pawsplay

Re: The great debate, this time with Java! I seriously doubt "enough time" occurs in the course of an average firefight.

Re: How Do Skill Levels and Cumulative OCV Penalties interact? Your attacks all use the same OCV. You set your OCV at the beginning of the round when you assign your skill levels.

Re: Chess Grandmaster - KS, PS, or something else? It's just a nonsensical description when applied to chess. Chess players don't "tilt the odds in their favor."

Re: The great debate, this time with Java! Average results is useful to know, but it is far from the end of the debate. You don't win a fight by doing more average damage, you win it by doing more, first. Insta-stun is a rare result. Some people simply don't like it. Others do. Killing attacks are not without their disadvantages; less knockback, less benefit from Martial Maneuvers, and of course, the difficulty of taking a prisoner without killing them. And of course, a 1/4 or so chance of doing virtually nothing at all, depending on the opponent.

Re: Chess Grandmaster - KS, PS, or something else? That's my thought. Otherwise, you have perks like: High School Valedictorian Miss Kidney Beans 2007 National Honor Society Member MENSA member

Re: Chess Grandmaster - KS, PS, or something else? People box for cash, too.

Re: Chess Grandmaster - KS, PS, or something else?

Re: An observation on two systems Torg has P-points and cards. HERO has Cromm, an uncaring god. Have you ever considered giving people special Torg-like powers? How about a VPP power that allows players to customize a "deck" before each game with various boosts? That would help with dramatic pacing, I think.

Re: Chess Grandmaster - KS, PS, or something else? Anyone who is prone to freak out episodes or self-doubt is simply not going to make it in the international chess scene. The sheer determination of champion chess players justifies an above average EGO. Well, we were discussing being a chess grandmaster. I think a chess grandmaster (14- or so with complementary skills) would absolutely destroy your local university chess team captain (11- to 12- or so). On the other hand, a supheroic PC (INT 20 with PS: Play chess 13-) can conduct a rather strong game with little investment in the way of points. Point taken. Move rep 8- down to the "renowned" cagegory, 11- to world champions, and 14- are the guys who take on Deep Thought. Bobby Fisher has a Reputation outside the small group. You don't have to be very smart to play chess. I am simply assuming that as you rise through the competitive tiers, people will be, on average, increasingly smart. A chess grandmaster either has some good natural talent or is amazingly overtrained. Well, I was defining a character who is "really that good." That's the skill level you need to trounce ordinary grandmasters. Apart from the need for glasses, and some cases of mental illness, I would assume a champion chess player does have an above average PER roll. Mental flexibility, general neurological fitness, etc. Not in every case, mind you; less generally competent characters might just have more skill levels, but that seems almost like a game artifact. I think more holistically, you would to be able to say chess champions are pretty smart. If you want to say that 15 INT is enough for a real world champion, you can, but I think of them as being very intelligent experts. I would expect to see more deficits than simply mediocre abilities. Well, I wasn't intending this ability to be representative. I was just thinking of some anecdotes I read about chess matches and mental strain. You can consider this a placeholder for "those guys, you know, THOSE guys, probably have a 5 to 10 point ability related to chess." I essentially agree. Most of what I wrote applies more to NPCs with modest attributes. If a PC wants to be a chess grandmaster, and has a good INT, just slap on PS: Play Chess (INT) and Familiarity with KS: The Chess World and KS: Chess. You know what would be a fun ability? 12d6 Telepathy, No Range (-1/2), No Mental Awareness (-1/4), RSR (PS: Play Chess) (-1/4), Results are inferential (-1/2), Extra Time (5 Minutes (-2), Receive Only (-1/2). Total cost: 12 points (60 active). Basically, you sit down and play a game of chess, and after a few minutes, completely penetrate your opponent's psychology through your reading of the game. It won't tell you he has a fiance named Maureen, but it might tell you he's engaged and for how long, and how he feels about his love's personality (the Inferential limitation).

Re: Chess Grandmaster - KS, PS, or something else? I guess I'm also "hung up" on the description of the skill involving both skill and luck. My view: Chess ended up under Gambling through carelessness.

Re: Chess Grandmaster - KS, PS, or something else? The way I view it, a chess grandmaster NPC needs all those traits just to deal with a PC with INT 20 and PS: Play Chess (INT).

Re: Chess Grandmaster - KS, PS, or something else? I think you forgot to buy Bill Gates some Skills and contacts. And don't forget... for 23 points, you can have two tractor-trailers!

Re: Chess Grandmaster - KS, PS, or something else? What exactly does it get you?

Re: Chess Grandmaster - KS, PS, or something else? The book lists PS: Play Chess as an example, so that would appear to be the skill to play a game of chess. Gambling does not apply, since chess does not involve chance in the usual sense. KS: Chess is undoubtedly part of the repertoire. A chess grandmaster would also want KS: The Chess World, to know what's in store from a particular opponent or proteges of a particular chess teacher. Lastly, let's not overlook Analyze: Chess. Typical grandmaster: INT of 12 to 15 EGO 12 PS: Play Chess, at INT +2 (5 points) KS: Chess at INT (3 points) KS: The Chess World at INT (3 points) Analyze: Chess (INT) (3 points) Reputation: Chess grandmaster, 8-, small group World renowned master: INT of 15 +2 skill levels, "Chess Grandmaster": Play Chess, Analyze Chess, KS: Chess Raise reputation to 11- or 14- add Disadvantage: Reputation, among chess players, as a celebrity grandmaster's game is going to be very well known The best: INT of 18-20 Add Lack of Weakness (Analyze: Chess) -2 In the Game: 2d6 Aid to INT, RSR (Analyze: Chess, opposed by PS: Play Chess), Side Effect (mental exhaustion, -2 to INT, EGO, and PRE rolls for an hour), Only to play chess (-1)

Re: Is it fun to play RPGs online? Also, with highly mobile characters, it's inevitible.

Re: Real sounding fantasy reporting Amusing. Still I thought it was a bit tainted by the fanjerk moment where the Rodian talks about the destruction of the AT-AT. That was an exciting moment in the film, and further, we see nothing onscreen suggesting 50-100 Rebels were killed by the fall. It was kind of jarring in tone compared to the rest. It's something I would expect in a more parodic treatment (Pink-5, Obi Won Kaboosy, Family Guy, etc) not in a what was otherwise a more straight up piece.

Re: The book I want more then any other.... It's not the nuts and bolts that slows down chargen with new players. It's usually one of two things: "I want to try everything on the menu!" "Can this do X?" (Yes, yes it can, but do you want it to?)

Re: How to make an ice planet plausible Well, there is life that lives in subzero temperatures. Some forms of algae and bacteria, for instance. Anyway, I suspect "giant iceball" might be an exaggeration. There is, after all, native life in the form of the Wampa, and it obviously eats something. I'd imagine Hoth is just in an ice age... it probably has less cold months, maybe some plant life, and definitely oceans. Probably an icy planet's orbit is relatively slow.

Re: Images....abuse or no? Not, but he should also buy Darkness. Or Flash.

Re: Is it fun to play RPGs online?

Re: Characteristics in an EC In almost every circumstanceI can think of, you can simply Link extra STR to one of the powers in the EC and get the desired effect. SPD is trickier. I can definitely see the Speedster argument... shouldn't their SPD be connected to their superspeed? But it's probably a deceptive argument. Just about any SFX of an adjustment power that would affect "super speed" would affect both anyway. Just define part of the SPD as a power, not in the EC, and it's now immune to physiological SPD-affecting drains but vulnerable to mutant power affecting drains, etc.

Re: Superhero gaming suffering a lack of popularity? My personal feeling is that the comic book themselves are suffering from really bland writing. I haven't read any comics regularly for 2-3 years.

Re: Heads-Up Display Visor Side Effect sounds good. Minor, if the HUD is a discriminatory sense, moderate otherwise.

Re: How Do I Build It Question Thought experiment: 50" Running, 0 END (+1/2), Difficult to Dispel (+1/4), Combat Accleration/Deceleration (+1/4), Reduced Scale (8 hexes:1 hex) (-1), Total cost: 100 points (200 active). plus 6" Tunneling, +29 DEF, 0 END (+1/2), Total cost: 162 points(162 active).

Re: The book I want more then any other.... I feel like I'm almost restarting my post, but... Some puns do damage in themselves. And in many campaigns, a nasty pun could be a PRE attack, which is a perfectly valid thing to be Vulnerable to. Saying "There are no pun attacks in my campaign" is no different at all than saying, "There are no laser attacks in my Fantasy Hero campaign." So I have no idea why you feel my example is invalid. By the rules it appears to be acceptable, and I do not see any rule or suggestion that would imply otherwise.