matrix3

Re: [Campaign Log..kinda]Small Wonders Looking great so far! How often does your group meet to game?

Re: Favorite Damage Shields?

Re: Favorite Damage Shields? When would a clinging Damage Shield be better than an entangle DS? This is cool. Is there a time limit, or is the attacker stuck in this Darkforce Dimension if they don't have EDM themselves?

Re: Favorite Damage Shields? Some great ideas. I thought of a couple really odd damage shields, but I don't know if they are legal. What would you say to a Desolid, UAA damage shield, or an EDM, UAA damage shield? Are they even legal?

Re: Favorite Damage Shields? That's a cool idea. I thought of (I believe) an inventive drain, but not as a damage shield. It was a room with a very small, AoE drain STR on it. If the chars tried to run through, they'd hit the Clinging, UAA, AOE, IPE in the center of the room. I only got into Hero recently, so all I know really is 5ed Revised. What was the big difference for 4th ed damage shields?

An interesting Entangling damage shield was mentioned on this thread, and I was wondering: what some of your favorite/unique damage shields?

Re: Favorite Tactics against High DCV? What? You don't like the Matrix? But it was gold. Sure, the second two weren't much, and I didn't care for the "coppertop" reason for harvesting humans (using them as processors made more sense to me), but still, it's the Matrix, man. Keep talking like that and we might have to suspend your Geek Card. An entangle damage shield, huh? I've heard of a "Tarbaby defense" (clinging damage shield) but never an entangle version. Interesting...

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters Always a joy to read. Thanks!

Re: [Campaign Log..kinda]Small Wonders Cool! Thanks for sharing your campaign. Have the PC's received their powers yet, or are you still in the introductory phase?

Re: Thoughts on a "Jynx" power? D'oh! How could I forget that? How about one for indoors: "Where'd that chandelier come from?":5d6 EB (vs PD), indirect(from above),reduced END(0 END), plus 4d6 entangle

Re: Thoughts on a "Jynx" power? Some good ideas, I especially liked in a similar vein: "Wardrobe Malfunction": 3D6 Drain PRE, reduced end (0 END)

Re: Thoughts on a "Jynx" power? Hmm, what are some other "bad luck" powers people can think of? Here are a couple off the top of my head: "Missing Manhole Cover": Teleport, only to nearest sewer, OAF(manhole) "I've got something in my eye": Sight flash "Blue Screen of Death": Suppress Technology of some sort "Broken Gumball Machine": Change Environment, -3 dex, AoE

Re: Thoughts on a "Jynx" power? Thanks! That could work, especially since this is an NPC. I was thinking it would be completely uncontrolled, with him unable to control any effects and with it always affecting anyone in the vicinity. I just realized that calling it a "Jynx" power might make people think of Jynx, the character from Teen Titans who could make unlucky things happen to people. That wasn't my intention, I wanted the unluck power completely uncontrolled. In fact, I was going to have the NPC unaware that he was the source. He just thought he showed up right in the nick of time to save people.

This post in the "Corrupt the Wish" thread reminded me of an NPC I was trying to build some time ago but gave up on. He would be a very friendly NPC, but he just happens to "siphon" the luck from those around him. Something like "6d6 luck, only 1d6 per person within 10 meters", and couple it with a "Jynx power". I am unsure of how to apply advantages or disadvantages as powers to affect other characters, but I think it would be something like: 1d6 unluck, Usable As Attack, Area of Effect, personal immunity, uncontrolled, always on. So that anyone in his presence would have 1d6 of unluck, while he would accumulate that much luck. Would this sort of thing work?

Re: Building Intrugue Into a Game You could also take a few important markets in your campaign and list the biggest family in that market, then think of how other families could try to disrupt that. For example: Politics: Thornbloods rule, but I would have them losing touch with the "common rabble", which the Halfbloods have taken advantage of. Agriculture: Moonbloods, but the Oldbloods might still have title to vast tracts of fertile land. Mining: Stonebloods. The family may also contain some of the most renowned stone masons and smiths. Commerce: The Thornbloods can levy taxes, but the Venombloods are the true merchants. It's all well and good to have the best mines or most fertile land, but how do you get that into the cities? Teamsters, sailors, and merchants, that's how, and the Venombloods have their fingers in a lot of pies. Religion: Thornbloods rule the temporal, but do you have a central church that also has a great deal of influence? There would be Cherishbloods all throughout it. Bishops, cardinals, templars or monks, this family would rule the spiritual. There may also be a few Oldbloods in important positions, who have just been around forever. Magic: If you have magic, then the Oldbloods would be the most prominent family. I would use the Vatican library and vaults as inspiration for what is contained within the great, impregnable vaults of the Oldblood family. Their glory has faded, but I would still have original manuscripts of holy books, holy scepters, ancient tomes of magic, Holy Mace of Undead Splattering +12, any McGuffin I might need could be found in an Oldblood vault. Also, I would form dichotomies, like the old four elements: Oldbloods versus Halfbloods Venombloods versus Cherishbloods Moonbloods versus Stonebloods At first I thought that Moonbloods and Stonebloods would get along, but then I thought how the Moonbloods are about sowing in the earth and harvesting the earth's bounty, while the Stonebloods are about tearing into the earth and ripping what they want from it. Definitely a contention there. So, we have the Thornbloods standing alone, without a "versus." Maybe that is part of the reason they came to be in charge, the other families were busy with their counterparts...

Re: Building Intrugue Into a Game You gave a list of names, but not much about those families (Thornbloods, Moonbloods, Stonebloods, Halfbloods, Oldbloods, Venombloods, and Cherishbloods). I would write out a list ( or a sentence or two) that generally describes each family, what motivates them, what they find repugnant, and maybe a grudge or two, then use that to graph out how these families interact. Using the old fantasy standby of power in a name, here is an example: Thornbloods: This makes me think of a thistle, so I would go with some historical Scottish royalty as inspirations. Intelligent, cunning, and stubborn. Never forgive or forget, but reward loyalty generously. Moonbloods: Makes me think of druids, and also matriarchy (women classically being closely tied with the moon). I would say this family has a history of powerful women working behind the scenes(or maybe in the open). Perhaps close to the land, beloved of their tenant farmers, they would have popular support, and be comfortably positioned in the family tree, but perhaps lack some of the bloodthirsty drive necessary to reach the top of the political ladder. Stonebloods: Sturdy, reliable, practical and unimaginative. Perhaps they come from a region with the best marble quarries in the nation, and have strong ties with the working class. Good workers, used by the other families, they don't have the political acumen to succeed in the game of families. Halfbloods: Struggling to prove themselves and desperate to succeed, they might use the "half" to "relate with the people" and foment a popular uprising. Think Juan Peron or some of the other South American communist dictators that used "I'm one of you" to rise to power. Oldbloods: Purest line of the old Empire, they are fading, suffering from inbreeding (physical deformities? Hemophilia? Dementia?) and struggling to hold on to their former glory. Some of the best old art, most powerful artifacts, perhaps? Look to certain periods in the royal families of Europe for examples. Venombloods: Long ago they intermarried with a merchant family, and now they are (in)famous for benefiting from "accidents" that remove their rivals. Draw inspiration from the Borgias and the Medicis. Perhaps some members sell their services, for there are few assassins that can so easily get into the royal gatherings. Cherishbloods: Known for their piety, many of this family are clerics and holy warriors. Though perhaps easily duped, they are also known for their righteous tempers when such treachery is discovered. I hope this will help.

Re: Genres HERO GAMES may want to avoid (intended to be humorous)

Re: Help with a Shapeshifting Villain That looks great. Thanks! I saw the write-up for Silence, and I just got stuck on trimming that down, instead of building up something workable.

Hi all. I'm relatively new to Hero, and I could use some help with a major hench-villain. He is one of the main henchmen for my campaign villain, and he specializes in shapeshifting and "mental intrusion". I want him to be able to mimic people, have a liquid form, be resistant to damage, and to have some ability to "rip the answers" from a person's mind. I saw OddHat's write up for Silence (http://www.herogames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1244004&postcount=3) and that is very similar to what I am looking for, but I'm running a lower powered campaign and would need to shave about 100 points. I could hand-wave all the powers, but I think it would be good to stat this guy all out. Right now, the characters only know him as "Agent Rembrandt," an agent of a mysterious government organization. They know he isn't a good guy, but they don't know he has powers. The truth is that Agent Rembrandt is an extra-dimensional entity that the main villain summoned, a younger cousin to Shoggoth and all those creatures. I was thinking of including a frightening "true form," but I don't know how complex I want to go right now, and like I said before I want to keep it to 250.