Rick

Re: Another: StarWars in my Sandbox

Oh hello there, an Email about this thread drew me back in! I miss you guys.

Re: Lightsabre Combat!

Weird I haven't been here in years it feels like but this just popped in my email. I'm still faithful to my FReD, mainly because I can't afford to buy 6th. I may need to start up, here, again.

Re: Another: StarWars in my Sandbox

Oh yeah and I went back to Speed.

Re: Another: StarWars in my Sandbox

Well it's a bit like SAN points isn't it? The early game shapes people's perspective on how things work. That's why you keep seeing people trying to wedge a SAN point system into every squid campaign' date=' even in something like GURPS which actually has a better mechanic for driving people insane with fear. Personally I'd just go with Luck to represent being strong in the Force in Hero.[/quote']

 

Luck as strong in the force... really? First I like the idea that "There is no such thing as luck" meaning everyone should have some access to it. Secondly, Luck is at best random, only working on 6's and has no real combat application. Third, with the first two points, you have no control over luck, the GM decides when you get to apply luck.

 

Except that Hero points, Force Points, Drama Points, Void Points, whatever you want to call them give a player a modicrum of control that luck doesn't offer. Force points are a sound idea that can make the game more fun for the players; now they have a better chance of performing cinematicly awesome actions.

 

Sanity works great in hero too as a cumulative Transform (based on ego) that exists over all humans in the universe. See a Zombie a take 1/2d6 transform, see Cthulhu take 5d6 or so.

Re: Another: StarWars in my Sandbox

Holy crap! Look what I found thanks to Question man. What I need to do is colate all of my materials and post them in one package on this site.

Re: Damage for lightsabers

You gave light sabers about the same damage a normal sword' date=' but made them AVLD. Swords cut and chop normal people quite effectively (no resistant defense), but they don't glide through them like a hot knife through butter. So, I assumed what you were modeling was the Jehdi using Martial Arts: thier MA DCs would then boost the damage to the point that they /would/ do that.[/quote']

 

Oh yes!!! Absolutely. I allow Martial arts to effect DCs and I later on allow Lethal Strike to be applied.

 

In terms of the Lightsaber like a hot knife through butter issue. I have to standards that I go through in my head for its effect on objects and people. Against inanimate object (but not droids) the weapon does 6 body every phase. Now against people and droids, if the wepon does more than half someones Body in a single strike (before location for NPC, after location for PCs and Big NPCs) there is a chance for dismemberment. I make a con check (minus however much over half their body the damage is) if they make it, no dismemberment if they miss, dismemberment.

Re: Damage for lightsabers

So a lightsaber cuts through an armored or unarmored person about like a sword cuts through an unarmored person? Meaning a lot of the 'saber dismemberment action in the movies owes more to the skill of the wielder than the weapons.

I'm not really sure what you mean here. The Weapon ignores the Storm Troopers 5 points of rDEF (this is where I've set it in my campaign). Against a 2d6K strike (after Martial Arts lets say, I don't add strength to the weapon) 5 points of defense will make it difficult to lop of arms with an average of 7 body meaning a total of 1 body after armor and location modifiers, and what or 2-9 stun. By adding AVLD I'm still not going to lop the arm off, but I am going to do 4 body and 7-14 stun (I can't remember arm stunx, and my write up does -1 stunx). THat is a substancial differnce in the course of combat. Not to meant the higher damage range for 2d6K. My Jedi do run into a lot of armored characters and battle droids.

Actually, that aspect of it I liked. 'Combat Luck' in Star Wars is particularly apropriate as the Force is already there as a rationale for the 'luck.'

Yeah this is how we keep PCs alive with out having to wear armor and it makes Lightsaber duels far more ciunematic.

Re: Damage for lightsabers

So you would have the Lightsabre do more damage if the Jedi's EGO is higher than the EGO Min?

I don't get the ego min either. Ego works great for force powers but I always considered a Jedi/Sith's skill comes from superior Dex and the SFX of having Force powers and slight precog that accounts for superior Dex.

Re: Damage for lightsabers

 

Is AVLD: Force Field, in a game where a common defense is an independent, relatively readily availabe, really worth bothering with. Won't a KA do the same thing?

 

Cutting through droids and severing limbs takes a lot of damage. Armor, if armor is not that high in the campaign, is not going to make the huge difference that'd justify something as expensive and out there as AVLD does body. OTOH, a hefty HKA, a little STR, a little force-boosted STR, and more than a little martial arts and damage classes.... that thing'll be cutting through just about anything on BOD damage, alone. For that matter, blasters in the films rarely seem hampered by armor, and rarely fail to kill unless specificaly set for stun. they'd be pretty high-damage, too, even though they don't seem to damge inanimate objects all that much.

 

Of course there is an arguement to made that if you have a high enough KA that AVLD is over kill. In my game though a Lightsaber does 1 1/2d6 base. SO the AVLD serves to aguement that. Keeps the dice down to reasonable amounts. THe AVLD isn't applied to FF's though, against energy shielding the weapon doesn't work at all. IT applies to Combat Luck, which I use regularly in my games for none armored heroes and important villians.

It is about taste and point of view, with my players in my game Lightsaber per my write up work and act just like you see in the films. In terms of points I run starwars using Hero rules so players don't buy lighsabers. They build them in game, or if they start as Knights they already have them.

Re: Damage for lightsabers

I treat Deflection in to ways. The common way as a Special effect of DCV. So when someone sends a blaster bolt at you and misses you could have Deflected it. If you want to actively Deflect or Reflect the rules act normally, it is abortable and you can deflect multiple times blah blah blah. You buy the skill in my game that gives you access to the power (as per my Star Wars rules for force powers).

Re: Discussion on costs of Characteristics

The more things change the more they stay the same' date=' if any single thing makes me think both that the cost is to low, and that 2:1 is to high is that this one never goes away[/quote']

 

HA!!! I never have ever had any issue with the price of str. It has never unbalanced play or character creation. I've had GMs in Fantasy Hero games double the cost, I didn't think it add or hurt the game. The only time it is an issue is when I think about hero analyticaly instead of practically.

Re: Discussion on costs of Characteristics

I have nothing to add, just that I find it comforting that even if I take a year off from these boards we are still having the same old arguements. I remember this when Bruce Harlick was still running this board.

Re: Damage for lightsabers

wishing I had not called this thread lightsabers' date=' but oh well, in response to the last post, I agree with you except that I think there is something wonderfully pulpish about laser swords (Even though they were really something added to pulpish style tales instead of true pulp tales). It definatly is something to consider when working on flavor[/quote']

 

Plus, Lightsaber is wonderfully Space Opera, where as Laser Sword sounds like something out a two fisted tail of pulp fiction.

Re: Damage for lightsabers

IIRC' date=' lightsabers can't cut through Mandalorian Iron/Steel, which is what Boba Fett (sp?) used. Also, CU blasters are rated 9d6 ranged EB, so you might want to use 3d6 HKAs.[/quote']

 

That is all EU stuff, erroneous in terms of the Films, not a source I use.

Re: Damage for lightsabers

I try to avoid thinking about those three movies as much as possible.

Alright then...

Re: Fun with Force Fields

How about beating and abusing Entangle to make only walls. Then apply Force Wall modifiers as you like than add the modifier that allows both the entangle and the entangled to take damage and make so each takes half of the damage... how was that for a short stream of consciousness?

Re: [sTAR WARS] It is my turn now.

I like the way you set up the Blasters, the three different settings. I tend in vehicle combat to limit the use of auto fire but i like stacking the damage like that making each setting little more powerful.

Re: "Not in the face, I'm a pretty man!"

OK' date=' in order to test this, I just need you to lower your DCV to 0...how's your insurance, by the way?[/quote']

 

Well I'm one of those 43 million US citizens without insurance... but I get hit a lot so no worries.

Re: steampunk internet

It's A Series Of Tubes!!!!

Re: "Not in the face, I'm a pretty man!"

Once more Hero demonstrates that there's more than one way to peel a guava.

 

I think it is probably easiest to determine what effect you want, as precisely as possible, and then see which mechanical system fits best, never forgetting the excellent suggestion from OddHat that facial damage could just be the sfx of a punch.

 

Following the punch pun, I understand that Rick is volunteering for the test of whatever builds you come up with.

HAHAHAH!!!!

Re: Damage for lightsabers

 

Now if someone with revised could for my own sake double check that it is still there, I would apreciate it

I just checked it out. That is what it says. So I should redo the cost. I missed that before. I've been playing fore 15 years or so, sometimes I forget to read up on things. So it should be a +3/4 advantage on my build I'll look into fixing that. Good catch, thanks for the edification.

Re: Damage for lightsabers

I agree with Rick that it's very possible his build works just fine. He has obviously controlled Combat Luck in the context of his game making it a rare form of Defense to encounter. Unlike Pulp for instance where every other strong jawed hero has Combat Luck.

Thank you, as you said in JmOZ's pulp game I think that using the force field for the AVLD works better. Especially since it will be a "Laser sword", a pulp interpertation of the Lightsaber.

Re: Damage for lightsabers

My issue is that Combat Luck is ARMOR' date=' not a valid form of AVLD or NND defense (okay, it could conceivably be an NND, but then you just take NO damage). That's the problem.[/quote']

 

I can appreciate that critique. I see how that could be a problem. However this is an occasion where the effect of the Defense I think makes it appropriate. Limiting the defense to Combat Luck (I should rename it to something like combat savy or something for this cause) is simpy limiting it to the defense to this specific instance. I've probably created an exception to the rules as they stand. This exception works though.

 

Trust me I'm not trying to thrust my write up on you or anyone else. I'm using it as an example of a write up that works quite well (even with the exception, or maybe because of it).

Re: Damage for lightsabers

Armor isn't armor either. Armor is just Resistant Defense.

Heheh... of course.

Re: Damage for lightsabers

My take on lightsabers:

 

However much damage as you like.

 

Plus extra dice that only affect the limb: severed calculation.

 

Reason: Nobody ever gets hit in a limb by a lightsaber without losing a few pounds if you know what I mean. Not even Vader.

 

Also: combat luck does not apply when you get hit with a lightsaber - see above.

Obi Wan Kenobi gets hit twice in limbs and doesn't lose either limb. Ep II Dooku hits him twice.