Matt the Bruins

Re: Physcial menifestations of mental attacks - did I build this right? I'd recommend using Explosion Nonselective for a single point source sound-based weapon rather than Area Effect. You'd still get effects (of a weakening intensity) out to a 6" radius, it seems more appropriate/plausible for what's actually happening, and it'd be less expensive to boot.

Re: Smarter than your average Brick Extra style points if you flip it up with the toe of your boot before throwing, like Sarah Douglas!

Re: Mr. Fantastic I have seen multiple stories by multiple writers where he became taffy-esque upon being rendered forcibly unconscious though. Maybe that should be modeled as a Side Effect of the stretching EC or Multipower?

Re: Does anyone really roll 30D6? I'd take issue with that, as wind resistance results in a terminal velocity fall being about 145 mph for a human density character, give or take a bit for aerodynamics. I can easily see even mid-range bricks withstanding that much impact damage without being too terribly hurt. Now if it's a fall from outside the atmosphere, they'll be going a lot faster before wind friction can start slowing them down, and that re-entry heat is going to be a bitch unless their build includes a LOT of resistant ED.

Re: What does a "20 Comeliness" look like to YOU? Going back to the naming of names, my personal picks for 20s would include: Ben Browder (circa 1998; he's slipped a tiny bit over the last decade as he's slimmed down...) John Stamos (but not with that godawful mullet from his Full House days...) Kavan Smith.

Re: Mental regen Frankly, the campaign you describe has gone far past the point where I'd have told the GM to go buy himself a plastic girlfriend if he's that desperate to play humiliation games with someone.

Re: Foods for those that just don't care anymore Yeah, but if he keeps up that diet after training is done he'll just bounce off the water when he dives in instead of penetrating the surface Are they sure this guy was actually a human being rather than a shaved bear?

Re: Golden Age Myth? Well, except that Dr. Fate and the Spectre were both Golden Age characters and founding members of the Justice Society. I'd say that either one is easily more powerful than the entire regular JLA lineup. (Hell, the Spectre is probably more powerful than all the other super-beings on earth combined.) One thing I wonder... was Captain Marvel perhaps the genesis of the "gee whiz" idealized stereotype of Golden Age comics? So far as I've ever heard, he was always an innocent and morally upstanding figure, and back in the Forties he was the best-selling comic book character by a fair margin.

Re: Favorite Anti-Brick tricks? It wouldn't be a one-shot-and-he's-out type deal, but if you have a telekinetic or force field projector who wants to give bricks something to worry about besides who to hit next: Say Goodnight, Gracie: RKA 1d6, +4 STUN Multiplier (+2), NND (Defense is self-contained breathing or force field capable of holding in air; +1), Area Of Effect (One Hex, Nonselective; +1/4), Continuous (+1); Extra Time (Extra Segment; -1/2), No Knockback (-1/4). 79 Active Points, 45 Real Points Way back when, the Invisible Girl dropped the Hulk using this tactic.

Re: Transform: Class of mind Oh, I'm arguing that is should be a Major Transform, and involve some pretty fundamental changes to the character's mental workings in addition to opening up a vulnerability to mental powers bought a certain way. The Works Against EGO, Not BODY advantage also strikes me as appropriate

Re: Transform: Class of mind I think the problem is that although the game effects of "class of mind" are fairly low key, what it actually indicates is the basic essence of how a character's mind works, and is pretty vital to his or her self. I don't think it's philosophically fair game to rewire that and claim that everything still works exactly the same except now people with Telepathy vs. Machines can tune in to the character's thoughts.

Re: Susano vs Marvel characters Shuma-Gorath has the advantage of being an über-powerful cosmic tentacle monster, so at least that fight would be genre-appropriate. (Seriously, though largely forgotten by Marvel writers it probably operates on at least the same scale as Galactus and Dark Phoenix.)

Re: Mount Rushmore golem Love the concept! Can you imagine the looks on people's faces when they see it moving? I do think 55 PD/ED is over the top for something made mostly of granite rather than unobtainium, though. DEF for rocks and boulders is normally what, 5? I'd probably give it resistant PD/ED not more than twice that, and pour the rest of the points into Damage Reduction to reflect that it's not that hard to chip, but so humongous that most attacks short of a nuke can't really affect it much.

Re: After DEMON wins... Well, as the Therion lyric goes, the Ravens of Dispersion have borne me utterly away. By which I mean something about the concept stuck with me after reading this thread, and prompted me on a convoluted search to track down a copy of the long out-of-print book they appeared in. What's the etiquette for posting one's 5th edition conversion of previously published earlier edition write-ups for feedback? Sometimes a little bit of obsession is good for you. I was inspired to draw my visualization of one of the Ravens this weekend, and the creative surge carried me through other unrelated pieces of art once I was at my desk with pen in hand.

Re: The Kryptonite Alternatives Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) has proven capable of muting another Lantern's ring effects or drawing power from their rings by sheer force of will. One would assume that alien living power batteries who are billions of years old and reputedly the most powerful telepaths in the universe would be able to do so far more effectively.

Re: Elemental Control Vs. Multipower Actually, I just finished the stat design stage on my first playable 350-point character that more or less fits the former. Element-based theme, 10-slot multipower with defenses, Life Support, and one relatively minor linked power for flavor outside the framework.

Re: YOUR RL Skills Well, I'm neither famous nor rich as a result of using those skills, and I do personally know a number of other artists and designers that I'd consider better at one or the other. (But thankfully for my ego the two groups don't cross over among my acquaintances!) I listed what seemed right for someone with a strong specific talent and a couple decades worth of experience using it daily, but short of being a reknowned expert. To my way of thinking, the 15- to 17- range is for people who've really made a name for themselves in their field, and 18+ is for world-class luminaries.

Re: YOUR RL Skills I'm a professional illustrator and graphic designer who's won more than one art competition and once had a drawing hang in Congress for a year, so I'd feel fairly comfortable giving myself a 14- in PS: Illustration and either a 13- or 14- in PS: Graphic Design. Fact-checking and photo research on a professional level might earn me a PS: Researcher of 12-. Stealth would be maybe 12- or even 13-, as I move quietly, startle people all the time and am frequently the guy people don't even notice in the room. Other than that, it'd be miscellaneous Knowledge and Science skills at the 8- or 11- level. (Well, maybe a 12- for Mythology. Handy if I get one of those empowered-by-the-gods origin stories.) I'd give myself maybe 2 general ranged combat skill levels and an extra +1 with the longbow, but that'd be mostly to reflect above average aim while compensating for a DEX of 8 or even 7. Not terrible graceful on my feet here even if I don't make much noise. I don't darken the gym door often enough to have a consistent measure of my strength, but I can pick up my 200 lb. dad with some difficulty, and cart 70 to 100 lb. boxes around the office without panting. On the other hand, when I helped carry a 400 lb. hospital bed a couple of years ago and briefly ended up supporting most of the weight as we lowered it, it felt like my kidneys were going to squirt out my back.

Re: This Human doesn't smell threatening Wouldn't this effect take quite a while to develop via natural selection if he's doing something sinister to the animals? It's not like ones hunted for food are going to have the opportunity to pass on a "don't trust this safe-smelling guy!" message to their woodland pals.

Re: What else is a classic trope ? I so need to find another local superhero gaming group to join so I can play the politically incorrect feminine counterpart: Heap Big Woman.

Re: Brainstorming: Enforcers of the Scarlet Moon (spoilers below) A couple of other super-villain options suggest themselves for the enforcer of someone who worships Freyja, based on her famous possessions as detailed in the Eddas. She possessed a cloak of feathers that would allow her (or anyone she lent it to) to transform into a falcon. Maybe an avian shape-shifter, or a Viking weapon-themed Hawkman or Hawkwoman analog would work. Freyja also possessed an amazingly valuable necklace named Brisingamen, which was the macguffin in a struggle between Loki and Heimdall. While I don't know that a literal jeweled necklace that inspires awe and greed among onlookers would make a good basis for a character concept, maybe the name could be applied to an armored terrorist whose battle suit is gilded like the early Iron Man armor.

Re: Yes, but what about the other guys? Extra-Dimensional Movement also covers time travel, no? Maybe if one thinks of it not as fleeing to some parallel universe containing the desired outcome but rather altering the past to overwrite reality with said outcome it would seem more thematically appropriate as the power to use?

Re: What happens when a new GM doesn't understand game balance I've not run into that with the women who play RPGs because they like gaming (as opposed to the ones who must share all activities with their boyfriends/husbands because it's a Law of Coupledom). They neither asked for nor received preferential in-game treatment... pretty much the only difference between their SOs running the game and other friends from the group was that there was more teasing and bickering out of character.

Re: What happens when a new GM doesn't understand game balance I have much greater fear of the phrase "My girlfriend is going to try playing tonight." At least with a GM's authorial insert character he may skew things to help the adventure follow a planned story track. I've found in most cases that the non-gamer girlfriend showing up to try things out results in ridiculous favoritism and derailing the tone of the game. Note that the above problems don't seem to crop up if the GM's girlfriend is actually a gamer in her own right, just with significant others who come in without any RPG experience and are inclined to take what their boyfriend has happen to their characters personally.

Re: OIF points come due: Defender vs Neutron In that case, I hope he wore clean underwear, as it will soon be displayed for all to see with that 7d6 RKA zapping his armor for any length of time.