matrix3

I have been a big fan of the A-10 Warthog ever since I was a boy, part of the allure being its big freaking auto-cannon, the GAU-8 Avenger. A seven barrel, 30mm Gatling-style rotary cannon with a top rate of fire of 3,900 rounds per minute. I would like to include this aircraft in a game, and I want to get the cannon right, but I can't find anything that seems right. Such a high rate of fire would translate into a ridiculous Auto-Fire, and would require a lot of PSL's to compensate for the OCV penalties. I thought about consolidating many individual rounds into one, more powerful, "attack", so that it could just be autofire x5, but that doesn't seem quite right, either. Is this weapon already published? I tried looking around, but my Hero library is woefully incomplete. Maybe someone already has a similar weapon written up. (Susano? Killer Shrike?) If not, any ideas would be helpful. Thanks!

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... Now I'm curious about what those were supposed to be.

Re: Blastolene B-702 Wow, that's a sweet car. A Pulp Bat-Mobile!

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... I read some of these, and I love the one with the superhero Ascendant talking with his agent Saul....

Re: I am so, so old...

Re: I am so, so old... Sounds like you'll have a great time. If I might ask, are all of your children interested? If so, that sounds like a great family activity. Also, why did you wait until they were teenagers? Were they not interested before?

Re: After DEMON wins...

Re: The More I Kill, The Stronger I Get! That's a neat idea. Are you going to stat out the power, or hand wave it?

Re: Top Signs that you need to rethink your GMing. Al Bruno III has a whole list of stories of games gone wrong, including a lot of random/evil GMs. From a game of FASA Star Trek: (paraphrased) Ol' Yellowbelly: "I go to my ready room and start making plans." Psycho Dave: "Roll to see if you trip on the step and knock yourself unconscious." . . . Psycho Dave: "Did you fail your Dex roll or not?" Ol' Yellowbelly: "Yes." Psycho Dave: "All right then let's get out those damage tables." Me: "You know this whole 'roll to see if you trip and fall down' thing is kinda mean-spirited." Psycho Dave: "Gaming is a simulation of life. Are you saying people don't trip and fall down in real life?" Me: "No, but -" Psycho Dave: "No. Realism is what I am aiming for here and realism is what you are getting. OK Yellowbelly your character hits his mouth on the deck shattering his wisdom tooth to the gumline." Weasly Crusher: "Ow!" Ol' Yellowbelly: "Now I see why Bones was always on the bridge." Psycho Dave: "You're knocked unconscious by the pain." (His site appears down, I had to go through the WayBack machine to get a link that worked: http://web.archive.org/web/20050106231559/http://www.albrunothethird.com/homepageframe2rpgnet7.htm)

Re: WWYCD: The Coverup It would depend on the character I was playing, of course, and I usually GM. However, I think a few things would be universal. First, I would want to find out why the sidekick waited a year. Did it just take him/her that long to work up the courage? Did the sidekick not realize what had happened until just recently? If my character was especially paranoid, I'd be checking to see if this could have been planted and the sidekick brainwashed/replaced. Second, how clear is it that the hero's action caused the big boom? This would boil down to "correlation does not imply causation." Just because the Saucier Supreme unleashed a Bada$$ Béchamel Blast or the Dire Dashi of Destiny for the first time doesn't mean he turned Hoboken into a crater. Unless the hero actually utters "This'll level a few blocks, but it's worth it," I'll be looking for supporting evidence.

Re: Character: Zombie Herve Villechaize Fabulous write-up, and I like how you integrated the different roles in the background. He's too high-powered for my current campaign, but maybe I can tone down his psychic powers a bit to get him to fit... "You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Oddhat again." Will rep when I can!

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... Hmm...sometimes, I read a little too fast for my own good, and words start to blur together a bit. I initially read that as "I have the crayfish cavity search it." Nasty mental images...

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...

Re: [Campaign] The Black Watch I second the cheer! Looking forward to more updates, it looks to be an exciting campaign.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... I don't know what it is, but something about that quote just gets me...rep!

The First Session Johnny is monitoring the news services, when he learns that two days ago a bus transporting prisoners to a supermax prison, ADX-Dugway, southwest of Salt Lake City was attacked with military precision. A little data is only now being released to the media, but he gathers that a high powered sniper rifle took out the engine of the bus and the entourage, and canisters of some sort of gas were used for a screen and to subdue the guards and prisoners while one prisoner was extracted. It is unknown how many attackers there were, or how the attackers made their escape. The power and precision of the attack is interesting, but Johnny also believes that ADX-Dugway is a front for HOPI and possibly the Seekers of the Golden Truth, a nefarious occult group his former agency has been investigating for decades. Johnny brings this report to the Roger's attention, who wants to immediately fly out to Salt Lake City for in depth investigation. Johnny gently reminds him that the budget for a paper with a circulation of 3000 does not include stipends for jet travel. This debate is interrupted when four men enter their offices, one in a wheel chair. One of the men, short and wiry with dark hair, pulls a tarot deck out of his jacket and lays out a pattern on the floor while another, tall and solidly built with a buzzcut and Oakley's, scans the office. The wiry gentleman holds a card to the glass door, just as three black SUVs roll by slowly on the street. There is a pause as the journalists and the new arrivals size each other up. Besides the two that Johnny and Roger already noticed, there is a ginger haired young man who looks a little peaked and a rail thin man in a wheel chair with dark hair in a high and tight cut. Johnny is especially interested in the man with the Tarot deck, using his Motorola Q to scan for magical energies. He detects that the attention of anyone outside would slide from one neighbor to the next without registering that his office separated the buildings. Roger was intrigued by the military stance of the tall fellow, and the poise and haircut of the man in the wheelchair, suspecting that the first was Army and the latter a Marine. Johnny took another look at the man with ginger hair. They had done a little bit to change his look, but he definitely matched the convict that had been taken from the bus. He decided to play it smooth in an attempt to find out more about what happened, and smiled as he said, "Welcome to the offices of the Weekly Globe News. Can we help you with anything?" "Yeah," Roger chipped in, "We can help hide you from the suits in the black SUVs." Johnny resisted rolling his eyes. "Hey, I know you guys," the wiry fellow said as he bounced forward to shake Johnny's hand. "It's OK, Jake, they're cool. They report on this sort of stuff all the time. I'm --" "No names. And we leave as soon as it's clear." "Eh, and you say I'm paranoid. Fine, I'm 'Tarot,' then, and he's 'Jake Danger.' Then there is 'HedKase' in the corner and 'BoneDaddy' in the wheelchair. We're just passing through." Roger already blew the "take it easy and go smooth" route, so Johnny just came out and said, "Passing through from Salt Lake City?" Jake gave him a sharp look, and noticed Roger's slightest tensing with a slight smirk. "Hey, just come into the back office, and we can talk." They all looked to Jake, who nodded. Once the pressure had ebbed a bit, people got along a little more amiably. Roger asked Jake about the rescue, comparing notes on weapons and tactics. Johnny asked Tarot about his magic, since Johnny's was numbers and formulae. Tarot demonstrated by spinning an illusion of a young woman with huge hair buns, "Help us Obi-Wan Kenobi." BoneDaddy didn't say much, but it did come out that he had been the sniper that took out the bus and escort vehicles. HedKase explained that he could interface with computers, so he had been captured. He thought he was showing up for a prestigious research fellowship through Dartmouth, but HOPI had captured him and experimented. His powers blossomed beyond expectations, and he escaped, taking data with him. He had phoned his friends and had Moorhead, MN to meet them, when he had been recaptured. They headed to Seattle on their way to Canada so that they could corrupt the central database of experimental subjects, which was being held by a mysterious private corporation in Shoreline. Secret government data? Held by a mysterious corporation in an apparently innocuous location? Johnny's nose starts twitching. "You know, we could probably lend you guys a hand if you want." "Yeah, yeah, we'll email you if we decide we can use your help," Jake replied. "Now, is there a back way out of here?"

Re: [Campaign] Seattle Underground Our PC's: Johnny London: Based on Bob Howard of the Laundry series by Charles Stross. He has arcane knowledge, a small magic pool with gestures, incantations, and extra time limitations, and a techno-gizmo that provides hacking ability, a summon, or a good offensive punch. Is in a deep cover as a fringe journalist at the "Weekly Globe News" in Seattle. Roger Stevens: From his background: "Captain Roger Stevens, formerly an Air Force pilot, joined NASA in early 2004 and eventually became a fully qualified mission specialist. Unfortunately, his career was cut short when his mission on the Space Shuttle Discovery went unexpectedly wrong. He was piloting the vessel when suddenly, flashing lights filled his field of vision, disorienting him and causing the first of his blackouts. He was revived by his mission commander, and was relieved of duty until the ship landed. None of his fellow astronauts saw the lights, and he was the only individual affected. He became convinced that Something Was Out There, and began to display random personality traits. After being released from the hospital from what was perceived for a nervous breakdown, he was deemed unfit for duty and discharged quietly." Military package, military contacts, and developed regeneration and armored skin (10 rPD) after seeing the lights. Blacks out if subjected to strobe lights. Is convinced "something's out there" and is the financial backer and two-fisted investigator for WGN. Cody Standingbear: Burly American Indian from a Pacific Northwest tribe. Entered the armed forces after college, experimented on, went a little crazy and started seeing ghosts. Has tracking and survival skills, can sense spirits, has his grandfather's ghost as a contact, and various connections to groups living in the unexplored tunnels beneath Seattle. Joined WGN after encountering Johnny and Roger in the underground when they followed a teleporting kidnapper into the sewers. Note: all characters took DARC or HOPI as a Hunted of some degree.

Re: [Campaign] DEFENDERS CONGREGATE!! I know you're probably still caught up with "real life" and that's why you've been unable to update...c'mon, where's your priorities?

Hey, we have a "Disney Princesses" thread, so why not Pete's Dragon? Well, not really Elliott himself; I'm actually looking at how to model his relationship with Pete. I am going to have an NPC that has a helper/friend from another dimension. I was leaning toward a summon, but this will be a single, named creature. I started thinking about examples, and Elliott from Pete's Dragon popped into my head. So I thought it might be more of a follower. Any recommendations or examples? What if Joe (the NPC) had more than one helper/friend he could choose from, would that change how to do this?

Re: High Definition Video of the Moon Cool. Thanks for posting that!

Re: Cool Guns for your Games I'm watching a show right now on the History Channel called "Sharp Shooters" that examines legendary shots (from the Old West, mostly) and then they try to re-enact them. It's pretty cool, they look at how hard ricochets really are, hitting two targets with two pistols simultaneously (ala Wild Bill Hickok) and should be getting into some of Annie Oakley's shots after the commercial. (link)

Re: Martial Arts versus Powers with Martial Arts SFX? I played with this character a bit more, I'm calling him Shadow for now. I expanded him to 350, since the characters won't meet him for some time, and he's supposed to be a powerful entity. I added another multipower and some flash defense. I looked at Killer Shrike's examples (thanks again for posting those!), but I'm still dissatisfied with the character, he seems to be a mish-mash. Any thoughts? Maybe I'm trying to cram too many archetypes in there? Shadow Player: Val Char Cost 30 STR 20 20 DEX 30 18 CON 16 15 BODY 10 13 INT 3 14 EGO 8 14 PRE 4 8 COM -1 6/16 PD 0 4/14 ED 0 4 SPD 10 12 REC 4 36 END 0 39 STUN 0 6" RUN 0 2" SWIM 0 6"/11" LEAP 0 Characteristics Cost: 104 Cost Power 30 Unearthly Fists: Multipower, 30-point reserve 3u 1) Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 2d6 (4d6 w/STR) (30 Active Points) 3u 2) Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 1d6 (2d6 w/STR), Armor Piercing (x2; +1) (30 Active Points) 3u 3) Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 1d6 (2d6 w/STR), Variable Advantage (+1/2 Advantages; +1) (30 Active Points) 2u 4) Hand-To-Hand Attack +6d6 (30 Active Points); Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2) 2u 5) Hand-To-Hand Attack +3d6, Variable Advantage (+1/2 Advantages; +1) (30 Active Points); Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2) 2u 6) Hand-To-Hand Attack +2d6, No Normal Defense (Rigid Resistant Armor; +1), Does BODY (+1) (30 Active Points); Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2) 20 Unearthly Aura: Multipower, 30-point reserve, (30 Active Points); all slots Conditional Power Power Only Works In Darkness (-1/2) 1u 1) Clinging (normal STR) (10 Active Points); Conditional Power Power Only Works In Darkness (-1/2) 2u 2) Drain STR 3d6 (standard effect: 9 points) (30 Active Points); Conditional Power Power Only Works In Darkness (-1/2) 1u 3) Energy Blast 4d6, Armor Piercing (+1/2) (30 Active Points); No Range (-1/2), Conditional Power Power Only Works In Darkness (-1/2) 1u 4) Force Field (5 PD/5 ED), Costs END Only To Activate (+1/4), Hardened (+1/4) (15 Active Points); Conditional Power Power Only Works In Darkness (-1/2) 1u 5) Leaping +5" (6"/11" forward, 3"/5 1/2" upward) (Accurate, x4 Noncombat) (15 Active Points); Conditional Power Power Only Works In Darkness (-1/2) 1u 6) Invisibility to Sight Group (20 Active Points); Only When Not Attacking (-1/2), Increased Endurance Cost (x2 END; -1/2), Conditional Power Power Only Works In Darkness (-1/2) 15 Life Support (Immunity: All terrestrial diseases and biowarfare agents; Longevity: 200 Years; Safe in High Radiation; Safe in Intense Heat) 4 Damage Resistance (4 PD/4 ED) 10 Invisibility to Hearing Group , Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (15 Active Points); Only When Not Attacking (-1/2) 15 Unknown and Unknowable: Invisibility to Mystic Group , No Fringe, Difficult To Dispel (x2 Active Points; +1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Persistent (+1/2) (45 Active Points); No Conscious Control (-2) 19 Armor (5 PD/5 ED), Hardened (+1/4) (19 Active Points) 10 Energy Damage Reduction, Resistant, 25% (15 Active Points); STUN Only (-1/2) 3 Mental Defense (13 points total) (10 Active Points); Only to Resist Fear Power does not work in Ubiquitous Circumstances (-2) 3 Power Defense (10 points) (10 Active Points); Only to Resist Fear Power does not work in Ubiquitous Circumstances (-2) 5 Hearing Group Flash Defense (5 points) 5 Sight Group Flash Defense (5 points) Powers Cost: 161 Cost Martial Arts Maneuver 3 Martial Grab: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, -1 DCV, Grab Two Limbs, 40 STR for holding on 4 Martial Escape: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +0 DCV, 45 STR vs. Grabs 4 Joint Lock/Throw: 1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, +0 DCV, Grab One Limb; 1d6 NND ; Target Falls 3 Legsweep: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, -1 DCV, 7d6 Strike, Target Falls 4 Choke Hold: 1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, +0 DCV, Grab One Limb; 2d6 NND 4 Martial Dodge: 1/2 Phase, -- OCV, +5 DCV, Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort 4 Martial Disarm: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, +1 DCV, Disarm; 40 STR to Disarm Martial Arts Cost: 26 Cost Skill 10 +2 with HTH Combat 3 Acrobatics 13- 3 Breakfall 13- 3 Climbing 13- 3 Concealment 12- 3 Contortionist 13- 3 Security Systems 12- 3 Shadowing 12- 3 Sleight Of Hand 13- 3 Stealth 13- 3 Systems Operation 12- 3 Tactics 12- 5 WF: Common Melee Weapons, Small Arms, Off Hand 5 Defense Maneuver I-II Skills Cost: 53 Cost Perk 3 Anonymity Perks Cost: 3 Cost Talent 3 Ambidexterity (-2 Off Hand penalty) Talents Cost: 3 Total Character Cost: 350 Pts. Disadvantage 10 DF: Unearthly (Pitch Black Skin, Blood Red Eyes): (Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) 20 Hunted: Seekers of the Golden Truth 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture) 15 PsyLim: Code versus Killing Humans: (Common, Strong) 10 Vulnerability: Qliphotic Magic: 2 x STUN (Uncommon) 10 Vulnerability: Qliphotic Magic: 2 x BODY (Uncommon) 10 Vulnerability: Qliphotic Magic: 2 x Effect (Uncommon) 15 PhysLim: Color Blind: (All the Time, Slightly Impairing) 10 SocLim: Unsocialized: (Occasionally, Major) Disadvantage Points: 100 Base Points: 250 Background: More than sixty years ago, a secret ceremony was performed to bring forth the perfect mortal, a herald for greater powers beyond the veil. At the end of the taxing and bloody ritual a perfect baby girl appeared on the altar. The cultists gathered her up, named her Sophia, and raised her as the herald. She soon exhibited great esoteric power, a cunning and ruthless nature, and a superlative intellect. Overall, she possessed stunning mental and magical abilities. Unfortunately, it was soon discovered that her physical abilities fell short of expectations. Sophia was simply not perfect. Eldritch powers are notoriously fickle, and a thorough investigation and post-cognitive review of the ceremony revealed that a second entity was deposited behind the altar, quite invisible. Instead of one perfect mortal, two imperfect halves emerged, Sophia, a mental and magical genius, and her shadow, unknown and unknowable. Further investigation and divination failed to track this shadow, but later attacks proved that he was the physical counterpart to Sophia's genius. If he were to be captured, perhaps the two halves could form a truly perfect whole. Motivation: Shadow actually is as conscientious as his "sister" is ruthless and evil. He has spent the last six decades training and trying to stop their machinations while simultaneously avoiding capture. He has found a few groups that share his goals, and sometimes spent some time training and learning from them, but has not allied with any for fear of bringing them to the Seeker's attention. Notes: I tried to show that even though he cannot be tracked mystically, he has a severe vulnerability to the cultists' magic. If they target him normally, or use psychic senses rather than mystic, he could be in for some serious trouble.

Re: Martial Arts versus Powers with Martial Arts SFX? Wow, thanks for the lengthy reply and all the examples!

Re: Martial Arts versus Powers with Martial Arts1 SFX? Ok, so here is what I have currently. It's a low powered game, so I made him with 300 pts. Any big errors? What would you recommend? (p.s., what is the best export template? I'm using HD v2.42, if that makes a difference) Player: Val Char Cost 30 STR 20 20 DEX 30 15 CON 10 15 BODY 10 13 INT 3 14 EGO 8 20 PRE 10 8 COM -1 6/11 PD 0 3/8 ED 0 4 SPD 10 11 REC 4 30 END 0 38 STUN 0 6" RUN 0 2" SWIM 0 6" LEAP 0 Characteristics Cost: 104 Cost Power 30 Multipower, 30-point reserve 3u 1) Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 2d6 (4d6 w/STR) (30 Active Points) 3u 2) Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 1d6 (2d6 w/STR), Armor Piercing (x2; +1) (30 Active Points) 3u 3) Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 1d6 (2d6 w/STR), Variable Advantage (+1/2 Advantages; +1) (30 Active Points) 2u 4) Hand-To-Hand Attack +6d6 (30 Active Points); Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2) 2u 5) Hand-To-Hand Attack +3d6, Variable Advantage (+1/2 Advantages; +1) (30 Active Points); Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2) 2u 6) Hand-To-Hand Attack +2d6, No Normal Defense (Rigid Resistant Armor; +1), Does BODY (+1) (30 Active Points); Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2) 15 Life Support (Immunity: All terrestrial diseases and biowarfare agents; Longevity: 200 Years; Safe in High Radiation; Safe in Intense Heat) 4 Damage Resistance (4 PD/4 ED) 10 Invisibility to Hearing Group , Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (15 Active Points); Only When Not Attacking (-1/2) 10 Invisibility to Sight Group (20 Active Points); Only When Not Attacking (-1/2), Increased Endurance Cost (x2 END; -1/2) 19 Armor (5 PD/5 ED), Hardened (+1/4) (19 Active Points) 10 Energy Damage Reduction, Resistant, 25% (15 Active Points); STUN Only (-1/2) 3 Mental Defense (13 points total) (10 Active Points); Only to Resist Fear Power does not work in Ubiquitous Circumstances (-2) 3 Power Defense (10 points) (10 Active Points); Only to Resist Fear Power does not work in Ubiquitous Circumstances (-2) Powers Cost: 119 Cost Martial Arts Maneuver 3 Martial Grab: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, -1 DCV, Grab Two Limbs, 40 STR for holding on 4 Martial Escape: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +0 DCV, 45 STR vs. Grabs 4 Joint Lock/Throw: 1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, +0 DCV, Grab One Limb; 1d6 NND ; Target Falls 3 Legsweep: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, -1 DCV, 7d6 Strike, Target Falls 4 Choke Hold: 1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, +0 DCV, Grab One Limb; 2d6 NND Martial Arts Cost: 18 Cost Skill 10 +2 with HTH Combat 3 Acrobatics 13- 3 Breakfall 13- 3 Climbing 13- 3 Concealment 12- 3 Contortionist 13- 3 Security Systems 12- 3 Shadowing 12- 3 Sleight Of Hand 13- 3 Stealth 13- 3 Systems Operation 12- 3 Tactics 12- 5 WF: Common Melee Weapons, Small Arms, Off Hand 5 Defense Maneuver I-II Skills Cost: 53 Cost Perk 3 Anonymity Perks Cost: 3 Cost Talent 3 Ambidexterity (-2 Off Hand penalty) Talents Cost: 3 Total Character Cost: 300 Pts. Disadvantage 10 DF: Inhuman (Pitch Black Skin, Blood Red Eyes): (Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) 20 Hunted: Seekers of the Golden Truth 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture) 15 PsyLim: Code versus Killing Humans: (Common, Strong) 10 Vulnerability: Qlipothic Magic: 2 x STUN (Uncommon) 10 Vulnerability: Qlipothic Magic: 2 x BODY (Uncommon) 10 Vulnerability: Qlipothic Magic: 2 x Effect (Uncommon) 15 PhysLim: Color Blind: (All the Time, Slightly Impairing) 10 SocLim: Unsocialized: (Occasionally, Major) Disadvantage Points: 100 Base Points: 200

Re: Martial Arts versus Powers with Martial Arts1 SFX? Thanks for the replies, everybody. A question, though: Do you mean several Hand attacks, each with a different advantage, or one HA with "Variable Advantage" on it?