rjcurrie

Re: Top 5 Favorite 5E Supplements

Pulp Hero

Villainy Amok

DEMON

USPD 1-2

UNTIL: Defenders of Freedom (have to love the GATEWAY Commander)

Re: Comic Book (genre) Conventions that don't work in Champions

Well one Silver Age convention that doesn't work very well is "Our bad guy has his maguffin split up into six parts all over the world. Let's all split up so it's less obvious that Superman doesn't need the rest of the team." The only time splitting the group works is as a justification for why the players who didn't show up this time don't have a character.

I don't think I've ever split the group that much, but I have split the group in two in a convention game and switched back in forth between the two for about 2 1/2 hours. It's just a matter of making sure you don't wait too long between switches.

Although, you know, I should do the "split the team into many parts to each accomplish a goal" one of these years in one of my convention games.

Another convention that doesn't work very well is the "Get to know you" fight where heroes fight each other briefly before realising it's all a misunderstanding.

Actually, we sort of had that in the old Champions campaign that I used to play in. In fact, it was the campaign where I played Rick Davies the Resilient Rubber-Man (my avatar here on the boards). Well, Rick had just gotten married and headed off on his honeymoon, so I was playing Challenger (a patriotic American superhero) as a replacement because the GM had an adventure that grew out of one of the many things that happened in the wedding session: some kind of demon-related plot that I don't recall. Since the campaign was set in Toronto, I decided that David Kennedy (Challenger's Secret ID) was in Toronto on business. At the same time, my friend Kevin was introducing a new character: a teenage American mystic whose father had just been transferred to Toronto and was on her first mission with the Heroes Guild, the campaign superteam. In any event, as Challenger was in the limo heading downtown from the airport, he hears a radio report about the demonic trouble and has his driver head to that area of town. Meanwhile, at the battle, the young mystic was knocked serverely unconscious and one of the members of the Guild decided it would be a good idea to get her out of there. So, Mocker, this guy stuck in a suit that made him look like a demon (sort of Blue Devil with the Martian Manhunter's power set) picked her up and was carrying her outside. So, when Challenger arrived, he saw what appeared to be a demon carrying a girl who he recognized as a young American heroine. Needless to say, he attacked the demon (that is, Mocker) and the fight was on. After Challenger regained consciousness, he teamed up with the Guild for an adventure that took them to Hell and back.

In the Sixth Edition Showcase #1 thread, Trebuchet made the following observation:

As has been noted before' date=' no set of rules can prevent unbalancing builds - it's up to the GM. That was the case in 5ER; it'll be just as true in 6E or 60th.[/quote']

 

And I had to wonder; what will the Hero System 60th Edition be like? What will we arguing about?

Re: Sixth Edition Showcase #1: ACV And AVAD

Not quite related to the new advantage' date=' but if you have to buy up your CVs from scratch, what's to prevent most people from having OMCV of 3 (or even 1 by selling back) and DMCV of 8? Or for that matter, a mentalist with no physical attacks from having an OCV of 1 and DCV of 10?[/quote']

 

If a GM is willing to allow it, why not?

Re: Defender!

its also in sidekick as a sample hero and millenium city in its champions writeups

I don't have the book handy but I believe Millennium City does not contain write-ups for any of the Champions (except perhaps Kinetic who was not yet a member).

Re: Sixth Edition Showcase #1: ACV And AVAD

Hurm... interesting...

 

It'll be that cheap?

I believe the Advanced Player's Guide is aimed for $20 or $25. Remember, it will be softcover, black and white, and may contain little or no art.

Re: Sixth Edition Showcase #1: ACV And AVAD

Lessee, we're looking at 6 weeks before release?

 

And the two volumes can be purchased for what?

 

$70 for a bundle or $80 separately?

 

That looks like ~$15 a week (actually 13.33, but 15 is a cleaner number) from here to now.

At $15 a week, you'd have $90 which would be enough to cover most of (if not aill of) the Advanced Player's Guide as well.

Re: 6E Rules changes confirmed so far

Actually I believe that OCV/DCV will have a base other then zero like two or three. So it makes it a little cheaper. That is if I recall correctly.

Steve already stated that OCV and DCV will each have a base of 3.

Re: 6E Rules changes confirmed so far

It's also possible that some changes will have effects none of us have anticipated - possibly even Mr. Long.

 

For example, has it occurred to anyone else that The Great De-Coupling takes one giant step towards making Telekinesis obsolete?

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The provocative palindromedary thinks it's a step towards making Characteristics obsolete

Well, I think TK exists as a Power simply because it's clearer to people than STR usable at range. It's a part of a lot of Power sets.

Re: 6E Rules changes confirmed so far

Hopefully Steve Long reveals some more juicy tidbits/teasers in his Chat tonight and we can discuss them and stay on topic.

Personally, I'm looking forward to H6E whatever the changes are because it'll provide more options to pick and choose from. The more changes the more options there are, all the old options from previous editions and house rules are available to make the game I want. I don't feel forced to play a RAW single edition of the game as is. It's a gaming toolkit, more tools = more gaming goodness, YMMV.

I'm not sure how many options will be presented in the main rulebooks. I think there'll be a few but there'll be more in the Advanced Player's Guide.

Re: Limited Power Limitation Conditional Power Costs Broken?

Or the characters have teammates that have different Limitations on their Powers and they work as a team to cover each others weaknesses.

 

BTW, by night raid it wasn't so much deciding to go on one as defending against one, but it's both really.

 

FWIW, I like an sand-boxy, open-ended style of gaming where the characters have to deal with a variety of different environments and situations and I think giving big Limitations makes them pull together as a team. That's part of where I'm coming from.

Interesting. Personally, if they're spending a lot of the time when their powers don't work with people who have powers that do work, then I think the Limitation is worth even less.

Re: 6E Rules changes confirmed so far

Nowt obvoius on t'net' date=' Rod.[/quote']

 

You're probably right. I should have least added a smiley face and maybe attempted a greater parallel in sentence structure, but ah well.

 

It is funny, to me anyways, that Nexus and I are both annoyed by basically the same thing

Re: 6E Rules changes confirmed so far

Yep' date=' I'm committed to buying it when it comes out, I'll look it over. In the meantime most of the negative emotion I'm feeling for SexEd is not from anything Steve has confirmed, but the snarkiness of this thread.[/quote']

 

Fine. And I have no problem with that reaction at all. It's not that people disagree it's how they're expressing their disagreement.

Re: 6E Rules changes confirmed so far

Consecutive post.

 

Welcome to my ignore list.

The first post was an offer to apologize if it would make people feel better and the second post was meant more humorously than it came out, obviously.

Re: 6E Rules changes confirmed so far

It doesn't matter if that extra work is 30 seconds (love your ability to predict just how long will be...)' date=' 30 minutes or 3 seconds. Its extra work [b']that provides absolutely jack all benefit to me[/b] in a chargen system that's already pretty dang involved. It takes long enough as it is, there is enough to deal with as it is. Why should I be happy about required to do more for nothing? Please explain that. It's like someone adding a wind up key to my car ignition. It might only take a few seconds to twist but why? It does nothing but add time.

Fine. It's very obviously a major difference in how you and I design characters. I have always looked at every single Figured Characteristic and made a decision as to whether its base value should be bought up or not. And if I decided I should buy up enough Figured Characteristics, I would go back and look at whether or not I should buy up the appropriate Primary Characteristics instead and often have to make decisions of a concept vs. efficiency nature. So to me, the decoupling is actually more efficient and straightforward and leads to fewer concept vs. efficiency decisions.

However, I will admit if you are someone who never bought up Figured Characteristics, you might find the new method a little more work.

Gee thanks for your half hearted forced "apology". I'm moved I'm really am. And I'm sorry you think someone have different preferences and desires for the game is worthy of condensation or that somehow this will make those on the fence about the game more interesting it taking a look at instead of dismissing it out of hand.

I think you may have misunderstood. My statement was that if it would make people feel better, then I will apologize. I have not apologized yet at all. I merely stated that I will do it if it will make people feel better.

Why? Because they dare not to like what they've told automatically and voice opinions other than gushing admiration? I don't care that some people get gushy over a book they probably haven't seen yet what bugs me is when they start getting personal and insulting about it to people that disagree particularly when it seems most of that group is willing to give the whole a chance. It's petty and frankly, kind of fanboish.

Okay, first of all, that statement was meant more or less as a parody of statements like your own that the sixth edition changes were driving them away from the game. No, it's got nothing to do with people expressing opinions other than gushing admiration. It's people jumping to conclusions on partial information; it's people continuing to argue about things that have already been decided; it's people being close-minded about character design methods other than their own; it's people attaching deep significance to a set of formulae that were pretty clearly chosen for convenience rather than any significant real life relationship.

And the discussions have been pretty much limited to the changes revealed. I have certainly not dismissed the possibility that the rest of the 6th edition may contain something that I absolutely hate. If it turns out that the rest of the rules do contain something like that, I will quite likely drop the game and move on -- I might post a good-bye message on these boards, but more likely I will just cut all ties and be gone.

There are changes that I would have made that Steve hasn't and changes that he has made that I wouldn't. For example, I'm not sure I would have dropped COM but I would have probably taken a good long look at decoupling Skills from Characteristics and removing the Language Chart. I would have also taken a good long at how Limitations and Advantages are presented and calculated. But none of those things appear to be happening.

I was calm. I asked a question, was asked one, answered and got mocked for it. Not for the first time and I'm not the only one.

Perhaps you got caught in the backlash of frustration at the over-the-top reactions of others.

Maybe you should consider taking some of your own advice here. Honestly, you've been coming across as some kind of overzealous fanatic, mocking and condescending to anyone that disagree with you on one turn than whining about Steve Long being picked on and not being treated like "one of us" on other while giving a pretty poor example how we treat "our own". It's great that you like the changes in 6th edition. Some people don't,. Steve Long is not a god of gaming, not a supergenius and he didn't write 6th by carving it into the side of a mountain with a finger of fire so please stop treating people that haven't been thrilled by what they've seen so far as heretics before the Church of Sixth. It's just a book written by a guy and so far one that hasn't impressed on me the need to blow lots of of money on it.

Fine and that's a perfectly valid and calmly expressed opinion. My objection is not to people disagreeing with the changes -- that's inevitable. Heck, I'm surprised I haven't disagreed with more of the changes. And frankly, in my mind, I can't just house rule away changes I don't like because I primarily run convention games that are somewhat supported by Hero Games and feel an obligation to handle things as by-the-book as possible.

My objection is with the close-minded over-the-top reactions of many people.

Re: 6E Rules changes confirmed so far

The obvious conclusion is that' date=' well, you can make a package deal containing stats. Which you can do without unified power, too.[/quote']

 

I think his point was that Unified Power would offer a point break, which a Template (formerly known as a Package Deal) would not.

Re: 6E Rules changes confirmed so far

Maybe you're right. All I know is that I've been an enthusiastic fan of Hero System for over 20 yrs but this 6th edition crap has almost succeeded in strangling that enthusiasm to death in a matter of months.

You know, I've generally liked Hero Fans for over 25 years but the reaction of some of those fans to the 6th edition changes has almost succeeded in making me hate Hero fans in general.

Re: 6E Rules changes confirmed so far

Oh' date=' thank you so much for that, Rod, 'cause if there was something this thread was in short supply of, it was snark. [/quote']

 

Oh, come on, complaining about the minor little bit of extra work caused by decoupling Figured Characteristics calls for a snark in my mind.

 

But if it makes people feel better, I will apologize.

 

Geesh, guys, it's just a game that you use to waste a few hours of time now and then -- it's not life and death. Just calm down.

Re: Can't start a thread on the 6E Forum?

You understand incorrectly.

Well, I think the decision to do 6th edition when they did was influenced by the MMO. It's possible they may have waited another year or so, but yeah, I'm pretty sure they were going to do one anyway.

Re: 6E Rules changes confirmed so far

You'd still have to buy them up independently which requires an larger amount of points to spent to get the same character and a an additional step I don't currently need for every character as it stands.

That extra thirty seconds or so per character is going to be a killer.

Re: 6E Rules changes confirmed so far

He actually did indicate that Unified Power could be used to couple CHAR together - it was in the last HERO chat or so' date=' but that's been so long ago (from a chat archive standpoint) that I'm not about to dig up my evidence.[/quote']

 

If I remember correctly, you asked if Unified Power could be applied to Characteristics. Or perhaps if there were any restrictions on what you could apply Unified Power to . You jumped to the conclusion that you could use it to construct an alternative to Figured Characteristics.

Re: 6E Rules changes confirmed so far

Given that the limitation was originally described as the replacement for ECs, and that Steve has never mentioned it as a replacement for Figured Cha, I doubt it. The closest equivalent to figured Cha would be package deals, such as:

10: Str +5, PD +1, Rec +1, Stun +2

15: Con +5, ED +1, Rec +1, End +10, Stun +5 (assumes x1 Con, x0.5 END)

Well, of course, you mean Templates not Package Deals.

But, really, what's wrong with my solution of simply using the old formulae to specify the suggest campaign minimums for the old Figureds?

Re: 6E Rules changes confirmed so far

I hope there is more. I was hoping you could determine more complex relationships such as several stun points per whatever combo you liked or its really inadequate for my purposes. if that's it I also prefer ECs. I can't help but think there's more to it.

Just include the following in your campaign guidelines:

Re: Limited Power Limitation Conditional Power Costs Broken?

s'alright. No harm in overthinking a situation. Sean's practically made a hobby out of it.

Hobby? Hobby? I always thought it was a full time job and he was working a lot of overtime.

Re: Absorption.

But the book legal way is to buy the two separately.