Kraven Kor

Re: 6E: Can Change Environmen apply an OCV penalty, or would that have to be a Drain Which further complicates using the Drain, as it would be AoE Selective. Trying to build this as simply as possible, so far as number of rolls and general cumbersomeness to gameplay.

Re: Orbital Mechanics and stuff: Check my understanding of spatial relations

Trying to build a power defined as a combatant using a mixture of skill and magic to make attackers take a penalty to their OCV. Can Change Environment apply a direct penalty to OCV (going with a 'difficult terrain' type penalty), or would one have to use a Drain that is, say, AVAD somehow? 6E1 outlines using CE to increase range penalties, but does not mention direct OCV penalties, the way 5E used to IIRC. I thought about 'nesting' the Drain into the CE as a custom adder, priced at the AP of the Drain, but I think with this you would still need the AVAD to make this power not go against Power Defense, etc.

Re: Orbital Mechanics and stuff: Check my understanding of spatial relations And could very well be mis-remembered BS I had not linked it to the second (primary) star, but 'climate change' and such are a major part of the history of the world. And there is already some fluff written about this world's version of Copernicus or whatever who discovered that the primary star was more than just a bright star, using the old astrological charts that date back to those early civilizations with incredibly and impossibly accurate solar calendars and such (the 'stonehenges' of this world and the like.)

Re: Orbital Mechanics and stuff: Check my understanding of spatial relations http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_Centauri, http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/hr/5459.html,'>http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/hr/5459.html, and http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/hr/5459.html - There is the brown dwarf, Proxima Centauri, that is the third star of the system along with Rigel Kentaurus / Alpha Centauri A and B. Proxima is the closest star to Sol at about 1.3 LY, but can't even be seen in the sky at all, probably couldn't be seen with the naked eye even if the two brighter stars of the system weren't there to outshine it.

Re: Orbital Mechanics and stuff: Check my understanding of spatial relations And that was generally the idea - the primary blue giant is visible on the planet as an intensely bright star, bright enough to still be seen during the day (for the half or so of the year that it isn't "behind" the planet and thus below the horizon during the day) and bright enough to give near-full moon "twilight" when alone in the sky. I won't have to put the words "Light" and "year" together in the setting information or fiction; the world this is set on doesn't understand the 'speed of light' or such things yet. So the exact distance is unimportant, and I'm giving the approximate for the sake of understanding how things would look from the planet's surface. I read somewhere about a binary system where the smaller, dwarf star is actually just trailing along behind the primary giant, not exactly orbiting at all. So I was using that as a basis, but again, it doesn't terribly matter at the distance involved, and, like us, the cultures on the planet have only really been around 10,000 years or so at best.

Re: Orbital Mechanics and stuff: Check my understanding of spatial relations

Re: Orbital Mechanics and stuff: Check my understanding of spatial relations Well, the way I am thinking is that you will have constant hot, wet air moving up from the southern polar region into the north, and then cooler, dry air from the north. So not "always the same" but yes, very distinct climate zones. There is actually a perpetual storm over most of the southern pole, and that sends nearly constant storm systems into the lower southern hemisphere. Like "a storm a day" on average. These storms break up on the mountains along the southern edge of the main continent, so I have one small-ish desert to the north of these mountains. The northern hemisphere will be very dry, particularly in 'winter,' when the storms coming from the south become a little less consistent and severe. The planet is a touch further from its host sun than we are from Sol, more of a Mars-distance orbit, so the planet is overall colder; but much warmer than earth in the south (average yearly temp over 100 degrees ferenheit,) and much colder in the north (average yearly temp below freezing once you are above the northern 'temperate' meridian.) The more elliptical nature of the orbit gives it the seasonal weather changes - the seasons are more due to distance from the host star than due to axial tilt. And it isn't exactly tidally locked - the south pole does not point *directly* at the host star, and it does wobble a bit (by about 10 degrees total) due to the gravitational influence of the larger, primary sun of the system.

This is actually for more of a "fantasy" than "Star Hero" thing, but figured this might be a better place to ask this. I am writing for my setting, and wanting to make sure I am describing something correctly. The planet of the setting orbits one sun of a binary system; the two suns fairly distant, the host sun of the planet (a star much like our own, a yellow dwarf) trailing the larger, blue giant at over a light year away. The planet has a (likely impossible) rotational axis / orbit - the south pole of the planet always faces the sun, at about a 40 degree axial tilt. So, the south polar region never sees night, the north never sees the light of the closer sun. The planet wobbles a bit on its axis as it revolves around the host star, such that you have some variation in night / day in the middle latitudes, but not much. And, YES, I know this is likely if not actually impossible using real physics. My rudimentary thought experiments on how this would look at various latitudes are as such: Starting at what would be the southern 'arctic' circle, you would have a similar setup as Alaska - about half the year being constant daylight, and then the other half having very short nights. As you go further north, the day / night cycle becomes more constant, with short nights and long days until about the equator where you would have day / night cycles similar to our own. Above the equator, nights become typically longer than day, until about the northern 'temperate' meridian, where you start having a reversal of the southern cycle - half the year of no daylight, the other half having short periods of daylight per rotation. At the southern polar region, the sun would simply spin in a circle in the sky, rarely if ever setting. Most of the southern hemisphere would see the sun rise in the southeast, make an elliptical arc upwards and towards the east, then further up and back west, then down and west, then down and back east, setting in the southwest. Above the equator, this would be a more typical winter-time arc like we see - rising in the southeast, setting in the southwest. The planet's 'winter' is when it is pulled farthest from the host star, towards the larger but distant second star, and the axis leans a few more degrees 'away' from the host star - making day longer in the south, shorter in the north. During the "summer" the planet is on the opposite side of the host star from the larger second star. During summer, the second star would appear as a very bright star on the southern horizon, and make a circular path through the sky, mostly below the horizon for the northern hemisphere. During spring / fall, the second star would be slightly brighter, and rise in the east, set in the west, tracking almost directly across the sky. In winter, the second star would be much brighter, enough to provide a kind of 'twilight' when in the sky alone, and would mostly be seen in the northern sky, dipping below the northern horizon for much of the southern hemisphere. Brain hurt yet? Does that sound, more or less, accurate? Any other cool 'fluff' descriptions I might be missing?

Re: Variable Power Pools... You might actually just use the Cramming skill / talent with a limitation regarding it mimicking the skills of the touched target to represent this? Just a thought.

Re: How many "Powers" can one have active at one time? By the book, there are 'functional limits' like "however many powers you can afford the END for" or "how ever many powers you can activate / use in a phase" which can include things like using Multiple Power Attacks or the like. There are limits in Multipowers - how many active points can be active in the MP at once, and on VPP's - how many total real points can be allotted in the pool. This is why I almost always prefer a VPP to a Multipower, so one isn't having to turn off one's rocket boots to make a full power blast with the arm cannon And then there are "reasonable limits" set by the GM - be it optional rules like INT/5 or just GM fiat (our least favorite kind of limit I am sure.)

Re: Sci-Fi Melee Weapons: Bat'leth, Lirpas, Lightsabres, Rykk Blades, Koltari, Denn'B Vibroblades (or Chainswords) are probably going to be built as Penetrating, and with a linked Naked Advantage of Constant or something to reflect that you can just keep dealing damage with it if the blade is not removed from the target after the initial attack.

Re: Where does it show the price list for Hero system equipment guide. /me throws a chair

Re: So how did you guys learn the system? A friend introduced me to HERO, 4th edition, back in 1996 or so. He ran me and some buddies in a "goofy super heroes" game. When I returned home, I tracked down a copy of the "Big Blue Book" and tried to get people to play. Then I kind of "learned while doing" over the next 10 years or so, on the rare occasions I could convince a group to try anything other than D&D or WOD games. The release of Hero Designer software was probably the greatest tool I had for learning the system, to be honest, so far as power / character creation. And I have learned more in the last 2 years than all the time before that, having had a more or less steady HERO game going for most of that time.

Re: Where does it show the price list for Hero system equipment guide. Nonetheless, I do agree with the sentiment that prices of goods, gadgets, and services might need to be mentioned somewhere - particularly in the discussions regarding "equipment costing points vs. equipment costing money." I came up with my own solution, but that doesn't mean it couldn't be something to address in future versions / publications.

Re: Storn's Art & Characters thread.

Re: Where does it show the price list for Hero system equipment guide. Fresh, or jerky?

Re: Realistic Monetary Systems in FH I just use the normal decimal system for prices, but advise the players they are actually using whatever random amount of the local currency, or weighted trade bars or the like, rather than "a bag full of generic gold coins."

Re: Where does it show the price list for Hero system equipment guide. There is no official formula. In most realistic modern games, you can just use real world prices. Fantasy Hero has the price chart. In most other settings, it is assumed that money is kind of inconsequential unless you choose to use it. What I do, which works for my FH game, is to multiply the Active Points by the Real Cost and then multiply by the "tech level" of the item, in some fashion, but that is my house rule for magic items and may not translate to a non-Fantasy setting. Using this, a Sword (1d6 HTH Killing Attack) is 15 AP, with OAF (-1) and Real Weapon (-1/4) for a Real Cost of 7. It is a "low tech" item so I multiply the end result by .1 - 15 x 7 is 80, 80 / .1 is 8 Silver for a 'normal sword.' A Magic Sword that is 1d6+1k, with 1d6k fire damage added, and double armor piercing, would be (using my builds / math): (30 AP x 11 Real Cost )(Sword) [330] + (15 AP x 6 Real Cost) [90] = 420, and as it is a magic item, it is "high tech" and I multiply that by 10 for 4200 Gold. Doing this with real world prices or sci-fi equipment, I'd have to work something up using the information I have on the economy of the setting.

Re: Club Weapon at range? It is basically a question of the 'dramatic realism' of the campaign. If the players and GM are OK with using a Gun to deal normal damage, whether via rubber bullets or 'trick shots' built as a custom ranged "club weapon" maneuver, go for it. Strictly by the rules, there is no ranged 'club weapon' maneuver, that I know of

Re: How does "Impenetrable" work? I kind of assumed that 1 point of Impenetrable defense stopped 1 point of penetrating damage... If a 6d6 Penetrating Blast does a minimum of 6 BODY and 6 STUN, and you have 5 points of Impenetrable defense against it, then you take 1 BODY 1 STUN minimum (more if the total damage exceeds your total defense by more than that.) I don't use penetrating much.

Re: Damage Die Type Modifiers Have fun with that!

Re: Damage Die Type Modifiers Right now, a head shot is x5 STUN. You are suggesting making that 1x through 12x STUN, and seemingly (correct me if I am wrong, and please read this in a casual, informational tone rather than an incredulous or 'angry' tone) not understanding why we warn you about the potential for "STUN Lottery" where one low damage, high-STUNx roll might knock a guy into deeply unconscious (say, 6 x 12 = 72 STUN from a 6 BODY attack...), while another high-damage, low-STUNx attack does nothing? Heck, even the d3 STUNx is sometimes seen as "too erratic" and groups opt to only use Hit Location modifiers or a flat 2x STUNx or whatever. Again, you are free to do this if you feel it would be cool / fun / fitting. We are - or at least, I am - just warning you of the possible imbalance or problems you might see. I really love using different types of dice, but the beauty of the HERO system to me is the inherent balance, and the fact that 3d6 rolls more "mid range" results than the randomness of a D20, and 10d6 is more reliable than 3d20 in the sense that you aren't as likely to roll stupid low on your effect / damage rolls.

Re: Damage Die Type Modifiers I would really go with The Main Man's outline of changing the base cost of a power based on Damage Die. Using the limitations, a 6d2 Normal Attack is going to be 30 Active Points, what like 17 Real Points, and average 9 STUN / say 3 BODY (with an assumption that, similar to a 1/2d6, a roll of "3 to 6" is 1 BODY, "1 to 3" is 0 BODY. I would HIGHLY recommend not making a d2 do "0 or 2 BODY.") Compare that to a 6d6 Normal Attack - 30 Active Points, 30 Real Points, average 21 STUN / 7-8 BODY or so (all numbers rough estimates, garnered through an intricate process that boils down to "pulling it out of my arse.") Changing the base active cost of the different dice will make the math work a little better, in relation to active points, but yes. STUN. Fuggin'. Lottery. Keep in mind that HERO is kind of delicately balanced on the idea that 5 Active Points = 5 Active Points across nearly every power. Changing that math could have... unexpected results. Have fun!

Re: What Are You Listening To Right Now? "Everyone knows that this life is a gift but you never get out what you never- you never put in..."