jtelson

Re: Real World Books in Fictional Libraries

The Prince (Il Principe above) annotated by Catherine de' Medici in October of 1563

Bartie Patersoune's Manuscript, recovered after his execution for Witchcraft in 1607

The Voynich manuscript with translation.

Re: Fooling Telepathy

I think the only reason I'd go with images over shapeshift is that there's a simple mechanic for recognising that it's not real built into the power which helps the GM to go, for instance, The Probulatron 3000 TeepBot has had years of experience reading people's innermost thought, he even has KS: People's Inner Most thoughts. I'll give him a plus 2 on his PER roll to realise that these are not a person's innermost thoughts (Well probably make his KS complimentary to the PER roll but you get the idea)

Re: Fooling Telepathy

So back to the O.P.'s question. Given that not even a Mental Shape Shift would cover probes deeper than Surface Thoughts' date=' and really unsure how a Mental Images would/should react to different levels of Telepathy -- How about a Multiform? Multiform does let you change Disads, and IIRC, it is possible for one form to not know what another one knows.[/quote']

 

When I've built this in the past it's always been a two stager

 

1) Mental Defense, Only vs. Telepathy, Invisible Power Effects (Fail to get information, fail to get the information that you failed to get information)

 

coupled with

 

2) Mental Images (Make a Perception roll to realise information recieved is not real)

 

It tends to be pricey, but not insanely so compared to the ability to pass bad intel to a telepath.

Re: Help with an Ineffective Ice Mage...

1) I'm not sure what you mean by limitation requirements, please explain?

2) I cut down the Side-effect damage, I realized I probably needed to do this anyway.

3) The Damage is only taken a failed roll, but with the -6 to the roll even with my skill mastery it is still a 13-, which is very possible to possible to fail

Why was there a -6 to the roll? The pool looks to have the -1 per 20AP limit on it and the Ice Bolts are a 50AP power, that's a -2 was there an additional 4 point modifier? If so maneuvering to remove that might be the key to success, although if failing a the 13< roll is what caused the operational failure you may want to consider playing the character for a bit longer - getting taken out by a bad roll will happen, that it happened early sucks but may not be indicitive of a design failure.

What I'm seeing though is that you have to turn off your force field unless you're using the Flight or Flash Power as everything else uses the entire pool. So you put the FF up on 6 then dropped it on 8 to cast the Ice Bolts; If you were still under threat and not being sheilded by your team you probably shouldn't have dropped the FF to attack in 8 which ultimately left you exposed in 12.

At a glance, I'd either change the Ultra Slots to Multi Slots, allowing you to vary the size of your attacks to still have some defenses, or increase the pool by 24 active points to allow you to run your Force Field or Flight while attacking with the Non Flash attacks.

Re: Technomancer

I've heard Telekinesis mentioned multiple times, and not a lot of discussion of why that wouldn't work (with appropriate limitations... Only electrically powered devices, state changes only / no movement other than what is actuated on the device, etc.)

 

I think it also addresses the "would this work on magic SFX" question that's come up as well. Yes?

 

That would be my primary solution. The second being appropriately limited Supress.

TK works fine for a blender or microwave, anything that's part of the "Environment", that could normally be interacted with and actuated normally rather than things that are part of another character.

But if I want the ability to 'Make Ed's Energy Blast Go Off' then we need to be able to build that mechanically divorced from special effect and it's complicated to do. I need to be able to mirror Ed's Blast, reduce Ed's Endurance or Charges and perhaps disallow Ed access to Ed's Energy Blast. Then I need to be able to do that with any power that Ed has.

Amusingly, Mind Control does a good job with this, but only if you're controlling Ed. You can use Mind Control with the Special Effect, not controlling Ed's Mind but Ed's Powers which still targets Ed's Ego as normal and costs Ed actions so it's an imperfect model.

Alternatively, as I've said earlier, you're looking at a pretty hefty Variable Pool that's similar to the idea behind a Mimic pool.

Re: GM Justice Inc Quandry

This sounds like a classic 'you've been captured' setup. Rolling the recap into the group waking up in cells or the villians' infirmary or perhaps having been handed off to a third party - a hunted maybe...

Re: Del Monte Hero - Reaping the Grapes of Wrath

Bannanas Foster

Also known as the Mad Aussie, Bannanas Foster does freelance work to the highest bidder. Known for brown spot jobs and mush work (Like wet work but chunkier) this fella from down unda is one nasty customer. The VP of Special Projects wants him for a job and you and the team need to track him down. Unfortunately he's just botched a particularly violent series of jobs for Dole and now a handful of independent growers and the pineapple powerhouse itself all want him dead...happy hunting.

Hurmmm...I really should be working on this week's Savage Summer project...

Re: Del Monte Hero - Reaping the Grapes of Wrath

Cherries Jubilee

There are only a few major locations where Cherries are still being cultivated. Two of them have been hit by an unknown group of terrorists, burning the orchards to the ground. As the DelMonte owned and sanctioned National Cherry Festival approaches in Traverse City, Michigan tensions run high. Will the team be able to stop these rum soaked lunatics before before the worlds largest cherry pie and all those around it are served flambe...

Re: Absolute Range Sense... ever use it?

I've had a couple of characters take it and it has ended up being useful, not necessarily Concealment useful but certainly Gambling useful. It probably helps that I've always combined it with Lightning Calculator, Absolute Time Sense and Eidietic Memory (The Stoker suite after the my first character who had collection in his Pocket Watch Babbage Device) so I've been able to ask for precise velocities, surface areas, volumes and the like.

Generally it's use comes from on-the-fly plans that might require a little more precision than usual or the occasional puzzle that involves spatial clues.

Re: Sixth Edition Showcase #1: ACV And AVAD

This is elegant, well considered, and far overdue. Solid hit straight down the middle.

Re: Technomancer

I think that Summon with 'Summoned Being Must Inhabit Locale' could work.

 

Takofanes (Conquerors, Killers and Crooks, page 31) has a power built as Summon with this limitation with a note that the spell requires appropriate number and type of corpses in the vicinity.

Then the question becomes can summon deny other characters things upon which they have spent points? If Corpus Delecti has spent points on his 'Show of Hands' power whose special effect is dozens of Corpses rise out of the ground and clap drowning out all other sound (Darkness Sound Sense Group) can someone else use summon to make it stop?

Re: Technomancer

Summon is often used not to summon a copy of something present (often an animal)' date=' but to gain control of the actual thing present. Of course if the villain is holding an uber-gun, your first command to that uber-gun had better be one that prevents the villain from firing the gun![/quote']

 

That's not how I interpreted that limitation, I thought it was a 'I can't summon polar bears in the desert' rather than a 'those polar bears guarding the Fortress of Solitude are now under my control' sort of thing

Re: How much should strength cost?

The rules specifically state that 5-point levels with INT apply to all int-based skills and rolls' date=' including PER rolls, so your calculations are somewhat off. Int has a one-to-one ratio with what you get versus buying it as a skill. It still has some advantages, e.g., you're better against INT drains, but those are small.[/quote']

 

They do? I'm not finding that under INT (pg 37) or under Skill levels (pg 70).

Re: How much should strength cost?

Those of us who have been playing this game since the 80's have always known that strength was overpowered for its point cost. Not only is it one of the most versatile attack powers' date=' it also comes with a butt load of figured characteristics. So how much should it cost?[/quote']

 

The issue with this is that Primary Characteristics are for the most part favorably costed. So the real question is, is Strength more favorably costed than other Primary Characteristics?

 

You landed at around 1.5 for STR but look at INT 5 points of INT gets you +1 with all Intellect Skills, +1 Perception, and +1 with Int Rolls. Purchasing that straight costs more than 10 points

+1 Skill Level Intellect Skills (5 points)

+1 Skill Level w/ Intellect Skills (2 points)

+1 w/ Perception (3 points)

+1 w/ Int Rolls (2 points)

 

The system currently favors Characteristics in general, STR is a beneficiary of that.

Re: How much should strength cost?

Unrevised 5th, p.92 (the description of the Characteristics power):

"Characteristics bought as a slot in a Multipower never add to Figured Characteristics. Characters can only buy Characteristics within other Power Frameworks with special permission from the GM; they don't add to Figured Characteristics."

Same in Revised page 139 but replace ";they don't..." with ";the same rules apply."

Of course, you get to (well must) take the (-1/2) limitation also per page 139.

Re: Queston on weight, density, and height.

If it's damage to a pedestrian, maybe treat it as a move-through with Body (Or some function of Mass - Weight in Kilograms divided by 10) replacing Strength?

Re: Campaign Idea . . . almost.

They open a bar? Problems can come to them, there can be issues with the location, the staff, the regulars ... the irregulars...

Re: Technomancer

try this combo of effects

1 system operations(all types)

2 N-ray vision (not vs flesh) lots of telescopic

3 5 str tk indirect(just in case)with fine manipulation to fiddle with what is in side(might want more str

In a game where equipment isn't purchased with points, maybe. This is another case of targeting the Special Effect rather than building the end effect you want. For things like this, I always try to look at a build from the point of view of "If I changed the target's Special Effect would the build still make sense?" So could I use this build to control someone's magic wand? Probably not... Someone's Mutant Genetics... ummm no

if it was a computer or AI I would go with Transform(reprograming operating system to have a back door for you to give commands and locking everybody else out)

heals by reinstalling old operating system

4 Electronics and computer programing to complement

Now, Comuters and AI's are something affected by Mental Powers targeting "Machine Class of Minds" again 5th Rev Page 117 which is probably worth reading.

Re: Technomancer

Boggle!!!!

 

NO no no no no no no no no no no.

 

The OP wanted a charie that could control electronics. Hyper-man pointed out Mind Control, machine class of mind.

 

I agreed.

 

I cannot begin to start to proceed to figure out what the blank you are talking about.

To clarify as it is clear that you have not been able to start to proceed (really? 'start to proceed'?) to figure out what I'm talking about - "Machine Class of Minds" is not the Electronics/Machines Special Effect. They are two different beasts that happen to share a word in the descriptions.

Re: Technomancer

AARRRGHGHGHGH!

 

NO!

 

The Technomancer's power is Mind Control vs. Machine Minds!!

 

Just like HyperMan said.

 

Gevalt!

Oy!

It's really not Mind Control vs. Machine minds for reasons previously stated but also because the individual powers have neither Ego nor Int which would be the targeted stats (5th Rev Page 117)

and as you say AARRRGHGHGHGH!

Re: Technomancer

HyperMan has one thing: control "mind" in basic. If turn on/off is all you want to do, that's all you need.

 

Control in detail is all you need, MC machine-class minds will do, too.

Are you saying use Mind Control on the Character controlling the powers? If so it's certainly a thought. "You Will Activate that power, and not remember doing so, and seem to others to spend this phase attempting to turn the power off" would certainly seem to cover the Effect.

Or are you suggesting that the Special Effect "Technology" is specifically weaker than any other Special Effect? In other words if I build 2 identical characters with Lesprit D'Machine defining his powers as Technological Gizmos and Thaum-ster defining his as Magical Gizmos. Lesprit's powers would be vulnerable to Mind Control and Thaun-ster's wouldn't be?

Re: Technomancer

Remember that we're reasoning from effect. The Special Effect is - I want to Activate or Deactivate Machines, but the Word Machines could be replaced with any effect, Magic Items, Fire Powers, Pheromone Effects... any power effect.

Sure Mind Control works on computers but it wouldn't work on Tyger-Tyger's Fire Damage Shield so why would it work on the Techminator's Magnetic Marble Damage Shield just because it's tech based?

Try a Variable Power Pool similar to the Mimic Pool, but Only to Deactivate (Drain/Dispel/Suppress) or Simulate Powers with Special Effect X. It would, unfortunately, have to be a large pool.

Re: 6E, 1st non backwards compatible Hero?

It's been noted before that Hero System is actually two different things - a character creation system and a role-playing system.

 

From what I've seen so far, the first is changing (as it has with each new edition since first) but the second is mostly staying the same.

Hero is no more two different games than any other RPG is; complexity of character creation if anything makes a system's subgames more, rather than less, interconnected- while you can create characters you have no intention of playing, you cannot, while still reasonably refering to playing Hero, play characters you have no intention of creating.

We know that, at the very least, Adjustment Powers are being altered, and that it is likely that the attractivness mechanic will change. Until we know to what extent, we have no real way of predicting the forward/backward compatability of the system for any group's game that makes more than a casual use of these abilities.

Re: Speed Power

Sounds like it might be similar to the Ice Sheet usage of Change Environment: 5th Rev Pg 136

Re: Steampunk Star Wars (Needs Better Name)

I knew I'd see "Steampunk Star Wars" somewhere before!

 

here

Cool, it was actually an RPG Motivational Poster in either the Funny or Neat Pictures thread (NGD) that caught my fancy and got the wheels turning on it - Somehow I got stuck on Pirates and once I realized the The War of Spanish Succession set a good stage for England to take over the free world and could eaily be called The Throne Wars, I'd fixed the time period firmly in my skull - It does unfortunately lend it more towards SteamPunkish Star Wars than a true Victorian extravaganza.