eternal_sage

Re: Order of the Stick or a commoner 50% of the time.... and an adept or poorly equiped rogue 1 in 5.... those DnD housecats are MEAN...although i think my cat is actually one of those, and he's just waiting to off me..... its dangerous living with a cat who thinks its a human ninja!

Re: How Fast Do Rogue Planets Move? oh, and as for knowing how fast its going, he said he is going for a hard sci-fi game, which means this stuff matters. as little hand waving as possible should be done, because hard sci-fi is all about the crunchy data and real life uses. of course, as stated above, this kind of thing is highly unlikely, but the above is the best, hardest, most scientific way i know of getting the desired effect. oh, and remember, no sun = no photosynthesis

Re: How Fast Do Rogue Planets Move? the only good "real" way to do increase its velocity is the good old fashioned sling shot method. what this requires is a LARGE body (since we are talking about a planet, a sun will do, we humans do it for probes using Jupiter or Saturn) you take said planet, have it enter the sun's gravity well, it turns from its current trajectory, and basically begins to "fall" into the sun. of course, it misses, but the extra velocity it gains easily exceeds escape velocity for the sun in question. here's the wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitational_slingshot as for knocking it out of it original orbit, very few possible methods (that are in any way Hard SF) that aren't very determental to the planet in question. however, collisions with other rogue planetoids (the pool ball effect, if you will) is one possiblity, in which case the velocity would be determined by some simple physics calculations based on the original planetoid's velocity and mass, new planetoid's velocity and mass, and the angle of the collision. of course, a strike that strong will likely destroy all life on the planet. another possible scenario is a supernova (also your best bet if you want high speed) in which a star goes supernova (explodes) expending all its energy in a very short time. the planet would easily be at 1/10th the speed of light, but would likely be destroyed by the explosion. to really be possible, the planet in question would need to be fairly far away (beyond Mars might be enough, but maybe farther than that) which puts it out of the traditional habitable zone, but gives it a small chance of survival. it would still likely loose its atmosphere, and probably slow down somewhat from the lessened energy (it is an explosion effect after all ). your best bet would be to have the life you wanted to exist on the planet get there by being transported to underground bunkers of some sort prior to the cataclysim, then reterraforming the planet afterwards. maybe the residents of a planet in the habitable zone realize their sun is about go pop, so they use their advanced tech to transport many of themselves and their flora/fauna to a rocky world (moon?) orbiting around the same distance as Neptune, which has the requisite vulcanism to keep them warm. after the explosion maybe they could terraform it, or maybe they would just continue living underground (much more likely to survive that way). however, note that most vulcanism is driven by gravitational stresses, so unless the journey was short (a couple of hundred years, for example) then planet will still likely be barren by the end of its journey. here is a list of the closet stars. at speeds of 1/10 the speed of light, a planet could reach here in less than 2 centuries. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nearest_stars here is a list of stars with confirmed planets. it also lists distances, which could be helpful. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_stars_with_confirmed_extrasolar_planets

Re: [Compilation] "to Fantasy HERO Conversions & Adaptations" i started work on an Elder Scrolls conversion here on the boards...somewhere...

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... oh, wow. seeing as holidays constitute my heavy reading period, this may take a minute... first, The Watchmen! not my first tryst with this book (but the first time i've owned it and read it!). if you haven't read it and you like supers RP i think its a must. however, this is the book (in my opinion, at least) which transforms the bronze ange into the iron age, so not all tastes will be happy. still, WONDERFUL! 4.7 out of 5 second is books 1 and 2 of the Otori trilogy by Lian Hean. fantasy series that takes place in a medival not-Japan. the story of a young boy of confused (at first) heritage, who finds himself adopted into an important clan of warriors, and desired by the Tribe, with his loyalties split between them, and his own religious feelings in the way for both. add in a conflicted female secondary lead, who seems to bring trouble with her wherever she goes, and it makes for an entertaining read. it has its ups and downs, as the characters are pretty good, and the plots are decent enough at portraying the Japanese literary mindset, however its obvious she is a young author and they get a little cookie cutter at times. has the unfortunate plot point of a silly prophesy in the second book, and the author, for whatever reason, decided call samurai warriors, katanas swords, and ninjas the Tribe. still a good action read, and the 3rd book is currently entertaining me. 3.7 out of 5. next we have Cloud of Sparrows, by Takashi Matsuoka. Another fantasy novel about Japan, this one set in the Victorian period (around the time of Last Samurai, actually) and deals with a young lord, blessed with a hereditary ability to see the Future. he struggles with this and the pressence of three American missionaries, while fighting for the life of his clan as the times are changing and the plots of old grudges come to fruition. being half American, half Japanese really helps the author portray the events of the novel, as he explores the cultural differences of the two peoples. he does this by baseing most of the Japanese characters on Western archetypes (authority bucking young man, prostitute with a heart of gold, self made man, etc), and all the American characters on Japanese archtypes (the wondering ronin, the innocent preistess, etc). unfortunately the characters suffer from "larger than life" itis, in that they are all a bit to extraordinary to truly exist. however the plot is well crafted and simply drips with jidai-geki type plots and schemes. truly a great book, and its sequel Autumn Bridge is equally as good. 4.5 out of 5. lastly we have Dragon Sword and Wind Child by Noriko Ogiwara, is another Japanese fantasy, this time by a true Japanese author (apparently not a popular genre in the country, at least not for authors). it is a good story, again set in a not-Japan, it is the story of two young people, one a child of Darkness, one a child of Light, each destined for great things. their stories get intertwined and they are off on a mission that will alter their land forever. pretty good, if a bit simplistic, as it is written for children, but it feels to me to hold a similar position as The Hobbit does here, as being a child's gateway into bigger and better things, but is still awesome in its own right. there are two sequels, but they are Japanese only, at the moment. 3.9 out of 5.

Re: Post Apocalypse Hero: I am Legend oh...wow... i got to see this now. period. like, maybe before i stop writing this post.... this actually sounds awesome, not like the crap i was expecting. oh, and does the movie leave in the same state of "oh my god, what the hell was that?" that you get from watching a really good tragedy like "Requiem for a Dream"? or something else entirly?

Re: Post Apocalypse Hero: I am Legend all i want to know is...is the movie based on the old movie....italian i think...named "Last Man on Earth" (also based on a book called I Am Legend)? if so, i hope its better than the Omega Man (another version, without input from the original novelist)... if not that is sad, because the original was awesome and it looks similar (which means it probably is, but no one wanted to give credit)..... but i think it wll be hard for Will Smith to fill Vincent Price's shoes....

Re: Order of the Stick i'm currently playing a druid, and found a neat use for the light spell. we were tracking down this Emerald Claw guy (from Eberron, bad news, those ones) who we kept losing in the crowds of Sharn (the MEGA city in Eberron, kinda like NTC in reality...or maybe Tokyo). i cast light on an arrow, then shot him with it. he stuck out like a sore thumb (it was dark out) everytime he ducked down an alley. he caught him and found out the whole plot like three sessions before we were supposed to. it was awesome.... but even i never thought of dancing lights like that before....

Re: Turakian Magic: tweaked... is ok? well, we're using slightly different domains...in functionality they are more akin to Arcana from Mage: the Awakening (or the Ascension, if you perfer. i do not) in that it is more a situation of "these are the things my god rules, therefore they are things his imbued power allows me to do as well." it only really gets down to nitty gritty with the Doctrine domain, which replaces all instances of the alignments (Law, Chaos, Good, and Evil, as we are not using alignments). The Doctrine domain allows the follower of (to use Greyhawk deities that we all are familiar with) Vecna to use any spell that is useful in finding out and protecting secrets, escpecially to "evil" i.e. selfish ends. if the player can explain to me in a way that makes sense how a fireball would help in that endevour...a BIG if... then it would get the benefits of being a domain effect (in essense a AP boost and a less sever penalty to cast). this keeps the cleric able to whip up any effect you can imagine, something i attribute as the major strength of a cleric over a wizard, but also makes domains and doctrines of the deites you follow more impotant and makes you feel more like you aren't smiting them yourself but recieving the power to smite on your deity's behalf. oh, and don't worry about the misinterpretation....no hard feelings...it was a pretty crappy sentence. and what you said was also a part of the comment, so you did get it partially right.

Re: Turakian Magic: tweaked... is ok? basically, what i was getting at was that in my set up, alot of the restrictions on divine magic are not mechanical, but roleplay, in that, or course the luck god COULD make a fireball, but he won't, because it's not his way of doing things. so they have VPPs with very little in the way of limitations, and it is up to the player and the GM to decide what falls into the realm of the Luck domain, or what have you. its really elegant, if you can depend on your players to not be a bunch of munchkins and/or you are willing to be the letter of the law at the table and strictly enforce the deity's portfolio/domains. in other words, you really need to examine the needs of your players. if you feel they are mature enough as roleplayers to act in accordence with the wishes of their character's god, then it can be really rewarding. if they would be tempted to take that VPP and then do inappropriate things with it (summoning undead in Pelor's name, for instance) then it will destroy your game. simply put, i have found that less rules makes for more fun, so the things i can delegate to "RP Only" really help in that regard.

Re: Turakian Magic: tweaked... is ok? not that i have seen, but maybe. i haven't looked for awhile. and FF:T Advance was a waste of time and money, in my opinion. i found it rather like playing d20 with only the core books and no house rules, which is to say, good idea, but why can't i use magic this battle? the whole battle judge thing was nearly the stupidest thing they ever did with a FF game....after deciding that coherent plots with as few plot holes as possible were too "old school" for todays hip, post modern, ADHD brats after FF6. wow....sorry...did not mean to derail into a Squenix hate fest.....

Re: Turakian Magic: tweaked... is ok? been working on a similar system for a d20 to HERO conversion for the Warlords of the Accordlands setting. i also decided that the power level is a bit uncomfortable for me, so i flat out limited the lists to 5 levels (which just happens to coincide with Thia's spell conversions... ). that helped alot. your arcane system is good, i think, and is balanced well against melee (the real test comes with play, of course) since it is somewhat comparable to all the CSLs and combat manuvers that melee types tend to take to be really good at their professions. i do agree with Thia on the SS though. now, for the divine system, again, i like it, and it has merits, but i'm not sure. firstly, if your game is going to be very dependant upon the issues of clerical strictures and divine doctrine, then "Only While Serving God's Purposes" is a excellent choice. however, if your world is more like Thia's then it doesn't much matter. in my own conversion, i wanted to keep the basic look and feel of DnD magic, but i wanted it to work differently, and to feel a bit more personal (arcane) or god given (divine, obviously). my method was give the divine casters a VPP with which they can only cast spells of their deity's domains at full AP. all other domains fall to Half AP. this maintains their ability to pull out any possible effect you can think off, but makes clerics of Albrect feel different from clerics of Fineltour. it also reinforces the idea that they are directly channeling the gods power to do anything because it is a VPP. all the divine casters need is a foci, a Faith skill and a VPP to start borrowing power straight from heaven. this does put the balance in the GMs court, and does rely on very strong roleplaying by the group (hey, i'm blessed, what can i say). but if you can count on such things, the price of a VPP really takes its toll after a while. my two cents.

Re: FRPG Ideas from Hero that ain't necessarily so actually, Sting had to be a +1 weapon, because it was enchanted. you can't have a Orc Bane weapon without it also being at least +1 (that goes for any other enchantment as well, of course)

Re: FRPG Ideas from Hero that ain't necessarily so *joins the others to form a trio...or maybe Voltron* .... maybe we should just take a whole bunch of followers with the +5 doubling rules and then conquer the world and make everyone play fantasy games the way WE DESIRE!! and maybe forge a cool ring (maybe we could alternate using it) or maybe we each have a single really powerful artifact that we rule the world with... or maybe we can invent some sort of psi-crown thing to control peoples minds.... or or or

Re: The cost of killing damage having just finished my first Fantasy HERO one shot, i agree whole heartedly. i expected combat to be extremely lethal (most weapons are KA, after all) but found, to my dilight, that not only was that not the case, but only the samurai with several kendo manuvers was able to one shot anyone, and then only an unarmored opponent with a groin shot (ouch!). and a Katana is 1 1/2 d6 HKA, she had +1 DC from STR and anywhere from +2 to +4 DC with Kendo. and defenses were around 6 or so on average. the Wu Jen (who has mostly EB spells) was keeping up right along side her, getting approximately the same number of kills, maybe a few less, but still doing much better than anticipated. in fact, overall, i'd say the set up worked far better than i thought it would. now, in my Champions setting, one character had a RKA and he was demolishing the opposition, left and right, while EB guys were having a bit of trouble keeping up. thats my experience, at any rate.

Re: To all the artists on the boards again, i think you pretty much have it, just get a little more into the shading (unless cartoony is what you were looking for) but otherwise, i think you are well on your way.

Re: To all the artists on the boards hell, dude, i think all you need is a little practice in the new medium, as you seem to have a firm grasp of the basics already! good job.

Re: To all the artists on the boards as a recent graduate from a Digital Media program (East Tennessee State University) i can tell you that classes are only good for teaching you how to use a program, not the real art learnin' you may (or may not be looking for). personally, i'd cruise CGTalk (http://forums.cgsociety.org/) which is were i find alot of my tutorials i also suggest 3DTotal (http://www.3dtotal.com/), even though it is more devoted to 3d, it has some decent 2d tutorials and this is just some random list of tutorials compiled by someone else: http://www.3dbuzz.com/vbforum/showthread.php?t=105003 i also suggest (if you have a tight budget) picking up GIMP and Inkscape for your use. both are freeware, and GIMP is a great Raster based tool (like Photoshop or Paintshop Pro) while Inkscape is a nice Vector based program (like Illustrator or Painter). your tools don't really matter, just your skill with them, so if you want to save a buck, i suggest either using these free programs or the ones that came with your tablet (although the tablet programs are both dumbed down versions of their respective high end packages, they are still fine for a hobbyist)

with all this talk about UAA has me thinking... Example Power A: 10" Tunneling, UAA Example Power B: 10" Tunneling, Fill In, UAA ok, so i use Power A on Victim A, and Power B on Victim B. would Victim A now be in a 10" hole, and suffering from fall damage, or would there be no fall damage? would Victim B be in a similar situation but entombed within the ground? obviously it doesn't have to be straight down, but could be into the side of a mountain or through walls (i think) but just for example's sake.

Re: How much XP per 'level' true enough, ga, but i doubt your routine workout involves going at your max STR the entire time, if at all (depending on the purpose of your working out of course). i'm saying that going at your maximum lift ability for an hour is going to leave you winded, if you even could. basically we're talking about picking up a fit, tall person weighing around 225 lbs (100 kg approx), knocking him out (so he's dead weight and not hanging on to help you), slinging him over a shoulder a doing stuff for an hour. if thats your normal workout (and you are approx STR 10, of course) and you feel refreshed, then you, sir, redefine hardass in my book, because i'd be ready for a nap or at least a good sit down and breathe. however, even at 4 END/phase the average person is going to be fresh and ready after an entire day of doing that. of course, its meant to be heroic like Band of Brothers or Saving Private Ryan, not down and gritty realism, but still, considering that the normal PC has a 4-8 REC even in said down a gritty games, it seems sort of outlandish to me. and need i say that -8 to Movement is also a direct contridiction to the "few steps" part of the much argued rules clause, since even a few steps will get you a hex of movement (with a little hand waving and rounding) considering a smaller step for me is probably around 1-2 feet in length, where as a full stride is closer to a half a hex. oh, and i will add that i understand that there is a difference between "lift and movement" and "just lift", as well as "sustained lift" to "short burst lift"

Re: How much XP per 'level' first of all, i do not think it is good roleplaying to ignore the internally inconsistant aspects of the rules. just like, if real life were d20 modern, it would be exceedingly weird to see someone be hit with a sledgehammer several good times without breaking anything or dying, just because he had a high HP, but takes a single "called shot: head" with a wrench and he's down for the count, its also kinda weird to think of characters who can lift that much without exerting themselves (what END measures and represents, as i recall) but yet are exerting themselves (by the words in/with the STR chart). that is internal inconsistancy that can be bothersome to some (Mardoc and myself) but not to others (ghost angel and Hugh Neilson) it is not a big deal and can be glossed over by going with their view. oh, and this is the basis of my idea the END is the energy you expend to do things like hard word. note it is also qouted directly from the book. "Endurance represents the energy a character expends to act, exert himself, and use his powers — the more END he has, the longer he can keep doing things." so it obviously is a major factor in your ability to continue ANY action, not just lifting and carrying, but even making toast, in reality. END is a measure of energy expended to do something. since no energy (or very little) is expended, and even that is naturally recuperated in a quick fashion, it is safe to say that, by the rules, very little strain was actually put on the character. now, the encumberance rules (which on a quick referernce are not tagged as optional, i might add, at least not that i noticed, if anyone knows where i can find the bit about being optional, please point me in the right direction) help this somewhat, but they directly disagree with the normal rules. normally you can easily carry your causal STR (50 kg in our example): "He can easily carry or lift the weight which he can pick up with his Casual STR" -and- "Every character has a Casual STR equal to half of his STR. Casual STR is the STR the character can exert without conscious effort or taking an Action — in other words, when using it as a Zero Phase Action." however, carrying 50% of your max gives you a -3 DEX roll, -2 movement, 2 END per phase (5r pg379). this does not seem as effortless as the previous rules indicate, since it hampers your mobility, AND costs extra END. and a 100% encumberance (max load) you have a -8 movement and 4 END per phase. so unless you have extra movement, you can't even take the couple of steps given by the STR chart rules. and you STILL don't pay a crazy amount of END, as 4 REC is pretty standard, so you still recover END as fast as you put it out (not taking into account movement, if you can) so, by simply reading the rules as is, there is still internal inconsistancy in the way this functions. and this is what Markdoc is referring to. He chose his way of removing the inconsistancy, i simply don't use END in heroic games, because i feel it is the weakest link in the whole equation (as opposed to STR). so, that is my arguement, and i think Markdoc's as well, although if it isn't, i'm sorry to have assumed and put words in your mouth. it seems to me fairly easy to follow the train of logic, and, using the assumption of "looking at and using all the rules" that was given by ghost angel and others and a fairly complete look at all normal rules involved in this arguement. and to throw around what amounts of insults just because someone disagrees with your particular view of what level of unreality is ok in a game seems to be extreme in my view, and more confrontational than is strictly neccessary or helpful to the discussion at hand. some people just like to cling closer to reality than others, at least in some aspects of their games that they are well versed/familar with. this is no more wrong than the inverse assumption that modeling reality is not really the point of the game, and should be overlooked if possible.

Re: Is your character religious? all of my characters have a religion of somekind (i'm agnostic verging on buddhist, but i recognized the importance relgion plays on the mentallity of people/places/cultures/events). one of my more notable examples is Takeda Kyo, in a Mage: the Awakening game. he was Obrimos (linked to the realm of Aetherus, where the idea of angels comes from) and believed that his Awakening was actually him reaching (Zen Buddhist) Enlightement. When it was shown to him that all mages, even those of other religions, had awakenings, he just found that to be more proof that he was right, and that all religions are basically just confused versions of Buddhism. that was fun. all of my D&D characters are always devoted to a deity (namely one in the setting) because, damn, how can you not believe in them, since they are walking around down the street. i've played 2 characters who were devoted to some form of Christianity (1 Catholic, and the other Southern Baptist) and despite my real life dislike of it, had a lot of fun trying to stay in character and see through their eyes and not be jaded or mocking. my one Vampire: the Requiem character was non-practicing Anglican, but joined the Lancea Sanctum after getting changed. He was kinda dark and screwing theologically anyway, (raging emo-goth, that one) so it pretty much fit perfectly. my primary supers character (i usually run, instead) is an american boy who has fallen in love with the concept of Japan, (very troubled childhood, which left him looking for answers, which he found in martial arts: Kendo and Karate) he is on the path to Buddhism, but it is a bit much for a teenager to belly up to. he tries to live by the Precepts and the Noble Truths, but often ends up either being a teenager and falling far short, or going to far overboard, often in an effort to compensate for his failings.

Re: Order of the Stick L.O.L. thats all i have to say....

Re: HERO: Combat Evolved [Equipment Posts & Comments] along those lines, have you read the Halo Graphic Novel? it has a great story in it about New Membosa, right before the Covenant arrive in 2 that also hints and some of the things you are talking about. actually, the graphic novel has a couple of interesting stories that really kind of show whats going on around Chief during the games, and may give you some ideas. unfortunately, its also kinda hard to find. the new comics (Uprising, being released as a trade paperback in April) also have some good stuff of that nature in them. haven't read the novel books yet, and i'm not sure if i will, as i am picky about my books, but we'll see.

Re: HERO: Combat Evolved [Equipment Posts & Comments] post war, you are exactly right, but during the war also has possiblilties, as many things go on behind the scenes during war (many of the post war things you talked about actually start during the war). also, since Halo is all about the military, i think it would be hard to find enough useful information on the rest of the world (i.e. non military) to do a lot that doesn't have a strong military focus. also, don't discount the whole "soldiers accomplishing missions" idea, as MANY very good, exciting, and thoughtful movies have been made with this theme, 1st that comes to mind is Saving Private Ryan, but there are plenty more.