Edsel

Re: Double Ended Weapons

If the system had a "readying" mechanic, I might say you could ready the weapon faster since you can use either end to strike with.

 

I suppose you could add an extra OCV level or two to reflect the speed with which you can ostensibly strike....

Lightning Reflexes built into the weapon might be a good option. After all the weapon would theoretically have two avenues of attack so the wielder could launch an attack quicker. I also think that I might give the weapon a +1 OCV for multiple blocks. Perhaps a slight PRE bonus to the wielder as well since it is an impressive looking weapon.

Quarterstaffs in the Hero System get a +1 OCV for being a versatile weapon. In most Star Wars systems a Jedi gets a bonus when using a weapon of their own manufacture, the theory being that they have attuned with the weapon (its part of the force mysticism). I'd be tempted to give a double-ended lightsaber a +1 OCV for versatility but that could boost it to a +2 which I don't like. I think that I will make all lightsabers +0 to reflect that although they are devastating melee weapons care must be taken to avoid scoring an own goal. The +1 force attunment for self-manufacture is bonus enough.

BTW thanks everyone for your input it has gotten my sluggish imagination back on track.

I have been looking over the Star Wars d20 Saga Edition stuff. In a lot of the d20 systems their is a definite bonus for using a double ended weapon. However the problem with converting a double ended weapon into Hero system is that it doesn't really grant any boon over a normal weapon. For example a regular lightsaber is just as good as a double-bladed lightsaber in the Hero system. The only benefit Darth Maul gets, in Hero System, is that it strokes his Ego.

Has anybody put any thought in to how you would simulate a double ended weapon in Hero System. Does it grant any boon? Should it grant any boon to its wielder?

Re: A Thread for Random Musings

I just deactivated my Facebook account. I never use it since I am too busy with other stuff. All those weird passing drink and pokes and other odd stuff meant nothing to me. I'd log on once in a blue moon to find all sorts of meaningless messages all stacked up.

Re: Jokes

The mouseover from the XKCD comic reads, "It's a good thing he didn't make it any smaller, or it'd need somebody three inches tall to play it."

 

It took me a while to get the joke.

That's OK. So far I have showed it to all of the gamers I have frequent contact with and a bunch of people at work. None of us have figured out the joke yet. (a littel over two dozen people and counting).

Re: Jokes

How about an Obama joke just to make things balanced:

Q. Why did George Bush declare a state of emergency for Barack Obama's inauguration?

A. Because everyone knows it's a national disaster.

Re: WW2 Guns and Vehicles

The Hero System Vehicle Source Book has the stats for:

M3 "General Lee" Medium Tank

M4A2 "Sherman" Medium Tank

Panzerkampfwagen V Panther

Willys Jeep

Douglas DC-3

Bell P-39N Airacobra

Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress

Consolidated B-24H/J Liberator

Lockheed P-38L Lightning

Messerschmitt BF 109G-6

North American P-51D Mustang

Supermarine Spitfire Mk IA

Iowa-class Battleship

Type VIIA U-Boat

Also check out this link to the vehicle write-ups on Susano's website. Surbrook's Stuff Vehicle Adaptations.

There have also been various WWII vehicles posted to these forums. For example here is a write-up for an M3 Halftrack.

Pulp Hero has a pretty extensive collections of weapons (most of the WWII rifles, pistols, submachine guns, machine gus, etc.).

Re: A Thread for Random Videos

I am mildly afraid of heights. This made me wince a time or two.

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1778399&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1

It doesn't seem to be a video I can embed.

Re: PRE Attack Resistance

Normally this is done by buying extra PRE as a power with the limitation, Only to Resist PRE Attacks (-1).

Re: A Thread for Random Videos

Presto the Bunneh!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGde-2liFwU

Re: Jokes

New Element Discovered--Governmentium

Lawrence Livermore Laboratories has discovered the heaviest element yet known to science. The new element, Governmentium (symbol=Gv), has one neutron, 25 assistant neutrons, 88 deputy neutrons, and 198 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312. These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons.

Since Governmentium has no electrons, it is inert. However, it can be detected, because it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. A tiny amount of Governmentium can cause a reaction that would normally take less than a second, to take from 4 days to 4 years to complete.

Governmentium has a normal half-life of 2 to 6 years. It does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places. In fact, Governmentium's mass will actually increase over time, since each reorganization will cause more morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes.

This characteristic of moron promotion leads some scientists to believe that Governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a critical concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as critical morass.

When catalyzed with money, Governmentium becomes Administratium (symbol=Ad), an element that radiates just as much energy as Governmentium, since it has half as many peons but twice as many morons.

Re: House Rule: Only half of your defense stops body damage.

I think Nexus mentioned this' date=' but the way I've done this is Every 20 Stun past defenses equals 1 Body done... [/quote']

I like this idea. A rule like this would also be good in a street-level Dark Champions campaign. When you get shot but your kevlar vest stops all the BODY damage, a ratio of X BODY done for each X STUN sustained could be used to simulate the way soft body armor works. "Yeah, it stopped the bullet but I think I cracked a rib."

Re: Hudson City Blues

Going from memory here... The Hanged Man believes that the best way to eliminate the gang bangers and such is to arm them so that they eliminate each other. He sells weapons to them at bargain basement prices thus ensuring that they have ample weapons with which to kill each other. He uses cheap reconditioned weapons for this purpose and he actually booby traps some of them so that they are likely to backfire and/or explode on the firer, after they have been used for a short time.

Re: Changing into a costume

The 1 Phase to change clothes rule makes OIHID one of the easiest limitations to claim. As long as it takes you longer than a single Phase to change your identity you are all set. Just remember that OIHID powers won't work in your non-hero ID and it is not really proper to stack OIHID with Focus limitations.

Re: Hudson City Blues

I just got a copy of Hudson City Blues and was reading it. One of the first things it talks about is Getting "Dark Champions" and Justice, Not Law" as reference books. I have DC and "Hudson City the Urban Abyss", do I need Justice, Not Law also? What is Justice, Not Law?

 

 

Thanks Bob

Here is a Link to the campaign logs, NPCs and other data from my Omega Team Dark Champions Campaign. Killer Shrike hosts this for me. The stories featured in Hudson City Blues are featured prominently. Be warned there are spoilers on this web page. My current campaign the Weekend Warriors may be getting a similar treatment. It too takes place in Hudson City. I have been reviewing and catching up on the Weekend Warriors campaign logs so that I can send a package to Killer Shrike and hopefully resume the WW campaign later this year.

Re: Widows & Orphans (PDF Download)

113 pages

Re: Hudson City Blues

How do you figure the AoE on that' date=' it's not like she makes a large hole in the fabric of reality?[/quote']

It has been a while but I think that the effect I was going for is that she could be seen in a crowd, not as an individual but as a person. In other words if you were counting heads in a crowd you would count her but not register her individually. If you were close enough to identify her as an individual then you would not register her at all. Looking back at it now the AE radius was uncalled for.

Re: HPA In The Works: The Great White Hunter's Bestiary

I know you aren't looking for a lot of "prehistoric survivors," but perhaps you might consider the Phorusrhacos. I consider being chased by a flock of, essentially, giant carnivorous ostriches to be one of the cooler experiences in adventure gaming. I've also always wondered how to build that meathook-claw/wing sweep attack of theirs in HERO.

 

Note that while some of the Phorusrhacidae species were probably fast runners, some of the more massive species, like the Brontornis, were likelier to have been ambush predators; so you can have varied encounters depending on the species.

 

For something slightly more mundane, how about giant electric eels for rivers deep in the South American jungle? You could pump up their electric discharge to lethal levels -- not unprecedented for real-life examples.

OK' date=' that's [i']definitely[/i] gotta go in there. Good suggestion!

 

And, and, what if the Dire Chinchillas were riding phorusrhacoses??!?! MWAH hah hah hah hah!!!!

I posted a write-up of one of these to the Hero Vault a year or two ago. Here it is.

Re: A Thread for Random Musings

My current rep power is 66666. I guess this makes me the Devil +2.

Re: Hudson City Blues

The write-up that I did for Plain Jane has the following power:

Invisibility to All Sense Groups (Disinterest), No Fringe (+10 points), Area of Effect x16 radius (250")(+2), Costs No END (+1/2), Persistent (+1/2), Always On (+1/2), Not vs. Magic-based Senses (-1/4), Not vs. Robots (-1/4). 315 Active Points, 158 Real Points.

A very expensive power but since she is an NPC and not meant to be a combatant that is unimportant. This was a 4th Edition write-up so the updated 5th Ed. version would likely be a bit different. I also assumed that if the character chose to directly talk to you (specifically hold your attention) that she could become visible to you though she still came across as very plain and uninteresting.

Re: Order of the Stick

Perhaps a low level Change Environment with lingering effects.

Re: Heart Shot

The effects of bullets in real life vary wildly as previous posters have alluded to. I have read accounts of people surviving long enough to fight back from multiple chest shots and even heart shots. I have also read accounts of people rapidly dying from shock due to an otherwise seemingly trivial wound from a low caliber bullet.

Snipers sometimes target what they call the "apricot", the junction of the brain and brain stem, (about an apricot's size). That seems to be the only way to ensure an instant kill. It would be a -9 to hit in Hero.

Re: Bleach Conversion Project

The power-level of the characters vary wildly over time.

The first thing you'll have to do is set a point in time at which to base the characters. In season one they are powerful enough but by seasons 2 and 3, the adventures in the Soul Society, many of them border on deity-level.

I and at least one of the other gamers in my group have contemplated trying to do Bleach conversions but we usually conclude that it would be tricky to do and neither one of us really has enough free time to devote to such a project.

Re: A Thread for Random Musings

Ever have certain words whose sound you just don't like. Here's one of mine: Filk.

It just sounds like something that ought to be old musty and moldy.

Re: Heart Shot

Included is an excerpt from the House Rules of my Weekend Warriors campaign. This includes rules for targeting specific organs.

Re: How to add 1 pip and 1/2d6's?

In the Dark Champions book there are rules for all sorts of different ammo, some of which add damage to the base damage of the weapon they are used in. In those cases there are examples of a 2d6+1 RKA with a +1 pip adder being used as 2d6+2.

My guess would be to use the same method for other stacked powers.