misterdeath

Is the character good at fighting, instinctively or through training hitting harder, faster, better than he normally would? Then buy some martial arts Maneuvers. If he's really good at throwing a punch, buy some CSLs, call it "Martial Arts" and away you go. 12 points, Martial Block, Martial Dodge, Martial Strike vs 4 CSL w Strike, Block, Dodge. You lose damage, but gain absolute CV values (I can block at + 4 OCV instead of being forced to have +2 OCV and DCV. I can dodge with +7 net DCV instead of + 5). The CSLs are probably a better bet for the guy pushing any DC limit you have. Martial Arts are better for the guy with high CVs and not so much damage potential. I guess it all depends on what you're trying to model. To me, the Martial Arts system is the reason why I got into Hero in the first place. To not use it, seems... wrong somehow. Plus, even if I was EB boy, I'd be taking some self defence classes, (or just using the stuff I already have) just in case I ever got into fisticuffs. D

Upon reflection, I agree with both parts of this. 2500 is a wussy fantasy god. For a super hero adversary god, I'd just make something in the 1000-2000 point range that can compete with my guys. Set, hmm, he's a badarse. So, he'd probably be on the higher end. I'm sure what you've got will be just fine, Neil. Kick their asses. D

In the FWIW department, the Steve quote is in the Hero Universe .pdf http://www.herogames.com/FreeStuff/freedocs.htm lesser god 2500 up to 7500 to greater one. Don't see any other information. Hmmm. Not being much help, am I? D

Artifactal example. It's a cut and paste from 4E that wasn't updated, IMO. D

Definately not for ranged attacks. D

And from Fred itself, pg 35. ...(for example , a CSL with a swordfighting martial art could increase DCV in HTH combat, but not against Ranged)... D

Reading between the lines of the FAQ: Q: If a character applies a Combat Skill Level to increase his DCV, do the changes to his DCV last until his next Phase? A: They last until he decides to switch the CSL to something else — definitely until the next Phase, and possibly longer. However, that doesn’t change what they apply to; a 3-point CSL with swords doesn’t improve a character’s DCV versus arrows, no matter how long it lasts. I emphasized the relevant part. If the character has a Melee combat CSL, then they can apply it to DCV, but only in Melee combat while using what they have bought the levels for. Catgirl, while using her Claws can drop her CSLs into DCV and apply them vs Swordsmaster. Laser Larry gets full shots on her, and she doesn't get to apply them to clawing Swordsmaster. Yeah, there's a heck of a lot of overlap with the 5 point levels, depending on the definition of the maneuvers the 3 point levels work with. D

AFAIK, yes, that's the case. It's possible apparently (I forgot my book today, or I'd check for certain) to skip the Level 2 abilities, and go straight to level 3. General Combat Specialist---->Scarlet Serpent. But I would imagine that in that case the GCS wold have to be a bad ass enough to handle the Scarlet Serpent job, and so would have pretty similar stats/abilities as if he had hit the level 2 package. D

Pg 132, top of the second column. Project Awakening: The stated purpose of Project Awakening, better known among the VIPER rank and file as "the Clutch" ... D

Yep. ditto from me. Plus, well, look at all the Champs books out so far. There are too darn many Powerhouse/Fight the whole 350 point team Supervillians for me to list easily. So, where are the equivalent heroes? Shouldn't somewhere in the universe there be a hero that's survived long enough to earn 1000 xp? The major players in the world. The world breakers/world beaters. Just for the good guys, not the bad guys. I can create one of the most tricked out combat monsters you've ever seen with 250 points. He's much more versatile, if not more powerful on 350. At 800 points, he's somewhat more powerful, and yet more versatile. At 1600 he's able to compete on a level with anyone. Because that's what we want to play. With great power comes great responsibility. With even greater power comes even greater responsibility. Some people like playing that way. Some people don't. Some people haven't even tried. Those are the ones I feel a little sorry for. Because Cosmic Supers can be a ton of fun, with the right group. After all, the LSH had Superboy, Supergirl, Mon El and Power Boy all as members at the same time. D

People just like us. Gravitar and Holocaust are more optimized for combat (I've got 250 points in skills, but surprisingly 8- on a few science ones. I'm an Archeologist/Historian.) We fight them on even keel, rather than having to gang attack them. It's what D-man says. 1000 point characters fighting 1000 point characters is a lot like 350 pointers fighting 350 pointers, except you roll more dice. Plus, of cource, we like to play a very heavy on the RPing campaign, so that all your ability to transform the landscape into a wasteland, doesn't matter crap if some woman pops out of the closet and files a paternity case against your character. And the character can't honestly say it isn't his... (FWIW, it's a plot by his archenemesis. The baby is a clone implanted in the mother). D

We play pointless. With GMs permission, anything goes. I just finished my latest upgrade for my character, and well, hold on to your hats kiddies, 1630 points. And he still doesn't have any ranged attacks other than the semi-large objects he can throw with his 50 Str. Martial Strike is 22DC. 20 Def with 50% Damage Reduction, and really good Regen and Rec. My wife's 1300 points on the button, and I personally feel she's more powerful. Not more versatile, more powerful. D

Cool! Just so we're clear, I'm weed sitting like a rattlesnake watching a baby bird waiting for this. Ignore the first line. D-man usually asks very good questions separate from his own opinions. I don't like to speak for him, but hey, I'm figuring he left out politeness and niceties. He's been busy. I'm going to go out on a limb here, and say that I think D-man and Monolith just want the best for your company, as do I. So, we're trying to give you what we feel are potential problems, so that you can at least ignore them after you've heard them. The semi-competent Cybergames (Is that as redundant as I think it is?) .pdf of Chinatown rocks, FWIW. Anxiously awaiting a real paper copy... D

Oh, yeah, and before I forget, congrats Durnin! Again, you rock. D

See, the thing is that you have to overcome these perceptions with your advertising campaign. There's a ton of competition for the gamers dollar, and the basic question people have to ask is, "Is this worth me spending money on?" Go back to D-man's questions, and look at them from the standpoint of someone who comes into the gaming store and sees the product on the shelf for the first time, not a grizzled old veteran. I have all the products to date, including the PART and Arroyo Verde downloads. I know the value that the current suppliments have, and I'll quite strongly look at the new product. But, for someone not in the know, or with a smaller gaming budget than yours truely, you have to be able to say "this is what we're about." Not only do you have the Hero products, but also the Freedom City, and whatever the Silver Age Sentinels stuff is called, to compete with. The feel of the city, the value of the product. That's what you need to communicate. D

So, are you saying that he's got a Multipower 90 pt reserve, with slots like (simplified example) 90 Multipower 90 reserve 12m +6 speed. 18m 18d6 EB. If he's using the + 6 speed, that's 60 points of the reserve and then the 30 points he has remaining makes a 6d6 EB. You're just trying to figure out the limitation on the Speed, except that you want a Phys Lim, not one that directly affects the Speed. Hmmm. The 10 pointer sounds about right to me. He's got full access to the pool, the limit really only affects the speed slot (if I'm picturing things right). D

Re: The Power Brigade Interview Form Thank you for your interest in the Power Brigade Super Hero team, please fill out this form to the best of your ability. Should you require special equipment (Heat proof pencils, etc) in order to complete this form, it will be provided. The Power Brigade does not share this information with any other civilian source, but maybe required to share it with certain govt ones (at risk of losing our tax exempt status). Please be as honest as you can. Super Villain Name: Misterdeath. One word, usually All lowercase letters. But I make exceptions for officious looking forms. (Optional)Secret Idenity/Alternate Name: None. I am what I am. (Optional)Ethnic Group/Species: None. I am a unique being. Just like everyone else. Ok, enough of the claptrap. Immortal techno-sorcerer. Place of Birth: The primordial ooze. Date of Birth: 374,000 BC ish. Question 1. How did you hear about the Power Brigade team? Well, I was on vacation to your nice little dimension, where I was sitting on a beach, watching the ladies go by. I had just struck up a conversation with a likely catch, when some group of lunatics in spandex jumped out and started shooting at us. My first thought was, "how the hell do these clowns know who I am." Turns out they were aiming for the young lady. She tried running away from them, to lure them away from me (she apparently thought I was some sort of normal.) I slunk back, and activated my armor and it's camoflage surface. Note to villians, just because the camoflage surface looks white, because it's next to SAND, that doesn't mean the guy in the White Armor is a good guy. So, idiot, don't shoot at him unless you want the entire can of whup ass opened. So, to make a long story short, There's me in white armor, superheroine in a bikini, and a pile of crumpled super villians. So, in her gratitude, she told me to apply. apparently, anti-social behavior is condoned, provided the targets are more anti-social than you are. Question 2. What do you feel you can offer (Both in Super heroic powers/gifts and your knowledges) to the Power Brigade team? Scientific and magical skills, including and not limited to nano-technology, cloning, high energy physics, necromancy, alchemy, enchantment. Plus I have a technomagic suit of armor capable of putting serious smackdown on villians. Oh, yeah, I can travel across time space and relative dimensions. Question 3. Why do you wish to join our team, and what do you hope for if you join? Hot chicks. Good fights. Oh, yeah, and to help my fellow man. Using man in the gender/race/species neutral sense, of cource. Question 4. Have you ever been on a super hero team before? If so, which one(s) and why are you no longer a member?I've fought a few hero teams. I've been hunted by a few hero teams. And, I've teamed up with one or two heroes to defeat the "threats greater than us all". Question 5. Are you a supervillain, govt agent, law enforcement official, media person, or anyone else who is attempting to infilitrate the Power Brigade? Yes and no. I'm a supervillian, however you can rest assured that I'm not trying to infiltrate anything. Question 6. How often will you be availible to fight crime and save the world? What schedule would be best for you?I don't need to sleep, eat. If I need downtime, I'll shift to a slowtime dimension and be back before you can down your Dr Pepper. 24/7/365. And, I don't mind monitor duty. Question 7: Do you have some disability, ailment, or other situation (Occasional Demonic possession, intense allergy to space rocks, etc) that our scientists, doctors, and mystics should take into account? None. Question 8. To what degree do you comply with the law? Are you registered? What degree will keep me out of trouble? I don't think the law enforcement agencies are aware of my existance yet. So, no on the registration. Question 9. Will you be able to provide your own transporation to and from the Power Brigade HQ? Dude, time, space, and dimensions. Question 10. What are your feelings on death and property damage? Mom and I are on good speaking terms, and well, I've never met this Property Damage guy. He doesn't seem like he'd be much fun at parties. Question 11. Are you willing to wear our team Logo? Sure. Question 12. How may we contact you should we be interested in having you join? (Phone, mystic mirror, large signal, etc) Note in the paper will be fine. I'll give you a signal device when I get hired. Please include any additional notes about yourself you feel are relevant below: Hmmm, let's see. Not much else is relevant. I'm an evil supervillian looking to turn over a new leaf. I don't have any baggage in this dimension, so you don't have to worry about that whole "did he mind control the whole team" crap. Hope to hear from you soon. D

I've done multipowers of naked advantages to signify various tricks of the character. It works well, if you notice the flexibility and the power of the character you've allowed. So, you have to look at the overall fit of the character. If it's iffy, then I'd "temporarily allow it". Let the PC have it for a couple of sessions, see how it goes. If it's too much, retcon it away, never to be seen again, refund the points, and go on. If it's OK, then let it ride. D

How did Steve Austin pick up a car with his bionic arm without breaking his non bionic spine? Same way probably. D

You can buy extra movement, no Non-combat. That has the benefit of being able to double your movement in all combat. But, I don't think it simulates what you want to do. This power seems to model "burst of speed", not "do things while moving". In Ninja Hero they have a character with Leaping, and Leaping "only to make half moves in combat" at -1. A speed 4 character doesn't move, and shoot in a second, then stop for 3 seconds, then move and shoot, etc. We just abstract it that way to make the combat flow smoother. Since we're already abstracting actual movement with our segmented system, what the "only for half moves" construct seems to model is the "doing things in the middle of your full movement" which some characters in some genres can do. So, using the published example "only to make half moves" -1 seems right. You're giving up Non combat movement, and the ability to take really big full movements. D

md's bein' picky. First: Ha! Got mine last friday. Already read it. It's, IMO, a better book than the first VIPER book, which was one of my most used 4th edition products. Second: Love the artwork, the Keith "what's the A stand for?" Curtis images of the badging really adds to the agent section. So... I'm staring at the badging while making an ex-VIPER npc, and I realize that there are three primary badges. Moccasin, Constrictor, Adder. (Adder for the Science guys is too funny a pun, BTW). But the list of Agent Divisions list's Cobra (combat), Constrictor (intelligence), and Adder (the aformensioned Sci/Tech guys) So, what does the Cobra patch look like, and what are the Moccasins? Hmmm, Moccasins sound ... young to me. So, how about the Moccasin as the "VIPER scouts" junior division. Put them in all the schools, as an alternative to "Boy/Girl Scouts." Start training the kiddies early, bring 'em up right. Alternately, just pretend that Moccasin was really Cobra. I think the patch would work either way. I suppose that you could use either division name, depending on whether you feel a Shoe a or Blue Clad Incompetant correlation for your combat guys is better. D

Oh, you don't know? New Viperia is 1370 points in the playtest (should be getting my real copy on friday). Slightly elevated in that everything she has/does is slightly better than the previous edition. Mwahahahaha. D

I would think stewed, with some tomatoes and garlic would work best. D

What Altamaros Said, plus... The simplest thing I can think of is Spiritual covers all those weird things that don't fit elsewhere. Take "Giving opponent bad luck." Transform person to person with 6d6 Unluck. It's not physical. He's exactly the same. It's not mental, nothing's changed there. So, it's spiritual, since that's what's left. D

I don't think this is the case. I buy everything after DLing everything for playtesting. I haven't bought SoB because of the Cash Flow Problem. In the past two months, you've released Champions Battlegrounds and Fantasy Hero. WotC has released all three core books. Monte Cook has released his PHB. Plus you've got school starting up, and the end of the summer doldrums starting. Plus, well, the economy isn't that great. Last sunday in the FLGS we dropped 115 dollars (miniatures are my wife's crack). It was the biggest sunday sale the owner has seen in two months, and matched the previous Sunday's total sales. I don't think it's just you. Everything seems to be in a malaise in the sales. Now, granted, $12 for a nice fine quality artwork/writing .pdf still fits my price point. If it were a touch cheaper (8 to 10), then it would have been easier to squeeze in last week rather than this one. D