TheEmerged

Gang, correct me if I'm wrong about this: but wasn't Origins one of the conventions Wizards effecitvely bought a few years back?

Realized after the fact that this was a particularly thorny question I needed to answer. Since 1993, no small part of the answer has been the Golden Avenger. The current head of Primus is the second person to hold that title, the first dying during the Battle of Detroit. The current model? I haven't finished converting her from 4th Edition to 5th Edition yet, but the 4th edition writeup clocked in just shy of 1800 points. She is defined as being the very edge of what a Level 4 can do, and personally powerful enough that she's the reason Firewing is lying in cold sleep at an undisclosed location From 1979 to 1992, credit Hyperion and the Capital Gang. Hyperion is this campaign world's version of Superman or Captain Marvel (Shazam), and is estimated around 1300 points at his prime (which was over a decade ago, hence the "estimated"). Before the second (and third?) emergence, the ratio was considerably lower than it is today. My current (subject to change) estimate is that there were only about 2500 novas in the world at the time of the Battle of Detroit (1992).

Actually, Supreme, the "mystery" of why the ratio differs so much is the subject of the Nova Mystery 3 handout -- so I can't give out too much just yet. Besides, I don't want to reveal anything my players are supposed to find out the hard way In some cases, I have very good reasons for certain areas having a higher density. Israel, for example, would have trouble surviving if its ratio wasn't well above average. In other cases, it's my world and I want to have fun with it. Good example here is Poland's nova population being higher than France & Germany's. In the cases of areas like China, it's not so much that the novas don't erupt (although that is an element, see below) but that they don't STAY. In especially repressive areas that's because they use their powers to flee, or die trying. The reverse of this is why Italy's ratio is a little higher than you might expect; it's a popular destination for novas of a certain mindset. In other cases there are campaign specific reasons; this is especially true in any area in which the ratio is far too high. Central America, for example, has the worst nova density in the world -- because El Junte (one of the "Level 4" novas) actively hunts them down and kills them. --------------------------------------------------------------- So, why is America's nova ratio so crazy? 1> Novas tend to erupt in proximity to other novas. This quickly evolves into a "the haves continue to gets" scenario. 2> The first stage of the emergence (1972-1985) was primarily in North America; fully 80% of the nova eruptions in this time period took place in North America (including Canada and Mexico). Part of this is #1; part of this censored under "mystery the players must discover" protocol. The so-called "second emergence", which may be an aftereffect of Dr. Destroyer's first full-blown attempt at world takeover (also in 1985); it was "more global" but still focused in America. If I go ahead with the idea of a third stage of nova eruption (haven't completely settled this), it's recent and the most global one to date. 3> Many, perhaps even a majority of American novas (white & black hatted) follow the example of the "first nova" Hyperion, who has Total Code Vs Killing -- even many villains pay lip service to the ideal. This is not as true in the rest of the world and outright unheard of in parts thereof. The result is that American novas tend to live longer -- hence, there tend to be more of them. American novas are also more likely to have CVK at some level... ------------------------------------------------------------- On the subject of 7000 novas worldwide being too many -- that's just a little more than 1 in a million, folks. ------------------------------------------------------------- What keeps large numbers from getting together and toppling govenerments? Well, it's happened in places: Cuba is run by El Junte, for example, although that's a case of one particularly powerful one getting and staying in power. The other reason is that Level 1 novas aren't all that tough: they're designed similarly to the "deltas" from Brave New World. Generally a Level 1 nova has one power they can do a few tricks with, but a rifle (and maybe a handgun) is probably a threat to them. The "beat" officers in the USA, for example, carry a sidearm built as a 50 active point multipower, the first slot of which is a 3d6+1 RKA (8 charges). -------------------------------------------------------------- RE: Converting Caestus Pax. That'd be a lot easier if Aberrant had ever given us a full writeup of him The one in Worldwide Phase 1 just gives you enough to get the idea he's more than the players should be able to handle. As such, my plan is to do my own writeup for him the first time the players decide to leave the country -------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for the input, gang! Let me know if there's something else my players will probably want to know

Survivor, the comic series. I don't even watch the show, and this is quite often hilarious. Someone already linked PvP. Scott can be a little uneven, but when he's on he's one of the funniest strips out there. Day By Day by Chris Muir, which is quickly earning a reputation as the new Doonesbury. Nodwick, by Aaron Williams, who just started a wonderful new cartoon called PS238 -- think Champions Elementary School Go to this site, start with the links for Fantasy Cartoons, then Nodwick Strips. Go here with an hour or so on your hands, especially if like me you also like DnD. Daryl Cagle runs what can best be described as a politcal cartoon clearinghouse. This is another one you should wait until you have an hour or so before you go there the first time

Hey Winterhawk, just a suggestion if you're not too tied up in the WildSide concept. You want an evil Martha Stewart? Go for the real thing. Drop the clihce dominatrix act and go for the real creepiness: Martha Stewart domesiticity. Think "Stepford". Think exploding muffins instead of grenades. Think Salad Shooter instead of throwing knives. Think OxyClean instead of acid. Think gigantic vacuum cleaners instead of entangles. Yes, it's cheesey. Played up with the right kind of malice, it could also be a blast...

Averages out to 1 in a million, same as the official Champions Universe... About 86% of those are "Level 1", meaning they're built on 4th Edition Standard Superhero points (100 plus 150 disadvantages, 60 active point cap).

I'm allowing 2 options for players right now. 1> A new power which costs 10 points per d6 and functions as a damaging Damage Shield. Can be declared Killing as a +2 advantage. Example: Flama has a 6d6 Damage Shield with the special effect of Fire, which cost her 60 active points. For 6 END per phase, she's surrounded by a 6d6 Damage Shield. 2> Allowing the Continuous advantage to be purchased at +1/2 for appropriate Damage Shield powers. Suppress and Telekinesis wouldn't need it (already at least somewhat continuous), while Energy Blast or Transfer would. (For the record, I don't allow Clinging to be used with Damage Shield despite the text in FREd).

Hmm, now I'll admit to considering myself a recovering Trekkie, but wasn't the original rule that it was a factor of 8? Warp 1 equals speed of light, Warp 2 equals 8 times SoL, Warp 3 equals 64 times SoL... I know they ended up changing it during one of TNG's last seasons, though...

Proof that I have too much free time on my hands... The following is a listing of where nearly every superhero in my campaign world is from, by country. Exception are the "Level 4" novas (worldshakers, generally in the 1000-1800pt range) and "Level 5" novas (Doctor Destroyer, The Trickster, and a nova that hasn't erupted just yet, each starting with 1800pts), which are all being treated as special cases. And yes, there's a "copout" heading for The Rest Of The World created primarily by some differing statistical baselines (I based my initial numbers on the assumption there are about 7 billion people in the world, turns out we haven't quite hit that mark yet...). I prepared it in preparation for the third "Nova Mysteries" handout for my players. I use that for general world background stuff the players should know but isn't likely to come up in an adventure. Anyway, here's the link. Linkage!

No prob, GG -- in my experience, it's always the little stuff that hurts you You have a great day as well.

RE: DnD "Bashing". Not hardly. Go to the DnD official boards, especially the Psionic board. Yep, I'm the same TheEmerged. Perhaps I was wrong to believe that using a "neutral" example would allow for some perspective. RE: On Topic. Hmm, must've been a bad post on my part. I could care less about board posts staying on topic; I'm quite bad for derailing myself. What I was saying was that in an environment when "House Rule It!" is the response to a broken rule, you lose the "yardstick" standard. Take my own house rules for DnD Psionics, for example -- definitely from the "rewrite it" school of thought, as I've rewritten nearly 1/3rd of the powers in the PsiHB, come up with an entirely different mechanic for psionic combat (translation: changed psionic combat to a slight variant of physical combat), changed multiple feats... As a result of those changes, I ended up having to give psions an almost completely different mechanic for determining Powers Known. The result? Whereas I used to be an almost constant presence on the Psionics board, these days I can barely contribute at all without spending three paragraphs explaining myself. This is also true for several other people on the board, many of whom don't show up at all now (in fairness, Psi&Co got banned for being an idiot and Strutian seems to appear only to hawk his own wares). Am I house-ruling Damage Shield for my own campaigns? Of course. That's not a solution, however: it is only a stopgap.

Re: Who? Ye Ditto.

And now, for the rule-geek rebuttal Said it before, will say it again: the GM's veto right and ability to house rule is not and never will be an excuse for maintaining a flaw in the rules. As others noted, house rules only work within the "house". This is a huge problem for, to use a non-HERO example, 3rd Edition DnD's psionic "rules" -- that have a number of hideous flaws. Since WotC/TSR has been slow to correct them, everyone that wants to use them has been forced to choose between either house ruling them half to death, rewriting the entire system, or using them only in a limited format if at all. The result right now is that you can't have any rule or creation discussion (new feats, new powers, etc.) on the psionic rule boards without it diverging into a series of discussions about everyone's house rules. THAT'S why, in my opinion, the "just house rule it" defense holds no weight to speak of. Respectfully, The "All in the Name of Fun and Meaningful Debate" Emerged

Bet I know what it is, let me dig up the Bestiary and check... /* checks the listing page 123 Yep. What you're missing is the "Takes No Stun" advantage. Check out the listing for that advantage on FREd pg 311 With a 15 STR, the Skeleton "should" have 3 PD base -- however it is divided by 3 and hence only has a base PD of 1. Each additional point of PD costs 3 points. Hence, the score and cost for PD is accurate. The cost of ED is also accurate, albeit beneifting from some convenient rounding... The cost for the "Undead Body" powers are similarly accurate. Damage Resistance's cost is also tripled by the modifier as a Defensive Power (FREd pg 77, sidebar). Not entirely sure I get what you're asking with your last question, but I'll give it a go. For all practical purposes, the Skeleton has a PD of 6/4/2: 6 against "piercing" attack, 4 against "slashing" attacks, and 2 against everything else. To do this, the writeup buys 2 PD with a -1/2 limitation because it only works against two damage forms: Slashing & Piercing. This value seems to follow the general assumption that there are only three "forms" of physical damage: crushing, piercing, and slashing. Since most adventurers tend toward weapons that slash or pierce, the limitation that it doesn't work against crushing damage isn't too severe -- hence the -1/2 value, roughly equivalent to a 14- activation roll. However, the final +2 only works against piercing and that leaves out a fairly broad range of weapons while still being fairly useful -- roughly equal to an 11- activation roll, and hence a -1 limitation.

RE: Black Diamond. Can someone official clarify something for me? I know BD is black in 5th Edition, but I find nothing in Classic Enemies to indicate her race -- and the picture in my opinion certainly doesn't suggest it. When exactly did BD become a victim of the Black [Whatever] issue? RE: Stereotypes. Sometimes, it's just a case of not paying attention. I doubt very seriously that Steve & Darren consciously made sure all of Victory's plot seeds in Champions Universe potrayed her as a victim -- nonetheless, there it is.

I have to say the weirdest combination I had made was my first attempt to make a "Damage" (from DC) one-off. There was rule-twisting involved, but it *almost* worked (albeit not on the actual scale of DC's damage; this was for a PC). I've found, when comparing notes, that more of my characters tend to have Dispel and Extra Limbs than most. Extra Limbs is a common Speedster trick in my campaigns, for example. As for Dispel... that's a rant for another day

I agree. Take the intermittent class balance arguments on the DnD boards that inevitably introduce the defense that "In head-to-head combat, Class X beats Class Y about 50% of the time." As I'm fond of pointing out, especially when both classes are casting classes (say, psion versus wizard), this sort of duel scenario inevitably comes down to who fails their Save first. If the affected Saves are identical/close, no wonder the dueling results are about even.

Glad to help. And just so you know, I was critiquing the "official" version -- yours wasn't up when I started typing.

This is where I learned of it, although the poster mentioning this is not a WotC/TSR spokesperson I've heard it from enough people on that board -- and the moderators on that board are PSYCHOTIC about banning/locking/deleting posts. I suppose it could still qualify under "urban legend", several other playtest-related stories of this nature HAVE been verified so it fits with the available evidence. I wish to emphasize that my statement about "3 groups doing one module" should be considered hearsay; couldn't find that on the official DnD board (again, the moderators there have been known to delete things). I apologize if my "story that got to me" statement didn't make that clear enough.

I love theoreticals /* cracks knuckles /* opens CKC to page 102-104 Operating Assumption: Binder is my character as a PC in a villain campaign. Dead Horse Notice #1: Bypass discussion about his defenses, since Steve Long and I obviously have very different opinions of what is appropriate. Dead Horse Notice #2: Look maw, it's a battlesuit character that draws END from the user's biological energy! Initial Writeup Correction #1: Binder violates the TheEmerged Skill Enhancer rule -- he has 3 KS's but not Scholar. So for the long term, if he's my character he starts with Scholar (no change in points). Initial Writeup Correction #2: Binder lacks Weaponsmith. Guy has a PS: to play chess, but not one of the skills he needs to make his own equipment... Points for this can be arranged by lessening a few of those science skills to 11- for now, or the Perks. Initial Writeup Correction #3: PS is inappropriate, should be Scientist if it's anything... Gambling: Board Games is the appropriate skill/specialization for Chess under 5th. GM Specific Correction: Were I the GM, he'd be required to take TF: Battlesuit as well. -------------------------------- First Purhcases: buy the science skills or Perks "shorted" to pay for the initial corrections. -------------------------------- Okay, now to actually get to work on evolving him First and most notable issue: secondary targetting sense. The ability to sense your opponent is simply too important to bypass, IMO. Radar is usually the most appropriate for a battlesuit type, and can be snagged for 10 points (15 active, OIF) without much trickery, 8 points if you throw in "Flashed as "Sight" group as well". If I'm designing him this is a bigger prioirty than Flash Defense, but I've already criticized too much. Secondly, boy needs a little Mental Defense, even if it's not much. I find it hard to believe someone that fancies themselves a master villain with a "inferiority complex tinged with paranoia" in a super-powered campaign world in which mentalists exist is going to be walking around with 10 Flash Def but no MD, unless the GM has decided that MD is something rare/unobtainable via technology. Given the likelihood that such countermeasures are available (to protect non-super politicians & generals if nothing else), I'd say Binder can swing it. Third priority is another slot in the multipower: Dispel vs any one power of Mechanical special effect (as GM I'd rule this as a +1/2 advantage because the special effect is so broad). That would leave 60 points under Binder's multipower, enough for a 20d6 Dispel (70 active on average). Effect would be gluing the gears/locking the moving parts. Dispel is a terribly under-rated power that is especially effective against certain constructs like Continuing/Fuel Charges. This slot would give Binder an edge against many technological opponents, and in my opinion appropriate to the character. Fourth priority would be the "psi-breaker" entangle slot for his multipower: Opaque to Normal Sight and Mind Scan. 4d6, +4 DEF (8 final), and "Both Take Damage comes in at 87 active, 4 points real as a slot. You could also drop the DEF down to +2 (6 final) to have Opaque to Sight & Mental Groups instead, if you felt it more appropriate. Priorities after this depend on the opposition he finds himself against, and which Dead Horses you feel the need to beat. One that jumps out screaming at me is the prospect of putting Difficult to Dispel on the Life Support & Flight (dispel flight + altitude = trouble). Another possibility is giving Binder a special defense against entangles -- even something as simple as Martial Escape and some DC's.

First, I have a standing rule for this sort of thing: I'll be flexible and allow a lot of latitude with bonuses, especially based on competing skill checks. However, anything the player expects to do *repeatedly* and *reliably*, they're going to have to pay points for. In this case, the Acting vs Perception (or KS: Fighting Style) for a +1 to +3 bonus would work if it were an occasional tactic. However, if this is something the player wants to do every fight there's going to be points involved. Limited skill levels are one route, so is a Change Enivronment that inflicts a DCV penalty...

I allow something similar to this, but I enforce a rule that the value on the Pool (whether MP or VPP) is figured as per Variable Limitations. That is, if the *slots* have -1 limitations but *different* limitations (even different foci), the *pool* can get a -1/2 limitation for this. To use your example, slots based on the Bow & Sword would still have the slot cost reduced by the -1 OAF limitation -- but the pool would only have its cost reduced by -1/2.

Combat in HERO can bog down non-trivially. There are some things you can do to speed it up. 1> There is no substitute for preparation. Say it again. Repeat it as many times as you need to before it sinks in One of the advantages of the new movement END cost rule is that it's much easier to predict your END usage -- this makes combat bookkeeping easier, which in turn makes combat go a little faster. 2> Consider tossing the hexmaps for miniatures and a tape measure. While I'm still not 100% satisfied with how this works in relation to "turn mode", you'll find that this simple step will *dramatically* speed things up. I'm beginning to wonder if the tape measure, not the miniatures, is the key. 3> Egg timer. The group I play D&D with (which has three players not in the HERO group) has two particular individuals who take *way* too long in combat -- each for a different reason. "Bruce" simply doesn't pay attention to what's happening when it isn't his turn and therefore has to spend sixty to a hundred second each round just trying to figure out what the situation is. "Kyle" on the other hand is no good at making up his mind, and will often plot out several different actions before picking one -- and then he'll spend half the remaining turn saying he should have [done the other option]. It's cruel, but at some point you have to take the other players into consideration. Bring an egg timer or chess clock (especially the "countdown" type) and enforce it. That brings us back to #1; especially for the "Kyle" player it's important to have a good list of the options specifically designed and pre-figured for that character. It's not enough to say "Your Martial Strike is +2 DCV and +2d6", have "Martial Strike: OCV 7 DCV 9 Damage 12d6". 4> Eliminate any optional rule you feel is slowly it down. I'm *that* close to house-ruling a Hurry/Hipshot variant because of the way it's quickly becoming an every-turn Initiative roll -- one more roll every character makes every phase. RE: Hard Limits. Traditionally, I've been the King of Hard Limits. For our first campaign (superheroic) under 5th Edition I've temporarily replaced them with a "cap", and I have to say it's working better than I expected. Then again, my HERO players are generally on the mature side; that is, they recognize broken does not equal fun. I'm also wondering if this will be the case when we try our first NCM-default campaign under 5th...

There's also a game mechanic that sort of allows for something like this already: the bonus or penalty for wording. "Shoot Yourself" should get *at least* a -5 penalty for being poorly worded. On the other hand, "Agh! You've got a spider on your right temple -- shoot it!" should probably get a +5 bonus. A Mind Controlling PC in a previous campaign did this to Bulldozer with "squash it!", with interesting results BTW, since it's somewhat on topic: consider allowing bonuses to Mind Control if the victim is being subjected to a Mental Illusion of sufficient strength as well (or is being hit with it as a multiple-power attack).

Mind if someone that's also a 3rd Edition Geek chimes in? That Other Company... oh wait, HERO doesn't ban us for mentioning competitors. Wizards recently admitted something most of us had come to suspect: VERY little testing of 3rd Edition was done beyond 11th level. The word that got to me was that three playtest groups went through a single >11th level adventure. That's the 6th spell level for those of you unfamiliar with 3D&D. Most of the spells & monsters above this were simply "transported" with weak translation methods. Disintegrate? 6th level spell. Finger of Death? 7th level spell. Power Word: Kill? 9th level spell. Notice anything odd? Truth is, 3D&D's spell system has some obvious problems when you try to balance player-created/new spells against old ones, because many of the old ones aren't balanced against anything consistent (Magic Missile and Charm Person being two noteworthy offenders). BTW, try and remember that D&D "instant death" spells are balanced against a> the existance of resurrection spells and b> the fact that many DM's are loathe to use this sort of thing against players in the first place. Players aren't nearly as fond of Finger of Death when the bad guys are using it against them, in my experience