altamaros

Re: Pictish Swamp Devil

PICTISH SWAMP DEVIL

 

"I Called In His Voice": Hearing Group Images 1" radius, -4 to PER Rolls, Line Of Sight (+1/2), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2); Set Effect (human voices; -1/2)

 

Powers/Tactics:

Swamp devils combine great strength, speed, and agility, with powerful claws (capable of ripping right through mail), an uncanny ability to mimic any voice, and the power to create unnatural magical fire to hunt down and kill their foes. Interestingly, they don't seem to be particularly resilient to damage, and can be killed with normal weapons.

 

(Pictish Swamp Devil created by Robert E Howard, character sheet created by Michael Surbrook)

shapeshift (hearing group)

* limited group of shapes (human voices)

* Imitation

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...

Yesterday, Champions Game

Cell (artificial Mystique-like metamorph with a rather child-like personality -educated through TV-) - hmm, i think i gonna try to take the shape of someone famous ... let's say Michael Jackson.

other PC - You can ?. I thought you were limited to humanoïd forms ?

Re: HOWTO: Hamfarir

Thanks for all the suggestions.

The problem of summon is that the beast form must be played by the GM.

The multiform approach was entirely valid in 4ed but it seems that in 5ed the official way to do this is duplication. Besides, i think the player is to save a few points to buy off the "original body in trance" limitation one day.

TO Markdoc: thanks for your documented approach. Actually the player found the idea in an old article of Dragon Magazine (95 or 96 ?) and he just feels that the "astral beast projection" is an interesting twist of the classic lycanthropy case.

(he's not interested in something so casual)

Re: HOWTO: Hamfarir

OK' date=' are the 'animal forms' material or do they just trot around the spirit world? Does the original BODY just slump in a corner when the animal spirit is off and about or is it still able to act and react?[/quote']

The animal forms are entirely material (although i'm thinking about desolid-affacting attacks to reflect their dual nature);

The original body lays unconscious somewhere, in trance.

 

I got no problem about this part of the character (i already got an example in FREd and with Golem from Arcane Adversaries.)

 

It's just simulate several animal spirit forms this way along with duplication.

Hi Herodom.

I'm designing a character (super-hero, 300 pts total) whose power is "hamfarir".

hamfarir is a norse occult ability; a mix between lycanthropy and astral projection.

Basically, the character is able to separate her "beast within" from herself and project it as a (solid and material) animal of her choice.

Although i got no problem with the general mechanic ("astral projection" duplication as shown in FREd). I have some when it comes to simulate various animal forms this way (several altered duplicates -only one at a time ? multiform on the duplicate ? MP and shapeshift on the duplicate ?)

Your thoughts ?

an article mentionning hamfarir :

http://marklander.ravenbanner.com/seith%20dp.html

Re: Name these characters

Turbo

Cyber-rider

The Throttler

Cyber-racer would do the trick, thanks for the idea

How about:

 

LMX

Freestyle

Greased Lightning

 

Or just use the name of the company that is going to sponsor him.

i don't understand LMX

(and i don't like John Travolta )

The "company" behind this character is a malvan woman. Since the malvan Firewing has become one of the major vilains on earth; a lot of malvans are very interested by earth's super-battles.

But, (since the gadroon and Hzeel attempts) they perfectly know that earth is not a easy target (so no raid to gather super-powered gladiators is possible).

This woman had the idea to create super-villains and super-heroes by herself with implanted sensory data recollection systems. (in shadowrun terms simsense recorders) . a minor trick for malvan technology.

She then sells the data at home to customers so they can experiment the fun of super-battles

(never see "Strange Days" ?)

Re: Name these characters

How do the minds of two people interact within this character. Have you used the psychological limitation Multiform Amnesia so neither person knows what's happening when they are not around? (very confusing for the warrior guy). Have you decided they are two separate minds that can observe when the other is in charge? Or have their two minds merged into one with certain personality traits coming out depending on which form is current?

 

Just curious as I created a Multiform character recently that was also two different people merged into one.

Their minds are separated but they share their senses anyway so each of them receive the sensory input of the other. They're not able to communicate (so no problem about having "two minds" and the unavoidable debate on duplication) so they just don't share deductions or reasoning.

Re: Name these characters

Is it an actual Tron style light bike with trailing the force wall's and all?

 

'Cause if so, I would so name the guy Speed Trap...

No, there won't be any force wall (although it's a good idea). it's just the visual : the pilot able to summon his bike from light (duplication in game terms)

Re: Name these characters

First, you simply call the girl Kat. It's short for Katherine, but she prefers Kat because it describes her better and is appropriate for her line of work.

 

Then call the warrior Luch (pronounced lukh). Have him be like the smallest of seven brothers, though still massive. Luch means "mouse" in Gaelic

two visuals for this character :

the female burglar is based on Katherine Zeta-Jones' character from the movie "Entrapment"

the warrior is based form this single picture from Luis Royo :

http://dixiashi.vip.sina.com/gallery/006 LUIS ROYO/3141028-luis_royo_twins_2_in_1-embed.jpeg

Third character:

The character is a former moto racer. after a accident, he has been rebuilt into a cyborg (speedster). His main power is to summon from a dimensional pocket a futuristic motorbike (think about the moto race in Tron)

Re: Name these characters

- Which is it? The US Air Force or the US Army: two completely different entities.

1) Vector is OK; thanks Hermit.

Hello Herodom.

After a (another one) hiatus of several months due to work issues; i'm back in the hero world and i'm currently creating pregenerated characters for a oncoming HS initiation at my game club.

I would like to find good names for these two concepts :

PC 1

is a male telekinetic, formerly a USAF pilot. hid his mutant powers to army for years but finally had to reveal them in order to save a comrade. As the USAF didn't fully trust him since that (but respects him anyway for his heroism). he was "offered" to UNTIL as a super-agent in behalf of US Army.

PC 2a and 2b

Part 2a of the PC is a (male) warrior from the valdorian age (think about a mix between Mel Gibson's William Wallace and Conan). Code of honor, big sword, long hair and way too much celtic tatoos.

After a (lost) fight against an evil wizard, the bad guy trapped his essence in two jewelled bracers. (to torture his soul for eternity etc. etc.)

part 2b is a (female) burglar who happened to steal the said bracers, incidentally wore them to escape Zorran the Artificer and became able to "swap" forms with the warrior (a multiform actually).

(fun part of this character will be that the two parts have completly different psy. lims)

Your ideas ?

Hello HeroDom.

Here is the concept for a player of mine (i think that it will be a multipower with various things inside but it's unclear in my mind about the limitations and stuff)

The character (from a manga) has the ability to summon weapons (one at a time) and use them against his ennemies.

1) The character can summon one of ten weapons from "somewhere" (or create them instantly if you prefer). So far, in the comics, he has summoned a mace, a scythe, a rifle and a sword. i'm open to suggestions for the others.

2) The character cannot choose which weapon is summoned. This is done randomly. (1D10 in game)

3) The character cannot make the weapon disappear it it hasn't been used successfully at least once against a ennemy. The weapon automatically disappearing after hitting a target (one successful hit in game terms even if it draws no damage).

In other words, the character cannot summon any other weapon as long as the current one has not been used once.

(note that all the weapons are too big to be hidden on the character)

your suggestions ?

Re: Name for French Brick

Esprit de Corps, a variation on Esprit de la Gaulle above. Apart from anything else, Esprit de la Gaulle is a bit close to Charles de Gaulle

1° historically the Gaule has never been a united country before the roman conquest. so our history books speak about the Gaules ("Esprit des Gaules")

2° in common slang "avoir la gaule" (to have the gaule) means "to be sexually aroused"

Re: Name for French Brick

Bonjour

Too bad i only come back to the boards today. I missed something that could have been funny but there's plenty of good suggestions anyway.

Re: Champions Universe Question

IIRC

As Empires/political entities

- Mandaarians (in T.E.)

- Qu'larr (extinct in T.E. IIRC)

- Gadroon (Extinct in TE)

- Sirians (Extinct in T.E.)

- Elder Worms (Extinct in T.E.)

- H'Zeel

As individuals

- Dorvalan (IronClad)

- Fassai (Herculan)

- Malvans (Firewing)

- Dendrites (the first Star*Guardian)

I don't remember the others.

Re: Eurostar : where will I find more details ?

Thanks you, OddHat and Hermit.

Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks will certainly be in my next online store order.

Re: What is your ideal sized hero group

Depends on the plot and the length of the scenario.

for long scenarios, i like to have 5 to 6 players so i can deal with the various people unavailable at some time ( "where are they ?, why can't we contact them? " "Secret ID stuff, don't ask").

For short adventures, i like to have 4 players. 3 is the limit but fine if the characters have good profiles (the problem with my players is that they all came with martial artists and whined when their always-successful attacks didn't do anything to the Big Bad Brick; since that, i ask for the players to discuss before coming of the role of each character)

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...

Saturday - 7th Sea (Gmed by yours truly)

Player (reading the player's guide about the Vaticine Church -the catholic church of the game world - ) : "priesthood in the vaticine church is opened to men ... (reading) ... of both genders ..."

Sunday - ADD Forgotten Realms

(from the GM) : you see three people currently in the park ... one of them is a couple of lovers ...

And this last one about the danger of relying too much on the player's knowledge of the world :

The PCs are trying to cool down a riot of people, angered by a strange crimewave in the town. one of the PCs, aside from the others (and off table) is following two suspect mens

GM - One of them lost some kind of medallion while running

PC - I take it. how does it look like ?

GM - It seems to be a holy symbol : it looks like (mmmmhmhmhmhmh). Could you make a roll fo knowledge: rel...

PC - no problem. i know which god it is. i call them and tell them i'm on their side. i also tell them that i gonna quiet the mob down so they could escape.

Gm - uh ?? err ok.

(later)

PC2 (to PC) : What happened when you were alone ?

PC - I met 2 priests of Helm (NB Lawful good; god of guardians, duty ...) endangered by the riot. i helped to get through ...

GM (suddenly realizes ) - hum, just a point

"Steel Gauntlet, fingers up" : holy symbol of Helm, lawful good god of guardians ...

"Steel Gauntlet, clenched fist" : holy symbol of Bane, lawful evil god of tyranny ...

PC ot other PCs - Errr ... i didn't meet anyone ...

Re: Summoner

But sure' date=' I'd love to check out the write up. [/quote']remember that this is a draft. i didn't touch this character since last year :

 

shepherd

 

Player: Daniel

 

Val	Char	Cost
18	STR	8
20	DEX	30
25	CON	30
14	BODY	8
18	INT	8
20	EGO	20
18	PRE	8
16	COM	3
8/13	PD	4
8/13	ED	3
5	SPD	20
9	REC	0
50	END	0
36	STUN	0

8" RUN42" SWIM03 1/2" LEAP0Characteristics Cost: 146

 

Cost	Power	END
	"Warder abilities"
6	1) Fast healing: Healing 1 BODY, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Persistent (+1/2); Extra Time (Regeneration-Only) 5 Minutes (-1 3/4), Self Only (-1/2)
13	2) Longevity: LS (Immunity: All terrestrial diseases and biowarfare agents; Longevity: 800 Years)
4	3) Strong-willed: Mental Defense (10 points total); Not vs Telepathy and Mind scan Power loses about a third of its effectiveness (-1/2)
	"Beastmaster abilities"
12	1) "Bond to called beast": Mind Link , Specific Group of Minds, Any dimension, Psychic Bond; Only With Others Who Have Mind Link (-1)
61	2) "To me, (monster)": Duplication (creates 8 210-point Duplicates), Easy Recombination (Zero-Phase Action at Full DCV), Ranged Recombination (+1/2), Altered Duplicates (100%; +1) (167 Active Points); Restrainable ((tatoos on right arm); -1/2), Only one duplicate present at a time: Power loses about a third of its effectiveness (-1/2), Feedback (Only STUN Damage Feeds Back; -1/2), Incantations (-1/4)
	"Warder equipment"
10	1) "Armored cloth": Armor (5 PD/5 ED); OIF (armored cloth; -1/2)

Powers Cost: 106

 

 

Cost	Skill
8	Animal Handler (Aquatic Animals, Birds, Canines, Equines, Insects & Anthropods, Other: Beast monsters, Reptiles & Amphibians) 13-
3	Breakfall 13-
3	Climbing 13-
3	Concealment 13-
3	Paramedics 13-
3	Riding 13-
3	Stealth 13-
4	Survival (Temperate/Subtropical, Tropical) 13-
3	Tracking 13-
3	Teamwork 13-
2	KS: beast monsters 11-
1	WF: Blades
0	Language: English (idiomatic) (4 Active Points)
2	Language: Shangri-Lan (fluent conversation)

Skills Cost: 41

 

Cost	Perk
5	Fringe Benefit: Membership (UNTIL)
1	Fringe Benefit: Passport

Perks Cost: 6

 

 

 

Total Character Cost: 299

 

Val	Disadvantages
10	Distinctive Features: glowing "maori-like" tatoos all over right arm (Concealable; Always Noticed and Causes Major Reaction; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses; Not Distinctive In Some Cultures)
20	Hunted: Chinese secret services 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Harshly Punish)
15	Hunted: UNTIL 11- (Mo Pow, NCI, Watching)
15	Psychological Limitation: Takes care of his beasts before himself (Common, Strong)
10	Psychological Limitation: asocial with humanity (Common, Moderate)
15	Psychological Limitation: Dislike of modern technology (Very Common, Moderate)
15	Physical Limitation: Loses life expectancy -1D6 years- each time a monster dies (Infrequently, Fully Impairing)
15	Physical Limitation: Beast and master cannot act together at the same phase (Frequently, Greatly Impairing)
20	Enraged: When beasts are hurt or killed (Common), go 11-, recover 11-
15	Social Limitation: Secret ID (Frequently, Major)

Disadvantage Points: 150

 

Base Points: 150

Experience Required: 0

Total Experience Available: 0

Experience Unspent: 0

 

The background of this character (the original is in french and i don't have the time to translate it all) :

 

Born in the 30's; Donnell Springer -the Shepherd; lame name, i know - was travelling in Tibet in the 50's when China annexes the country. Unfortunately for him, he witnesses the exactions of a chinese death squadron, is shot several times by the soldiers and let to die.

 

A Naga (see The Mystic World) discovers him, takes him to Shangri-la and heals him.

the Nagas use some kind of "agents/body guards" called warders (yep, i've been reading "The Wheel of Time" and "3 x3 Eyes" when i built this character) to interact with the mundane world, protect them from harm and basically do any kind of job a Naga could need. By gratefulness, Donnell decides to stay with the Nagas and become the warder of a Naga with a knack for dimensional exploration.

 

In one of these dimensions, Donnell and his Naga discover a strange warrior way of "beast magic" and initiates himself to this "art". Unfortunately, he's unable to protect his master some times later and the naga dies.

 

Feeling dishonored by this, Shepherd leaves Shangri-la and wanders around the globe to find a goal to his life. he finds it in UNTIL.

 

Construction notes : i don't find one of the beast write-ups but basically each monster has

- a mind link to his master

- regeneration with the resurrection adder. (hence the disadvantage on the character's life expectancy)

- various abilities

 

so far, i had - on an excel sheet-

- A squirrel - mouse with tracking abilities - see Scrat in Ice Age ? -

- A manta-like flying fish (for transportation)

- A electric lizard

- A giant turtle with force wall abilities

- ... others non determined yet.

 

You can probably reduce the cost by using "Costs END" on duplication or using continuous charges ...

Re: Summoner

I take it you're not talking about the supervillain Esper from CKC? If so' date=' I'm not sure what you are referring to.[/quote']In one of the final Fantasy Espers are summoned critters. You call them, little animation and big attack; and they go away. they're called materia primae in some other versions (?).

 

I have a draft hdc of a similar character on my drive. do you want it ?

 

 

Note from my playtests : be careful with your Gm: from experience, anything that adds character sheets on the table (duplication, summon, followers) tends to slow the game.

 

I would probably admit only one duplicate or summoned creature present in game at a time.

Re: Weapon Name for Champions character?

Good point' date=' and one I'd need to think about, but I don't see restainable as being any different than if I'd have made the weapon an OIF though.[/quote']quite different :

"restrainable" : the power can be neutralized by (by default) a combat maneuver or a attack targeted at the manifestation of the power. as such it's like a OAF one's cannot take away from you

 

"restrainable" : can be targeted in combat, cannot be taken from you

"OIF" : cannot be targeted in combat but can be taken from you out of combat.

 

Wings are never invisible [unless purchased with the advantage] because they cost end. But even if they are invisible' date=' if you entangle someone with invisible wings he still can't fly, unlike someone who doesn't have the limitation who can fly off entangled.[/quote']

I don't really agree but let's wait for other opinions.

Re: Weapon Name for Champions character?

I don't agree with the ruling that something that is obvious can't be invisible. To me IIF implies that you have no idea the character has a focus. OIF implies that you know the power is not natural. The fact that you know the power comes from the item should be enough of an advantage. It's stupid when you see comic book characters with a very obvious OIF focus [invisibility suit' date= belt, etc.] but then you're required to make it IIF because of a new [new meaning 5E addition] rule.

first a precision concerning my comment: my doubt was : if a NPC grabs your PC's weapon (the "weapon bind" maneuver as an example); then your PC loses his armor ("restrainable") as long as he doesn't have his weapon free from his opponent. As your description implies a "persistent invisible armor", i was unsure of your needs or wishes.

second, you don't really answer my question :

An example : is a character with invisible wings "restrainable" in Hero terms ?

About focus, my opinions differs from yours but i don't really want to turn this into a duel of opinions.

Re: Weapon Name for Champions character?

16 2) Body of Nai-No-Kami: Armor (16 PD/16 ED) Restrainable: -1/2

 

And yes, I know you can't "officially" put armor in an EC but I want some invisible armor for the character and think it's stupid to need to buy invisible force field.

I would like to ask the opinion of the hero-dom about something :

Do you think OK that a power with invisible effects is restrainable ? I mean if a power is to be restrainable then it can be targeted by some means (HtH or range attacks or specific environmental effects or whatever) then it should normally perceptible by normal folk ...

your thoughts ?

Re: Weapon Name for Champions character?

I think it's called a testubo

Re: OIHID and Multiform

IMHO it should be possible if the character is a triple-level character. (normal, heroic, superheroic)

I think, as an example, to Fraza in Dragon Ball Z. (Fraza can first transform himself in his 1st powered form, then in the second and only then in the third).

In "Machine:Robo Revenge of Cronos" (a kind of jap-anime spin off of the Go-Bots, mid-80's IIRC), the hero, Rom, is able to transform himself into a first robot named Blade Dragon (-OIHID-). Once in Blade Dragon form, he can "call" another robot, Vikung-Fu, more powerful and merge into it - multiform, OIHID -.

As such, the character must first "change clothes" and once he's in "hero mode" he can activate the multiform. IMHO, this would be the only situation where i could allow this kind of point-saving trick.