Arc Esu

Re: AGP2 hardback And the stretch goal was reached, meaning it will be reprinted. Hurray! Is there any way to get an e-mail when it is available in the store again? I missed getting a hard copy in the first go round, and I do not want to miss my chance (I didn't get it through the Kickstarter because I already had the Villains 3 PDF and didn't want a hard copy, and the stretch goal wasn't reached until right near the end and I missed the window).

Re: Sign Language Applying gestures to sign language makes as much sense as applying incantations to spoken language. Which is to say, not much. I wouldn't allow it in my game, as it is an obvious munchkin tactic.

Re: Negative Powers? That idea is so munchkiny, and yet so awesome. I'd probably make you buy a triggered Extra-Dimensional movement or Desolidification for times when you're "not there," (since if you aren't there you can't be hurt, and that should be paid for with points), but other than that I'd allow it. Repped.

Re: The cost of Internet In The Ultimate Base, several bases build an internet connection as KS: Everything at a very high level (30 or 50, I think). Presumably, the more specific your inquiry, the greater the penalty to the roll. This is expensive, but you could put on OIF and maybe Extra Time to reduce the cost while still simulating it accurately.

Re: Regenerating teeth In the vast majority of games, I think this would matter so little that the GM should use the holy trilogy of Hero: Common sense, dramatic sense, and game balance. If it seems like the special effect of the regeneration would affect teeth, I'd allow it even without the regrow limbs adder. Anyone with that adder could definitely regrow teeth. Similarly with immunity to tooth decay; if you have some life support, and the special effect of it seems like it should include tooth decay, I'll throw it in at no charge. Now, if you're playing Cavity Crusader Hero, then maybe I'd be more strict about it.

Re: Champions Villains Volume Three: Solo Villains when will it be on the shelf? Steve is a writer, not a publisher or a printer. Once he has written a book, there is nothing further he can do to make it come out faster. His work on Mythic Hero or the Martial World has nothing to do with CV3 being printed. This has been explained before.

Re: ARMED Acronym When I was using Left-Hand Earth in my Teen Champions game, I kept the same names but created new acronyms for some existing organizations. But for others, I changed the name and the acronym but either stayed in the same general theme or went for the opposite. So instead of ARMED, this alternate organization could be READY, or DANGEROUS, or HOSTILE, and then you come up with a acronym for the new name. Another option is to either use a new name or use ARMED, but when the PCs ask what is stands for, have the response be "That's above your security clearance, citizen." Perhaps a cop-out, but an appropriate one for a police state. Hope these thoughts help.

Re: Creating "End Of Level Boss" villains I love this concept, both for "End Boss" villains, but also for heroes. Repped.

Re: Not Role Playing Disadvantages.

Re: DEX for vehicles and HERO System Vehicle Sourcebook A note on the HERO System Vehicle Sourcebook. It does not have any space vehicles in it, and as I recall Traveller is a future setting focused on space travel. The majority of the vehicles in the sourcebook are real world vehicles, with a few exceptions for superhero or near-future stuff. There's very little sci-fi vehicle support in there. However, the new 6e Star Hero, as well as the 5e Ultimate Vehicle, could both be very helpful.

Re: A powerful cosmetic transform I'm with Escafarc on this one. I'm pretty sure Transform specifically says it shouldn't be used to replace another power, and in this case, the "power" it is replacing is Lockpicking. I mean, would you allow someone to use Transform to turn a "computer" into "a computer that is giving me all the information I want?" No, because that's clearly a use of Computer Programming. Or Transform "myself" into "myself knowing about wine?" No, that's KS: Wine. Similarly, I wouldn't let you use Transform to unlock a lock. You could use Transform to turn the lock into cheese or something so you could just rip it off, but at that point you're clearly talking a Major or Severe Transform, which is priced similarly to a Killing Attack. That's balanced because you could just use a killing attack to blast off a lock anyway. Now if a character was focused around Transforms and hadn't thought to buy various skills for it, I might allow it once as a Power Trick. But if you want to regularly transform locks from locked to unlocked, but Lockpicking to a high level and add "costs END" or other appropriate limitations.

Re: Help with a character concept I like the concept. I was in the Boy Scouts all through middle and high school, and enjoyed it immensely. If the concept is that your apply a physical merit badge in order to activate a power, then I would suggest a different build. In essense, your merit badge sash (I can't remember the official name) is acting like a utility belt, so that's how I would build it. Make a multipower at the appropriate point level, and give it either OIF (for a secured sash) or OAF (for a more realistic, easily grabbed sash). Then build all the merit badges as slots with OAF or OIF, again depending on your concept of how easy they are to take away. Restrainable isn't really appropriate; the Focus limitation already covers that. You can combine Focus with Restrainable in some cases (the example given in the book is a flight harness with wings; you could either destroy or take away the harness or restrain the wings, so using both limitations is appropriate), but I don't think this is one of them. Other limitations to consider: No Range (if you have to touch the target with the merit badge) Range Based On Strength (limitation or advantage, depending on the power it's applied to; if you can throw the merit badges at targets) One Recoverable Charge (if you only have one copy of a given badge, but can pull it off of the target after the fight)

Re: Looking for info on Champions NPCs Thank you for the quick replies. Looks like I'm picking up UNTIL: Defenders of Freedom and Champions Worldwide. Lucky that 5e stuff is half off in the Hero store...

I will be running a Champions game set in my personal superhero universe, although I will be borrowing liberally from the Champions Universe. The three Villains books have been extremely helpful, but there are several other books where a hero or villain is mentioned, but no details or full writeup is given. I wanted to check if any of the following heroes and villains have gotten full write-ups in some book that I do not own, or if there at least was something more to go on, as in many cases I have a code name, basic power set, and not much else. I can then purchase said books post-haste! Although 6th ed write-ups would be ideal, I can convert any 5th ed write-ups easily enough. And even if a full write-up doesn't exist, I'd at least like secret ID (if any), power level, weaknesses, and any noteworthy Psych Lims. I am looking for more info on: The members of Unity (mentioned in the 6th ed Champions Universe; possibly just created for the MMO?), namely- El Picarro Myrmidon Psiclops Quasar Dr. White Dr. Black Walkabout (mentioned in Champions Universe) Dr. Mercy (mentioned in Min-Max’s backstory) Villains in Stronghold (all below were mentioned as being in Stronghold in that supplement, but didn't have a write-up), specifically- Aquailine Broadcast Brain Drain Crossfire Rot The Scarlet Scarab Tombstone Xtreme Thanks for any help you can offer!

Re: No magic? The biggest pitfall to taking magic out of a Champions game is that it seems kind of random. What with the "kitchen sink" approach that most superhero universes (including the CU) use when it comes to the origins of superpowers, taking one and only one out without having a specific reason seems like you're restricting player (and villain) choice with no upside. As a player, I would wonder why the GM took out magic but nothing else, and suspect that magic did exist and would be part of some future story arc, or that maybe it would be revealed that all superpowers were magical in origin all along. Subsequently, I would be disappointed when nothing came of it. That being said, all GMs have their personal preferences, and there's nothing wrong with running your game the way you want. But I think your current strategy of "just don't use many magical characters" is better than just outright forbidding them.

Re: Selling back OMCV I allow selling back OMCV to 1 (not 0; as mentioned upthread, you're not supposed to do that). My reasoning is thus: 1) It's only 6 points, so it won't radically change a character. 2) It's "book legal," as near as I can tell, and my personal preference is to avoid house rules except in extreme situations. 3) I will occasionally throw a villain with an attack that targets OMCV, or otherwise make the low OMCV a disadvantage. 4) Frankly, there are a lot of situations in which a character might want to sell back "useless" Characteristics, and in most cases I would probably let it fly. For example, someone who buys Flight Usable as Swimming might want to sell back his base Swimming. I wouldn't disallow that, and for a non-Mentalist, selling back OMCV is basically the same thing; because of the character choices you made, a particular characteristic is useless, so why not sell it back for points?

Re: MYTHIC HERO: What Do *You* Want To See? I cast my vote for both Mythic Hero and Legendary Hero. I think you could put a lot of interesting, useful stuff in Legendary Hero, and that it would be easy to use in multiple genres. But Dr. MID-Nite's suggestion of doing it as a PDF only might be a good one until you can gauge general interest. Personally, I'd prefer it as a printed book. As for Mythic Hero, I very much doubt I would ever use it, but it sounds like a really cool book that I'd like to own just as a reference and idea mine. And so I could figure out whether Zeus or Thor would win in a fight. Speaking of which, much as Hero does in the villain books, I think you should include suggestions on powering deities up or down to suite a particular campaign, as this will allow for greater flexibility and cross-genre utility. This may be adding too much to an already huge book, but perhaps some write-ups of godly realms, i.e. Mt. Olympus as a base for the Greek Gods, Asgard as a base for the Norse gods, etc.

Re: Speed for Limited Purposes - wrapping my head around it There are some examples of limited Speed in the Champions Villains write-ups, but to my knowledge none of them take more than one type of limited Speed, although the limitation on the Speed can be broad (for example, Menton has extra Speed only to use Mental Powers, which for him is barely a Limitation). And of course a number of battlesuits are build with extra Speed with OIF, although that is unlikely to change in the middle of combat. Also, generally the character's base Speed and extra Speed are bought so that the Phases work out nicely. For example, if you go from 3 Speed to 6 Speed, you go from going on 4, 8, 12 to going on 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, so you basically get an extra Phase before each of your normal Phases, which is much easier to adjudicate than going from, say, Speed 3 to Speed 5. So as GM, I would allow a player to buy limited Speed, but only once, and only if the Phase numbers work out cleanly so there are no delays in figuring out who's going when in combat.

Re: Limitation: Only Versus Stunning Blows One problem with either Damage Reduction or extra PD/ED with "only if damage would otherwise Stun" is that a stronger blow could end up doing less damage to you. Example: If you have 20 Con, and would take 19 Stun after defenses, nothing kicks in and you take 19 Stun. But if you take 25 Stun, then have 10 PD/ED with the above Limitation, suddenly a stronger blow is only doing 15 Stun to you, which doesn't make much sense. You can play with the numbers, but this illustrates the possibility. Therefore, I think buying more Con, even if it costs double, is the best solution. Alternatively, as Hyper-Man points out, Con bought with a Limitation (arguably even a -0 Limitation like "Only to prevent Stunning") is not affect by Normal Characteristic Maxima, although your GM may not let that fly.

Re: Statting out a tornado DocSamson, thanks for pointing out the "wind level" chart. I could have sworn that I looked through all the environmental effects sections in the book and didn't see anything, but obviously I'm a blind idiot. Once I tinker with it and have a build, I'll post it it here for all. And maybe I'll even post the whole character sheet for the Sista' Twista'!

I'm creating a tornado based villain with the usual array of powers (blasts with double KB, TK, indirect AoE, etc), but one ability I want the villain to have is the ability to create a self-sustaining tornado that then acts as a tornado otherwise would (though she can still take actions to control it if need be). I think Summon is the best way to do this, but how would one "stat out" a tornado as a character? Has anyone ever done this before, or seen it done in a Hero supplement? My basic thoughts are to make it a Desolidified (only to protect from damage, can be hurt by weather/air manipulation or other creative plans at GM discretion) Automaton with Affects Physical World on some kind of massive AoE attack, plus appropriate size template, plus appropriate Flight, plus a Change environment or Darkness to simulate debris/dust being thrown around. Obviously a tornado will be huge number of points, but that's appropriate. Any thoughts on this build idea? Or would this be better done as an Uncontrolled Mobile AoE Blast with Physical Manifestation?

Re: Harpoon and Tow Cable from The Empire Strikes Back Here's the build I made based on Entangle: Harpoon and Tow Cable: Entangle 8d6, 16 PD/8 ED, Takes No Damage From Attacks All Attacks (+1/2) (150 Active Points); 1 Charge (-2), OAF Bulky (-1 1/2), Extra Time (1 Turn (Post-Segment 12), -1 1/4), Set Effect (Legs Only) (-1), Only on walker-type targets (-1), Does Not Prevent The Use Of Accessible Foci (-1), Limited Arc Of Fire (180 degrees; -1/4), Requires A Roll (Combat Piloting roll, -1 per 20 Active Points modifier; -1/4), Limited Range (200 meters; -1/4) Real cost: 15 points This isn't a 100% movie accurate build, because as CrosshairCollie said, once the walker falls down it can't get back up. Also, the fall itself seems to do some damage to the walker. But it seems close enough for game purposes if the GM applies some hand-waving. I arrived at 16 PD/8d6 because a vehicle the size of an AT-AT would have 65 STR, doing 13 Body on average with an exerted effort to escape. The walker in the movie does seem to struggle against the cable and can't break it, so I figure that 16 PD plus 8 Body should prevent all but the luckiest AT-AT's from escaping. The range comes from the West End Games d6 stats. The only two things I'm not sure about are the piloting check (at a -7, it seems even Wedge or Luke would have a hard time pulling it off; perhaps handwave it to -4 or -5, or else make it a -0 Limitation and be a straight up check?) and the "Does Not Prevent The Use Of Accessible Foci," which I put in because if the walker doesn't trip, it should still be able to use its blaster cannons (although maybe this is already covered by the "Set Effect," since the cannons are mounted on the "head," not the "legs"). Any suggestions on this specific build?

Re: Harpoon and Tow Cable from The Empire Strikes Back I like Beast's idea of the special effect of the Entangle being that the walker is prone (or is refusing to move an inch, and hence can't "dodge"). And the Star Wars nerd in me feels compelled to point out that Luke didn't entangle a walker. It was his idea, but his gunner Dack died before he could make the approach. It was actually Wedge and his gunner Jansen that tripped the walker in the movie. I'll try to make up a build based on the Entangle idea once I get home, and post it here.

I'm not sure if this belongs in the Star Hero thread, but I figure I'll get more responses here. How would you build the harpoon and tow cable "weapon" that the snowspeeders use in The Empire Strikes Back? While some kind of Stretching or TK build could work for non-combat applications, I'm more interested in how to build the "tripping a gigantic walker" part. My initial ideas are: A massive TK with extra time, physical manifestation, Requires a combat piloting roll, and other appropriate limitations An entangle that doesn't protect the walker, again with extra time, Requires a combat piloting roll, and so on A blast with double KB, with custom "only to knockdown" limitation, plus other appropriate limitations Any thoughts on which of these three would be most appropriate? Or any other build ideas out there?

Re: Draining/Aiding SPD and play balance I've been thinking along the same lines, that Speed should be Adjusted at the half-rate of defense powers. However, I've only seen one character with a Speed Drain in a game. It was a standard effect to Drain 1 Speed, so if the foe had any Power Defense it was useless (or nearly so). Therefore, I can't really comment on a character designed around the concept. However, keep the following in mind: For Aiding Speed, remember that if you're taking more actions, you're also draining more Endurance. As a GM, I've noticed that players are bad at tracking END, and when I'm a player I too am bad about tracking END. With a character who frequently Aids SPD, however, I think you as GM would have to make sure END tracking it done correctly, or else you'd have balance issues. And if you're in a campaign without using the END rules (unlikely in Champions, but some people just don't bother with it), then Aiding SPD could be overpowered. For Draining Speed, consider action economy. If I spend one of my actions to get rid of one of yours, that's an even trade. Because I still have to roll to hit, it's actually a slightly bad trade as I might miss, wasting my action and not getting anything in return. The more enemy actions I can get rid of with a single one of my actions, the more problematically powerful it becomes. So Draining 1 or 2 SPD per attack may not be so bad; Draining 5 or 6 SPD could be an issue. It also matters greatly what type of fights you typically get into. Against an enemy team, draining one guy of 2 SPD might only represent 10% of the enemy team's total actions. Against a horde of minions, it might represent 5%. Against a single powerful enemy, it might be 33% of his/her/its actions. Of course, most "master villain" types have some Power Defense, which mitigates the problem somewhat. But if you design or use prebuilt villains with no Power Defense, Draining SPD could become too powerful. Finally, you don't mention the concept that the player has which justifies the SPD Aiding/Draining, but there's always more than one way to build a concept in Hero. If the PC has a time control concept, you could build that as an Aid/Drain to Movement Powers, OCV (I have more/less time to line up shots), DCV (I have more/less time to get out of the way), bonus skill levels to counteract the "rushed time" penalty, an Entangle, etc.