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SableWyvern

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Posts posted by SableWyvern

  1. Re: New to the hero system, trying to figure out some things

     

    If you're playing a game that allows powers with 262 Active Points as standard, then I dare say you're looking at a run of the mill power with your second example -- although I'm not sure the game would be terribly manageable at that kind of power level.

     

    For the first, it looks legit to my inexperiened eye, and yes, you need to rely on "GM denial". The freedom you are given with HERO places a burden on the GM (and players) to look at context and apply limits based on that context.

  2. Re: Building a Puppeteer

     

    Nice to know that I might be close to the mark on the first try with an unusual concept. :)

     

    However, followers typically have a mind of their own. Presumably, the puppet will not.

     

    Correct.

     

    Given the main character must be within 20", and in LOS, and will be cut down to half DCV, I hope he's not planning on that puppet being used in combat a lot. He'll be very exposed to counterattack whenever he is controlling the puppet.

     

    The puppet's primary function is as a combat machine, so his vulnerability while using it may be an issue. However, given typical movement rates in the campaign and the PC's high SPD, ranged attacks should present the only real potential for serious concern. Increasing the control range won't be problem if it becomes necessary.

  3. I have a player who wants a PC based on some Japanese anime guy, who controls a life-sized puppet.

     

    ATM, we have used the Follower perk to represent the situation, as follows:

     

    Puppet 50 Points (250+75 Character Point Follower)

    Requires Concentration (1/2 DCV) -1/2

    Limited Range 20" -1/4

    Requires LOS -1/4

    Control Can Be Suppressed/Drained/Dispelled -1/2

    Fine Manipulation Requires Puppeteering roll -1/4

    Requires Gestures (Both Hands) -1/2

    Real Cost: 15

     

    If the requirements required by the limitations aren't met, the puppet is just a regular, life-sized puppet. Otherwise, the puppet acts under the character's control -- they have identical SPD and DEX for convenience.

     

    Is this a reasonable build? Is there a better way?

  4. Re: Soldiers marching.

     

    Taken from The Roman War Machine, by John Peddie, in turn borrowing heavily from de Bello Gallico by Ceasar:

     

    Times and distances based on six legions (30,000 men, plus cavalry and baggage), marching 10 miles at 3mph (baggage train moving slightly slower), with a total length of marching column of 22.5 miles.

     

    [b]Time     Event                                    Remarks[/b]
    H Hour   Recce Group Departs Camp I               -
    +10min   Vanguard Departs Camp I                  Followed by Command Group and Main Body
    +3h20m   Recce Group Arrives Camp II              -
    +3h30m   Vanguard Arrives Camp II                 Followed by Command Group and Main Body
    +3h30m   Camp Layout Commenced                    Tail of Main Body Departs Camp I
    +3h30m   Head of Baggage Train Departs Camp I     -
    +4h      Protective Screen Deployed               After Arrival of First Legion
    +4h30m   Fortifications Commenced                 After Arrival of Second Legion
    +6h30m   Tail of Main Body Arrives Camp II        -
    +7h      Head of Baggage Train Arrives Camp II    -
    +12h     Tail of Baggage Train Arrives Camp II    Column Complete at Camp II

  5. Re: WHY is combat so slow and what have you done about it?

     

    Axis & Allies the game you're looking for is World In Flames.

     

    I can finish a game of Axis & Allies in the time it takes to set the board for WIF.

     

    (in some circles, it's called weekend in flames, but that's insanely optomistic. nobody I know can finish that game in only a weekend.)

     

    Barbarossa could probably be played out in a weekend, if you really dedicated the entire weekend to it. A full, global campaign? America wouldn't even have entered the war yet.

  6. Re: PC Comparisons

     

    Looking at that very small sample of information' date=' it appears to me that you are mixing characters from different point totals (and possibly) genres. A little more cohesion and a tighter spread will do you and your group a world of help.[/quote']

     

    They're all 250+75 characters, with the exception of the dragon, which is 300+75 (using multiform).

     

    My campaign paramaters were limited to "come up with a concept involving magic", though, so we do have a fairly eclectic group of PCs.

     

    Request for four datapoints:

     

    1) Genre?

    2) Point Range?

    3) Similar stats for typical opposition?

    4) Do any of the PC's have a breadth of utility powers not represented by combat stats?

     

    1) High-Magic Fantasy.

    2) 250+75, as above.

    3) Serious opposition will range from slightly lower-powered to more powerful. It's (hopefully) going to be a fairly political game in many respects, so many situations will require non-combat solutions.

    4) The Druid is the most versatile, with a lot of points spent outside combat powers (also, the widest selection of attack powers to choose from). The Swordmaster is basically just a combat machine, as is the Sword (the latter being a warrior-mentalist). The Metal Elementalist has a reasonable spread of non-combat powers. The Dragon (alternate form for Swordmaster) and Werewolf (alternate form for Druid) are basically combat oriented.

  7. Re: Rant? Speed in Hero

     

    My personal view is that it makes sense to try the rules as written before making sweeping changes. Others prefer more tinkering' date=' though.[/quote']

     

    I'm a mad tinkerer, and lack of experience with a system rarely deters me -- as long as I feel confident I understand the ramifications of what I'm doing.

     

    See my edit above as to why I'm going to hold back on this occasion, however. :)

  8. Re: Rant? Speed in Hero

     

    I'm really conflicted about this "dice for speed" technique.

     

    On the one hand, I think it's really great idea. On the other, I'm sure if I should be implementing it before I've got a handle on the default game structure.

     

    Decisions, decisions...

     

     

    Addendum: Upon reflection, I've noticed a couple of things about Markdoc's system I'm a little bit dubious about, related mainly to the way people are always "sharing" phases. When using the Speed Chart, the only people any character will always be competing with are others sharing the same Speed.

     

    Under the die-roll system, a low Speed, high Dex character will have more difficulty taking extra recoveries or other interuptable actions, as everyone else will always be following his actions in every phase. On the other hand, a high Speed, high Dex character will only be in a position to abort if he holds his action, or is facing an attack from a held action in a "dead" phase.

     

    I'm not sure how large an impact things like this will have, but it's enough to leave me leery of messing about too much. And, where there are subtle effects like these that even a n00b such as myself can spot, I'm sure there are others I'm missing.

     

    It occurs to me that these problems disappear if you use the d12 roll to dictate the segment, and then use the Speed Chart to determine who acts. This maintains both the random element and spread of phases found on the Speed Chart. Of course, it also adds to complexity, instead of simplifying...

  9. Re: PC Comparisons

     

    The obvious place where one character might feel out-competed is the metal elemental. lower speed' date=' lower CV same DEF and same damage output.[/quote']

     

    The Metal Elementalist does have easily the best BOD and CON in the group, and with his combined 26 regular and resistant DEF should be very, very hard to stun. He's also got some range (10" stretching) on his primary attack. The intent is that that goes a reasonable way to balancing him back up. I will raise your points with the player in question, however.

     

    The Druid also loses out on the comparison where the speed is the same but the CV worse and damage delivery significantly worse.

     

    This one's hopefully not a great issue, since he was designed mainly as a hang-back and support character, and his attacks are all ranged (hence no STR bonus and lower DCs). He's also got multipowers containing a lot of powers with continuing charges, which gives him a further edge.

     

    The Werewolf strikes me as a bit high. High SPD, High CV, High DCs.

     

    Most of the others have at least one component that's middle to low. I would drop his DCs down to 8-9.

     

    I'll probably heed that advice, possibly with an eye on upping his toughness, since he's fairly fragile, especially vs Energy attacks.

     

    The Swordmasters CVs are almost far too high, but his DCs are at the bottom end, so it's not too bad. But, I might cut it back to 3CSLs, just in case other characters with High DCs want as many CSLs as he does which could quickly pull things out of balance or into an arms race.

     

    Yeah, he originally had top-end damage as well, but I talked the player down from there to where he's at now. I'm actually concerned that with Find Weakness and his array of martial manoeuvres (which no one else really has) he's still going to be dealing a significant amount of damage with regularity. Those misgivings combined with yours mean I'll see about getting him to give up a couple of CSLs as well.

     

    Again, thanks to all for the feedback.

  10. Re: PC Comparisons

     

    Thanks for the input so far.

     

    As I tried to get across in my initial post, I'm aware that you guys aren't getting the whole story, and that there are more to the characters than their combat potential.

     

    I'm just looking for some general impressions on hard combat data that I can take away and add more context to myself.

     

    I'll address some specific points later, gotta get to work now.

  11. So, the PCs for my game are starting to come together, and I'm trying to make sure that they're all somwhere in the same ball-park with respect to general combat capabilities -- not at precisely the same level, but such that no one character will dominate, and no one will be useless. Obviously, breadth of capability, as well as non-combat skills, will act as balancing factors in some instances.

     

    Anyway, if anyone would be kind enough to take a glance at the stats below and give me your impressions, that would be much appreciated. I realise a thorough comparison would require much more information upon which to make judgements, I'm just looking for general thoughts.

     

    [b]Character       SPD   DEX   CV   CSLs     PD        ED     DC[/b]
    Swordmaster      5     20   7     5     4/r12     4/r12     6
    Dragon           3     14   5     2      r18H     r18H     14
    Druid            4     11   4     4     6/r12     4/r14     9
    Werewolf         5     26   9     0     10/r6     10/r6    11
    Metal Element.   3     13   4     3    14/r12H   14/r12H   14
    Sword            4     17   6     3     8/r12     8/r12    14
    Mimic            4     11   4     *        *        *       *
    

     

    The Swordmaster and Dragon are alternate forms of the same character, ditto the Druid and Werewolf. DCs are for the highest damage attack, with bonuses for STR factored in.

     

    The Swordmaster has Find Weakness to compensate for his low damage, and the Werewolf has 75% Resistant Physical Damage Reduction. The Mimic's capabilities will depend on what he's got in his VPP at the time.

     

    H= Hardened.

  12. Re: WHY is combat so slow and what have you done about it?

     

    I haven't actually ran a session yet...

     

    However, I've picked up two things from about the place that I plan to implement from the start:

     

    1. A roll high to-hit system (OCV+3d6, seeking to equal or beat 10+DCV). Discussed recently here, although I can't recall the originator so as to give him credit.

     

    2. A modified version of the Standard Effect rule. All dice rolls will be capped at 3d6, with extra dice of damage adding a flat bonus. I've streamlined the bonuses a bit to maintain the same average result as actually rolling everything, rather then giving a straight +3 per d6, which offers deteriorating returns with larger handfuls of dice. I'm pretty sure I nabbed this idea from a discussion on this very topic over on RPG.net.

     

    I look forward to seeing other people's ideas in this thread, and hope there's more stuff I can steal.

  13. Re: Rant? Speed in Hero

     

    I think that Ghost-Angel still has a very valid point, in that there is no objective, universal scale with which we can (or should) all measure Speed against.

     

    Even if I do disagree with the vehemence with which he objects to relating Speed to combat capability.

  14. Re: Disdvantages and Multiform

     

    Hmm...

     

    I see what you mean. I came into HERO with 5ER, so the older stuff must be something that I picked up on these boards when I was first looking into Multiform.

     

    Edit: However, if you follow the guidelines for advancing alternate forms in step with the base form, then you still avoid the problem of requiring extra disadvantages. IE, an alternate form only gets an extra 5 character points after the base form has already received 5 extra itself.

     

    2nd Edit: Actually, the more I look into it, the more it appears that the rules I'm using are actually some evil bastardised combination of 5ER, comments from others on this board, and my own misunderstandings. Still, they seem to be working for me, so I'll stick with them. :)

  15. Re: Disdvantages and Multiform

     

    I'm having a bit of difficulty following your question, so I'll just summarise how I'm dealing with Multiform:

     

    1. Under normal circumstances, a multiform may be built on the same base points as the PC. In a 200 + 100disads game, you can spend 40 on the multiform, giving 200 base points, plus 100 free in disads.

     

    2. A multiform built on more than the base points must take additional disadvantages equal to the points in excess. For a example, a 50 point multiform in a 200+100 game would have 250 base points, plus 100 points in disads and it must also take another 50 points worth of disads for which it doesn't get any points back.

     

    3. Regarding experience, I'm not exactly sure how the rules are meant to be interpreted, but I'm going with the following: Multiforms are only improved by spending points on the Multiform ability of the base character. A player can declare his Multiform is static, in which case he can't normally improve it at all. Otherwise, it is dynamic, and increases at the same rate as the base character. If the Mltiform is not limited or advantaged, every sixth XP goes into Multiform. This value needs to be tweaked for advantaged or limited powers.

     

    Frex, a Multiform with a -1 disad will gain two active points (10 character points for the form) for every real point spent. In this case, the player must spend every eleventh point on the Multiform.

     

    Edit: Note that, using this experience system, the Multiform keeps pace with the base character, and thus there is no need to be adding new disads.

     

    Hope that helps.

  16. Re: Rant? Speed in Hero

     

    Like I said, "And, there are other, equally legitimate, ways of looking at Speed which can completely ignore the points I've just raised." :)

     

    Personally, my experience of inexperienced people thrown into high-stress situations involving combat or requiring leadership is that they are more likely to freeze up than anything else. YMMV.

  17. Re: Rant? Speed in Hero

     

    The whole idea that you have to relate your Speed to how good you are in a fight really really bothers me.

     

    Everything else you've said pretty much agrees with my understanding of how Speed works in HERO.

     

    However, I think that Speed is certainly -- to some degree, at least -- a reflection of the ability to make decisions in a tactical envirionment. How many things you can do in a fixed amount of time, under combat stress, is directly related to how you process information and make instictive decisions -- which is a learned ability.

     

    Realistically, a Speedster who can't handle combat pressure would do things quickly -- but only once he worked out what it was he wanted to do.

     

    Taken in that vein, I think it's entirely appropriate to relate Speed to combat ability, to an extent. OTOH, of course, the ability to make informed decisions in combat doesn't necessarily mean you act on those decisions with skill. And, there are other, equally legitimate, ways of looking at Speed which can completely ignore the points I've just raised.

  18. Re: Rant? Speed in Hero

     

    As a relative newcomer to HERO, with no in-game experience under my belt, my understanding is that relating your Speed to some fixed standard is less important (by a long way) than relating it to campaign standards.

     

    If you're playing Joe Normal With Nifty Gadgets, in a game where everyone else is in the Speed 6-9 range, then picking Speed 2 or 3 is rarely going to work out well, even if that's where your character should fit on the chart.

     

    In my own game (very high-powered fantasy), I'm planning to use the following standard:

     

    Speed 2: Undermook, Peasant, Utter-Noncombatant

    Speed 3: Slow Hero, Typical Mook

    Speed 4: Typical Hero

    Speed 5: Especially Fast Hero

    Speed 6: Insanely Fast

     

    With PCs and 95% of their adversaries falling into the 3-5 range.

  19. Re: Increasing Target Visibility

     

    So what happens to a character whose Invisibility has the Inherent or Difficult to Dispel Advantages

     

    I should note that the aura is to be a PC's power, so this kind of objection is irrelevant in this specific circumstance. If the aura was designed to bypass a PC's invisibility, I would be more leery of allowing it.

  20. Re: Increasing Target Visibility

     

    Is an "Invisible Target" really a target for this particular application?

     

     

    Personally - I do feel this use of Images is trying to be Suppression. I wouldn't allow it, it's the wrong mechanic for the desired effect.

    As I said, I do see your point.

     

    The main reason I'm taking a different stance to you is because the power, as originally envisioned, shouldn't only work on invisible targets, and I don't feel that, when starting with Suppression, that the cost and effort required to add further utility is commensurate with the return for that cost/effort.

     

    As long as there are some experienced HERO gamers (such as Killer Shrike) who agree with this approach, I'm willing to give it a go. (Which, to be clear, isn't to say that I consider his opinions to be inherently superior to the many other experienced members on the forums, including yourself.)

     

    I will keep an eye on the power and see how things go. I will be making it clear to my players going into the game that everything is subject to change as we gain a better understanding of the system and its interactions (and, similarly, the players will be free to make their own adjustments to their characters for the same reasons).

  21. Re: Increasing Target Visibility

     

    Basically, you're trying to use Images as a form of Suppression. Isn't one of the meta-rules of the game to not use one Power to perform the function of another Power?

     

    Well, the intent is to create an aura around all targets in the AoE, regardless of their visibility. Making invisible targets detectable is one of the most obvious applications of this, but certainly not the only one.

     

    Nevertheless, I see your point.

     

    For the moment, I think I'm going to allow this in my game, and give a -1OCV to hit affected invisible targets, and -1DCV vs melee attacks from affected invisible targets.

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