Pattern Ghost

Re: Unarchetypal Heroes Obviously not obvious enough. Let me make it clear: Your three choices of characters are obviously underpowered weenies in combat. So are the NPC classes. Therefore,the group is just as doable in DnD. There would be no rules cludge. The rules for running NPCs are right there in black and white. (Or brown and lighter brown, as it were.) Suppose you started an adventure with these three guys. The Experts are actually quite capable of adventuring, the Commoner would likely have a decent CON if he's a laborer, so his low hit die wouldn't be that much of a hinderance. You'd probably want to start the group off at about third to fifth level. You'd set the ratings of their encounters to several levels below the PC's level, so that they could handle the ocassional combat. DnD doesn't come with a setting in the core rules. There's nothing "stupid" about running them in YOUR OWN SETTING, because there IS NO DND LAND IN THE CORE RULES. There ARE concepts that cannot be done in DnD. Your characters, however, can be. Certainly not with the depth or detail allowed by Hero or any good generic system (I think GURPS works well for lower level, skill-intensive stuff too.), but it can be done. And if the NPC classes are too weak, there's nothing wrong with the character waking up one day, deciding, "Hey, I'm getting tired of running away from goblins with pointy sticks, I think I need to learn how to fight better," and taking a level of Warrior or even Fighter. Aristocrats and Experts are pretty close to playable as PCs without any modification. You could go with an Aristocrat for the scholarly type (access to education, and he gets some decent combat skills out of it), an Expert for the Bard, and a Commoner with high STR and CON for the Laborer, and have a halfway decent group. Or have you actually read that section to know why and how the NPC classes function and to see the suggestions for using them as PCs? Because, although not recommended, those suggestions are there. Or are you just dismissing a post out of hand because it challenges your assertion?

Re: Cannonball Although the protection would only be versus two maneuvers, you'd be using the power constantly, and to get rid of one of the major drawbacks of the maneuvers, so I'd go with -1 max. You'd only need non-resistant PD for this, though, to it'd still be pretty cheap.

Re: Inconsitancies I think in that example, Obsidian is carrying the milk truck.

Re: Unarchetypal Heroes Obviously.

Re: Explanations and Apologies... YOU STOLE MY LIFE! (Now also the computer guy for an office supply store, with not enough time on my hands. =)

Re: Unarchetypal Heroes Actually, 3rd (or whatever .x they are up to) edition can do it. It has a slightly bigger box. Not that I'm a DnD advocate, actually haven't played the new game yet. I'm thinking this can be done with the Commoner NPC class. Easy one: Expert NPC class. Again, Expert NPC class. It's kind of a catchall. Now, the survivability of the NPC classes will be much lower, but you can adjust the encounters appropriately, and in a lot of cases the PCs will interacting with NPCs of the same group of classes, so within the same power level. I've actually toyed with the idea of doing a low-power game with the new rules.

Re: Pregnancy and combat I like the encumberance option, myself, though to account for the balance issue, you might double the penalty from the table. You might allow a Croft-esque character to run full speed, but add a turn mode. Sudden changes of direction are hard with any unbalanced load. Threw my back out walking up the stairs last year with a dresser on my shoulder b/c the weight shifted. (If the kid's as heavy as a dresser, she has serious problems, though.) Edit: Oh, it's probably obvious but you definately shouldn't be rolling for miscarriages or going into labor. That should all happen when/if it's dramatically appropriate.

Re: Rep? LOL, you just got my first Rep award for making me laugh. Remember, the first rule of Rep is There is No Rep.

Re: I smell something fishy I kind of like a high PER roll, maybe with the rapid sensing options tossed in, and complimentary skills such as Disguise, Concealment, etc. I'd even throw in some PRE skills such as Acting, Seduction, High Society, Streetwise. If he can only use those as complementary skills (i.e., he's good at spotting a disguise but has no talent for creating one), I'd give them an appropriate level of limitation. Bundle all the complementary skills up and toss on the limitation and you have a (long character sheet lol) sort of talent: 9 PER +3 to all Sense Groups 15 Complementary Skills (all are Only for Complementary PER rolls, -1): Disguise 12-, Acting 12-, Concealment 12-, High Society 12-, Streetwise 12-, Deduction 12-) (All based on 10 stats, so 5pts each) Total:24 Pts. Assuming a bit brighter guy, say a 13 INT, 15 PRE, you're looking at 13- complementary rolls to a 15- PER roll. Not bad. On the other hand, each of the skills listed could be bought only to counter itself for -1, and then skill levels applied to the group. Then add in a decent overal PER roll and a Deduction roll. Since Concealment and Acting and Disguise can all be used to make opposed skill rolls, that may make better sense than making them complementary skills to PER. You'd still need PER for general PER of areas not covered or counterable, and High Society, Streetwise and Deduction for gathering info which can be used to complement PER rolls in certain situations. Any way you look at it, one power/skill/talent doesn't cover it. It's a sort of a package deal for the uber perceptive/fast thinker type of character. I disagree on basing it on danger sense. The character could just as well use this skillset to detect a surprise birthday party or any other number of harmless shams.

Re: Retractable Armor? I have this power with an expendable OAF: Mexican Food.

Re: DCV penalty to dodge? You could also use change environment, limited to the area that the character can act in. If he's hth type, then it'll be a small CE area, if he's a ranged type, it'd be a wider CE area. Kind of a sphere of control thing, representing tactical genius or the like. EDIT: Of course, you'd need to have some kind of selective advantage tacked on to do it w/CE unless you want to screw up your own teammates...d'oh!

Re: EC balance fix I have one problem with the drains one, drains all approach, and that's the SFX of the adjustment power. Especially movement-affecting ones. Fire Guy: EC: Fire Powers a) EB FF c) Flight Gets drained by: Wind Tunnel Guy: Drain Flight by creating wind shear effect. But now Fire Guy can't blast as much and his defense is lowered? Well, maybe if Wind Tunnel Guy's wind was strong enough to blow out some of the flame, but the SFX of wind shear have just been viloated. Gravity Girl: Drain all Movement powers by increasing gravity. Same problem. Pacifist Lad: Drains all Offensive Powers with a Linked Aid to all Defensive Powers: Heh, resolve that one. Kind of a pain, really. I can see some balance being necessary, but IMO all adjustment powers should be strongly tied to their SFX, and the EC rule steps on that. EDIT: Maybe it's enough that the GM simply makes note to occassionally throw Water Gun Dude at Fire Guy, where WGD has paid for his "vs. All Fire Powers" adder on a hefty drain/suppress. Or that the GM make the EC player take a susceptability, vulnerability, or dependance related to the EC's power source. Or a little of both.

Re: Golden Heroes... I used to have a boxed set way back when I was trying to collect every supers game made. Sold it a while back, though. I thought one of the best features was the random power generation, b/c you had to rationalize any powers you wanted to keep. That idea always seemed fun to me, though I never did play the game, so I'm not sure how it'd work out in practice. Could cause some player/GM conflict, I suppose.

Re: Superleap and falling damage. Well, a fall means uncontrolled. So, leaping won't help, b/c you won't necessarily be landing on your leaping appendage(s). For just a regular downward jump, I allow the horizontal jumping distance down as safe, rather than the verticle b/c it's easier to jump down than up.

Re: Need Help with Some Villain "Lackeys" James Blish wrote what may be the best scientific explanation for werewolves in his short story "There Shall Be No Darkness." (1950) It was reprinted in Bill Pronzini's anthology Werewolves! in 1980, which you might be able to find at a library.

Re: NPC for Review: Opinions Please If she's using the Bullseye schtick, you might consider dropping this limitation. In Elektra Lives Again, Bullseye nails a fly with a seed from his orange juice, and when Hand assassins come after him (he's tied up tighter than Hannibal Lector at the time), he looks for another seed, implying that he at least thinks he's capable of killing a human with one, too. Then again, it's no biggie. I'd think as an assassin, she'd have at least one or two contacts or followers to use to line up jobs. Her background seems to indicate a positive reputation as a reliable assassin, as well. (Positive rep with a limited group, of course.) "Vengeful" and "Lives for the Kill" seem like double-dipping. Not a big problem for an NPC, but I generally don't like psych limits that overlap at all. Likewise, "Bored by Normal Life and Normal People" and "Lives for the Kill" seem to overlap, since someone who lives for the kill presumably doesn't care much for normal life. Being bored by normal life is just the SFX for Lives for the Kill.

Re: M&M: this is a Nightmare? You're lumping it into a broad category of d20 which it really doesn't fall into, though. Saying Hero System is the best system for supers is OK. (I wouldn't say that, because there are few apples to apples comparisons among supers systems; each has benefits and drawbacks.) However, the blanket statements about d20 being applied to MnM, is a form of criticising. And you're right, I misused the word "critique," as you've only offered criticism. There's a subtle difference. As others have stated, MnM strips away a lot of the d20 system, and IMO, what was removed makes it much better for supers play. There's room for improvement in the core mechanics, but it's pretty solid. It also gives a pretty decent character generation system, which owes a lot to Hero design philosophies, just as SAS does. But it's an orange, and Hero is an apple, and most other d20 games are, uh, pumaloes! So, you're not just making an apples to oranges comparison with MnM and Hero, you're making an oranges and pumaloes comparison with MnM and d20. Which isn't fair.

Re: Killing stroke Yeah, but I thought you couldn't push over twice the damage with a maneuver on a killing attack, so I must've missed something. Do the extra haymaker DCs add to the base damage, then, rather than count against the maximum?

Re: Killing stroke I'm pretty sure you still can't go over double the base DCs on a KA. Is there something I'm missing, or is this estimate off? (It's possible that I'm missing something; the new damage adding rules look like they were written by a lawyer. )

Re: M&M: this is a Nightmare? You've seen it, but have you read it? Hardly fair to critique something you haven't read.

Re: Devlin1 KA Question When was it illegal? I've seen that construct in plenty of 4th Ed. material.

Re: THE ULTIMATE BRICK -- What Do *You* Want To See? An expanded lifting chart with TONS of objects on it would be cool. I know Marvel and DC don't know how heavy anything is, but well, neither do I! It'd be cool to have a whombing big chart of what things weigh. Likewise, how much STR certain feats would require: stopping a runaway train, holding up a suspension bridge (from the bottom or by holding two severed cable ends), catching a falling aircraft (of various sizes, for those flying bricks), holding up a skyscraper by a support pillar, etc. Of course, those feats that are really transforms (like crushing coal to diamond) wouldn't be included. A good discussion on background skills that complement brick-hood would be nice. For example, a brick who's got a background in architecture should get a bonus for the above-mentioned building support trick. Or for tearing one down by attacking the main supports. That sort of thing. If any of this is repetative, I apologize in advance, as I don't have time to read the whole thread at the moment.

Re: How would you write up the following power?

Re: Sorcery

Re: just a note for the arduin fans We used to use it for the crit table, of course, and adapted a few of the other conventions, like base HP being based on your CON score so you could survive lower levels. (HP would be CON +/- stat adjustment + the normal HD roll). I liked some of the flavor stuff in the Grimoires, and when I dumped a lot of unused gaming stuff, years back, I kept them. The world did tend to be over the top.