Stray Cat

The most unusual hero I ran was Glyx. He was an alien guardian/sheriff sort of character with a symbiotic suit that covered his entire body. A Kansas farmboy found the suit in the debris after the original wearer crashed. The suit adopted the farmboy as its new wearer, but it was damaged. The universal translator function constantly malfunctioned, so no one ever understood what he was saying. Oh, and he was trapped in the suit too. Cat

I thought I knew what this discussion was about when it was in the other thread, but now I am just lost. As far as I understood the rules, if a character has a multipower with 4 charges, then there are 4 charges for the entire multipower. Once there have been 4 uses of the multipower, then no matter how many slots are in the multipower, it's out of juice until the charges have been replenished. Is this wrong? Cat

Aint that a dayum shame too! I never got ta see him in action, but I have enjoyed the stories! Cat

This thread has reminded me of my Timberwolf (not original name by any means, AND a Batman rip-off to boot!) character. I never finished writing him up other than his background. One member of his rogues' gallery was Mockingbird, a Catwoman clone with a nutty theme (kinda like a less-brutal Joker or a more serious Foxbat). Cat

After the flashy character has been around in the campaign for awhile and builds up a reputation, there will naturally be more villains who would prepare for him on the off-(or not so off-)chance that they will meet. And of course other posters mentioned reflection, other targeting senses, and the like to counter this guy. Cat

Please define "straight-forward game." Do mean a straight conversion of the Marvel Universe? As for NCM, I wouldn't think that PCs would normally have that disad in a Champions game. Surely Cap wouldn't since he's had the serum-stuff. Would he? (Just an Ignorant) Cat

That's a cool idea too! This is why I like postin here. I can always find multiple ways to tackle a problem. Cat

Thanks muchly Monolith! Cat

Question for herodom... I am trying to simulate some of the drugs in M&M's Freedom City Sourcebook. They can boost characteristics temporarily, but there can be harmful side effects. That's easy to simulate. Aids plus side effects with activation rolls. However, I want the drugs to be less effective for super people. I was wondering if anyone had already developed a way to do this. I was considering the following: 1. CON roll to see if the drug takes effect. If the character FAILS the roll, the drug's effect occurs. High-CON characters would not receive the benefits of the drug as often as plebes. 2. A second CON roll to see if the drug's side effects occur. If the character fails the roll, the side effects occur. Often this means that supers wouldn't receive the benefits or the drawbacks of these drugs, yet the side effects could occur even if the drug does not enhance the character. Would this be an acceptable mechanic for you? Gimme some feedback please! Cat

OMG! So THAT explains what happened to the 4th ed. Viperia! Cat

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Killing Attacks - How Powerful? Granted, if there are clear guidelines in a campaign that would allow for low defense and that's your thang, go for it! I do like many of AgentX's example defense constructions. Many of the Champions games I've played in have active-point ranges from 50 - 75 active or 75 - 90 active points or higher. Maybe I am just showing my insularity. Cat

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Killing Attacks - How Powerful? Hmmm... I'm not sure about that. Are we talking an average 350-pt four-color game? Shouldn't superheroes be able to stand up to handgun fire? Cat

That is unfortunate that your player is unwilling to work with you. Blue's post does add some particularly effective means at equalization. It's hard to hold a game together though if the rest of the team feels punished because of this player's behavior or attitude. Best of luck to ya. An area-effect entangle won't kill the character, but might leave the player sittin on his hands a while to think about the choices he's making. The game needs to be fun for more than one person in the gaming group. Cat

My playing style may be different from others then. I beg pardon for assuming that others operate under the same conditions as myself. We all know what assuming can do.. But I am still concerned that r6 DEF is dangerously low for a superheroic setting. I suppose that 6 rDEF can be acceptable regardless of archetype providing the special effect fits. But if a player came to a superheroic game with a character whose resistant defense was that low, I would be amiss in not explaining the dangers. Afterward, I would NOT bat an eye as a GM if a character with that level of DEF were killed by a stock villain. Two self-imposed rules are going on in my head right now. One is that a game mechanic on a character sheet should be bound by a special effect. (IOW, no 6d6 RKA derringer simply because "my multipower is 90 points" etc.) The other is that player-characters should not be killed in vain. Prior to an encounter (most preferably during character construction), I advocate GM-player interaction in regards to power levels and defenses to help ensure that a PC doesn't die needlessly. I'm not talking about lucky rolls, but adequate defense. It's a good point that Whammewhamme makes about DCV, but I thought that a natural 3 always hit? Is that an incorrect assumption? And too, a speedster or martial artist (with similar combat values to our defender) with a decent blade killing attack can be reasonably expected to cut through 6 rPD. I'm just concerned that the player may not enjoy having his character cut, or neutralized, or worse during a combat sequence on a steady basis. IMHO, it's not heroic to be rescued by one's teammates too often. Bottom line: GMs and players have to talk about their expectations. If all that lines up, then the defense question evaporates. As do power level considerations and many other areas of contention between members of gaming groups. Cat

Re: Killing Attacks - How Powerful? Well, hmmm... those do seem high. One thing ya might consider is whether the special effect of the attack would require that hefty an attack. Think about what a simple blade would be. Go from there. If in this villain's hands, the attack's power intensity would virtually assure his hunted's demise, ya might want to converse with your player about it. A hunted is a plot device that should be able to show up more than once in the life of a campaign. Is the villain a more powerful hunted for the hero? If so, a high-intensity attack may be justified (paying close attention to special effect), and it will be up the GM and the player to make wise decisions about use of the villain and heroic responses. Cat PS Not to question the PCs' defenses (but I am), is there a reason they are so low? Or am I the outsider here? I'm thinking that a superhero with 6 resistant defense could be in a heap of trouble in a gunfight.

Re: A bad Situation(Kind of Long post/rant) Are you kiddin? Stellar and the team were in mortal danger. After seein Under Seige, I'll never think of cooks in the same way! Cat

What LL said. I'd just to second the idea of the lethal/nonlethal/subdual organization.. Cat

The two most commonly used professions I've used for my characters are college students and professors. Colossus, who will get some play this weekend, is a college student who has a ton of familiarity-level professional skills. He's worked many places. He's been a waiter, gardener, pool attendant, dog catcher, taxi driver, construction worker, fast food cook, and carpenter. He's taken some acting classes at the university too recently. And he's even sold some of his photography to the local rags. The problem is that he's soo unreliable that he can't keep a job long. Something about attendance and punctuality and leaving in the middle of a shift... Cat

I'm not sure how well the Heroclix map sets are selling, but I do know that I've considered purchasing them. The square tiling instead of hex is not a problem for me. But if Hero came out with hex maps in that format... I wonder what the response would be... Cat

Re: Suggest a Martial Art for a shrinking character One recently converted 4th ed. character I constructed, Firefly, is about the size of a bullet and can fly very fast. He has the martial maneuvers passing strike, charge, and flying dodge. He specializes in flying by and swiping at his opponents. It doesn't hurt that his damage shield acts as a piggyback attack to his velocity-based maneuvers. Cat

I can't recall if a question like this has been posted, so here's nothin.. I'm trying to build a character that is a fairly large vehicle that can transform into human-sized human-shaped android. The effect I'm going for is this: The ship can carry its pilot (and his companions) in flight. But it can also accompany the pilot to the local disco without anyone so much as batting an eye. The question then is whether it's legal to build a vehicle with a multiform that is based on another template (a character template) or vice versa. Or should the multiform always conform to the base template? Cat

Interesting! I still haven't checked out TUV like Geoff suggested. But I intend to very soon. (Reaches for books.) That certainly sounds plausible, prestidigitator. And to help with some of the questions coming up. The ship/android is equally comfortable either way. He (it?) is more often in the humanoid shape. While in ship form, the ship flies while the primary character (and presumably the team) is a passenger. But the PC can fly the ship too. So, can I make this any more complicated? Thanks once more for the replies guys! Cat

Well at worst, I think that GM intervention would probably allow such. And since I know the GM(s), I can't imagine a lot of grief over doing it that way. Although, for rules clarification, I may need to ask Steve what he thinks. Dunno if it has ever come up before, so I may just do that! Cat

Cool! Thanks Geoff! I'll look at that tonight when I get home from work! Quick question for the vehicular multiform. Would each form in the multiform be a vehicle template? Or would the second form be built on a character template? Or does it matter? Cat

thanks for your replies guys! Cat