Haerandir

Re: How do you handle campaign limits on defenses? I usually consider a similar metric: How many max-DC attacks will it take to put the character down, on average? I don't have a hard-and-fast rule, I just eyeball it, or run the numbers. Generally, I expect characters to be able to take a few hits from a 15d6 EB without going down, say 3-6. Possibly as many as 8-10 if they have a low DCV and/or SPD. This means that there's a chance that they'll lose consciousness in a given fight, giving them an incentive to fight tactically, but they'll probably survive a lucky hit that does near-max damage. If I determine that the character can take 20 or more such hits... Well, that would be a red flag. OTOH, if I see that a character can only take two or three such hits before taking a nap, I'll suggest that the player either increase their DEF, have a really high DCV, or purchase other defensive powers, like Damage Reduction, Missile Deflection or Desolid. I find that setting definitive caps often leads to people engineering their characters to hit those caps. I tend to get pretty good results from asking questions like, "Are you prepared to be knocked unconscious at least once a fight?" or "Are you aware that I'm probably going to make you the primary target for mentalists, snipers and other cheeseball opponents? Are you ready to be picked on like that?"

Re: End battery fueled by absorb? That is correct. According to my (non-Revised) rulebook, Adjustment Powers treat END Reserves as if they cost the same as regular END (2 END/character point, not 10 END/character point). It's in the description for END Reserve. I don't think it changed in 5th Revised, but I can't actually prove it one way or the other...

Re: Powered Armor Package Deal For Review I generally assume power armor has a quick-release mechanism unless specified otherwise. If nothing else, many designers will want to make sure that the wearer isn't irrevocably impervious to, say, CPR... And it would really suck to be trapped in armor that was red-hot or being eaten away by acid or something. Which is not to say that it's necessarily readily apparent that there's a quick-release mechanism, but it's not unreasonable to assume that it's not so cleverly concealed that an EMT or a buddy couldn't figure it out in time to save the pilot's life. So, yeah, a Turn isn't very long, but this is one of those areas where a GM's call based on special effects seems appropriate. I'd probably ask for a skill roll and adjust the time required based on the roll.

Re: Challengers game: The Ferriman Institute Just remember: Always hurl to leeward.

Re: Armored Suit Pretty much a GM-call. I've known GMs who don't allow PA built as Vehicles in their games, and GMs who encourage their players to build it that way. Really a matter of personal preference (and the sort of setting you want to run, of course, as it makes perfect sense in a heroic-level cyberpunk/anime game to have stock mecha running around).

Re: Minimum megascale inches? Well, it's not a fourth edition rule they're remembering. The minimum value for Teleport in 4th Ed. was 20 points (10"). Man, I'm glad they got rid of minimum power values in FRED. Though they might be confusing it with Flight, Gliding and Swinging, which do have 5" minima. That's probably it. Given that you don't see anything about it in 5th edition (and I don't remember it being in 5th, either), I think your friend is suffering from versionitis.

Re: "Groan" <help for amored suit> No, no. He can do it in-character. I do it all the time. Me: "D'oh! I probably should have bought Radar in the first place, but I forgot. There hasn't been in an in-game situation where it would matter, so far. Can I spend the points now and just claim I had it all along?" MechaGM: "Sure. You do have 12 points to spend, right?" Me: "Of course!" It's in the finest comic-book tradition! "Using my powers of Super-Ventriloquism, which I've had all along, and certainly didn't just make up on the spot, I distract the kids in the orphanage long enough to change into my costume!"

Re: "Groan" <help for amored suit> Yeah, like Edsel & MilkmanDan said, all you really need to do is pick a few sensory powers and apply the same Limitations as the rest of your armor. Maybe call it 'OIF: Helmet' instead of 'OIF: Armor'. Cost is the same, but this way you can use the helmet as a cell phone! Though you'd probably look pretty silly. Most superheroic campaigns don't use hit locations, so there's probably no need to get into the sectional armor rules. If you made a habit of taking your helmet off in combat, or wearing the helmet without the armor, your GM would probably impose an Activation Roll on your defenses to represent the fact that you're not completely covered (when you're partially-suited-up, that is), but that's just one of those 'common sense special effect' thingies. No need to write it up. It's worth noting that Radar is 10 points in an Obvious Inaccessible Focus, or 12 points for Only in Hero ID. Another possibility is straight 'Enhanced Perception'. +4 levels of Enhanced PER with all senses is 8 points (OIF) or 10 (OIHID). If you buy all of that, you're already past your point limit, so you're gonna have to make some hard choices. You can spend a surprising amount on Senses in the Hero System. I had a 250-point character (back in the old 4th edition days) who spent over 100 points on enhanced senses. He wasn't much of a fighter, but he knew EXACTLY how he was getting his butt kicked! On the other hand, they're cheap enough that you can pick them up as the campaign goes along, too. So there's no real need to buy them all right away. You can always pull the, "Oh, I had Radar all along, I just haven't used it yet..." trick. I wouldn't recommend putting 'Costs END, -1/2' on your sensors, as tempting as it might be. It's hard to imagine a modern radio transmitter that draws power on the same scale as boot jets or something, and the book-keeping winds up being a headache. If you don't already have it, you might want to pick up the Systems Operation skill, too. It's handy if your GM wants you to make a roll to detemine exactly *which* radio frequency Black Harlequin's remote-control rocket copters are operating on.

Re: Super Powers, Cybernetics, Magic, etc....getting back into the swing of things. Pretty much. With a psionic, you're more likely to use x2 END and Concentration than Gestures and Incantations, but the basic structure of the character doesn't have to change much. Still, there are differences. Psionic characters are much less likely to rely on energy from external sources, so an END Reserve might make less sense. Even if you did use one, the limitations would probably be different. I have trouble envisioning a psionic who relied on energy from a Focus, for instance. Though I suppose you could have a 'psi crystal' or 'neuro-helmet', or something, and buy your powers so that they could draw from either your personal END or the END Reserve. Still, I'd be more inclined to model an object that made it easier to use your psi powers as a naked 1/2 END Advantage bought through a Focus. Possibly with some skill levels built in, too. Also, depending on how broadly your conception of 'psi powers' extends, a Multipower might do you just as much good. A pure telepath, for instance, would probably just buy a Multipower of the appropriate size with 5 or six slots for Telepathy, Mind Control, Ego Attack, Mental Illusions and maybe Mind Scan, plus a 'trick' or two, such as a BoECV Ego Drain or Suppress Mental Powers. Someone who had a broader selection of powers that just happened to be 'psionic' instead of 'magic' or 'high tech', or a truly exceptional pure mentalist like Prof. X, might be built with a VPP.

Re: Super Powers, Cybernetics, Magic, etc....getting back into the swing of things. That's one way to do it. There was a character in a 4th edition book who was built that way (Avatar from Enemies for Hire, IIRC). Another possibility is Multiform. I think you'll find most people prefer the Multiform option if you're just going to have 2 alternate forms that you can't mix 'n' match, but the Multipower plan potentially allows greater flexibility and definitely requires fewer character sheets...

Re: Super Powers, Cybernetics, Magic, etc....getting back into the swing of things. Hmm... Magic stuff. I'm actually working on a mage NPC at the moment, so I've been thinking about this sort of thing. I) Power Frameworks: Variable Power Pool is probably your best bet for a 'spell-caster' type, especially if you want to be a Dr. Strange-style 'Master of the Mystic Arts'. I can easily see using a Multipower for an apprentice or dabbler concept. Elemental Control would make sense for a strongly-themed mystic character, especially one who was less focused on 'spellcasting' and more on 'being magical', like a demigod, vampire, werewolf or something. The big issue with VPPs is, as several people have pointed out, that GMs are understandably wary of them. They present enormous potential for abuse in the hands of an experienced player, and equally enormous potential for game-delaying confusion in the hands of a novice. In a lot of ways, the real issue with VPPs isn't all the cheeseball-munchkin tricks you can pull with them, it's the way that you can completely derail your GM's plot by saying, "Oh, I'll just whip up a 75-point Door-Unlocking-Spell!" or something along those lines. I find that the best way to allay your GM's fears is to limit the VPP conceptually, as well as mechanically. What I mean by this is that you should have a very clear idea of what your character can do with his VPP, how he does it and, most importantly, what he can't do with it. This doesn't necessarily have to be anything really restrictive, just give some thought to how he goes about manifesting new powers, how often he does it, and how much advance warning you're going to be giving your GM when he starts doing stuff he's never done before. Something as simple as, "Well, he probably has to make a skill roll the first time he tries out a new spell," probably isn't worth a Limitation, but will go a long way towards making your GM more comfortable with your VPP. Another thing that some GMs like to see in a VPP character is pre-written spells. Not only does it round out your character's concept and give your GM something to plan around, but it reassures him that you won't be constantly pulling out your book and writing up a new effect while the rest of the party sits around drumming their fingers on the table. I've played with some GMs who won't allow a VPP-user in their group without a pre-written list. In a lot of ways, that's not much different from an MP, but it's a lot easier to dream up new spells between sessions if you don't have to pay experience points for them. The other big difference between VPPs and MPs is the Active Cost/Real Cost dichotomy. If you're willing to accept a few Limitations on your powers, you can easily run two or three Powers through your VPP at once. Even in a Multipower with flexible slots, you often find yourself limited to one power at a time, just because you want to use your attacks at full power, or whatever. Remember to buy the -1/4 'Magic Only' Limitation on your VPP's control cost. I forgot once, and I was really tempted to see how my GM would react if I pulled out a plasma rifle and said, 'Oh, it's part of my Sorcery Pool!' Take a look at the other possibilities for limiting your VPP, too. I had a pretty cool character once who had an 'Illusion Magic Only' VPP. II) Disadvantages: I often write up super-mages with either a Distinctive Feature: Magical Aura (Concealable with effort, Always Noticed/Major Reaction, Requires Unusual Senses), or a Reputation limited to a small group (other magical types). One of the tropes of magic is that it's a pretty small club, and people tend to know and/or recognize one another. Secret Identity might be appropriate for a character who has a life outside of magic, but if you're pretty much all-wizard, all the time, maybe not. However, unless magic is commonly-accepted and unremarkable in your particular universe, you might be able to justify a lesser Social Limitation, to represent the fact that you simply don't advertise what you do with your life. "Oh, sorry, I'd love to go to Cancun for Spring Break, but I've got a... thing... that I've got to do that week." Consider taking a Psychological or Physical limitation to represent a geas. Curses are popular, too, I often model them with Unluck, Vulnerabilities and Susceptiblities. The character I was talking about above is rife with the things (other wizards are sooo unreasonable about people who borrow their books). III) Skills: Obviously, Power Skill: Magic of some sort is a must. I recommend you jazz it up a little, though. Why have a Magic Skill when you can know Dread Thaumaturgy? Much more impressive. Knowledge Skills are handy, too. KS: Dread Thaumaturgy, AK: The Astral Plane, KS: Supernatural Beings, KS: Schools of Magic, that sort of thing. This is where it starts being really handy to discuss cosmology with your GM. One skill people often forget is Analyze Magic. Very handy for identifying magical signatures, deducing the purpose of a ritual, copying other peoples' spells, identifying mystic vulnerabilities, and so on. IV) Perks: You can model your character's mentor as a Contact, of course. Apprentices, if any, are Followers. So are familiars. If your character has formal training, he may have Access to the mystic library at his alma mater. A positive Reputation might be good for characters who have passed certain tests of mastery, or studied under a prestigious master, or are the subject of prophecies. V) Characteristics: Most mages have high INT and/or EGO. Mystic Masters might have very high PRE, as well. Physical stats are generally nothing to write home about, but might be boosted by spells or magic items. VI) Powers: Well, you can justify almost any power with the special effect 'Magic', so I'll look at ways of modeling the effects, instead. I'm fond of using Variable Limitations, rather than slapping a ton of Incantations, Gestures, Concentration and so forth on every spell (I think I nicked that idea from Ultimate Super-Mage). Very handy for representing those 'Masters of the Art' who don't really need all the finger-wiggling and hocus pocus, but still do it as an aid to concentration. END Reserves are also good. I like to stick 'em into a Focus, like a wand or ring or something. Limiting the REC on an END Reserve is a good way to represent a wizard who has to do something to accumulate his power, like meditate, or pray, or do favors for various supernatural entities. The advice we gave you about cyborgs applies to wizards, as well, btw. It's very tempting to buy a big honking VPP, some decent stats and a few skills and call it good. It's well worth having a few powers outside of the VPP, or which don't draw on your END Reserve, or don't require your main Focus. You know, just in case. Even Dr. Strange has a mean right hook, for instance.

Re: Super Powers, Cybernetics, Magic, etc....getting back into the swing of things. Hey, that's why I put 'em up there.

Re: Super Powers, Cybernetics, Magic, etc....getting back into the swing of things. In that case, what you really want is an Inaccessible Focus of some sort. Restrainable is for things that can be grabbed and held onto in combat, but not removed from the character (like wings, for instance.) The way you have it written up now, someone could grab your armor and, I dunno, peel it open for other people to shoot through. I can see special effects where that would make sense, but I don't think it's what you're going for. Here's a Multipower I threw together just as a sample of what I was talking about before. I don't really have the time or energy to think up everything that I'd put into a fully-realized character, but it's something to start with: Cost Powers END 60 Modular Cybernetic Systems: Multipower, 90-point reserve, (90 Active Points); Limited Power (Character can only switch slots in cybernetics bay; -1/2) 4m 1) Spare Servomotor Capacity: +30 STR (30 Active Points); No Figured Characteristics (-1/2) 3 6m 2) Excess Generator Capacity: +15 REC (30 Active Points) 6m 3) Light-Footed: Running +15" (6"/21" total) (30 Active Points) 3 2u 4) Modular Plating: Armor (10 PD/10 ED), Hardened (+1/4) (37 Active Points); OIF (Removable Armor Plates; -1/2) 0 3u 5) SMG: Killing Attack - Ranged 2 1/2d6, 4 clips of 12 Charges (Increased Reloading Time; +0), Autofire (3 shots; +1/4) (50 Active Points); OIF (Arm-mounted Gun; -1/2) [12] 3u 6) Sniper Rifle: Killing Attack - Ranged 2 1/2d6, No Range Modifier (+1/2) (60 Active Points); OIF (Arm-mounted Gun; -1/2), 4 clips of 8 Charges (Increased Reloading Time; -1/4) [8] 2u 7) Shock Gauntlet: Energy Blast 4d6, No Normal Defense ([standard]; Not vs. Hardened defenses, insulated or no nervous system; +1) (40 Active Points); No Range (-1/2), OIF (Cybernetic Fist; -1/2) 4 1u 8) Auxiliary CPU: +1 SPD (10 Active Points); IIF (Modular Internal Device; -1/4) 1u 9) Internal Rebreather: Life Support (Self-Contained Breathing) (10 Active Points); IIF (Modular Internal Device; -1/4) 0 1u 10) Upgraded Sensor Package I: Radar (Radio Group) (15 Active Points); IIF (Modular Internal Device; -1/4) 0 I'm assuming GM permission to include Special Powers in a Multipower, of course. So, assuming the cyborg chassis starts with average characteristics (which is unlikely), you'd start out with 40 STR, 19 REC and 21" of Running. If you wanted to mount the SMG, you'd have to strip out 50 points worth of STR/REC/Running to represent that your chassis was having to deal with the extra weight of the gun itself, its ammo storage and feed machinery, targeting systems, and so on. So, figure maybe you go down to + 10 STR, +10 REC & +5" running. Then you want to equip the Shock Gauntlet in your other hand, that'll cost you the rest of your enhanced stats (apparently, those capacitors are heavy!). Or you could leave the gauntlet off and slap on the Armor, and still have enough left over for +1 STR & +1 REC... Notice that you can't put Visible on an Obvious Focus, so I left it off of the Armor in this build. Still, the Limitation value works out to be the same as in your build. So, obviously you have other ideas for slots you'd want to have available. The nice thing about Multipowers is that they're very good for modeling these kinds of modular builds, especially since you can usually purchase a new slot with a session or two's-worth of experience. clsage, at least, will probably recognize this as a variant of the build that I came up with when Arrgg was asking about power armor builds here. You might want to mine that thread for ideas, too. However, the advice people have given you about making sure you have defenses and movement powers outside of your Multipower is good. Never, ever create a situation where you can accidentally leave your primary defenses shut down! Use the MP for supplemental defenses, like additional armor and Flash Defense, Force Fields, and that sort of thing. Similarly, I'd put most of the Life Support you've got in your build on the main chassis. Those sound like the kind of fail-safe options most designers would build into the core of a cyborg body, not strap-on or plug-in modules. Looking at what I wrote up, I'm not sure I (as a GM) would be entirely happy about that +1 SPD item, but if you can't swap it out in mid-fight, that removes most of the issues with limited SPD, so I guess it depends. I can see having a bunch of internal computer modules you could swap in and out on a per-mission basis, like skillsofts and stuff, but that might make more sense for a different sort of cyborg. OK, now I'm rambling. Edit: Oh, right, I was going to talk more about the Focus limitation. You'll notice that in the Multipower above, there are three different levels of Focus. The flexible slots don't have Focus at all, because they're part of the cyborg chassis. They can't be taken away short of removing the entire cyborg body from the left-over meat bits, which is extremely radical surgery, and goes well beyond the realm of Foci (I call this the 'Spleen Rule'. Your spleen, after all, can be removed with surgery. It won't even kill you. But it's not a Focus). The guns and armor are Obvious Inaccessible Foci, because they're external, you can see them and watch them operate, but they're firmly anchored to the chassis when attached and can't easily be removed/disarmed/shot off in combat. The other systems are Inobvious Inaccessible Foci, because they're internal and can't be seen, but they could be removed by someone who had disabled your character and hit the appropriate buttons, opened a few access ports, or whatever. If they were so firmly imbedded in the character that they couldn't be removed except with surgery or advanced tooling, they wouldn't qualify for a Focus limitation at all.

Re: Super Powers, Cybernetics, Magic, etc....getting back into the swing of things. I believe the reason he's using Multipower is because he wants a modular cyborg body... He takes the armor off and mounts more guns, or whatever. You should probably buy the MP with a limitation similar to the Gadget Pool limitations, such as 'Can only switch powers while in cybernetics bay, -1/2', or whatever. Another thing to consider is, as assault and others have pointed out, is why he doesn't have all of his equipment slotted at once. I can think of several reasons: limited attachment points/internal space, limited computer processing resources, and weight. I was toying with this idea on the bus on the way home, and the notion of restrictions based on weight (and the generator/motor power required to move the heavier cyborg chassis around as you added equipment), and the following build idea occurred to me. Build your Multipower (90 points or whatever) with 3 fully flexible slots for, say, +30 STR, +15 REC and +15" Running. This represents the cyborg stripped down to the chassis. Then, buy all of your equipment as fixed 'ultra' slots. As you install additional hardware, the increased weight and power draw reduces the chassis' effective movement and power regeneration ability. I'll take a stab at a writeup in a bit.

Re: Storn's Art & Characters thread. Yay! 193 finally exists!

Re: Why are so many people upset that Cryptic is only using the Champions IP? The other thing is that a lot of people just don't have any realistic appreciation of the limitations inherent in getting a computer to take the place of a GM. I love the Hero System. I wouldn't want to play in a Hero System game run by an AI. No matter how carefully you program it, there's just too many loopholes, special cases and judgement calls involved. Even leaving balance and content development issues aside. Also, a lot of people, and not just Hero System grognards who've never played an MMO, hear the word 'archetype' and assume it means 'your character is predefined for you and you only get to make a couple of largely cosmetic decisions about how it works'. Which is certainly a valid concern. My biggest complaint about some of the more popular fantasy MMO's was that you had a very limited selection of options to distinguish your character from 'every other Nightshade in Hibernia', or whatever. It also appears to be a concern that Cryptic is aware of. I was on the Cryptic CoH boards back in 2002, before the deal with NCSoft, and the game they were talking about back then was very different from the one that got released. I remember when the NCSoft deal was announced, it was very quickly followed by a string of announcements about changes to the gameplay features they'd been describing for months previously. I suspect that a lot of compromises had to be made to get the game out the door in a timely fashion. It had already missed at least one firm deadline at that point. I get the sense that CO is going to look a lot more like the game Cryptic wanted to make 5 years ago. Pure speculation, of course. But I'm crossing my fingers. I was looking forward to that original version of CoH.

Re: Foxbat? Why am I not surprised... Actually, I think he has at least mentioned it. Edit: Yep, here we go:

Re: Odd Costume Designes I suspect they will. A big part of the reason CoH didn't start with capes was just the time crunch, I believe. I vaguely recall that they actually had made a start on programming them, and just ran out of time before the launch date. So they decided to just leave 'em out instead of trying to launch the game with the most important costume piece looking like crap. It's been a few years, though, and my memory ain't what it used to be...

Re: Foxbat? Why am I not surprised... Man, and I thought I was being obscure when I busted out 'vituperative' a while back...

Re: Foxbat? Why am I not surprised... Foxbat is ubiquitous! And insidious! And other vocab words!

Re: Where is Lady Bug and the Great Supervillain Contest (old supplement) Could be worse... You could be a bad dork, like me...

Re: Where is Lady Bug and the Great Supervillain Contest (old supplement) Hmm... Speaking of characters in need of updating, my old 350-points rewrites of Starburst, Psylocke, Powerhouse, et al. went *poof* along with my old hard drive. I should see about reconstructing them.

Re: Alien Mysteries of the Champions Universe Here it is. I found it while going through my post history the other day... http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10577

Re: Where is Lady Bug and the Great Supervillain Contest (old supplement) I remember Lady Bug being in Classic Enemies for 4th edition. Not sure where she was from originally. I was just looking at my 2 copies of The Great Supervillain Contest last night, actually. I don't know of any recent rewrites, though.

Re: Betatesting? Or Hero forum members who were CoH beta testers? I've got a resume! Of sorts! Heck... That avatar up there is my original CoH Beta character.