JackValhalla

Re: You cannot defeat me! In D&D 2nd ed, my poor little elf was hunted by Pandemonium. You know, King of Hell kind of thing and all that. That started when the party snuck into the ninth hell in disguise, stole the Book Of Ultimate Evil (tm!) and then arranged a jailbreak in Hell to cover our tracks. My character was the only one dumb enough to get spotted, so I was the one that was in trouble. I eventually bought him off and got him off my back, but damn it was touch and go for a while there. That character eventually retired peacefully to open a chain of taverns and is very careful to give to charity and attend church. He does not want to take any chances, yo. In the Vampire Live Action game... I was the unkillable enemy. Not an NPC, just a character who eventually grew so grossly overpowered and megalomaniacal that all the other PCs and NPC allies ganged up on me. Long story short, they knew about my Master Plan, and they all got kind of hung up on the part about genocide and conquest. So they decided to stop me first. But then they found out about the whole "strike me down and I become more powerful yadda yadda" thing. Heh. His power went from "staggering" to "primal and elemental". The Gamemaster asked me nicely to retire that character, with the understanding that he was out conquering other dimensions, and won't be bothering this one for many many years. Ah, but Champions... well, the one that stands out for me was the first long-running game I played in. Omni was not that grossly overpowered in theory, but he was an excellent object lesson in how unbalancing it is to use Magic VPPs to create Triggered effects and Delayed Effect spells. Also, the true horror of Adjustment Powers with delayed return rates. He was about 300 pts on paper, but the GM used him to demonstrate every horrible muchkin trick that he ever dreamed up. Totally unkillable, but he was a real challenge. One of those enemies that you love to hate.

Re: The Professions of Arms Hmm, excellent point about the recruitment angle. The most important part of an exploratory journey is the preparation, obviously. Most of the major expeditions IRL involved dozens of people.. soldiers, guards, doctors, guides, translators, porters, scouts... very few expeditions ever went out with just three or four people. And those were generally the ones that didn't come back. Read a little on the British imperialism, and you find out that big expeditions were fairly successful. Yes, recruitment is essential.

Re: "Look, up in the sky! It's Super Saint!" Christian-themed heroes Would you care to run that by me again? Real slowly, now... "evil alien Sperm Whale Humanoids"... I have got to hear more about that game. Somehow, I'm sure that it will be memorable.

Re: The Professions of Arms My thoughts on PS: Explorer... Well, I'm not really inclined to think of it as a "backup" skill for Cultural Knowledge. I can see that it might cover the crudest basics of cartography, and I might see it giving an 8- to substitute for CuK if the character does not have the appropriate CuK.. But I think that it's biggest contribution will be about the process of navigating uncharted territory. Cutting brush, conserving supplies, marking backtrail, and making the best possible time through unfamiliar lands. eg: Sangkuar loped up alongside Roth, peering out from the top of the ridge. Below was a spread of greenery, treetops like rolling hills, and Sangkuar could make out the whistling of birds, the croak of frogs, and animal chattering all coming from the forest at the base of the ridge. Roth shook his head and started to walk further down the ridgeline. "Roth, the mountain pass is just the other side of the valley! Let's go," Sangkuar urged his companion. Roth shook his head and spat. "Kid, we wouldn't make a mile a day down there. It's all creeper vines, underbrush, deadfalls, roots, and stagnant water down there. These rocks may be hard on our ankles, but we won't starve before we make the pass if we circle arond the valley." He pushed off further down the ridge, and Sangkuar hurried to catch up. Two cents! Worth every penny!

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... Hmm. Or, "Care Bear Stare"? Nah. "PRIDE!" is still funnier.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... Teen Champions game finally started up... I'll share one little tidbit with y'all. Y'see, every game I run, I start with the same bad joke. But this time, a player jumped right in with me. Awesome. GM: So, you're all sitting in a tavern... Kiri: What are we doing in a tavern? Theresa: Aren't we all underage? Renaissance Kid: Roll the dice to see if I'm getting drunk! GM: You. I am adopting you.

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

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... Okay, guess I'll catch up on the Champs game I run. Strap in. Also catching up some from week before. Sparrow - "I'm getting a drink. Catch up to you guys at the firehouse." Synapse - "You can't drink on the job!" Silk - "Besides, I thought you had full immunities. That means you can't get drunk, right?" Sparrow - (examining char sheet closely.) "Holy ****, you're right. I can't get drunk. Which raises the question again: Why don't I have Psych Lim: Casual Killer yet?" Saurin - "I'd've felt better if you hadn't said 'yet' just now." (NPC Villain named Cataclysm just robbed a pawn shop, prepares for her big escape. PCs arrive.) Cataclysm: "Fools! Now that it's in my hands, nothing will be able to stop me! Not you, not that meddling Engineer!" Slipstream: "Listen, lady, back up the rant. We don't even know what you stole." Cataclysm: "You don't need to know yet, and when you do find out, it will be too late for you and this town of clowns!" Silk: "Town of clowns? (dawning horrible realization) I know somebody that says that." Cataclysm: "No you don't." Silk: "Mom?!" Cataclysm: "JERRY?!?!" Sparrow: "Dude, you're mom's kinda hot." Slipstream - "Okay. Let's set a trap. I need a really big ball of yarn. Cats can't resist yarn." Saurin - "Catnip." Silk - "Big pans full of gravel." Synapse - "Cheese." Saurin - "You mean mice." Synapse - "I've got cats. I know what I'm talking about." Slipstream - "Yeah, but your cats run around and smash into the walls everytime the phone rings. Not really a representative sample of the species." Synapse - ".... Yeah. They really are on crack, aren't they?" Sparrow - "So, spider-teen's dad is a supervillain." Slipstream - "Yeah, looks like it." Sparrow - "And his mom is a supervillain." Slipstream - "Starting to seem that way." Sparrow - "And we're trying to track and imprison both of them." Synapse - "Right." Sparrow - "But meanwhile, they're after each other." Slipstream - "Correct." Sparrow - "Kid, I gotta tell you..." Silk - "What?" Sparrow - "They're gonna love you on Springer." (BTW, Sparrow spent the remainder of the session referring to Silk as "Luke". ) (Combat scene. Cataclysm hits Sparrow with Claws, does BODY) Sparrow: "Ow! Hug the lizard!" (Moves over to Saurin and gets healed.) (Cataclysm hits Steelwasp with claws, does BODY) Steelwasp: "Ow! Hugging the lizard!" (Flies over to get healed by Saurin.) (Cataclysm hits Saurin, does BODY) Saurin: "Ow! Hug the lizard!" (beat) "Oh, wait, sorry. Forgot." (stands still and regenerates) Synapse: "Silk, get in on this fight!" Silk: "I can't, man, she's my mother!" Synapse: "She's a supervillain!" Silk: "That's my mom!" Steelwasp: "She's going to destroy the whole city, kid!" Silk: "She raised me!" Slipstream: "Silk, has your mom mentioned any upcoming trips? Any reason that you might want to be out of the city?" (pause, Silk considers) Silk: "Screw it, she wasn't exactly June Cleaver, anyway." (Jumps into the action) (In front of cameras) Synapse: "I'd like to say that none of this would not have been possible were it not for the hard work of our police and firefighters, judicial system and the hardworking Americans who support us all." Silk: "... and the Corporation of Public Broadcasting, and viewers like you." Sparrow: (punches Silk in the arm) "Don't you ever shut up?" Cataclysm: (tied up on the ground) "No. He even talks in his sleep." Silk: "Mom, not in front of my friends!" Slipstream: (moving to block the cameras and push the press line back) "No more questions. This is too dysfunctional, even for Fox." Steelwasp: "You know, Silk, you're going to have to explain to your father why you put your mom in jail." Silk: "I think I'll sit on that news for a little bit. Let him learn about it from Fox like everyone else." Steelwasp: "Seems like something you should disclose face-to-face." Silk: "Is your dad a supervillain? No? Then shut up." Steelwasp: "Hey, look guys, Saurin got a letter!" Saurin: (reads aloud, and then translates it to English) "Dear B'gen'ya'lth, heard you were having difficulty. I want you to know that we will always be there to help you out. Sincerely, Ghen'strr'erth." Silk: "Letter from home? I thought you lived near the Crab Nebula." Sparrow: "The amazing thing is that there's a thirty-five cent stamp on it."

Re: Looking for Advice on a "Buffer/ Healer" Superhero Don't overlook Change Environment. Some real useful stuff in there, stuff that will make your opponents less effective, without harming them at all, or targeting them in any way. Darkness is another great way to control the battlefield, as much so as Force Wall. Tons of sensory powers. Cheap in a multipower, totally invaluable. Aid to CON, BODY, SPD, and/or REC. No AP caps on those, but boy oh boy do they come in handy. Yes, they're half-value because they're all "defensive". Doesn't matter, they're still worth it. Resurrection UOO. There's a couple of interesting ways to blend that together with a Code-vs.-Killing.

Re: Rarity of Magic?

Re: What Are You Listening To Right Now? Let It Whip SR-71 Most of my friends would be shocked, it is way outside what they think my tastes are. But I like some upbeat pop music sometimes.

Re: Rarity of Magic? I maintain that the availability of lethal force is unconnected to the will to use it. Canadians are, on average, better armed than Americans. The Japanese are largely unarmed. Both cultures have less murder than America. So, returning to topic,it would follow that the availability of lethal magic, all things remaining equal, would not make a more hostile, or a more polite, society. Now, if magic made it possible to kill in different ways.. For example, if voodoo dolls were amazingly effective and easy, you mind have to consider those ramifications. Indirect, long-ranged, covert.. perfect assassin's tool, and it would have to affect certain parts of society. Your ruling class would be a lot more concerned with either the contentedness of their people, or their own security. Any ruler has enemies, so I'm thinking that security would be more practical. So, does that mean that they ring themselves in protective wards and sorcery-wielding guards with sunglasses and earpieces? Or do they simply find a tower and isolate themselves so that nobody could remove a lock of their hair to use on the doll? Answers to those questions will begin shaping the campaign world. What if a magic spell, commonly available and easily mastered, could indeed throw a fireball capable of mass damage? That will certainly change the entire progression of battlefield techniques that we know from history, massed infantry would never have been viable, cavalry charges only slightly moreso. "Substitutional" magic, that only replicates, fairly closely, the effects of mundane phenomena, would not have such sweeping changes. A "magic missile" spell that can kill one target within your line of sight is not much different than a bow and arrow, save that it may be easier to smuggle through checkpoints, unless there are spellcheckers at the gates. A spell that lets you levitate a large load and tow it along behind you is not significantly different from a horse and cart in most ways. But, a spell that lets you walk through walls? Unless it is very limited, it will, perforce, impact your campaign world in a big way.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... Posted this elsewhere, then realized that it belongs here as well. I used to have a thoroughly malici-.. playful DM. One day, when we had given him grief by ignoring the boundaries of our railroaded plot, he had his revenge. He gave us a ring of wish. And, gods help us, we rubbed it. First, the summary: It didn't just wipe out our party. It killed off our next party too. Honest Injun. Below aren't exact quotes, many years ago, so I'm paraphrasing. Some highlights: "I wish for a gold castle in the sky." "It is done." (looks up, sees castle in the sky. Sees castle coming down out of the sky.) "Oh, $4!7 dive for cover!" "I want all of my stats raised." "All of them? Completely razed?" "That's what I said, right?" "Okay, a castle, full sized, will all the usual accoutrements and furnishings, made of solid gold, except for the necessary passageways, imbued with the power of flight, positioned one hundred yards above the ground right there. And no tricks." "It is done." "Wait, where's my castle going?" "Great. His stupid wish gets him killed, now I have to waste one of my wishes bringing him back to life. I wish he was alive again." "It is done." "OH GOD! OH GOD! WHAT IS THAT THING??! I want him all the way alive and fully healthy and totally restored and good as new! RIGHT NOW!" "It is done." "Crap. Who wants to wish him out of infancy?" "It's your fault for saying 'good as new'." "I'm going to wish all of my enemies dead." "Betcha the genie throws the whole planet into the sun." "I think I'll wish for a magic sword instead." (BTW, if you ever wish for a magic sword, wish for a specific one, one that you know is not cursed.) There was a lot more. Most of it makes a great story to tell... years later, after mucho therapy. At the time it was horrible.

Re: Comic Book Physics Oh, temporal disturbance? That's a whole other subject. The comic book superhero genre is fairly specific on that point. If you move fast enough, anything is possible. Running on water? Hfil, the Flash was known to run on air. Phase through solid objects, travel dimensions, even travel through time... just move fast enough. Golden Age Superman had the powers of Gawd Himself, all he had to do was kick in the superspeed, and then say something that includes the worlds "molecules", "vibrating", and ends with "-should allow me to (fillinludicrouspowerstunthere)". I don't think I've ever had windows shattering out of nearby buildings, though. Unless there was a specifically sound-based or area-effect attack of sufficient power. Just punching back and forth? Ripping up the concrete beneath their feet, I've done that... But I usually don't bring out that scale of collateral damage unless someone is throwing stuff or breaking the sound barrier in the city.

Re: Comic Book Physics Where powers, power stunts, costumes, and such are concerned, I run a very fast-and-loose campaign. One PC is a martial artist with a cape (cloak, rather), another is a chameleon-type who adventures in the buff but doesn't catch cold. Not a lot of spandex in the setting, most people prefer costumes with a degree of protection to them. Supertypes are assumed to have well-proportioned bodies with just enough body fat to grease a cake pan, but the exceptions are numerous. If someone with the "Brick Tricks" Power skill tries to bonk somebody down into the ground, provided they make the skill roll it works as planned, and the brick does not actually launch himself up into the air as an opposite reaction. We do not question that Captain Thews can lift a building, and it will maintain structural integrity instead of ripping apart under the strain. We do not question that Captain Thews does not plunge himself into the ground trying to lift something huge and balance it on the 1/2 square feet of surface area his boots provide. Some powers cannot be replicated by science, such as Doctor Fenris's cold-fusion jetpack, which was dismantled on the doctor's death and found to contain little more than clockwork, tubes that didn't go anywhere, and other useless bits that could not explain how it worked. Other powers can be reproduced, such as Kevlite's hexacarbon body armor, which was successfully "cloned" back in the 80s. Physics be damned. I know enough about physics IRL. I don't need it interfering with my superheroes. Other genres, on the other hand, get treated entirely differently. I'm a stickler then.

Re: How to get ideas across (GM's) It's like a Gazebo that flies.

Re: Trying to run a game for my old GM -- Stats for villains aren't that important. The storytelling is important. If you throw a villain at the PCs and they completely stomp him into the ground with minimal trouble, that villain is really a minion of a more powerful villain. If you throw a villain at them who jackslaps them into little piles of bruise and ouchy, then have him laugh at them and declare that they are far too weak to be a threat to his Master Plan! Estimating the correct power level is a minor matter, and it comes with practice. Adapting to circumstances, on the other hand, is crucial. If your original plan was "villain plus thugs break into jewelry store to steal gems for World Destruction Machine, PCs intervene", then be ready for a number of things to happen. If your villain is an even match, then move ahead as planned. If the villain loses, then either {a} his boss, whose plan this was, comes looking for him and the gems, {b} his tough-but-dumb enforcer-type lackey comes looking for him so he can get paid for guarding the hideout, {c} the machine is already built, but without the gems to stabilize it, it will go off prematurely! If the villain beats them down with little trouble in the first turn, then {a} he gloats his Master Plan and zips away, leaving them to refine their tactics and track him down before he can assemble the machine, {b} time to introduce the plucky, charming wayward villain who steals the gems right under The Villain's nose, {c} The Villain is betrayed by his weaker, but more devious, underling, who turns him in, but steals the Machine for himself! Don't be afraid to expand the campaign somewhat. Losing a fight they're supposed to win does not shatter a game. Winning a fight they were supposed to have trouble with does not shatter a game. You sitting there dumbfounded, with no idea what to do next... that shatters a game. Rule #7 of GMing: Never let them see you sweat. If you're having trouble thinking of character concepts, then either check the art thread, or play mix-n-match, or ask your GM for help... and then alter it. Art thread is a great way to get an impression. Look at the picture, and say, what kind of villain is this? What can I see him doing? Why does he do it? Mix-n-match is classic... If you change the name and physical description, the PCs won't recognize it. They can't see the sheets. You need a villain who's "kinda like Ankylosaur"? Take Ankylosaur's writeup, change the name and appearance. That tail is kind of distinctive, maybe use a robotic widget that is attached to the villain by magnetic force, giving it striking power and control like a tail? Now the character's name is Orbit, and the PCs will never guess that they're fighting Ankylosaur. Ask your GM for help. Pay attention while he or she runs through everything. Trust his or her judgement on power levels, disadvantages, that kind of stuff. But then change some things. An attack was Area Effect 1Hex? Now it's Armor Piercing. The character had Damage Reduction? Rip that out and replace it with the equivalent amount of Stun. The character's special effects were light and heat? Now it's black magic. Oh, and here's a really easy quick fix for all "my villain isn't the right power level" woes: Get a GM screen. If your first attack nearly destroys the whole party, that attack just became 1 Charge, and the villain needs to switch to secondary weapons. If the PCs beat the villain down with a quickness, then your villain just got Regeneration, and Absorption. You've got the sheet in front of you, they don't. Honor is for samurai, not GMs. [EDIT] Wow, I just took a look at the dates on this thread. Uhm, I suppose it's all a settled issue by now.

Re: Question on my characters multipower On a second cogitation, perhaps lockout is the best way to go. I originally favored putting the REC of the END-R in the multipower, but I'm changing my stance. Special powers in a framework can be done, permission from GM. And I really don't see any harm in it in most cases. Sometimes, though... sometimes special powers really don't belong in frameworks at all. I usually try to go with the simplest, cleanest build that represents the special effect I'm looking for, just because simple clean builds are typically much harder to munchkin away on. Something complex, with stacked advantages and complementary limitations... well, I review those many many times. REC in a slot looked clean and simple. And, I'd totally forgotten about lockout. I tend to overlook that one a lot, old reflexes sometimes cause me to refer to it as "Multipower's retarded younger brother". But, perhaps special powers and unusual cases, like this one, are precisely the sort of thing that Lockout is designed for.

Re: Old School, Yesterday's Heroes Awesome story, awesome concept. Multigenerational heroing is some of the best roleplay that you can get your hands on. PCs in my current campaign range from 18-year-old kid (barely, his birthday was two months ago), to a 47-year-old, to another who is physically 30, immortal, but still has a septuagenarian mindset. Funfun. Older NPCs are a major part of the campaign world, but the PCs are all basically prime. Now, to reverse that, and make the PCs as over-the-hill veterans trying to fit in amongst younger, stronger upstarts... well, that has me cackling in malicious glee even without the Silver Age - Iron Age controversy. If nobody starts a campaign like this, I might have to steal the idea when my current chronicle has exhausted itself.

My apologies if this has been answered a hundred times, but I couldn't find any relevant reference. Can Absorption be given the Ranged advantage, allowing the PC to "feed" on an appropriate power source that does not actually strike the PC? For example, an electricity-wielding character who can "juice up" by leaching off of nearby power lines, as well as lightning bolts or tasers that go off in the vincinity? Or is this just an Aid with limitations? Thank you for your time.

Re: "Look, up in the sky! It's Super Saint!" Christian-themed heroes Well, religious origins is one of the major methods in my game to becoming a superhuman. But, it is not conclusive evidence of a benevolent higher power, and it does not concentrate unduly on one religion in particular. Totally non-exclusionary, though many of them see it differently. A little backstory. In 1929, first heroes appeared, basically costumed "mystery men". Every ten years there's another wave of superhumans, with different origins and subtly different power builds. As of 1969, magical types started moving in, shapeshifting dragons, ancient gods, archmages, that kind of thing. 1999 brought us religiously-themed superhumans. Some were empowered humans, others just appeared from "nowhere". There were teleporting semi-omniscient Buddhist heroes, prophetic weapon master Muslims, superhumans whose powers read straight from the Bible, and everything in between. One of the most feared villains in the world is Judgement, whose faith in God is inarguable. He thinks what he's doing is correct and necessary. Everyone else disagrees. Demons, angels, saints, faith-based powers, prophecy, plagues... it's all in there. And almost all of them are trying to do the right thing... from their own perspective. What can I say? I like morality stories. Especially the ones where the answers aren't easy. There is also evidence in the game that the "source" of their powers may not be the divinities that they believe, just something emulating them. I really love a good conspiracy story. Especially when I can mix in a morality story.

Re: Question on my characters multipower That's an easy one. I'd allow it. It's totally in genre, and it's totally plausible. And, Thia Halmades' fairly elegant build aside, I'd just take the END Reserve's REC and make it a slot in the multipower. Easier and still in genre. Hell, what is more in keeping with pop ficiton than a weapon or device that needs to be shut down to recharge? OTOH, I'd be suspicious if the REC slot in the multipower was full strength. I'd prefer that it took more than a phase or two to recharge the batteries. That's the only way that it'd really represent a flaw in the character. Just to check, your character will have backup weapons, correct? Something that doesn't run on the END reserve?... Because if you go totally useless for more than a couple of phases each combat, your teammates are gonna be super ticked off at you.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... The puppies were more than they seemed. Robocop had been sent by the Engineer to round up the puppies and deliver them to the base, because they were the key to defeating the Engineer's rival in crime, Cataclysm. You don't find many canines raised on colloidal silver, and so the robot didn't want them harmed, they'd be hard to replace. Fairly complex plot lines at work. Kinda silly, too. Oh, here's another one from the same session: Synapse had just forcibly powered-down a robot. Sparrow: So, you didn't break him, you just .. knocked him out cold? Synapse: And locked him into a sensory stimulus loop to keep him occupied. Saurin: Wait, that means he's dreaming. Synapse: Yeah. Of electronic sheep. (elbows Silk) Silk: (blank look) Synapse: Oh, ferchrissakes, read a book once in a while!

Re: The things I learned playing a ninja! The Ninja Principle - Originally part of the Minion Law The difficulty of fighting ninjas is inversely proportional to the number of ninjas. One ninja is nearly impossible to defeat. A hundred ninjas are no trouble at all.

Most of us play heroes as part of a team. So, how often does teamwork make all the difference? Do you use co-ordinated attacks for the con-stun, or the teamwork skill for better chance to hit? Those are easy. How often have you beaten an opponent only because the group pulled together? Do your characters have planned tactics and have they rehearsed or trained any "combination attacks"? How often do you plan an attack "to set him up so Joe can take him down"? And, related note, have your characters thrown themselves into obvious danger for the good of the team? Stories please!