3 Defense Maneuver III (Eliminates Multiple Attackers Bonuses for all attackers)
2 Defense Maneuver IV (Takes no time to use, and makes any Combat Skill Levels that improve the character’s DCV Persistent for this purpose.)Multipower slots
(+2cp upgrade) * 6f Group Grabby Tentacles: Entangle 5 PD/5 ED 5d6 BODY (50cp), Additonal PD/ED (+1ea) (5cp), Dismissable (+5), Limited Range (Stretching range) (-1/2), Area of Effect (Any, up to 2x 2m hexes) (+1/2)
* 6f Grabby Tentacle Trap: Entangle 5 PD/5 ED 5d6 BODY (50cp), Additonal PD/ED (+1ea) (5cp), Dismissable (+5), Limited Range (Stretching range) (-1/2), Area of Effect (Surface, up to 4x 2m hexes, activates on contact) (+1/2)
* 6f Water Spray: Blast 8d6, Area Of Effect (16m Cone; +1⁄2)
* 6f Ink Cloud: Darkness to Sight Group 12m radius
* 6f Cuttle Command: Summon up to 3 cephalopods built on up to 200 Character Points, Expanded Effect (+1⁄4), Friendly (+1⁄4)Wearable END Reserve item with Heal STUN/BODY and possibly Aid END, salvaged from the flying saucer's medical kit.
Fix and/or reverse engineer the saucer itself for use as a vehicle.
Flying Saucer, small private:
Size 5 (5.7m radius x 2.5m, 64m^3), OCV +3, Mass 3.2t, KB -5, STR 35, DEF 4, BODY 15, OCV 3 (25cp)
DEX 15 (30cp), PD 6 (9cp), ED 6 (9cp), SPD 3 (30cp), DCV 3 (15cp), MOV 20m Megascale x1km (40cp)
FTL 120lyph (50cp)
Facilites:
* 3 Mechanics (Galactic standard) (9-)
* 3 Survival (9-)
Cost 214 Active Points/5= 43 Real PointsFlight computer (Follower 37 Active points/5= 7 Real Points)
Characteristics:
INT 18 8cp 13-
DEX 10 - 11-
27cp Skills:
* 3 KS: Survival (INT)
* 3 KS: Flying Saucer Repair Manual (INT)
* 3 KS: Area Knowledge (sector containing Planet Thalass) (INT)
* 3 Mechanics (Galactic standard) (INT)
* 3 Navigation: Space (INT)
* 6 Combat Piloting +3 (DEX+3 = 14-)
* 3 Language (Tentaculiform ideograms)
* e KS: Area Knowledge (the civilized galaxy)
* e Language (GalBank Espera)
* e Paramedics
2cp Programs:
* 1 Autopilot to navigate and fly
* 1 Guide to survive after a crash and make repairs
Magical Girl style sidekick? -
I did on the previous page, though I haven't gone back and edited it with the 20 PD/ED revision. I'll do that shortly since I'm in the middle of poking at the vehicle design system to make his flying saucer at the moment. Really though, it's just for practice and because the heroic Beach Patrol version of an H-anime tentacle monster amuses me.
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Being able to switch with an expendable dummy is pretty powerful so it's not too surprising if it comes out to a high point total. I know I'm not seeing any better alternatives as described; I'm hardly an expert in the system though.
Do you specifically need to switch with a functional duplicate, or would teleporting and leaving an Image or a new, very weak duplicate behind work? Can you reduce the cost a little more by specifying that it can only be used on your character and a duplicate, or is being able to switch with any similar target part of the intent?
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8 minutes ago, Killer Shrike said:
I would recommend that you run a lower pointed, more heroic / street "supers" campaign at the tv-show superheroes level first before trying to run a movies level superhero campaign.
As previously mentioned the intro adventure is intended to be more pulp-y, with both sides basically Competent Normals straight off the chart plus one lower-level "weird power" each - The Pelican's storage trick, a little Tk, personal illusions, etc. One of the players emailed to pull out earlier though, and the others were kind of (goddammit what's the word? uncommitted, blase, lackadaisical, none of those are right and the one I want is hiding) so it may be I'm the only one who shows up ready to go, but I wanted to try at least...
Anyway, here's what I was writing as the new message alert came in:
So after rechecking the Champions builds in CC, I can only conclude that their defences are, by the standard above and their attacks ranging from 9d6-12d6, WAY too low - Kinetik has 9PD/8ED, and the rest are mostly in the 10-15 range except for Ironclad's 25s. I fiddled a little more and got Ten-tickles up to 20s while lowering top damage output to 10d6 as suggested, mainly by dropping Resistant from the damage reduction and lowering swim speed again, and even fit Mind Control into the multipower too, though with 13 Ego and base OMCV he's not going to be controlling much except animals and willing clients listening to his pep talks for their training, or maybe trying hypnosis to quit smoking
That's fine though, it fits better with the overall concept than Auquaman-like sea creature control to begin with.
And the point split is still pretty close to even too, just a little less off toward the powers side. Flavor feels the same, so a win I guess?
Still kind of annoying about the example builds being so all over the place when they're supposed to be a single team facing similar threat levels though.
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Hm, so... pretty much, no, I'm duin at rong, and need to split points more like 2/3 to stats and 1/3 powers/skills rather than half and half. That's going to be painful, given how much of the cool stuff is in powers...
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Okay, so, this isn't one of the player characters, or even a villain take to recycle the old idea for the current purpose like his original team mate Pelican, just something I got distracted into doing basically for the practice of it to get more used to Hero. Basically, it's just here to show off my jokes and ask if I'm generally duin at rite.
(And yes, the person who gave him the nickname was in fact Mr. I Use Peli-Kinesis himself, in the original conception, along with Sandcastle's tagline of "Don't call her a beach!" and giving the horseshoe crab themed Wolverine ripoff the name "Blueblood" because it was literally true and gave a deceptive impression of his attitude and style based on the usual use of the word)
Edit: See revised version on the next page -
I'd like to agree, but I've gotten cynical in my old age... and used to games with their roots in the nineties and noughties that ALWAYS hammer on the "dark reality" and "awful truths" and so on, like EABA (though not mechanically, I'd love a bright future game using EABA but the author is all-in on grim and gritty) and anything by White Wolf except The Street Fighter Storytelling Game, where using the powers and abilities that make PCs special pretty much universally charges up some kind of sanity meter that sends the character on a berserk rampage when it fills. In Street Fighter, of course, that just means you can use your super moves
If you know the GM isn't going to pull that kind of bullpucky, then certainly it's handy to not have to find another 5cp of Disads and take CVK (total,) and facing the moral choice of "do I take this guy in alive" or "do I risk myself to save this murdering asshole from his own trap" and doing the noblebright thing is a fun and rewarding storyline even - we play these games because we want to imagine being better than real life will allow, after all - as long as doing the noblebright thing doesn't get you slapped with horrible unintended consequences that make any gains you made and the pain and effort spent to reach them meaningless. Raising a flag on the moral high ground is great as long as it doesn't just mean you're evil's easiest target for artillery practice.
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Looking at it again, it does say "some campaigns have a ground rule..." Huh, I guess the repeated "this rule applies unless the GM says it doesn't" in two out of every three items got stuck in my head
How about the Active Points cap, or Rule of X for total combat values? RoX was, like, the one clearly good thing about Fuzion, in terms of quantifying "this feels a little too strong or too weak," though I prefer the interpretation of making it a waterline rather than a hard ceiling.
As for revolving door prisons... well, both of the characters I made prior to this whole episode had Code Versus Killing at Strong rather than Total, precisely because of Batman's tens of thousands of proxy murders from continuing to let Joker run around loose. If the heroes can beat a supposed nemesis three or four times, it's clearly time to change something up about that villain anyway, and if each party member has had three or four focus episodes to face their nemesis the campaign has lasted long enough it SHOULD make some major changes in the landscape, literal and metaphorical. -
8 hours ago, massey said:
3) Keep all OCVs and DCVs within 3 of each other, and keep all Speeds within 2 of each other. If the fastest guy in the group has a 10 OCV and a 6 Speed, then the slowest guy needs at least a 7 OCV and a 4 Speed. Otherwise people can't hit and they don't get to go enough. Likewise keep damage within 2D6 of each other, and keep defenses within 10. If the brick has 30 PD, the weak guy needs 20.
This especially is the kind of thing I was hoping for, with no old hands in the group to lean on for that sort of tribal wisdom. All the same 30 PD/ED? Do most people just ignore the Characteristic maxima stuff, then? Because that would mean spending 100cp on JUST PD/ED at the default starting value of 2 and double cost after 8, and that's before making them Resistant... Though looking at Ironclad in the back of CC he does have 25 each for 23cp, so I guess the designers did in fact ignore it despite presenting it as the standard that could optionally be dropped... I won't say "This changes everything!" because it's not THAT hard to adjust when I'm the one building everything anyway at the moment, but it does make a significant difference.
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8 hours ago, IndianaJoe3 said:
APG2 has an Extradimensional Space power that would, ah, fit the bill.
Alas, I have only Champions Complete and Champions Powers, and the perennial end of the month budget squeeze means I'm not even looking at the ebook website for a while either.
Good pun though, and something to keep in mind for later. I really want the Martial Arts book first off, though.
(And yes, there's downloads out there, but I want to be legal, and preferably have a physical copy at the table, for things I'm actually going to do more than skim through to decide whether to buy let alone actually play. Buying game stuff is how we get more game stuff, after all, while not buying game stuff is how to make game designers have to go get INT-draining "real" jobs...)
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Since I have an "enemy wants to steal the thing" plot, I was thinking I'd reuse one of my old (never built in HERO) character concepts: The Pelican, who has a "pelican pouch" power that lets him store away large and heavy things invisibly/without getting weighed down (along with "Peli-kinetic" flight/strength/force field defense, all straightforward and not problematic in the least)
Extra-Dimensional Movement limited to only objects/characters other than the user and being touched kind of matches but seems overcomplicated and expensive. I don't really see a better alternative, though - Shrinking with the same limitations might work but probably ends up even more expensive if it's enough to reduce anything decently large to a small enough size to be trivial, and then it can still be physically taken. Transform at the Major level that can make objects from nothing could maybe work but means you're destroying and recreating the Precious MacGuffin™, which could mean Bad Things if taken literally... of course, the whole point is that the mechanics aren't taken literally as SFX, but it still feels even more awkward than XDM. Anyone have a better idea?
edit: Also, how much would you say those limitations are worth? -1 or -1/2 for not being able to enter the portal himself? -1/2 or -1/4 for having to touch the target object/character? Or is that actually a Useable On Others advantage instead? I would take adding UOO to this as giving them their own dimensional pocket to hold something, even if they still have to have Pelican take it out again later.
Shapechanger-girl's prospective player made some half-joking comments about Victoria's Secret Compartment too, but I doubt there'll be enough points for it along with the actual shapechanger tricks within a starting budget. Depends what it comes out to... -
Of course, for Hero we buy the box separately from a third party, though they have to call it a "bookshelf" for trademark reasons
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Man, I miss buying games in boxes. Taking them out for the first time was always such a thrill, and they made for an easy way to keep various pages of notes and character sheets (and any feelies the game came with, like dice or fold-up figures or cards) and so on organized too.
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Yeah, I made sure to explain that they'd be a group of new heroes just starting out, sort of like (insert X-Men reboot here) or Batman Beyond, by a "Tony Stark at sixty" type mostly-retired mentor.
Another Brian Stansfield idea, this time from the "How Much HERO d we need?" thread, which sounds like it might work well is a card with things like OCV/DCV modifiers and consumbales (BODY/STUN/END/etc.) as tracks that can have a counter moved on them as they change, to take advantage of how video game HUDs are much more familiar these days than messing around with a pencil and eraser on a page. Even to me honestly, since I played a lot of Champions Online and Ryzom for a while. Might make something for the phase chart too, though probably just a page with twelve numbered boxes to write names in to keep everything straight. It's one of the really standout things in Hero, and with one of the PCs a speedster eliminating it would break the concept.
For the toe-dipping prequel, I'm thinking a pulp-style 1930s episode, with the players trying to keep bad guys (Bonus: facepunch actual Nazis in the first session! How does it get better than that?) from taking the McGuffin - if they succeed, having it stolen in the present is the first adventure hook, if they fail, well, it took the bad guys this long to figure it out but now they're ready to use its awesome power for EEE-VIL! Pretty much just take a Competent Normal off the chart at the back of C.Complete, give them each a schtick that's related to their hero's - a martial arts style for the chef, an extra point in Speed and some DEX for the speedster, not sure for Bug Guy and Goo Girl, maybe minor TK and visual-only illusions? Don't want to get too crazy with it, while still having some of the promised flavor - and not worry overmuch about point cost since they're one-offs, or at most grandparents/contacts to use later. Sound good?
edit: The GMPC is definitely a support character - he drives the team van and keeps it handy when they pile otu to fight in case they need to pile back in to pursue, or to evacutate civliains, etc., and doesn't have the reflexes or endurance to do more than, say, fire an Entangle gadget at the enemies to make an opening for the new gen to turn the tables in a losing fight, for example. As GM I'm quite sure I'll be busy enoguh keeping track of the normal NPCs without running an extra party member full time :D -
Well, C. Complete at least has the Champions team themselves and five villains all built to 400 -75, but no starter scenario unless I've missed/forgotten something... Actually, is there anything in those that is an example of doing something badly? (Like the character mentioned in the "hero 6th is best, dissenting opinions welcome" thread for a previous edition that could have spent the same CP on DEX instead of DEX and OCV/DCV and been equal or better all around, though that specific thing is no longer a factor with figured characteristics removed in 6th.) I mean, you'd hope not since they're literally the iconic characters for the game, but sometimes these things do happen...
...and I've seen most of the Justice League written up as 400 -75 6e characters, actually, though I don't seem to have saved them off. Maybe on my older computer? I know I looked pretty hard at that version of The Flash when I was making a speedster of my own a couple years back for another game that never got started.
edit: I found a thread here from 2013 where Hyperman had posted links to his builds, but the web site they were hosted on now just redirects to some page mostly in Japanese except for the title "Water Delivery Services" and some pictures of people drinking. o_O -
Direct attacks is actually one thing Dragonfly's swarms are NOT especially good at, hence including some martial arts - though also because "Dance of 1000 Jewels" as a technique name referencing a dragonfly's big irridescent eyes to be matched with danger sense and lightning reflexes is just awesome, as is "Embrace of the Sky" for having Ch'i construct wings to fly with. Still working on a good one for Multiform to add another pair of arms, +2 Speed, and some Strength. Yes yes, those are powers in martial arts clothes, not combat maneuvers - it's the IC origin of those powers as learned and trained rather than the product of a personal quirk or a radiation accident, though. Designing things from the mechanics first to SFX last is completely alien to me - how can you build anything without a concept to aim toward?
edit: A prequel with pregens sounds like a great idea, actually. Thanks for the suggestion!
Advice for a rookie GM with rookie players
in HERO System Discussion
Posted
I haven't looked in my BBB since I'm working from CC, but I know when I added the Running and BODY in the spreadsheet I'm using everything balances out... at least, until I toss on one of the power packages I made. Went a little overboard on those, actually... I think there's about thirty from a quick eyeball, rather than the five or so I actually needed...
* 30cp Animal Magnetism: +10 PRE (10cp), Animal Friendship (PRE+3) (20CP)
* 31cp Anodyne I: Simplified Healing 2d6 (20cp), Can Heal Limbs (+5cp), Decreased Re-Use Duration (once/6hr) (+1/4)
* 30 Anodyne II: +2 STUN (1cp) -and- Simplified Healing 2d6 (20cp) -and- Dispel (Disease/Poison) 3d6 (9cp)
* 30 Anodyne III: Healing 5d6 (50cp), Can Heal Limbs (+5cp), Variable Effect: Any Characteristic currently below starting value (+1/2), Extra Time (5min) (-2), (27 Real Points) -and- SS: Biology (INT) (3cp)
* 30 Athletic: +5 STR (5cp), +5 CON (5cp), +5 REC (5cp), +10 END (2cp), +3 BODY (3cp), +10 STUN (2cp), +5m Running (5cp), +4m Leaping (2cp), +2m Swimming (1cp)
* 30 Pilot: Combat Driving or Piloting (specify class) (INT) (3cp), Navigation (specify air/land/sea/etc.) (3cp), Vehicle costing up to 127cp (25cp)
* 30 Cryo/Electro/Pyro/etc. -kinetic: Blast vs ED (specify energy SFX) 3d6 (15cp) -and- Telekinesis: STR 12 (18cp), Only For (same SFX) (-1/2) (12 Real Points) -and- Power Tricks (same SFX) (INT) (3cp)
* 30 Genius Detective: +5 INT (5cp), Criminology (INT) (3cp), Deduction (INT) (3cp), Forensic Medicine (INT) (3cp), Forgery (INT) (3cp), -and- Clairsentience (Retrocoginition) (Sight and Hearing groups) (40cp), Retrocognition Only (-1), Time Modifiers (-1/2), Requires a Roll (INT) (-1/2), (13 Real Points)
* 30 Gun God: Inventor (INT) (3cp), Mechanics (INT) (3cp), Weaponsmith (Firearms) (INT) (2cp), Fringe Benefit: Weapon Permit (1cp), Lightning Reflexes: +2 DEX to act first with ranged weapons (1cp), Weapon Master (Firearms) (20cp)
* 30 Hidden Pocket: Extra-Dimensional Movement (20), Increased Mass x2^2 (400kg) (+10cp), Useable As Attack (+1), Only for held targets/user cannot enter (-1)
* 30 Illusionist I: Images (Sight) (10cp), -3 to target PER (+9cp), Area of Effect (8m radius) (+1/2) -and- Enhanced Perception (Sight) +2 PER (2cp)
* 30 Illusionist II: Shapeshift (Sight) (8cp), Imitation (10cp), Any Shape (+10cp)
* 30 Immortal: Life Support (Does not age) (5cp), 25cp of skills and/or skill enhancers
* 30 Invisible: +1 PER (Hearing) (1cp), Stealth +3 (Agility) (9cp) -and- Invisibility (Sight) (20cp)
* 30 Just Plain Tough: +5 CON (5cp), +1 DCV (5pt), +5 BODY (5cp), +6 STUN (3cp), Combat Luck x2 (12cp)
* 30 Martial Artist I: +1 SPD (10cp), +3 PD (3cp), KS: one martial art style (11-) (2cp), CSL +1: one martial art style (5cp), 10cp of combat maneuvers in chosen martial arts style
* 30 Martial Artist II: +1 SPD (10cp), +1 PD (1cp), KS: one martial art style (11-) (2cp), CSL +1: one martial art style (5cp), 10cp of combat maneuvers in chosen martial arts style, WF: one class of weapons (1cp), Weapon Element: same class of weapons (1cp)
* 30 Mentalist I: Mind Scan 6d6
* 30 Mentalist II: Telepathy 6d6
* 30 Mentalist III: Mental Illusions 6d6
* 30 Mentalist IV: Mental Illusions 4d6 (20cp), Area of Effect (8m radius) (+1/2)
* 30 Mentalist V: Mind Control 6d6
* 30 Omniglot: Eidetic Memory (5cp), Speed Reading x10 (4cp), Universal Translator (INT+1) (21cp)
* 30 Rabbit's Foot I: Lightning Reflexes +1 DEX to act first (1cp), Luck 5d6 (25cp), +3m Running (3cp), +2m Leaping (1cp)
* 30 Rabbit's Foot II: Danger Sense (15cp), Functions as a Sense (+2cp), Any time if perceivable (+5cp), Anyone in vicinity (+5cp) -and- Lightning Reflexes: +3 DEX to act first (3cp)
* 30 Telekinetic I: Telekinesis: STR 20
* 31 Telekinetic II: Telekinesis: STR 12 (18cp), Fine manipulation (13-) (+10cp) -and- Telekinetic Tricks (INT) (3cp)
Actually twenty eight if I counted right, or yes thirty if you count blaster energy types separately. Pelican of course would get Hidden Pocket, and probably Just Plain Tough as well due to being the enemy boss, plus a handful of henchmen. Future-Kung Fu Chef would be Martial Artist I if he hadn't pulled out, Goo Girl gets Illusionist II, Speedster gets Athletic, and Bug Guy is Animal Magnetism because critters and PRE attacks. Mentor gets Pilot because he drives the bus.
I'm starting to get more excited about this than worried... I hope the game actually does happen. I suppose I can print a bunch of spare pregens and try to fish for unattached players to fill out the table with them if all else fails...
So. I know I need play sheets that put the powers and checks etc. in user-friendly terms, a map, a partyvan and whatever the enemies are using for transportation (No, scratch that, it's zeppelin or nothing! No Nazi-face-punching adventure is complete without at least one!) some stand-ups or tokens, the END/phase tracking aids previosly discussed, and a nice paragraph or two to set the stage for the action, as well as general directions for how to wrap up depending on how well the party does and if they can protect or retrieve the Precious MacGuffin, and if Pelican is caught or escapes. I need to make up some actual details about the Precious MacGuffin.
I need to run at least a few rounds of combat myself before hand to get used to the process, find a voice for Pelican, and double check party level versus boss and minions to make sure neither side is going to get trivially stomped. I need to make sure I put some animals in the area so Animal Guy can do his thing. Dinosaurs or monkeys are always good, so maybe site it in a South American ruin of some kind?
On the day, I need to eat something before arriving, and suggest anyone who might want to use the bathroom do it after passing out the pregens and going over them but before starting to actually play, and ask everyone to turn their phone off or put it on silent mode because we're all new to the game will have to be able to focus. I need enough Hero in 2 Pages handouts for a full table and a few more, and a couple handfuls of dice, and some pencils, and to make sure no motherfucker walks off with my dice at the end of the night. Walking off with a pregen character sheet or three and a HI2P is to be encouraged.
Anything else to do or not do?