Hadmar von Wieser

Cost        Powers
7                 Crowbar: Multipower, 15-points reserve; all slots OAF (-1)
1u               1) Prying: +15 STR; OAF (-1), Only For Prying/Leverage-Based Tasks (-½)
1u               2) Use As A Blunt Instrument: HA +3d6; OAF (-1), Hand-To-Hand Attack (-½)
1u               3) Sharp Prongs: HKA 1d6 (2d6 with STR); OAF (-1)
 
Total Cost: 10-points

First, I won't say you're right, but you have a point. It's a big chunk of points.
 
To understand why, first, look at where I add some emphasis
 

If will make more sense if you actually look up the Animal Handler Skill.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Yep. And Skill Levels with a Skill you don't have are technically not very useful by my understanding.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Okay, that would probably work for a character that does have Interaction Skills already and if you're willing to let someone try High Society to get a cat to respect them or Streetwise to impress a stray dog or Bureaucratics to ....okay, I don't know what you would use Bureaucratics for. But I can see using Charm, Bribery, Persuasion, and even Oratory (to howl just like an alpha wolf.) But in that case, if you have those Skills, doesn't that mean you can attempt those things against animals even if you don't have the Talent, you just don't get a bonus?
 
 
 
 
 

 
I think I can.
 
I believe the rules assume that NORMAL PRE BASED SKILLS JUST DON'T WORK ON ANIMALS LIKE THEY DO ON PEOPLE. Look at the description of the Animal Friendship talent. It says you can befriend an animal with a PRE roll +3. If you think buying a +3 to PRE rolls only vs Animals gets you that, you're house ruling that ANYONE can attempt to befriend an animal with a simple PRE roll. Can they?
 
The assumption is that you need the specific Skill Animal Handler to handle animals. And the reason that gets so expensive is, Animal Handler is one of those Skills that is bought by categories. And even at 1 pt per, there are an awful lot of kinds of animals in a given world and they add up.
 
I'm not going to argue that the Talent SHOULD cost as much as it does, I'm personally dubious now about the whole "Category Skills" can of worms and have been for some time. But I hope I can at least explain why it's so costly.
 
 
 
 
 
 

I think you might be missing two important points.
 
1. It is not the case that any given character can attempt to befriend any given beast with a simple PRE roll. Unless that's how you want it in your games, which is fine if you're clear on what you're doing.
 
2. Animal Handler (like Survival) is a danged expensive Skill if you want a comprehensive version of it.
 
 
 
Lucius Alexander
 
I finally fixed it! Celebrating with a palindromedary

The beginning of the church scene was stealthy in the way he concealed the assault rifle.  I don't think he missed any shots inside the church.  The later 'misses' outside can be attributed to covering fire to keep the guards heads down.  Web analysis of his shooting stances showed that he used at least 3 different ones all designed to control recoil. 
 
I posit that his only true misses were the ones when the son escapes up the stairs from the basement pool and is behind bulletproof glass. The only time he didn't hit exactly what he was aiming for. He even nails 1 of the home invaders with blind/look-away shots by going prone and turning away to take advantage of his dark suit in the low lighting (effectively dodging the invader's shots).
 
**The character sheet has been updated with additional info gleamed from the web.

Hello, I am Tasha
 
How did you come up with your 'handle' (forum name)?
Tasha is the name of one of my first 3rd Edition D&D characters. The name Natasha Greenbottle was pulled out of the Character Generator's Random Name Generator. Tasha just became my online personna/avatar.
 
What was the first tabletop RPG you played?
That would be Original Blue Book Basic Dungeons and Dragons, with Original D&D mixed in.
 
What was the first tabletop RPG you GMed?
That would also be Original Blue Book Basic D&D.
 
What are you currently playing/GMing?
Currently playing Pathfinder. Contemplating running either The Strange, Lords of Gossimer and Shadow, or Amber (or a mashup of LoGS and Amber). Nothing is set in stone yet. Just need some inspiration.
 
When did you start to play Hero?
I started with the 2nd edition rulebook (AKA the Revised edition Champions boxed set). I didn't become a die hard fan until Fantasy Hero 1st edition came out and showed me how empowering it was to have complete control of your character's build. Danger Incorporated (now called Dark Champions), was my introduction to modern era RPGs. Justice Inc was a fun take on the pulp genre.
 
I am a fan of ease of use. Simplicity is important, but can actually make things harder. Ease of use trumps that.

Nomunah, the Ghost Bear, is the Guardian of the Valley of the Ancients. The valley is a circular sinkhole in a tableland, ringed by vertical cliffs, open on one side to the outer world by a winding slot canyon. The valley is virtually unknown as the plateau is covered with thick clouds, which eddy and descend through the valley in a sluggish vortex, and exit through the Whispering Canyon.
 
The Treasure of Nomunah is the Will of the Ancients, even their Testament, and is inscribed on the cliffs overlooking the valley in hoary and puzzling petroglyphs. The four thousand, three hundred and twenty-one petroglyphs are found at regular intervals on the faces of the rocks, descending in a spiral around the circumference; some covered in mosses and lichens, some behind wispy waterfalls, and others concealed by fog and protected by vertigo. The few who have found a petroglyph have neither understood it, nor been made aware of the others, for all must be known before even a single one is understood.
 
Nomunah the Moaning One dwells in the slot canyon, where the foggy wind sighs and caresses the meanders of the canyon, his form obscured in the billows and his voice lost in the wind. Do not seek him at the shrine of Bear Rock, where the superstitious leave offerings of flowers and honey and fish, for he is not a stone nor does he grant blessings. Neither seek him in the cave of the obsidian throne, where the glittering gold of the ancients mingle with their bones in a deep cenote*, for he may not enter there. But for those with ears to hear, he murmurs the Song of the Ancients, of their Will and Testament. For the Song of Nomunah is the melody of the Inscription, and the Inscription is the words of the Song.
 
And what is this Will of the Ancients? That their last Necromancer-King should rule forever from his obsidian throne, and that his enemies should mingle their bones at his feet. And so he shall, when the Seeker sings the incantantion of the glyphs while sitting on the obsidian throne, and thus breaks the spell whereby Nomunah is ensorcelled. The Seeker shall certainly have his reward, and shall be made an arch-lich and shall be a pupil at the feet of Nomunah, to learn all his black secrets and become his heir. For necromantic lore is his treasure, and power. And Nomunah shall cast down the Couatl that imprisoned him and the Sun, and shall bind them in darkness forever, and the Black Moon shall ascend and shine forth its black radiance, and the Seeker shall be his vizier and lieutenant. Such is the Will of Nomunah, the Ancient Demon, the Ghost who shall be Great once again.
 
*Indeed, besides ordinary gold, the cenote contains the Dragon Orb, a head-sized crystal that stabilizes and strengthens the Dragons, but which also destabilizes and weakens Nomunah. If removed (by Gothormr for example), it will set into motion the inevitable escape of Nomunah, allowing him to immediately call and instruct some depraved and weak-willed madman to do his bidding. But a very clever seeker could wield the orb, such that when Nomunah is released he may be commanded through the orb. Doing so would require defiance of both Gothormr and Nomumah, and involves the weaving of a counter-spell into the incantation that releases the curse. Unfortunately that counter-spell was inscribed on a golden scroll, which Gothormr has already liquidated and lost, not knowing its value.
 
Next: The Secret of Sorcerer's Spire

And here I was wondering how many feet a cantri-ped had...
 

How did you come up with your 'handle' (forum name)? Easy -- it's my given name.
What was the first tabletop RPG you played? I had looked at several RPGs owned by one of my cousins in the middle of the Eighties -- Runequest, Stormbringer, Elfquest -- but the first I actually played was Äventyrsspel's Drakar och demoner, the third edition (I think). I bought it some time around New Year's '87-'88. Drakar och demoner at that time was basically the Chaosium Basic Roleplaying system translated into Swedish. Much fun was had with it. I bought almost everything (slight hyperbole) that Target Games/Äventyrsspel published, like the Expert and Gigant and Magi expansion sets, the Ereb Altor campaign setting, adventure modules like Mörkrets hjärta  -- I still have most of it left, I think, in storage.
What was the first tabletop RPG you GMed? DoD. I was the designated GM. I had no handle on things, really -- one character, a Dwarf, got so strong (mis-)using Hero Points rules that he could easily wrestle dragons with one hand. I had a giant step on him between adventures and made the player roll up a new character. He was not pleased.
What are you currently playing/GMing? Nothing. I haven't played since I moved north from Umeå five years ago, but I hope to some day have a use for my campaign settings. Using Hero.

It was suggested that maybe we create a thread for new people who are posting and especially for lurkers.
 
So here is what I would like to suggest everyone post as an introduction:
 
How did you come up with your 'handle' (forum name)? What was the first tabletop RPG you played? What was the first tabletop RPG you GMed? What are you currently playing/GMing? I hope this thread gets pinned.
 

Headmistress Madame Clott actually is a Medusa in disguise.
She set up her Finishing School for Young Ladies so a lot of fair maidens and princesses get sent to her.
Her hoard consists of 17 marble or alabaster statues of said maidens and princesses plus 1 jade statue of that eastern princess. And of their baggage, wardrobes, and jewelry Madame Clott uses to change eight time a day while talking to her stony Young Ladies.


Next: Th'rom Throsh'ok Minor God of Thunder, Mountains, and unnecessary Flatulence