Pattern Ghost

Re: Help with child 'soft martial artist' build I wouldn't link the defense to mechanics, but to special effects, as the OP already described. I'd also call wearing rigid armor a fairly common defense, so take the NND at +1/2 instead of +1. I'd also say it was fair (b/c of the +1/2 level on the NND) to rule a reduced affect against partially armored targets. For example, suppose the character is facing a SWAT type with a solid helmet, a vest with trauma plates, and solid knee, elbow and back of hand padding. Some pressure points are covered, others aren't, and yet others are just harder to hit due to armor being in the way (hitting the neck of someone with a helmet and heavy ballistic vest is pretty tough, for instance). So, rather than wasting table time on figuring out if these types of targets are vulnerable to the attack, or figure out OCV penalties on the fly, it's easier to say that if the attack roll succeeds, at least some pressure points were hit, some hit but the attack was either partially absorbed or partially deflected, and that the net result is a reduced effect. So, net result is pretty simple to run and adjudicate. This may not be as satisfying for those who prefer a high granularity approach, but it'd work for me.

Re: Idea/Suggestion: Offline Character Generator Actually, EQ2 has one, that's where I ripped the idea off from. =)

http://www.champions-online.com/node/4980

Re: What Have You Watched Recently? I've been trying to watch a movie or two a day lately. Here are some of the things I've watched on Netflix via X-box 360 lately: The Professional: Great performance from a young Natalie Portman, as well as the rest of the cast. (Jean Reno, Danny Aeillo, Gary Oldman). Great film. Sukiyaki Western Django: Unfortunately, I couldn't understand enough of the dialog to understand this one. Liked the visuals, the craziness of it, and the fight at the end though. Domino: I'd heard this was good. It wasn't. I think it was shot and edited by ferrets on crack. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex: Better than the original movie, IMO. Watching Season 1, which I've seen most of on TV, to fill in the gaps and watch them in order before watching the rest of them. Revolver: The ferrets who made Domino got their crack from these guys. Good performance from Jason Statham in a non-action hero role, though.

Re: What Are You Listening To Right Now? Devil Doll, The Return of Eve.

Re: How do mutants work out? I think number 2 there is really one of the best ways to rationalize why Mutants are singled out instead of other types of supers in a world where there are many origins. That said, it really does work better in a single origin setting.

Re: How do mutants work out? Blob just comes by his svelte physique naturally. Besides, he won't fit through the Danger Room door.

...that's got enhanced stats outside the armor? A couple of example concepts: A pilot who has been genetically engineered to withstand the strain of pulling heavy G turns, and to have the reflexes to pilot a personal sized suit of powered armor. Think about the requirements just to fly a jet. Add in the reaction times necessary to compensate for the much greater subjective speed of flying super fast outside of a plane. (Like going 30 on a bike feels faster than going 40 in a car.) Toss out concepts like "the computer will fly it for you anyway," for this situation, because it's much cooler to grow your pilots in a vat of genetic goop than to program a combat computer! (Add in the quick mental reactions necessary to negate the need for a computer.) Or another example: A brick who just uses a suit of powered armor to fly and for resistant defenses, along with senses, ranged attacks, etc. When the bad guys catch him out of the suit, they're in for a big surprise... Anyone done anything like this? It's not as point efficient as a Defender type NCM build, but it has to lend itself to at least one amusing villain double take over the life of the character.

Re: How do mutants work out? Most mutants start out with some light cardio work before a trip to the Danger Room. =P

Re: Invisible character IMO, kill that character -- or at least have a "radiation accident" -- and have the player remake it into something playable.

Re: Grond is up with podcast I'm going back on the green. It probably looks OK in game. May even have a radioactive glow effect? Horns need to go. At least, that style. Some spiky stuff around the head is fine, but those say "fantasy demon" more than "weird science accident" to me.

Re: Grond is up with podcast The main thing I don't like about the head is the horns. The whole demonic look was way overdone in CoH IMO. Something more reptilian with spikes around the face, like my little avatar here, would have been better.

Re: Grond is up with podcast I think this is the case. Grond's ear-fins from the original Zircher version were probably too close to the Abomination's look for Cryptic's comfort, so I can't really blame them for changing the head. It's really not any worse than the 5th Edition version. I hope the in game version isn't such a freaking neon green though. And those fifth edition hands have to go. I like Zircher's the best, but we aren't going to see him in a video game.

Re: closed beta applications

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... I had Chronicles from the Science Fiction Book Club. I need to get another one and read it again before getting Book of the South. Though, I'm not sure if those two combined have all the stories or not. Definitely good stuff.

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... The Black Company books are good. And a royal PAIN to track down. I'm not even sure if they're all still in print.

Re: What Are You Listening To Right Now? Erin Smith Band, Downtown Smog Crown. I like Get Your Own Sandwich a little better, but I haven't ripped it yet and lost the CD for the moment. She's an indie we found on CD Baby.

Re: Mac compatible? Well, I've been thinking about installing Windows on my Mac via bootcamp....but I don't know if I want to sully this machine with any Microsoft products. I'm beefing up my old PC a bit to run Warhammer (just upgraded video card b/c old one died, and adding some RAM to it to max it out), so that may work fine for CoH. On the other hand, the 360 controller seems like it'd work find for an MMO. The d-pad can be used as a "wheel" to select 8 abilities. Using shoulder or other buttons to "shift" that, and you can get quite a few abilities bound to the wheel. I don't think it'll be hard to come up with a sound MMO control scheme at all, after having played with the 360 a bit. So, I may just get it on 360. If I don't like the 360 version, I could try it on the PC. The only reservation I have about the 360 is trying to chat, but I suppose a USB keyboard will work. I have no desire to use the voice option for general chatting in an MMO. Speaking of which: Does anyone know if a wireless keyboard would work on a 360? I can't see why not, but that doesn't mean anything. =P

Re: Foxbat is up I think the artist who did the first two needs to learn what a human head is shaped like. =) Other than that, seems pretty spot on. Can't wait to see the CG of him.

Re: Mac compatible? True on Bootcamp. Oh! The Macs are arriving tomorrow! Ordering a 360 tonight. I'm covered either way. =)

Ok, I know there was a FAQ or something on their website about this, but I'm unable to find it. Since I don't own a Mac, I didn't really pay attention to whether the game was compatible or not when I did find that info. However, I'm going to be getting a new 24" iMac with a dual core cpu, 4g of RAM, and a geForce 8800 video card, in about a week or two. I've already decided to get the game, so I'm thinking I may just get it for the Mac since my PC blows chunks in comparison. (22" screen, but an athlon 64 3200 w/1.25g of RAM and a geForce 6600) So, anyone know if the new machine will play it? Or am I going to end up with the X-Box 360 version?

Re: How would Stronghold imprison your character? Chimera: Locking the door would probably prove useful. Beyond that, as long as the walls are solid, I don't see much trouble keeping him incarcerated.

Re: Underwater Combat Mastery Interesting, looks like a hit a few by accident. Funny the damage resistance ended up being the same. I don't know that I'd buy up the PER that much, though maybe the book shark has lower INT? Almost did the rough skin damage shield but didn't want to dump points on it, as it'd only be useful as a special effect. And there are a lot of sharks that don't have skin that's overly rough. Hmm, my guy's fairly big... some KB resistance might be in order. Can't figure how I'd add it in after the fact with experience though. Might buy electro sense. Can just put that one down to him not realizing what the heck that tingly feeling is . . . Edit: Must spread rep... blah. I owe you future rep QM!

Re: A question of power level I think it could be a problem of players bringing a preconceived character notion into the game (often a retired character with godly point totals), instead of thinking of a concept that would fit the game the GM wants to run. I've known people who love to pull out their favorite character and try to use it for every new game they play in. I think it's a sign of laziness, and disrespectful to the GM. If the GM can make a world, I have no problem with making just one character to fit into that world. Then again, they may not have wanted to play lower point total supers. Different folks for different folks. I personally think such games have a lot of appeal. Though I'd go with a 150 total rather than 125, as the 125 just seems an odd number. Not that I'm saying it was arbitrary, just not one of the "usual" point totals used.

Re: Underwater Combat Mastery Yikes! I may have to build up my 5th Edition book list after all. I think breaching can be something he can learn as he gets used to his abilities. I see him currently as spending a lot of time under the water (and out of sight), catching fish, cruising around, and trying to work out how he's going to get some information out of VIPER. Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. Been a while since I've created a character for play, and there are a lot of nice little things in 5th that I haven't got committed to memory.