rmccarty4

Why does the cover to Book 1 (doc title: Traveller HERO Sourcebook) cost $10, while Book 1 (doc title: Traveller Book 1: Adventures in Charted Space) costs $4? Does the Sourcebook satisfy the licensing requirement to own a copy of Traveller? Or do I still need to go to FFE or DTRPG and buy CT, MegaT, or TNE? And then does the Sourcebook have content not found on the Traveller Hero CD?

http://1988stantheman.blogspot.com/2008/01/artwork.html Bandwidth warning! MANY JPEGs. Priddy cool, though.

Re: Planetary Magnetic Field Question Separate question, 'cause now I'm curious: did Earth start rotating about a different axis with the same orientation relative to solar system north (such that it's still spinning about an axis that's perpendicular to its orbit around the sun), or is the new axis closer to parallel to the solar system plane of rotation, like Uranus? Seasonality is obviously going to be greatly increased for the latter scenario, and even if the magnetic pole is close to the rotational pole, the polar area would get scrubbed by solar wind & radiation. I know you wrote you'd addressed the climate, but I'm wondering about your take on said climate.

Re: Planetary Magnetic Field Question If I understand the geophysics of the magnetic poles correctly, the magnetic pole "prefers" to align near the rotational axis -- the dynamo works best that way. If the magnetic pole were near the equator, the rotation of the earth would spin the magnetic pole through space, making a (relatively) rapidly rotating magnetic field, which would exert significant electromagnetic force. It wouldn't be stable, which is why the magnetic N tends to align with either rotational N or S. That rapidly changing magnetic field shouldn't collect charged particles in the way our current magnetic fields do, so I wouldn't expect equatorial auroras. OTOH, it might allow charged particles (a form of radiation) to bathe the earth, since they won't be diverted by a stable magnetic field. I believe that might cause the Earth's atmosphere to be scrubbed away by the solar wind. Apparently, Earth's magnetic field may be weakening; if it continues to weaken at the perceived rate, Earth might lose much of its atmosphere within a thousand years.

Re: Does anyone use this rule? The top of my head just detached and flipped in midair. Twice. First question: Doesn't BOECV explicitly incorporate the sense of AVLD (Mental Defense)? I'd always figured that was a big reason it was a +1 advantage. If it only targeted on ECV, but applied damage against normal defenses, it'd seem to be worth much less -- +1/4 or +1/2. Second question: IPE 2 senses -- which ones? BOECV attacks are visible, just like Ego Attack; they're visible to Mental Sense (which as I'm sure someone has complained about, is grandfathered in for anyone with Mental Powers); and... OK, I can't remember if they're sensed by anything else. But I've always... not put a lot of importance on the rule that EVERY Power can be sensed by multiple senses. Always just figured Powers were visible to sight, and it otherwise depends on SFX: fire powers also palpable, sonic powers also audible, etc. So coming up with another sense for Ego Attack is right up there on my priority list with coming up with another sense for Flight or Force Field. If a GM insists on it, I guess I'll have to give all my espers body odor or something... So let's suppose we can ignore the IPE effect; that we change BOECV such that it only enables you to target opponents using ECV (no other effects), and suppose it's a +1/2 Advantage; and that AVLD (Mental Defense) is also required, +1 1/2, we end up with +2 total Advantage, making Ego Attack a real bargain by comparison. But wait, there's more! Ego Attack (& IIRC, the existing BOECV Advantage) incorporates No Range Mods, which is what, another +1/2? Now we're at +2 1/2. And doesn't AVLD also allow for a SFX defense, like NND does? No corresponding defense for Ego Attack. So I certainly take your point that recreating Ego Attack w/ Advantaged EB is ruinously expensive. It's a rare example of something in Hero that doesn't work out evenly, unlike so many cases that do. BTW: has anyone complained before that AVLD's Advantage really depends on the prevalence of the Limited Defense? As Limited Defenses go, Mental Defense is pretty common; Power Defense somewhat less so, and Presence Defense is quite rare. I suppose that varies according to campaign & genre, but the point still stands.

Re: Social versus Physical/Mental Conflicts I am unfamiliar with Pelgrane Press' Gumshoe system, but their December See Page XX has a pretty interesting take on this topic for Gumshoe, and principles look applicable. The way I might apply that material in HERO is through Presence Attacks, rewarding complementary skills and good role-playing with bonuses to Presence Attack. PRE-based skills would seem to apply: Oratory for playing the crowd, Persuasion for bringing a target over to your side, Seduction for getting people to like you, Conversation for uncovering information, etc. As normal, applicable KS, AK, SS, or other 2-pt skills can be complementary (usually helps to know what you're talking about, but it's not enough by itself). Skill versus skill would certainly apply, to reduce bonuses by the opposing skill, as well as normal situational bonuses or penalties for strong or weak position. Question is, how many PRE Attack dice to add for making your skill roll? Off the top of my head, either +1D6 or +1/2D6 for each number you make your roll by seems typical, but I haven't playtested this or anything... Unfortunately, IDHMBIFOM (I know, I know, this is where PDFs of the Character Creation Handbook, Combat Handbook, or 5ER would be handy), and I can't remember what the specific effects of a PRE+10, PRE+20, or PRE+30 result is, but PRE+30 or 40 should be pretty darn persuasive/attractive. Conversely, a result less than the opponent's PRE is pretty unpersuasive and might provide bonuses to the opponent in his/her rebuttal (weak position). Maintaining the distinction between PRE Attacks & Mind Control, I wouldn't allow anything that results in a character doing something that s/he's dead set against (e.g., violating a Psych Lim, or doing something that obviously brings self-harm). But if a glib player's character is getting talked in to a corner, that player can use the situation to perform good role-playing, too. Rewards role-playing: check; rewards possession of expensive PRE-based skills and complementary knowledge skills: check; rewards situational advantage: check operates within existing HERO rules: well, you decide. People that never want any kind of rule system to govern any type of social interaction (who probably chafe at the PRE stat and associated skills anyway) probably won't be persuaded. But I assert that if a character sheet has twenty or thirty points invested in these stats & skills, they should affect the game.

Re: Hero All-Stars 2008 I think you could probably get away with using Fong Sai-Yuk or Wong Fei Hung (OK, so, I'm a Jet Li fan. Sue me). And +1 on Brisco County, Jr.

Re: Surviving a Fire Inasmuch as damage usually consists of Stun & Body, I might suggest the Absorb go to Stun & Body. Sort of reinforces the "immune to fire" concept, as you'll be adding back the effects of any damage that might get through your defenses. You could go with Absorb to Damage Reduction, such that if you stay in the fire long enough (and buy your reserve large enough) you'll reach 75% Reduction. Another take on that would be Absorb to rED, only Fire/Heat SFX. Other damage effects are normally in the Drain/Dispel/Suppress/Transfer family, so you could consider Absorb to Power Defense, only for Fire/Heat SFX. If you weren't thinking along those lines, you could take the fire with you when you leave, in the shape of an energy HA w/ Damage Shield, Personal Immunity, and No Endurance Cost Advantages (or EB bought w/ No Range Limitation, if you prefer) -- the character essentially heats up along with the fire, and becomes one with it. And lastly, you might start to analyze the fire the longer you stay in it -- by spending time in the fire, you come to know the fire's story. Absorb could go to Analyze (so you can determine what's burning -- wood, paper, bodies :-(, and the like -- and to Retrocognition (see where & how the fire started) and Precognition (see where the fire is going to spread). If your GM allows it, the Absorb could go to Deduction, for similar purposes.

Re: A Question About Jobs and Income Back in the 80's, when I last played Pulp Hero ("Justice, Inc.", really), we generally figured that things cost 1/10th what they cost now. I'd ballpark that at 1/20th in 2007-2008 (Rule of 72 says prices will double in 18 years at 4% annual inflation). This works best for commodities -- food, gasoline, clothing, household goods. Technological items and entertainment are a bit tricky, as what was cutting edge is now commoditized, and we seem to be willing to pay more for entertainment than we did 70 years ago. Adjust up for tech, down for entertainment? Also depends whether your Pulp Era is in the Roaring Twenties or after the Great Depression. Adjust up for the Twenties, or down for the Thirties. As for pay... again, it depends somewhat on whether we're talking about ante-Depression or post-Depression, but figure that labor probably paid better back then, and top-end professions (surgeon, lawyer, I-banker) less so. So what does that mean for your librarian? I'll guess that the position might earn $70K/year nowadays; take a 20th of that, and you're at $3500 annually, call it $275-$300/mo. BTW, if your character is a woman, she'd earn maybe half that amount. Sexism stinks. And I'm not thinking of taxes, although IIRC, Roosevelt raised income taxes very significantly, so you might expect to take home a good part of that. OTOH, such a person might well not own a car, and if single, might live in some kind of shared housing. A 3-bed, 2-bath detached house and a car are features of post-war life, not Pulp Era life.

Re: Social versus Physical/Mental Conflicts One thing that appeals about a more structured way to resolve social interactions is that it more clearly defines the point at which you may want to, uhh, change the game by shifting from a Social conflict to a Physical/Mental conflict. That is, when to punch the lights out of the speaker that's cleaning your clock in the battle of words. After all, violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, but when you're down to your last refuge...

Re: A Thought on Speed Chart Order Emphasis mine. This is pretty much how my playing group figured it. It wasn't that Centurion had lightning reflexes, & the balance of a gymnast. It was that he was a veteran superhero, who had mastery of every situation, who was a skilled tactician, and who had been in approximately two skedillion superfights. So he took initiative more often than his reflexes might have indicated. Hit opponents more often than his agility might have indicated. Did things that DEX helps more than you might have expected from a 35-year old armored suit brick. Of course, three Overall levels might have helped in some of that, too.

Re: A cheaper flashlight Would you build a flashlight using Sight Images or Change Environment? Let's presume there's simply no illumination available in an interior space, not an actual Darkness power active.

Re: Mental Sounds like a house rule: Mental Attacks (Telepathy, Mind Control, Ego Attack, & probably most powers bought BOECV) must use Mind Scan first. Scanning the particular hex where the target is seems like a pretty small area to scan , and it sounds like the Linked Limitation applies. Another house rule option is that Mental Attack powers must use a "Detect/Sense Mind" (or perhaps an extension of Mental Awareness?), purchased as a Targeting sense, and that the Mental Attack powers aren't based on line-of-sight, but the Detect/Sense Mind. Either of these options would allow the Invisibility to Mental senses to work as you desire, and allow for the mentalist to have his or her eyes closed while performing the attack, BTW -- and that could be a further Limitation: Concentrate, 0 DCV.

Re: Urban Fantasy Recommendations Haven't seen anyone mention the Arrowsmith books by Busiek & Pacheco. Definitely on the "ubiquitous magic" side, but an interesting take on ubiquitous magic.

Re: Your characters, favorite by Archetype Brick - Mammoth was my favorite pure brick, and also my one foray in to playing a "killer character" (what would now be a routine Iron Age character). When you're 70 STR, it's remarkably easy to kill agents. I tired of the concept. My real favorite brick was Centurion, who was a Brick in Powered Armor clothing, so see below. Energy Projector - Icestorm. Basic Iceman clone. I would routinely forget to activate his ice armor, so the first hit he took in a super-fight would often lay him low. I actually wrote "Ice UP!!!" on the character sheet to remind me to, uhh, ice up when starting a super-fight. I felt the limitation on that Limitation all the time. Because I'm sort of a scatterbrain. Powered Armor - Centurion. Brick via Powered Armor, loosely modeled in style after Roman armor, although instead of boiled leather, the armor was of mondonium (read: adamantium). He exploited the unique advantages that 17" of movement provided to the Move-Through maneuver. Never saw much reason to play anyone else, so he ended up w/ 350+ XPs after about 15 years of playing. Speedster - no pure speedster, although Ice elementals often feature huge amounts of Running/Gliding w/ Limitations, and Icestorm did too. Martial Artist - never really played a superhero martial artist, but I did play in a Ninja Hero campaign before Allston's Ninja Hero came out. Setting was Hong Kong before the Brits handed over to the Chinese. Mentalist - no superhero characters, but a Danger Int'l mentalist campaign character was code-named Flim-Flam. FBI agent with telepathy -- the GM had to work to keep anyone that knew anything out of our hands. Gadgeteer - none Metamorph - none Mystic - none Patriot/Avatar - none Weapon Master - too Dark Champs for my taste.