Gummibear

Re: Name Something You'd Allow That The GM At The Convention Didn't How many years have you run that game? I ask because I played/won a game titled My Toughest Hero about 13 years ago. I was wondering if it was still being run. It was great fun. If it is I might be inspired to bring my battling doctor Gummibear and make it to the next one. As far as characters and BYO con games I think that's one of the watershed moments for any GM. You get to be faced with relative unknowns; all the player's munchkinism previously described and(if we are to be honest with ourselves) that we have all gone through ourselves. Then in the heat of the game attempt to balance it, and occasionally disallow it, while attempting to maintain harmony at the table. Good times. I am reminded of a non-Hero, 5-10the level D20 BYO game that I ran where a late comer brought his own half dragon half human to the game. I allowed him in because I knew his type and knew he would be predictable. He had a bag of holding that he kept pulling everything out of under the sun while dutifully attempting to not be part of the group. He had a habit of shifting into his dragon form secretly, so when a dragon suddenly appeared in a house the group was fighting in it immediately became the much greater threat and the team attacked him. Ironically so did the villains-common enemy and all. The character fled the house the whole time trying to figure out why everyone had attacked him. This was shortly followed by the player leaving the table to pursue some "other game." He offered some half-hearted apology "Sorry to have destroyed your game." This was responded to pretty unanimously at the table by "you didn't-you were a nice amusing diversion." The punchline was later in the game when one of the other players (a thief) that had "obtained" the half dragon's bag of holding was fighting an Ogre. He suddenly reached into the bag and said "I'm pulling out a +5 knife of Ogre Slaying because you have to know that its in here." The table errupted in laughter and I gave it to him. Good times.

Re: Munchkin Build Contest? So just like tap-dancing, music and the GURPS/HERO discussion, we all steal from each other. Its all good, thats what a community is for right?

Re: Munchkin Build Contest? Its always fun to playtest stuff and go "wow, did I really make that?"

Re: Munchkin Build Contest? Ghost you want to chime in here and explode into birds? Player in my game used a virtually identical attack on me (the poor defenseless GM) in my game. The character would explode into ravens and attack with that ol' 1 pip attack w/a couple penetrating. The unkindness numbered 30. Heh, never was "an unkindness of ravens" more aptly named.

Re: Munchkin Build Contest? and of course Fusion Battery Man http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33537&highlight=%22fusion+battery%22&page=3

Re: Munchkin Build Contest? Sounds a lot like a mentalist/assassin of mine "Clint": 60 pt Mental VPP- he would roam the galaxy in his Robotech style Cyclone. Of course it had scads of FTL, armor, some crazy weapons, and since its a vehicle it wasn't that expensive. All powers applied with IPE just in case. When he had a job he would go to the planet hang out in orbit and start making his mindscan roll. A short time later he finds his target "John" and begins to suppress all their possible mental def-altering penetrating as needed. Once the defenses were all a thing of the past he would hit them with his 1 pip HKA, usable at range, BECV, Does body, etc. Most people with a 15 body succumbed within a minute or so, some less some a little more. Yeah he was a NPC/concept character-strange thing, no GM ever let me actually play him...

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... Deadlands Setting The blessed is talking about religioin and the female gunslinger looks at her and says about Jesus, "Dudes like vampires. You got to invite him in and stuff." Laughed my a$$ off. She got an extra fate chip for that.

Re: DC's Captain Marvel: OIHID or Multiform? All interesting points. Here's my 83 cents worth. 1. Many GMs (myself included) like to make blanket rules so that there is not only a feeling of fairplay but there is also the ability to give a new player set rules. This will by necessity always have some naysayers. No one single ruling will always hold for anything. It doesn't work that way in society, politics, music, or even nature. We can come close, but so far no body has come up with the Grand Unification Theory. So until that happens our world is in flux. Just as our game should be. 2. The onus of using the limitation or disad is upon the GM. If Billy never has a gag, laryngitis or temporary amnesia and pretty much is always able to say *Shazam!* in total privacy and have it never affect his secret id, then thats the "fault" of the GM not the player. So the argument of "its too much of a limitation for a small inconvenience" is at the heart of it just a judgement on the GM. As a GM myself I have fallen prey to this as much as anyone else. 3. Whether you make it multiform or OHID is as much of a preference as it is a rule. Yes there are some guides-as pointed out by several of the posts-but that just shows some of the over-arching general rules. For every example you give me of OHID I'm beyond confident that I can come up with a multiform explanation. Conversely for every multiform you give me I can come up with a OHID explanation. 4. Is your player being a munchkin? A brief conversation will prove that a> they are being a munchkin, b>they are sincere in their desires, c> they can out-talk and out-think and overall just out-smart you as the GM. Any one of these needs to be dealt with appropriately. It would be nice if we could come up with rules that handled every situation precisely and exactly as everyone would have it. However you can't please all the people all the time. We can come close. And as Bluefire pointed out there is more than one way to skin a cat. The character creation in Hero is as much artistry as mechanics. We are engineering characters. And just as its easy to engineer a block and difficult to engineer a suspension bridge so to is it easy to build a basic character with no limitation and frameworks, but difficult to build one that has those elements. It becomes the responsibility of the GM to make rulings and go with it. Then it becomes the responsibility to use those disads and limitations in fun and inventive ways that make the players cringe.

Re: 10 Global disasters that YOUR team might encounter... Its so crazy it just might work... Or is that what really happened...hrrm

Re: [Character] Bluefire What fun-an EC discussion. Well I think Bluefire has always been cheezy and a munchkin and powergaming and hes a stupid head. Now that all that nonsense is out of the way. I have known Bluefire since the original character was created lo those 17 years ago. Originally the character was created as a high-minded concept and he (the player-no I am not dissociative) and I would have long conversations about rules and whatnot utilizing our latest build. Two major elements of these discussions were: 1. Use of ECs 2. Utilitzing the rules in obtaining point breaks for a good solid concept. The first poster stated at first no slots in an EC that don't have end. Then further ammended his statement to "without GM permission." The second one is important to put in there for all the obvious reasons. Should ECs offer as much of a break as they do? Age old question that is no doubt answered elsewhere. However what is important is that they are a part of the mechanics and the rules. As GM you are more than able to dis-allow them if you can't deal with them. And I mean that in the way it sounds. Remember its part of the rules. Its legal leave it be. If the EC is being abused then you need to take different action. Man up and don't hide behind rules to do all your fighting for you. Should I always get a break because I can bs with the best of them and make a bunch of cobbled powers into an EC? In my dark old days of defending my munchkinery as just and right I have been known to put powers together and then spin a right good tale about how the powers went together and received the GM's nod of approval-often on some pretty discriminating GMs. So I could pretty consistently get a break on points-heck if you buy more than two powers and want to save points, mechanically you should put them in an EC right? Should I receive a break on those simply because I can convince the GM? Well in a rules-lawyer answer, of course. If I can outsmart the GM there and I get my rocks off on being *booming voice* THE MOST POWERFUL HERO IN THE WORLD then great. I will get my just rewards. However if the GM allows this travesty of a game to proceed then we're probably not having much fun anyway. A certain game -one where the players were waving their respective phalli around in an effort to show who was the biggest and toughest and finally the GM just packed up and left without a word- comes to mind. Bluefire and I have obtained authorization for builds from Bruce before that were perfectly legal. However if something is legal doesn't make it right or more importantly, "gonna be in my game." If it doesn't work for the story world/genre or the character I'll try it but I'm also willing to tell the player they need to come inline with the story. Legally I don't have a problem with the multiform-I think its good to represent different suits. Its also good to represent a battle-armor that is able to "transform" ala the Veritech, or any number of Robotech, Transformer, etc. Legally I also don't have a problem with non-end powers in an EC. This is a strictly mechanical limitation designed toward balance. So in allowing the "illegal" build you're asking for a bit of a headache for yourself but if it works for your game-go for it. Is your game a competition between you and the players? Then you need to be very tight on the mechanics-story is less important-and you need some help. If you as a GM can't deal with a good concept on a build through non-mechanical means then you have some self-improvement to accomplish. If the character is just trying to save points and can't even come up with a good line of BS for their build? Smack them down hard and with my blessing. FF and Armor. We're talking about Special FX here. Does your Armor glow and surround your body in a glowie and require a power source? Then maybe you're looking at FF. Does your FF harden your skin or outer surface to the point that it becomes resistent? Then maybe you're talking about Armor. Is the player merely buying FF in an EC in order to be able to put it in the EC and truly has no other reason for it to be there other than to "follow the rules?" Then see point in the previous paragraph. Points exist to attempt to create balance. Part of the fun of the game to some (myself included) is in the building. Can I utilize my points in the most efficient manner within the build structure I or my GM has placed on me? That can often be a challenge. However Points are not something to which we as mature gamers should be slaves. Occasionally its fun to have a "build off" tournament thing and see who comes out on top. I can't in my mind see this as being a long-term campaign that would offer any actual enjoyment. So there you have it my .02c worth, ah who am I kidding that's more like 5.98 worth of mindless rambling and .01c of content.

Re: Worst. Hero. Ever. I see that hand. Thank you brother! Hallelujah. Who else?

Re: Worst. Hero. Ever. For those that are going off on the Superfriends-heres a link to someone you may have visited and may not. http://www.seanbaby.com/super.htm Superman and DC...where to begin. We owe a bunch to DC for creating the superhero craze that it is today. But the characters at first seemed to be basically just man. You could invent to your little heart's content. Blazeman Keyman Toyman (oh wait-that one was real) And on the self-deprecating note: how many of us made all kinds of early comic book characters that followed the same mold? *raises guilty hand*

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... I just came across this. Flight, desol, invisible? So hows it feel to face a flying desol version of Ghost?

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... Nope, not related I guess. This preacher is VERY Irish, so his last name is Phelan.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... "Would you STOP trying to TALK to the things we are trying to KILL!?" This was said by Ghost to Preacher. The group from IBC was fighting a mid-air battle with an Angel. They were all in their Armored Vehicle with vectored thrust capabilities. WHile they hovered in mid-air Preacher, an irish assassin type who is trying to spread the word of god, keeps trying to talk to the Angel. Eventually Preacher gets the Angel in a logical conundrum and while trying to understand and possibly go against its base ideals, it instead explodes. ---- Same group later as the mechanic, Therese, of the aforementioned AV looks at Faust and the AV. THe AV no longer has a turret, has a gaping hole in the side and is generally the worse for the wear inside and out. Therese is glaring at Faust. Faust states matter of factly: "Angel exploded" as she quickly leaves the garage area.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... Then I feel not quite so self indulgent.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... Long start up and background-hopefully its worth the payoff. Like so many quotes it will probably fall short of the two minutes of non-stop laughter from the group. In my ongoing IBC game we have three female and one male PCs. IBC is dingy/dark sci-fi and hidden-magic on earth- so the group tends to whisk around using magic portals, teleporting, and all manner of disturbing of the Space/Time continuum. The group has just done a jaunt down to Guatemala using a more conventional Air Vehicle (ala Ambunaught for those cyberpunkers out there) Two of the females(Koh and Faust) are talking about the possibility of Koh getting pregnant while being the anti-hero that is trying to save the world. Koh is a time manipulator and is concerned about the effects of all this s/t manipulation on a fetus. Koh: "I don't even know if I can get pregnant. I don't even know if I want to get pregnant. I mean how could all this effect a child..?" The male PC, Preacher who is a Dex/Healer/Guntoter and irreverent as all get out responds in his usual off the cuff manner Preacher: "Its alright, we can take the bus" Like so many occurences looking back, its just not quite as funny

Re: Kepler's Conjecture You cheeky monkey. Aren't those delenonian pi_squares?

Re: Kepler's Conjecture Heya Sean, are you filling up all the little spaces that won't hold a whole hex around the circumference of the cylinder? What calculation/formula did you use? The following was my own post reposted here since I obviously can't read a rules forum faq list. "Well unfortunately I don't have permissions or some such thing so here's one possible response. To find the volume of a cylinder of hexes 10m in dia and 65 m tall: Volume = π • r² • height. And Volume = π • r² for the circle Take each "slice to be one hex high and you get a cylinder that is 32.5 hexes high. I am doing the hexes as cylinders not as spherical objects. Then calculate to volume of one "slice" which is pi(2.5^2) or 19.64 which you then multiply by 32.5 and you get 638.3 hexes. Is this what you were looking for jgeurin? Or was this already answered and my measly permissions didn't allow me to notice the response? " So my math may be off but now I'm just curious where the difference is.

Well unfortunately I don't have permissions or some such thing so here's one possible response. To find the volume of a cylinder of hexes 10m in dia and 65 m tall: Volume = π • r² • height. And Volume = π • r² for the circle Take each "slice to be one hex high and you get a cylinder that is 32.5 hexes high. I am doing the hexes as cylinders not as spherical objects. Then calculate to volume of one "slice" which is pi(2.5^2) or 19.64 which you then multiply by 32.5 and you get 638.3 hexes. Is this what you were looking for jgeurin? Or was this already answered and my measly permissions didn't allow me to notice the response?

Re: Autofire Find Weakness Personally I like the idea of AF Force Wall. Just think of that silly thing. A 5/5 FW with AF 5. Roll to hit the area (DCV3) and you get 5 shells. So anybody has to get through 25 body to even do any stun. Ok, so I just went to ludicrous speed....

Re: 39 point me After reading this I only feel that much more correct. The average peson doesn't bench 335, know how to lift smart, and have any ability to efficiently and correctly use a firearm or muscle weapons. True there are some in the gaming community that have excelled in the use of weapons and body honing. However as they are in RL they are the exception and not the rule. And kudos to you for not inflating your strength past 12. Sounds about right- maybe even a bit too conservative. So it sounds like you have about 30 points altogether. What I love is when the aforementioned 7/11 Wiccan tries to tell you that he/she is a 50+ point character because they are able to use a sword, fire a gun, and have all kinds of skills because they read a book. Oh well. Sounds like those of us that are rational tend to agree.

Re: 39 point me I have to agree about the familiarity statement. Take all those skills you think you have and turn 95% of them into familiarities. (/rant) I've had this argument with several people but here's just one example. Someone comes out of highschool that has taken two biology classes. So they give themselves an int based KS for bio? No way-that would give the average person an 11- and for those self-inflated types (as also mentioned) a 12-. So what this means is that any question about biology that person now has a professional level at. Um-nope. Maybe a KS called HighSchool Biology. Even college a couple college level courses won't give you above a familiarity. "It looks like a bird of some kind" "Well I have Biology on an 11- since I took a class in college." "....so you want me to tell you the Kingdom, Phylum, all that? Eating habits mating rituals, et al?" "Of course, I just made my roll by three since I rolled an eight. I must have really looked at this part of the book a lot." "Um-no. Its a bird that you think might have be a wetland bird. It eats what the text book inserts for most avians-so grubs and insects." For the most part most folks in RL can be built for about 15-30 points. Anyone that goes over that is not being truthful. Everyman skills take up the majority of our RL character sheets. And they're all free. MA? Ok so some might have a blackbelt so they now have 3-5 manuvers. But did they study other elements of the MA? Do they know the history? Did their sensei teach them about other arts? Um-probably not so another - nope. This is the rule not the exception before everyone starts to tune up and say "my sensei did." I don't think too many people are going to be able to honestly say that the majority of blackbelts are taught this rigorously. Stats. Anybody that comes up with stats above 15 you can give a might BS to. And that better be the only stat they have above 11. For the most part the average person has stats that are 10s and 12s, maybe if they're lucky a 13. They have a PS (which is free btw) that they can do as a profession. This might be a "freebie" 11-. The average person doesn't have any perks that are above and beyond the standard "free" perks (car, house, friends) so nothing there. Talents? Ambi-maybe. Most of the others? Again-nope. (but I'm just naturally quick so I have lightning reflexes- ) Powers-none that I'm aware of. maybe some extra running. The guy who sees really well in the dark? Maybe an extra level of perception. Specialists like guys that can catch arrows? Well they wouldn't be average now would they? We overwhelmingly are unbalanced characters whose character sheets are dramatically in the negative due to disads. So, my .45c - anybody that brings you a character sheet of themselves that has a point total anything over 45 you can give an outright BS to and anything over 30 is highly suspect. grrrrr. Can you tell I've had this discussion before? (/rant) Whew-I feel better now.

Re: What Are You Listening To Right Now? Tiesto In Search of Sunrise

Re: CP Wagering I'm pretty sure the executable isn't big enought o justify the zip. I attempted to unzip and it stated corrupt. Can you just post the executable with the extension changed (as necessary?)