Pattern Ghost

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

If he swims that fast' date=' you might consider paying for the advantage: Usable as leaping. At 149 MPH, I suspect that even low-flying aircraft aren't safe from this guy.[/quote']

 

Good idea!

 

Ultimate Speedster p39 has some rules Breaching (leaping out of the water).

 

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.

Re: Underwater Combat Mastery

Nice character, PG. Given his powerset, I think I'd just dump the ape, tiger, etc., and just stick with aquatic critters as DNA donors. It's not like great whites, etc., aren't strong and fast. You might consider dumping Climbing as something not really in sync with a water-based character.

 

You do realize how fast 80" Swimming/5 SPD is? 149 MPH!

Yep, did the math on that one. About three to six times the speed of a normal shark, according to one website (which puts them at 26-50 mph). Being that speedy in water is bound to come in handy at least once in his career.

The Climbing is an Alligator trait. Suckers can climb to places you'd be surprised to see. I'm from Florida, and every year, there'd be a few cases of gators up on someone's tool shed. I wanted him to be mainly a mix of Alligator and Shark to be able to operate on land and sea, rather than doing the typical "Man from Atlantis" shtick of drying out on land.

I put the smörgåsbords (<-- that's the spelling my spellchecker for Firefox gave me ) of DNA into his background to allow for future developments, but I think you're right; I'll keep it all aquatic-themed anyway. Really, the only physical trait I see him developing outside of maybe adding a few points to what he already has, is the squid ink. That's one idea from the thread I really, really like but couldn't afford. I'm going to have him complain a bit about a sore/irritated throat, until he gets the XP to afford some ink glands. I decided to move them up to his neck rather than the other option.

Re: Underwater Combat Mastery

Don't have it. The only 5th Edition stuff I have is the core book and Champions genre book. Low RPG budget around here.

Re: Cougar II, Revised for PBEM

Nice!

Here's my own character for the same game: Chimera.

I'm using Fifth Edition (not revised).

On the sidebar on page 64, there are examples for Environmental Movement.

Aquatic Movement reads "No penalties while in water: 3 Character Points"

On page 250, the stated penalties for fighting in water (submerged) are -2 DCV and -2 DCs.

I was figuring that you'd need 4 pts in Environmental Movement to get the 4 PSLs to offset the penalties completely. Or am I missing something?

Thanks!

Re: [Character] Nemesis

If you buy Hardened on the Damage Resistance, don't you also have to buy it on the base PD and ED?

Re: Underwater Combat Mastery

Sweet, more great ideas. =)

I expect him to be mostly a fish out of water at start, and he's kind of new at being a fish when he is in the water, but I'm going to work some of these in as he gets experience.

Re: Underwater Combat Mastery

OK, here's what I came up with. Since I only had 20 pts to spend, and had forgotten to transfer his AKs into the document, I didn't get everything in there, but I'll likely use some of these suggestions as he gains experience. (Note: He's built on 300+50 instead of 200+150)

CHIMERA

40 STR  30
21 DEX  33
40 CON  60
20 BODY 20
13 INT  03
11 EGO  02
20 PRE  10
08 COM -02
20 PD   12
20 ED   12
5  SPD  19
20 REC  08
60 END -10
60 STUN 00

CHAR Total: 198


POWERS/SKILLS/TALENTS

19 Martial Arts (Remnants) OCV DCV Damage/Effect
  Fast Strike                   +2  +0 10d6 Strike
  Legsweep                      +2  -1 9d6 Strike; Target Falls
  Martial Disarm                -1  +1 Disarm, 50 STR to roll
  Martial Grab                  -1  -1 Grab 2 Limbs, 50 STR to Hold
  Offensive Strike              -2  +1 12d6 Strike
3 Shark Skin: Damage Resistance to 3PD/3ED
7 Alligator Plating: Armor +5PD/+5ED, Act. 11- (-1)
11 Starfish Regeneration: Regeneration 1BODY/Turn, Regrow Limbs 
8 Atavistic Mind: Mental Defense +8 (MD: 10)
5 Third Eyelid: +5 Flash Defense to Sight
15 Shark’s Nose: Tracking and Targeting Scent
2 Shark’s Nose: +2 to Scent PER rolls (14-)
8 Deep Sea Adaptations: LS: Breath Water, High Pressure, Extreme Cold
23 Shark’s Speed: +18” Swimming, x4 Non-combat Multiple (20”/80”)
12 Gator’s Rush: +6” Running (12”/24”)
3 At Home in the Water: Environmental Movement, Water 
  Natural Born Hunter Skills:
3 Breakfall 13-
3 Climbing 13-
3 Stealth 13- 
5 Shadowing 13-
4 Survival (Marine)13-
2 AK: Local Waterways 11-
2 AK: Local Sewers 11-
10 +2 Levels with Hand to Hand Combat
4 +2 OVC with Martial Grab

Total Powers/Skills/Talents: 152

DISADVANTAGES

20 Hunted by Viper 8- (Capture/Enslave, MoPow, NCI)
10 Distinctive Features: Monstrous Appearance (Easily Concealed, Major 
   Reaction)
20 Vulnerable, x2 Stun from Fire/Heat Attacks

Total Disadvantages: 50 + 300 Base Pts = 350

Background/History:

Kyle Sandsmark was a martial arts instructor and Army veteran who trained law enforcement, military, and private security agencies in hand to hand combat skills. The last job he ever took was for Diamondback Security, a Viper front company. After assessing his suitability as a test subject, Viper abducted Kyle and subjected him to their latest gene splicing experiments, bonding his DNA with shark, alligator, starfish, ape, tiger, and several other animals’ DNA. The result was a chimera.

Kyle was kept in an underwater facility for his transformation and subsequent experimentation. As part of the program, Viper intended to wipe his mind and instill a new, malleable personality, to turn him into a killing machine. It was during the latter part of the mind wiping process that an earthquake struck, damaging the base. Kyle managed to break free, and to fight his way out of the facility.

Cries of “Chimera has escaped!” echoed in his ears as he made his way to freedom. Lacking memories, and an identity, he took the name he was given.

Personality/Motivation:

Kyle was a veteran who had seen too much conflict in his life. He found peace in martial arts, and a center of calm and control that countered the chaos of war. At heart, he was a peaceful man. This core personality was not broken during Viper’s mind wiping attempts, and is currently almost all that is left of the man Chimera was.

Chimera seeks answers. He wants to regain that which was taken from him. At the same time, he doesn’t deny the nature of what he has become. He wants his memories back, but he hasn’t decided if he wants to reverse the changes that were done to his body. He thrills in the hunt, and in the freedom that his aquatic lifestlye affords him, and in the peace of the depths.

While he will fight if forced to, he is essentially a humble person, whose body language conveys his gentle nature. (Thus his reaction is not bought as Extreme for his Distinctive Features, nor is his PRE offensive only.) He is also somewhat quiet. He knows his mind isn’t operating at its full capacity, so he usually remains quietly thoughtful, and speaks slowly and deliberately.

Powers/Tactics:

Chimera has retained a small portion of his martial arts training, though by no means all of it. His tactics are very rarely defensive in nature, so he lacks the defensive maneuvers he had in his prior life. The only time he goes on the defensive is against fire or heat users, as the sudden temperature change shocks his system. When in the water, he fights much as his primary animal aspects, the shark and the alligator, do: he Grabs his opponent and drags them down as deeply as possible. (He also brings them back up when they’re waterlogged and out of fight, rather than let them drown.)

The rest of Chimera’s powers are pretty self-explanatory, and based largely on his shark and alligator genes. His extraordinary strength is a result of several bio-mechanical and muscular advantages enhanced from great ape and large cat genes. His skills are those of a predator, and until he regains his memories, he does not have access to Kyle’s full military or martial arts skills.

Appearance:

Chimera is a 7’ tall, 400 lb. shark-alligator-man. Nuff said. (Attached are pics of him in his normal non-outfit and one in his patented TMNT disguise of overcoat and fedora.)

Quote: "I'm more than the sum of my parts."

Re: Underwater Combat Mastery

Environmental Movement: no penalties underwater.

Aha! I thought that was in 5th somewhere, but couldn't find it!

Did you already give him the sharks (many) enhanced senses?

Just the shark nose. Will add targeting to scent though.

If it wouldn't bust concept, add Squid ink to block Sight group, making him even more overwhelming in the water, since he will have multiple targeting senses.

Tempting, but... I do not want to know where he squirts his ink from.

Also, some way of keeping foes underwater, be it some kind of whirlpool (TK) or just improved grappling ability.

I like this one. The old grab and dive.

Oh, and Drain Swimming (as a result of disabling bites to the legs and arms)... no one ever sees that one coming for some reason...

Also tempting, but he doesn't really have a bite attack. His human-ish shaped mouth is only good for catching small stuff like fish.

I'm working on a character who's a chimera: a mix of DNA from a human, shark, alligator, and some other aquatic life forms.

I have 20 points left to flavor him up as a master of underwater combat.

But I can't think of anything other than the lame "stronger in water" shtick that doesn't really fit his conception, and a couple of PSLs to offset the fighting in water penalties.

Anybody have some ideas how to spice up Chimera's character sheet?

Re: PBEM game: Viper based

Cool. I dropped her a line.

Re: Concepts brought to life by 350 points

Hmm...

Good question. I found when going from Fourth to Fifth, that Fifth added a lot of options (such as combat rules and changes to some talents), or inflated costs (such as full LS going from 30-50 points), so that well-rounded characters didn't look too different, except for the higher point totals.

Mostly, I use the extra points to round out a character, buy those extra CSLs or background skills that I couldn't afford on 250.

At 250, a lot of concept are doable, but have to be pared back in power a bit. For those, I map out a predetermined path for CP spending so the character ends up as planned.

Re: Mind Slayer

OK, just read Wiki entry on her. Looks like she traded her psychic knife in for a telekinetic katana.

Hmm

Re: Mind Slayer

Psylocke actually has TK powers the last I knew (unless she's reverted back to being a Teep in Exiles). When she "came back from the dead" (tm Marvel Comics)' date=' her power array had switched over and she could make a TK Sword.[/quote']

 

The sword is actually telepathic in nature. When she first started using it, it always got jammed through someone's brain, causing the brain to shut down. I stopped reading X-men shortly after that event, though, so I don't know how it's currently being portrayed.

Re: Concepts Killed by 350

I have a hard time doing characters with a decent skill and power set, but also with their own significant vehicle and/or base. For example, a Blue Beetle build + the hovercraft vehicle and base. Or Batman type with cave, car, boat and plane.

Re: PBEM game: Viper based

Did your friend happen to mention expected posting frequency?

Re: Air Ray and Aqua Ray

If the Uncanny Valley had a mall, it'd probably carry these in the kite shop.