NestorDRod

Re: Pulparize It!

Dang! I don't know how I could have missed this thread!

Here's an actual pulp plot scenario I've been concocting, inspired by a great B-movie...

Deep Rising: The PCs are a team of hard-bitten soldiers of fortune hired to assault and hijack a nondescript tramp steamer suspected of carrying some important cargo their employer wants "retrieved."

What the team doesn't know is that the item in question is an Atlantean portal device, the steamer is crewed by Nazi soldiers and scientists, and the eggheads activated the portal onto the Hollow Earth, unleashing a herd of hungry Deinonychi onto the ship, who proceeded to devour the crew.

The PCs will arrive on the ship to find it deserted, with signs of struggle and random blood smears, but no bodies. Meantime, in the main cargo hold, they're getting hungry again...

Re: So, what don't you like about HERO 5th?

That would be something good to put in the Hero Genre by Genre section. And, additionally, in the genre books.

 

I would agree, though, that scaling can be an issue in Hero. What is a good damage scale for Superheroic levels is often overkill on Heroic. Also, it seems to me that it is more difficult to balance at the heroic level... how do you make a 9mm pistol lethal at heroic level, while making it bounce off of most supers (answer is probably that you don't!)

 

One of the things I liked about the D20 Star Wars (first two editions... I do not have the current) was the scaling... from person scale, to vehicle scale, to spacecraft scale. I would love to see something like that make it into the Hero System... not sure how it would work, but would probably go a long way towards solving the M1A2 Abrams is tougher than the USS Iowa problems.

Not sure I quite follow your point about the 9mm pistol.

In Heroic level campaigns (at least the ones I've played in), Resistant Defenses are not the norm; getting hit by a 1d6 RKA hurts, especially if you also apply Hit Location rules. I've seen it happen.

As for the damage-scaling, d20 SW stole the idea from the original d6 rules (along with the vehicle combat rules, IIRC). As to its applicability with the Hero System, I don't have my books with me to confirm your M1A2 vs. battleship comparison, but it's not an issue I've ever seen in a game.

Re: Silver bullets, garlic grenades, and all that stuff

While you all raise good points about it being modeled better through a Disadvantage than a player power (and that is, after all, how it's done in the published material), I was concerned only about the old "me too" method.

 

GM: You're facing a werewolf.

Player 1: Fortunately I always carry silver bullets with me.

GM: You do?

Player 1: I'm a paranormal investigator. I have KS: Lycanthropes right there on my character sheet.

GM: [checking] Oh. OK.

Player 2: I always carry silver bullets too.

Player 3: Me too.

GM: Wait a minute. You're a jeweler (#2), and you're a reporter (#3).

Player 2: So I'm the guy who made his silver bullets. If he's going to need them, I figure he knows what he's talking about.

GM: *sigh* All right. And you?

Player 3: Werewolves are a fact, so I'm prepared.

GM: But...

Player 4: And my sword is coated with silver, too.

GM: But you're a ninja!

Player 4: It's an ancient sword handed down from my great-grandfather, who used it against many monsters.

GM: Now wait a minute....

 

Of course players 3 and 4 would be overruled, but I think it would be reasonable to find *some* way to give the characters a price (albeit a marginally small one) for having an easily recognizable Special Effect covering an opponent's obvious weakness. (This is in contract with, say, a vampire's possible Vulnerability to fire; if the Special Effect of an attack is fire, the price is that it isn't electricity or cold or lasers or something else that might be someone else's Vulnerability.)

Hate to say it, but that sort of situation is not solved by rules-mongering, just by good ol' plain GM common sense. As Nancy said: Just Say No.

If it's the character's schtick to be a "monster hunter" then, yeah, I could see him carrying silver as a weapon. Otherwise, unless the player specifically states he is doing so at the beginning of the campaign, he isn't carrying any.

I can see a character, after encountering werewolves in the game, making a point of arming himsef accordingly, but not retroactively saying, "Oh, I've been carrying these silver bullets with me since day one for just this occasion."

But hey, YMMV.

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine

Your wife's or just Saffyre's?

I'd be less of a gentleman if I answered that question, except to say we've been happily married for 23 years with no signs of stopping.

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine

Well, might as well join in, especially since Susano is posting characters from our old Champions campaigns (including one of mine).

These were characters in the same campaign that had Avalon. El Picaro (aka The Rogue) was mine: a teenage street-level martial artist that at one point was put in charge of the super-team (sort of like having Robin be the leader of the JLA ). Saffyre was my wife's: a nudist, feminist, environmentalist energy projector (and yes, her outfits tended to be that revealing ).

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Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine

Actually' date=' unless he's a she, it should be [b']El[/b] Torre.

Actually, no.

Spanish is one of those languages that doesn't have a non-gender article. Everything is either male or female, regardless of whether it's animate or inanimate.

The gender for a tower is female ("la torre"). It doesn't matter if the name refers to a man, the word itself uses the feminine article.

Gotta love these thread derails...

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine

Heh' date=' the player pointed that out to me too. He didn't like the 'brickwork' edit of my previous picture either, so here is La Torre número dos:[/quote']

 

Verrry nice.

 

Damn, now I'm getting the inspiration of a chess-themed villain group with Spanish names: Rey, Reina, Alfil, Caballo, Torre, Peon.

 

If only I was playing in/running a superhero game these days...

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine

My groups other two heroes' date=' Magpie (an ex-villain doing his best to go straight) and Le Torre (the Tower, a spanish hero.)[/quote']

 

Just a sliiiight nit-pick. If his name is supposed to be in Spanish, it should be "La Torre".

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine

I was playing around with trying to turn my various Original Characters (http://surbrook.devermore.net/original/originalchar.html into artwork. I tried a few and liked Eclipse, Koyotie, and Snow Angel. Avalon, however, didn't work so I won't post him.

 

I never bothered to sketchout Snow Angel's outfit, so the version you see where was the result of letting cycling through options till I found combinations I liked. It's not exactly what I wanted, but I can't complain.

Looking at the picture again, I'm not sure Eclipse is quite right. He should look like a regular person (shirt, pants, hair) but covered in black.

And I can comment because Eclipse was my character.

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine

A pic I did of Gambit and Rogue's son. Don't have a name yet. What's everyone think?

Call him Chance.

Why? 'Cause his mama took one.

Re: Seeking a character name for a Puerto Rican teleporter

Either way would be fine.

Think of it this way: is he "Porter" or "The Porter"?

Re: Keeping it Real

The kind of situations where a Real shines are not combat situations. What makes Super-Barrio "super" is not stopping muggers, it's walking into a school and teaching kids they can make something out of their life that doesn't involve selling drugs and/or shooting people.

If you just take a bunch of Reals and put them into classic "comic-book" situations, regardless how watered-down, I'm afraid you may end up disappointed. But hey, good luck with it.

Re: Seeking a character name for a Puerto Rican teleporter

Woo hoo!

"We're three caballeros,

Three gay caballeros.

They tell us we're birds of a feather!"

Re: Seeking a character name for a Puerto Rican teleporter

Oh Gawd, hero names and the public...

In one of those "emerging hero" games, where everyone is a first-generation hero, we had one guy play an electricity-based blaster that, when needing to hide his identity, covered himself with a hoodie and dark glasses, so that he looked like the Identikit portrait of Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber.

He was promptly dubbed the Unashocker.

But back on topic, yeah, if transporting other folks is part of his schtick, Portador's not a bad handle, and not just because I'm the one who suggested it.

Re: Seeking a character name for a Puerto Rican teleporter

Blink, in Spanish, is centelleo.

 

Other than that: I got nothin'.

Really? Never heard that one. Centella is "lightning" or "flash" so it's possible, although I remember more commonly using relampago (for any grammar mavens out there, there's an accent on the first 'a' ).

Edit: Realized after re-reading my post it might be confusing. I meant using relampago for lightning, not blink.

Re: Seeking a character name for a Puerto Rican teleporter

Actually, I should clarify that the character is Puerto Rican in ancestry (his parents came from there) but he was born and raised in New York City, so the El Morro name probably doesn't work -- although perhaps the Puerto Rican community in New York might suggest the name.

 

However, I'm not sure that he would call himself the Castle-- the chess move does not really suggest teleportation to me but rather switching places -- but that might just be me.

 

As for Portador, I love the sound of it -- it brings to mind the flamboyance of a matador which is appropriate for a superhero. However, online translators seem to indicate that Portador translates as "carrier" or "bearer". But such translations are not perfect and I have to wonder how a Spanish speaker would interpret the name "Portador".

Well, the accurate translation of "porter" (as in a baggage handler) is "portero", but I figured you wouldn't want the name to sound that common, hence the more formal "portador". Essentially, I was going for a "pun" name (teleporter = 'porter = porter).

Yeah, I know the name connection isn't strong, but, to be blunt, it's still closer than calling him a castle, bullfighter or a shark.

A modest note: bullfighting is not a part of Puerto Rican culture in any way or form. If you're looking for animal sports and Puerto Rico, what you'd find is cockfighting. And I don't think that's quite what you'd want.

Then, again... Make his battlesuit be colorful and he could go as El Gallo.

Re: Seeking a character name for a Puerto Rican teleporter

Wow. It just never occurred to me to think of hero names in Spanish.

El Morro is certainly a recognizable icon of Puerto Rican culture, but I'm not sure it fits the character concept. To be honest, it's like a speedster calling himself the Chrysler Building.

Off the top of my head, Portador comes to mind as an immediate derivative (basically 'Porter in Spanish).

I could steal my wife's 'porter hero name: Dodger. Or its Spanish equivalent, Tramposo.

Hmmm, I may need some time for my Swiss-cheese brain to come up with some more possibilities.

Re: Menton is up

How can Foxbat be ever compared to Wolverine? The only thing they have in common is ears on their costumes - they don't have the same colours, personalities, powers or names.

 

Now I'm tempted to pay an artist to draw Wolverine with a ping-pong gun.

The same argument could be applied to the comparison between Captain America and Statesman (the only thing in common was the white star on their chest), but that didn't stop Marvel...

Oy, I probably just opened a can of worms. Apologies in advance.

Re: Menton is up

If Foxbat doesn't look like what he's supposed to look like, I will completely wash my hands of the whole thing and delete the links and forget it ever happened.

Hate to break it to ya, bud, but considering that Marvel has already shown its litigious self to Cryptic before, I'm willing to bet hard cash they'll change Foxbat's look, as to avoid any Wolverine comparisons.

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine

I wonder if this guy realizes how much interest there would be in an English version of this?

One of the guys in our group actually sent the team an e-mail (translated through Babelfish) asking him about an offline version of the software (it seems they have one available, since they offer it as a prize for a contest).

The response basically translated to "not available right now, but soon."

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine

And there will be many more if someone doesn't stop me first.

Re: How do I build "Natural Combat Abilty" from HU?

Well, the "pick up any weapon" bit can be covered by just buying 3 CSLs, Only to counteract Weapon Unfamiliarity.

(Unfamiliarity? Is that even a word? )

I'm not sure exactly what is meant by "fighting on roughly the same level." I've made a point of staying away from Palladium games after reading through "Heroes Unlimited", so I'm not sure exactly how this superpower is implemented. That may give some clues on how to model it in Hero.

Re: Menton is up

The TRULY sad part is that they're still a vast improvement over some of the art Hero was using.

 

JG

Technically, yes. Conceptually, not so much.

I'm sorry, personally, no matter how many times I look at the picture, Exposed-Brain Urkel <> Powerful Psi.

Re: Menton is up

I saw the thread that Ironclad was up (I had missed this one), went to take a look, gave my opinion (basically, he looks like a WoW reject ).

Then someone mentioned Menton, and I finally had the time to look the artwork up.

WTF!?!

Sorry, no amount of retroconning can save that lame-a$$ piece of artwork. I've seen better concept art coming out of a Hanna-Barbera cartoon.

Looking at the progression of art they've been putting out, I'm seeing a direction, and it's straight down the toilet bowl.

The truly sad part is that's the artwork that Hero Games will likely be using from now on.

Re: Ironclad is up

I'm definitely in the crowd.

That artwork does not say superhero to me. It says WoW reject.