Matt the Bruins

Re: The Distinctive, The Special, The Cool The flexibility of the character creation rules would be my #1 favorite thing about the HERO System. I think it provides more options than any other game system I've ever seen. I love that it can be used to model the exact character you want to play in the exact genre you want to play in, whether that's a hard-bitten gumshoe in Pulp-style adventures or a cosmically powerful alien policeman in a high powered sci-fi superhero setting. Likewise, the background work put into customizing the rules to various genres is something very special. Among the specific mechanical aspects that I really like are: • the separate tracking of consciousness/incapacity and physical health/injury, and the further separation of resistance to both sorts of harm from the ability to absorb them. • END, as a basic concept and how it plays out when running the game. • the wide range of combat maneuvers and tactics available. • the languages set-up, which is probably the best I've ever seen in any game system. • the rules for Perks such as Bases, Vehicles, and Followers, and the approach to the Summoning power that somewhat echoes them.

Re: Pulp Lovecraft I thought Witch Hunt was vastly inferior in every respect except its use of Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell on You" as part of the soundtrack. But the original was definitely top notch entertainment.

Re: Transdimensional PREsence Actually everyone did; the general reaction was busting out in laughter and loving that the climax came down to a cinematic character moment for a memorable but not excessively combat-effective character rather than a cliched brawl/shoot-em-up. If anyone had an objection, I don't recall hearing about it. (Full disclosure: the master antagonist had actually just been taken down physically, but that inspired bluff saved about 45 minutes of tallying dice rolls against more formidable bodyguards and assorted henchmen.)

Re: Transdimensional PREsence The TORG system had something very similar, allowing intimidation and taunting attacks based on the Charisma attribute. One of my fellow players actually derailed the big climcatic brawl at the end of an adventure with one.

Re: Hero Version of The Everyman As to the damage class issue, comparison studies I've seen put the force of pro boxers' punches at the extreme upper end of what any martial artist can generate with the upper body (kicks by various Eastern arts had a bit more oomph than such blows, topped out by Muay Thay kickboxers). I don't think you can make a case for a handful of the best boxers in the world being restricted to +1 DC on their signature move if Karate and Kung Fu experts are able to buy +3 or +4 across the full spectrum of their maneuvers.

Re: How would you stat up gods in Hero System? For finite, lower-case g gods that have feuds amongst themselves and with other sorts of supernatural beings and might make personal appearances in a campaign, I'd go with designing them as if they were master villains or similarly powerful heroes. I'd probably use the published write-up for Tezcatlipoca in Arcane Enemies as a guide for a fairly prominent member of a polytheistic pantheon, adjusting for how plentiful and strong supernatural forces are supposed to be (Middle Ages or Roman Times: about the same as modern stats; magic-rich Turakian or Atlantean Age: double the active points of major signature powers).

Re: Multipower Gadgeteer Would posting the Botanical Arsenal Multipower I designed for George Washington Carver 5 be useful?

Re: Aunt May I think she's been seriously shortchanged in the EGO and PRE department... however physically frail she might be, May Parker is neither weak-willed nor lacking in force of personality. (Hey, her talking smack about Doctor Doom while standing next to him is one of my favorite scenes in comics history!) I have joked that given the character's knack for not getting killed, the distant end of the Marvel Universe is probably going to be her telling Death "You go on dear, I'm just going to finish tidying up."

Re: Fantasy Art Thread Sweet work Fritz, very evocative!

Re: Good resource for travel distances/day? At least they'll save him time spent foraging, as the crumbs left over from one of their several breakfasts would probably sustain him for the whole day.

Re: Patriotic Equipment Maybe an old victrola gramophone that plays "The Star-Spangled Banner" loud enough that the high notes make opponents' ears bleed?

Re: Randy Orton Posing for more pictures like these would be a good start...

Re: Master of Several Martial Arts I believe Dr. Yin Wu from The Dragon Mandarin knows at least 4 different martial art styles, and has several maneuvers that overlap multiple styles. (He also has an exceedingly powerful Dim Mak attack that's bought as a power rather than a maneuver...)

Re: Storn's Art & Characters thread. I love the tail fin and old-timey mine on that second one!

Re: Most Embarassing Champions Moment Who made the plane's instrument panels, the set designers from Star Trek?

Re: Who Watches The Foxbat? Think formerly-living human.

Re: Advice on how to gm 9 to 10 players in a Superhero campaign. If you're going to have a recurring set group of non-master villains in the game, ask for volunteers to play the villains rather than their own heroic characters. It'll keep you from having to determine the actions of eleventy different NPCs, and the hero-villain rivalries will take on a more three-dimensional quality with one-on-one interaction between opponents.

Re: Bones As Armour I'm now imagining weaponized pistol shrimp...

Re: affect desolioification granads? Would an Area of Effect "Affects Desolidified" naked modifier also need Usable Simultaneously to grant the advantage to attacks by multiple people within the given area? That seems like a build that would let, for example, people punch or shoot ghostly targets without running up against the restriction against using Drain or Supress on Inherent powers.

Re: Someone Please Explain This to Me? I have to admit that hearing that quote from the man who designed the Deadly Wrath of Tyrannon power makes me chuckle.

Re: Champions Pronunciation Guide I guess I'm happy to have been saying Tyrannon as the author intended all along, though it's somewhat mitigated by having stressed the wrong syllable of Mechanon. Kind of like a chapel that serves evil undead burritos, eh?

Re: Who Watches The Foxbat? Champions heroes tend to be a bit underpowered compared to the villains, don't they? If we were to use villains in place of the Watchmen figures other than Ozymandias, a choice does suggest itself for a godawfully powerful figure who put himself back together posthumously and has the whole world anxious about what he'll do next...

Re: Bones As Armour I wonder if the fin cartilage of sharks and manta rays would be useful as plates of armor? They'd decay faster than true bone, but the increased flexibility and lighter weight might be worth it.

Re: Good resource for travel distances/day? I had a co-worker who was pretty big on wildreness hiking with her husband. They once doubled up on a hike against the Parks Department's advice and pressed on to the 2nd following campsite, about 23 miles down the trail in one day. She said it was a grueling hike and they both collapsed exhausted when they made it to the campsite and had to deal with a lot of muscle pain the next day (remember, these were both experienced hikers). Modern people generally do those 26-mile marathons on paved roads with no obstacles to avoid or uneven ground to trip over.

Re: The Reason Behind Teleios Personally I love the concept of Teleios' advances in genetics all having been prodded to fruition after he woke up to find notes in what looks to be his own handwriting casually left lying around by Consuela, the fiendish criminal mastermind with 35 INT who doesn't do windows.