BobGreenwade

Re: THE HERO SYSTEM EQUIPMENT GUIDE -- What Would *You* Like To See? For me, just having 6E updates to the previously published 5E material, plus getting it all in one book, would be worth the cover price. As for new stuff, most of what I'd want is non-combat gear, like CSI lab equipment, reagents (nothing big here -- say, one or two examples with a "build your own" Sidebar), prisoner restraints, environment suits, food processors, portable defibrillators, and the like. A few everyday things that some GMs like to charge a point or two for, like a cell phone or a PDA, would be good too. Throw in some leading-edge devices like the Active Denial System, Stench Soup, dilitant-treated clothing, and so forth, along with a few conceptual items like the plasma sword I mentioned earlier, and I'm a very happy camper. The only other thing I can think of would be to start each chapter, or at least the sci-fi sections, with a (very brief) discussion on the difference between realistic technology, in the sense of what follows the known laws of physics, and what's often seen in fiction, which often stretches physics to the breaking point and beyond. But that, as I said, should be very brief, generally no more than two or three paragraphs per entry -- anything truly in-depth should wait for Star Hero.

Re: Technologically advanced Neanderthals? Apparently Daily Galaxy had a problem with the article posting. I'm sure they'll get it fixed in the next day or two. (Argh.)

According to The Daily Galaxy: New Research Shows Neanderthal Technology Equal to Homo Sapiens This casts a new light on what we think of in Neanderthals -- perhaps those Geico commercials aren't so far off the mark after all.

Re: Now THIS is a SUPERCAR my friends!

Re: Now THIS is a SUPERCAR my friends! Some of these really need at least a broad, general reference in the new Hero System Vehicles. (Like, maybe something in the References or some other Appendix.)

Re: The criminal level list Or "Mucky-muck."

Re: THE HERO SYSTEM EQUIPMENT GUIDE -- What Would *You* Like To See?

Re: The criminal level list I'd say to call #1 "Lackey." And #2 can be "Made Man." You could move Mastermind to #6, and use Henchman as #5. Then #9 could be "Right Hand Man."

Re: The Atlantis city-ship from Stargate:Atlantis -> vehicle or base? Different factions, different periods, and much more. Kentucky in 1940 is not like Las Vegas in 2010, but they're both still America. Ditto Manhattan and Jersey City in just about any year, even though they're separated by only a river.

Re: THE HERO SYSTEM EQUIPMENT GUIDE -- What Would *You* Like To See? Steve, have you ever seen Dr. Michio Kaku's show "Sci-Fi Science"? A few of the gadgets he addresses there might be good for inclusion -- for example, when he did "How to Build a Light Saber," what he came up with was really a plasma sword, and it was cool enough that I've included it in the sci-fi story I've recently finished.

Re: The Atlantis city-ship from Stargate:Atlantis -> vehicle or base? I just spent this summer watching the entire run of SG:A on DVD, and I don't get the impression that the Ancients (of the era in which they built and lived in Atlantis) were very good at contingency thinking. A big part of their downfall was their assumption that all of their technology would work as advertised, and simply continue to be enough simply because of their own brilliance and superiority. Thus, they built their base/vehicle/city/whatever with no more than they thought would be needed under ideal circumstances... which was a mistake of Titanic proportions.

Re: Giant robots! Another meme too cool for its own good. Response speed may or may not be an advantage of mecha; it depends on how quickly a mech's limbs can move. If the mechanics of the limb's movement don't move quickly, then all the human speed in the world won't make an inch of difference. That said, I can think of three real practical reasons for humanform mecha. First: traversing awkward terrain. Wheels and tracks need fairly smooth ground to go over, while legs can traverse nearly anything. A wall, a fallen tree, or even a small building is something that a tank has to go around, but a mech can go over. Second: vantage point. There are several reasons that getting to a physically higher point is an advantage in a fight, and I don't claim to understand all or even most of them, but among them are range of vision and ability to assess surroundings. (Biologists believe that this is why primates in general, and humans even more than the others, developed upright posture.) Third: interface. In a society where technology is such that machines can be directed by thought -- and we're in the beginning phases of developing just such technology today -- the human form is just more familiar, and thus easier to learn.

Re: Limitation: Random Misfires Given the now very limited space we have for Complications, I'd avoid using that. A variation on the No Conscious Control Limitation seems best.

Re: THE HERO SYSTEM EQUIPMENT GUIDE -- What Would *You* Like To See? You know, Steve, the more you say, "That's something more appropriate for HERO System Weapons," the more I salivate for that book. For this one, I only have two requests in the weapons/armor scope. First, a personal force field that uses Damage Negation. Second, a pastiche of Duck Dodgers' disintegrator weapon (using Side Effects or Burnout rules for when it, well, disintegrates).

Re: THE HERO SYSTEM EQUIPMENT GUIDE -- What Would *You* Like To See? And also not nearly as important as rocket-propelled cats (6E2 213).

Re: The Atlantis city-ship from Stargate:Atlantis -> vehicle or base? In this context, it depends on the base and the vehicle. In game terms, the main advantage is relative cost (for things like Size, Foci, and so forth).

Re: THE HERO SYSTEM EQUIPMENT GUIDE -- What Would *You* Like To See? If it's not too much work and/or page space, you might also consider grabbing the extended "normal object DEF/BODY" tables from TUB (and elsewhere) to give an expanded version of what's on 6E2 171-172. This could cover a lot of the items that technically count as equipment, but don't need a full game write-up (like shoes, a cane, or a camp chair). On a different line of thought entirely, I think I'll look around to see if I can find the write-up I once did for a rocket lawnchair. (It's in 4E, but I can update it easily enough to 5E for you, and I can probably get an already-done illo for you as well.)

Re: The October Eight competition Possibly, depending on how Doc draws it. Maybe if there was a little less physical overlap between them. Doc: Is Gen. Bones the guy on the right? (I'm guessing that from his choice of weapon -- submachine gun versus saber.)

Re: The Atlantis city-ship from Stargate:Atlantis -> vehicle or base? I tend to go with the majority here, that the Atlantis city-ship is a Base with Movement Powers (Flight, FTL, and MegaScale Teleportation). But I'd also consider making it a Base that Multiforms into a Vehicle, depending on what it might be able to do as a Base that it can't as a Vehicle.

Re: THE HERO SYSTEM EQUIPMENT GUIDE -- What Would *You* Like To See?

Re: The October Eight competition It does look cool, and is especially fitting since Bones would have fought on the Union side had he stayed in. However, I'd been hoping to have an illo of General Bones to use with a character sheet when I go to present him in Haymaker. So I'm of two minds.

Re: THE HERO SYSTEM EQUIPMENT GUIDE -- What Would *You* Like To See? I'm with Steve on this one, guys -- systems for handling money in a game is better left to genre books, or (we can hope) APG2. It just doesn't have that much to do with equipment. (It does affect equipping your character, at least indirectly, but not enough IMO to warrant devoting several pages to the topic.) What's done with money in this book should be limited to what something would cost in a typical Fantasy (Turakian Age), Pulp (1930 USA), Modern (2010 USA), and Sci-Fi (Terran Empire) settings, depending on the respective availability, with perhaps ancient China/Japan for Martial Arts weapons and a few other bits. Given the amount of work that would mean for Steve, I'm not sure it even needs that much -- just some general guidelines on how to figure it out, such as what I suggested above re: finding Internet resources and using simple tricks like AP x RP. As for real estate, a redirect to have the reader look at TUBa would probably suffice.

Re: THE HERO SYSTEM EQUIPMENT GUIDE -- What Would *You* Like To See?

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine Will we have Cheryl Krow?