MPT

Re: Has anyone worked up a Zeppelin?

The Ultimate Vehicle, page 75 has an airship.

Re: Detect Life 'Radio Group' - Need help as a GM

Thanks for all your replies - I thought I had replied to these yesterday but must have clicked on the wrong button.

You have all given me something to think about.

The item is indeed like a tricorder, it is intended to pick up the life signs of creatures and indicate what they are and anything special about them (hence the Analyse). The character has the appropriate Sensor/Science skills to use the device and understand what it detects.

I am especially grateful to Jaxom and Captain Obvious who have pointed out the limitations of the device.

I am running a Star Hero campaign where one player has the standard item which is Detect Life bought as the Radio Group with Analyse (I don't have the book to hand so cannot give the page number). This leads to three problems for me. As I suspect they apply to all genres I have posted my query here.

1) The FAQ has the following:

Q: Since radio waves can penetrate walls, does that mean that Radio Group Senses, like Radio Perception/Transmission and HRRP, provide an N-Ray Perception type of effect?

A: No. The fact that some substances are, if you will, “transparent†to radio waves doesn’t mean Radio Group Senses provide N-Ray Perception. Normal Sight can see light through some substances (such as glass or curtains), but that doesn’t mean it provides N-Ray Perception.

Now whilst I know that a Faraday cage and a strong electrical current can block radio - what else can I use as a 'blocker'?

2) The player is arguing that the distance of a normal Radio from a Radio Transmitter does not affect a Radio's ability to pick up the signal, and therefore range modifiers for this power are nonsensical (as he puts it, the range from a Radio to a Satellite is such that if a Radio has to roll to pick up the signal it would never succeed). He wants to purchase the Line Of Sight Advantage to remove this but (given my point 3 below) I am not certain I want him to do this. Has anyone a good argument (other than GM fiat) to stop him?

3) How do you ambush or otherwise force a PC into a combat when they have this power since they can easily spot where all the potential enemies are and what they are?

Whilst it is tempting to simply say 'You cannot have it', this is such a standard device for the genre that I don't want to remove it unless I absolutely have to. [Even reducing it from Analyse to Discriminate does not help much].

Re: post-apocalyptic genre book

If you do produce this book can you please put one copy in a time travel machine and post it back to today as I am going to start GMing a post-apocalyptic campaign during the christmas break.

Re: Persistent Shapechange Help

I am the GM, I am weird, but I don't talk to myself. 2 out of 3 isn't bad.

I suspect this has been answered before so I am posting this here rather than sending it to Steve.

If Shapeshift is bought with the 'Costs END Only To Change Shape' advantage, can it then also have the 'Persistent' advantage.

'Persistent' says that the Power must cost 0 END or be reduced to 0 END via the 'Reduced END' Advantage. The 'Costs END Only To Change Shape' advantage seems to be half of one and half of the other.

Re: A complete? list of energy types

Good list' date=' though I might add Darkness/Darkforce, a comics classic.[/quote']

 

You are right.

 

I also missed off any sort of biological attacks - germs, disease etc. - although these attacks don't tend to be in the form of the classic energy beam they tend to be touch or area effects.

Re: A complete? list of energy types

Thanks for your comments. I realise that such a list, because of overlaps, is likely to be a matter of personal preference. On specifics:

Antienergy/Antimatter: Antimatter isnt actually a form of energy, but it releases energy on contact with Matter. I'd suggest that energy is of the same form as Nuclear, or possibly Cosmic.[/Quote]

 

Whilst I know the science of antimatter I decided to put it in its own group due to its unusual properties (I was thinking of Nuclear as mostly Radioactive attacks).

 

Chemical / Acid / Poison: Arent these at two distinct forms, Acid and Poison, with Chemical as the means of delivery?[/Quote]

 

Given the Life Support powers, I agree that these should be spilit.

 

Gas/Steam: Again, isnt this means of delivery rather than a distinct type. Steam is a means of delivering a Heat attack, and Gas is usually a means of delivering a poison or acid attack.[/Quote]

 

Gas certainly delivers acids and poisons - I just wanted to distinguish between 'solid' attacks and 'gas' ones. Perhaps this should be placed into the energy form list instead?

 

Steam (and also Plasma) are attacks that can be put into multiple categories. They are rare enough that excluding them is certainly a possibility.

 

Gravity ... and Pressure?[/Quote]

 

Yes. Should have thought of that.

 

I would alter Items/Substance and Plant Matter to be, instead, Organic Matter and Inorganic Matter.[/Quote]

 

Like it.

Re: ghost characters campaign

This reminded me of an old RPG and a quick bit of google-ing found it. 'Lost Souls' is the name of it and details can be found here:

http://www.darkshire.net/~jhkim/rpg/encyclopedia/alphabetical/L.html#lostsouls

http://www.panix.com/~sos/rpg/lostsoul.html

http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.html?id=479

Re: NEMESIS SQUADRON: New Game Packet!

I asked for, and was sent, Nemesis Part 2, here are my personal comments on it. (These comments are based on how useful the races are for the campaign I will be running, other GMs may have different impressions).

Artwork: Fantastic. Whilst I think that the artwork is 'borrowed' from other sources, it certainly adds to the overall feel of the document.

Size Comparison: The pictures showing how the alien's size compares with humans are very effective.

Races

Athshean: Interesting background. I can see this race being a challenge to roleplay.

Bushok: A typical warlike race.

Demu: Their philosophy makes this a great villain race for any Star Hero campaign.

Dirdir: A different sort of warlike race. Culture-wise they remind me of Klingons.

Fraal: The scifi equivalent of 'High Elves' - although more willing to mix with other races.

Ishyln: 40K Dark Elves. Their background would need to be changed for most campaigns.

Jantek: Interesting. I would like to know more on the culture of this race. (I am not certain why the tail is considered Concealable however).

Kestis: A comprehensive background. A good race to fill a galaxy with.

Merseian: A typical feudal race.

Ochus: From a GMs point of view this is a very veratile race as their background makes it easy to incorporate them into many scenarios.

Sathar: Whilst this race would certainly make for some interesting scenarios on their home world, I am not certain that they have enough to make them interesting PCs.

Sesheyan: Good background and a challenge to roleplay - what more do you need in a race?

T'sa: I like this race but wonder if it is played as a PC that it would get annoying to other players. (Their culture makes me think of Kender from Dragonlance).

Thraxx: I can see no reason use this race.

Thrint: A great villain race. Their background would make them easy to fit into spy and espionage type scenarios. I would have liked to know more about the Tunctipun as they sound a potentially interesting race as well

Tran: A race that works best on its homeworld.

Zetharian: The key to this race is the Fire Time (a regular period of destruction). What an individual thinks about this period opens up various roleplaying possibilities.

Overall

A great resource for alien races.

Re: What Champions Books Would You Like Published in the Future?

The Ultimate Race - A book of species that could be used in either Galactic Champions, normal Champions, Space Hero or Fantasy Hero. Obviously backgrounds to these races would be different in each case.

Whilst I have posted questions etc. onto these forums I have only once before posted anything 'useful' so I thought it was about time that I added something to earn my keep.

The two lists below are expanded from a document that I produced many years ago for my own 'Golden Heroes' campaign (an old English superhero game).

Energy Type

Antienergy / Antimatter (*)

Chemical / Acid / Poison (*s)

Cold

Cosmic

Death (*)

Disintigration (*)

Earth / Rock / Sand

Electricity / Lightning

Element (*s)

Explosive / Kinetic / Concussive force

Fire

Gas / Steam (*)

Gravity

Heat

Ice / Hail (s)

Items / Substance (*s)

Life (*)

Light / Laser

Magic

Magnetism

Metal (*s)

Nuclear / Radiation

Plant matter (*)

Plasma

Psionic

Reality (*)

Sonic / Vibration

Time (*)

Water (s)

Wind / Tornado / Air

* - See notes below.

s - These attacks may involve solids and may therefore be considered to act against a characters PD rather than ED.

Antienergy / Antimatter: When Antienergy/Antimatter contacts normal energy/matter then both are destroyed.

Chemical / Acid / Poison: This is a catch-all for all attacks which are based on a combination of substances. This overlaps some of the other energy types.

Death: The reverse of Life Energy. See below.

Disintigration: This represents the weakening of the nuclear force between atoms causing the target to break apart.

Element: This is a catch-all for all attacks which are a single element from the periodic table. This overlaps some of the other energy types.

Gas: This covers a wide range of corrosive and other gasses. This overlaps some of the other energy types.

Items / Substance: This is a catch-all for attacks involving solid items. It includes such things as shards of bone, crystals, playing cards etc. Plant matter is a specific example of this but is so common that I have included it seperately.

Life: This is the natural life force which everyone has. Either this attack represents the energy released by the character as an attack or it represents the character draining the energy from the person attacked.

Metal: This is a catch-all for all attacks where one or more pieces of solid metal are fired at the target. This overlaps some of the other energy types.

Plant matter: This is a catch-all for all attacks which involve parts of plants such as thorns.

Reality: Damage caused by changing probabilities or warping reality.

Time: Damage caused by making the target older or reverting it to an earlier state.

Energy Form

Ball / Globe

Beam

Bullet

Cylinder (Frizbee if thin)

Spike

Special

Star Hero page 13 has options for Beam attacks. All other forms can be a single large item (e.g. a giant ball of Ice) or lots of smaller items (e.g. Hail).

Special includes all those attacks where the shape is specific to the theme of the character such as Stars, Skulls or Birds of Prey.

Re: For the latest in superhero fashion...

"No Capes!"

OK - Try http://www.spandexwear.com (look under Basic Product Menu).

Just came across the site http://www.unitards4u.com which makes superhero costumes to order.

Just think of all the Secret IDs they must know about.

Re: Your "2005" Pet Gaming Projects

A 'B movie' type Star Hero campaign in which all the 'stargates' collapsed releasing an 'unknown' energy which caused most technological items to malfunction, mutants to be created etc. The campaign starts with the gates reopening and the characters exploring the post-apocalyptic worlds.

Need to create a lot of worlds and alien species for this.

Re: Norse Gods

Gets my vote.

Perhaps worshiping a god would Aid the god's VPP - and in return the god could Aid the PC.

I generally have one major plot arc that defines the whole campaign. I then mix adventures that further the plot with 'stand alone' adventures (rather like a long running TV series such as Deep Space Nine or the X Files).

I feel, however, that the actions of the PCs should influence the world as this way the players can really feel that they make a difference. For example, in one adventure the group was very considerate to a group of OAPs. As a result I will be running an adventure in which one of these turns to the players for help.

A while back JmOz asked...

Can a character use a three point skill level for a ranged and a HtH attack, if the F/X is similar. In example Can Renard Dumas, the great fencer, use a CSL with his Rapier if he throws it at someone?

Another example would be flamefist, who in his MP has both a HtH attack and a Ranged attack.

And you replied ...

Yes, provided the GM considers all the attacks related. If the GM has any doubts or concerns about game balance, he should err on the side of caution and not allow this.

My questions are...

a) The rules state that a 3pt CSL with a melee weapon can only be used as +1 DCV v HtoH attacks and a 3pt CSL with a missile weapon can only be used as a +1 DCV v ranged attacks. If you throw a Rapier can you apply 3pt CSLs as DCVs to HtoH, ranged, both or neither?

Is you answer to a) different if the weapon is specifically designed to be to be thrown (e.g. a discus) or can be used equally in both modes (e.g. a spear)?

c) If the MP also included EGO attacks could the 3pt CSL add +1 to the attackers EOCV and/or EDCV?

d) Is your answer to c) different in a Fantasy Hero Campaign where the PC has 3pt CSL in a specific form of magic and the 'spells' combine EGO and Non-EGO attacks?

Whilst not exactly the same, the old AD&D Birthright Campaign Setting allowed PCs to be kings who ran countries and so may be worth looking at for anyone interested in this idea. (It is long out of print so will require some searching).

Masochists amongst you may also like to look at the Aria RPG. This allowed you to 'play' countries, cities and individuals over long time periods and covered the evolution of political structures, religion, economics etc. I warn you beforehand that this book is very hard reading.

I find that the Historical GURPS books are extremely useful. GURPS Japan and Arabian Knights are the two that I have used most but I have also used Rome, Russia etc.

What I like most about these is that they present a lot of detail in a form that naturally leads to adventure ideas. The sidebars are especially useful in this respect.