BoloOfEarth

Re: Would you allow this?

Would you allow a character starting off with SPD 12 and a 1d6 NND as his only attack?

Kind of a similar answer there. I figured out a while back a good way to 'balance' damage. Take the chance the player has to hit (using their OCV againt a theoretical average DCV) as a value between 0 and 1, multiply that by the average damage they will do (usually figured by dice * 4 - theoretical average defense but that can change depending on things like armor piercing, NNDs, etc.) and multiply it by the characters speed. That gives me a rough idea how much damage a character might do in a round. If they have autofire, AoE's or other advantages it gets trickier but I have formulas to work that out as well.

 

Sample characters in the book seem to range around 70-90 points of damage in a turn using this method. This guy? He's going to average less than 40. Nothing game breaking about that.

 

Of course if he's got other abilities like Martial Arts that could change the picture considerably, but for now we're just assuming all he can really do is run around with a very high speed inflicting minimal damage.

 

That said I would probably force him to lower his speed anyway simply because of the headaches it can cause other players when someone has a ludicrously high speed. Having to wait while he decides 3 different actions that have negligible impact every time you want to make an action is going to get old in a hurry for a player. That's more of an OOC concern, however.

 

(edit: By OOC what I really mean is it is more of a practical consideration [players won't have fun because they have to wait so long] as opposed to a game balance issue.)

In my case, I did allow the character, not taking into account the player (who is a min-max/munchkin/rules-lawyer type). He had a few minor Limitations on the attack -- I believe a 15- Activation roll and Only in Hero ID -- which made an already relatively low-cost power even cheaper. What I didn't realize is what he planned to do, which was buy Autofire with his first points of XP. Since he had Shrinking, many of his attacks were by surprise, so his chances to hit with multiple shots were fairly high. Suddenly, that 40 average STUN a Turn jumps up to 80-120 or higher if foes are unable to perceive him. Soon enough, he's taking characters out in 3-4 Segments.

[Original attack: 1d6 NND (+1), Reduced END (0 END; +1/2), Activation 15- (-1/4), Only in Hero ID (-1/4) = 8 points]

[New attack: 1d6 NND (+1), Autofire (5 shots; +1/2), Reduced END (0 END; +1), Activation 15- (-1/4), Only in Hero ID (-1/4) = 12 points]

What I should have pushed him to dial back was the 12 SPD. Really, that was effectively the game-breaker.

Re: Would you allow this?

I would not allow Captain Invulnerable because, as Mr. R said, it would get boring real fast, and the bad guys would learn just as fast to simply ignore or entangle him. I would also let the player know this, so he knows it's not just arbitrary.

Would you allow a character starting off with SPD 12 and a 1d6 NND as his only attack?

Re: The cranky thread

I'm terribly sorry about that' date=' Bolo.[/quote']

 

Don't sweat it. Crap happens, lesson learned. I wasn't pissed at you, but rather at the people who create malware.

 

I'm glad that RP Miller posted about that so I knew where the problem came from, rather than either blaming the kids or (worse yet) accidentally re-infecting the computer. The latter would have really driven me nuts, if I had no idea where it had likely come from.

Re: The cranky thread

My condolences, Baloo.

My own (comparatively insignificant) cranky is due to my home computer getting infected with malware. I hope there's a very hot place for the people who create that stuff. The worst part is, I think I got it from the Gun Girls thread on these boards. (At least, someone on that thread warned about pictures previously posted there, just a few hours before my computer started sending out hundreds of crap spam emails.) Hopefully got rid of it with Spybot S&D and Malwarebytes, but I'm still a bit pissed off.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat

NT: Subtle signs the person giving the latest popular science lecture on TED is out of her mind.

Everything is based on chemical interactions with Pepsi, Coke, Dr. Pepper, and Mountain Dew.

"Oh, that's not what you meant by 'pop science'? Sorry, my bad."

NT: You've just found a magazine from 1950. Other than flying cars, what was the most ridiculous prediction for the year 2000 and beyond?

Re: "Neat" Pictures

The guy who came up with the idea of DNA was a "Creationist".

Um. Which one? Watson? Crick? Rosalind Franklin?

Narf, are you perhaps referring to Gregor Mendel, the Augustinian friar considered the father of modern genetics? If so, to be precise, Mendel came up with the idea of inheritance of traits, not of DNA.

And if I'm making an incorrect assumption, my apologies and feel free to ignore this post.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat

NT: Things that Death Tribble snuck into the Champions Villains solo book. (difficulty nothing about the X-Files or the people who were in it)

Grond's new power: Flaming Eyes.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat

NT: More subtle signs that you're Superman and don't know it.

Your winter cottage is located in the Arctic, and you go there when you need a little solitude.

NT: Subtle signs that you're Thor and don't know it.

Re: "Neat" Pictures

Yeesh, what do they make women out of in the southwest?

 

For some reason, I'm reminded of Baloo the bear singing about picking a prickly pair... er, I mean, pear.

From now on, I'll be hearing the "Bare Necessities" song in a new light.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat

New Topic: The Olympic Games for mad scientists:

The Deathcathlon:

1. 100 meter dash from the burning lab
   
2. Long Jump over the alligator pit
   
3. Robot's Head Shot Put
   
4. High Jump over laser beams
   
5. 400 meter dash from the exploding building
   
6. 110 meter hurdles over fallen lab assistants
   
7. Razor Discus throw
   
8. Pole vault over the electrified fence
   
9. Javelin throw at mutated creatures
   
10. 1500 meter run to the waiting helicopter to safety
    

NT: Surprising announcements at the Mad Scientist Olympics

Re: Quote of the Week From My Life.

I have a coworker who is literally a blabbermouth. She never stops talking, even to chew her food and eveything she says at the top of her lungs. Worse nothing she has to say is actually useful or interesting. No one in the department can stand being around her for any period of time.

 

Me: You know that's irritating.

Her: What's irritating?

Me: The fact that you never stop talking.

Her: What do you mean. I'm a quiet person.

Me: Being stuck in a room with you is like having my ears stuffed with rabid weasels.

You should tell her, "Your voice fills the room. In fact, you'll notice that as you talk, people get up and leave to make room for it."

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat

NT: Ways to turn the boring events in the Olympics that nevertheless get all the TV coverage into things you'd at least find interesting. Difficulty: no nudity or sexual content (this is network TV).

Full-contact archery.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat

He's always asleep, even if you don't hypnotize him.

 

NT: Subtle signs the driver of your Greyhound Bus is a cunningly-disguised rhinoceros.

The "Obama/Biden 2012" button on his jacket.

"Hey, whadda ya mean I'm a RINO? I'll have you know I'm a registered Democrat!"

NT: Subtle signs the no-longer-bus-driving rhinoceros is now hiding in one of your kitchen appliances.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat

NT: Subtle signs the owner of the local game store is out of his mind.

"Hero Games? Oh, they went under. They're not in business any more."

(This was actually said to me -- a few weeks after the 5th edition rulebook came out. The store owner refused to even check that he might be wrong. Needless to say, I stopped going there.)

NT: Worst* character ideas to bring to Mattingly's "Bring Your Own Brick" game at GenCon.

* "Worst" can mean anything from a completely munchkin build to a massively useless build to a challenging personality to whatever you want.

Re: Current Champions or will 4th Edition suffice?

I wear red pumps with my little black dress' date=' Steamteck. You'll come back just for another look.[/quote']

 

Looks like wearing even one of these would be a trifle uncomfortable.

Re: [New Product] Champions Complete

Plus' date=' some people would inevitably start acronyming it, which could get all sorts of weird... [/quote']

I know. We'll end up with something like "Rules (Hero) In Name Only".

 

Me, I'm partial to McCoy's C², but then again I lived quite a while in Ann Arbor, Michigan, which is sometimes locally called A².

Re: "Neat" Pictures

I liked her SHAZAM.

Is that what you kids are calling it nowadays?

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat

NT: Subtle signs the studio executive to whom you are pitching your latest blockbuster superhero movie is out of his mind.

"Okay, that plot sounds okay, but I was thinking the hero could defeat the villain by giving him Twinkies and Hostess Fruit Pies..."

Re: Interesting article about Sexism in Geek Communities

And I've had girlfriends who professed little interest in porn who' date=' strangely enough, seemed more inclined to want to have sex with me after watching some.[/quote']

 

I had girlfriends do that too. And y'know it was really irritating when, after watching porn, my girlfriend would want to have sex with megaplayboy.

 

Sorry for contributing to the thread derail. We now return you to your geek sexism, already in progress.

Re: Longest Running Thread EVER

I had a fun dragonfly experience a couple years ago. My daughter and I were driving home with the windows down' date=' and a dragonfly flew through the window. It then preceded to try to exit via the front windshield, which of course wasn't going to be successful. Had to pull over and help the little guy find the side window despite his insistence that the front was the proper path to follow.[/quote']

 

Maybe he was just trying to urge you to drive faster.

Re: Interesting article about Sexism in Geek Communities

Women stereotypically aren't into porn...

I dunno about that. All of the porn I've seen has had *plenty* of women in it. Sometimes, they even forget to invite the guys.

Um... I mean, I have no idea what you're talking about!

Re: "Neat" Pictures

Time flies like an arrow.

Fruit flies like a banana.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat

The Thing: Rocky Road, naturally.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat

The south Bronx. Liz-2 is changin' her style, gonna go all "Punisher" on those gang-bangers. Yo.

NT: Other surprising changes of style/personality. Bonus points if you give a reason for the change. (e.g. Paris Hilton going for a doctorate in biochemistry, so she can create and market a new perfume.)

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat

(This topic has the potential for 31 flavors of "wrong." )

The Secret Service posts a list of "safe words" in all major rooms of the White House.