Doc Democracy

Re: Is Hero too preditable? I kind of like this, though I think I would make the extras relative to the to hit roll - +10 STUN for rolls 8 less than required, +5 for rolls four less than required. I did a version of that but I lost all the fun of rolling fistfuls of dice and have recently decided that I would add 1D6 to the damage dice for every 2 I rolled below the to hit number (but retained a maximum STUN and BODY based on the original dice). That had the side bonus of adding to the number of dice being rolled but didn't change the extreme ranges in anything but probability - the randomness of the 3D6 to hit roll was counterbalancing the tendency to the mean of the 10+D6 damage rolls... Doc

Re: Negative Experience It's a sad fact that you don't look on the ability to add disadvantages like Hunteds or Reputations or Watcheds as anything other than roleplaying opportunities. If GMs and players can be more flexible on the whole disad part fo the character sheet it would be an excellent way to drive character and game motivations and keep a record of what's what. Other games wouldn't highlight them as fabulous roleplaying opportunities - they probably wouldn't mention it never mind provide a game level structure. Anyway - if you are in the system discussion forum expect a system style answer! So there! Doc

Re: Negative Experience You guys are mean!

Re: Negative Experience I once handed out a Hunted: [campaign megavillain] and never had him turn up before taking the disad away. It made the player very cautious about bad-mouthing and challenging the man on TV! It also made his conduct over the few sessions where the disad was written on his character sheet very different from what it would normally be. Doc

Re: New Advantage: Stackable I didn't say it wasn't either Poor drafting. I guess I never thought out the details completely. It was so clear in my mind about two characters combining their attacks in a particular phase that it never occurred to me that it could work differently. Doc

Re: Negative Experience

Re: Negative Experience In a game with all of the tools available for in game punishment you are thinking of opting for negative experience? Personally I would be looking at giving them one or more disadvantages (which I suppose are like negative experience but far more story positive). The company may hire someone to embarrass the heroes (Hunted: CLOWN 8-), provide the media with hints about them (Watched: media 11-) or simply do a PR job on them (Reputation (bad) 11-). All of these things could have in game consequences on the characters and they could spend experience to remove them but you should encourage them to play it out and then remove the disads when it is story appropriate to do so. I definitely would not play out the court room drama unless there was going to be fireworks in there (I did a whole session as a courtroom drama on the arrest of a hero about the murder of a henchman - I played it out up til the end when the players became jurors on the basis of the evidence given to them - then reversed their decision as the hero's arch enemy mind controlled them to convict him as guilty in the first degree). You could use the court room as a background disad ao that whenever the hero needs to be somewhere he has to roll on whether he is needed in the courtroom at that time (8-)?? Doc

Re: Resource Question Mongoose published Ultimate Prestige Classes and Ultimate Prestige Classes II that contain compilations of prestige classes that have been published in other sources. I think the first book is currently out of print - not available via Mongoose's website - but you might be able to pick it up on ebay or somewhere. Doc

Re: New Advantage: Stackable

Re: New Advantage: Stackable There would also be a big discrepancy in the points paid by the characters. Surely that goes without saying? The SPD 4 character would be spending 20 points to boost someone else 2 SPD and the SPD 8 character would be spending 40 points to boost someone 4 SPD. Doc

Re: New Advantage: Stackable Wouldn't that logic say that there would be no point in co-ordinating attacks unless they were equal in power? Doc (I don't care if he does hijack my thread!)

Re: New Advantage: Stackable As you might have seen from my last post I was considering perhaps a cheaper version where both participants required the advantage and a more expensive where only the person stacking needed the advantage... Possibly - I'll have a think about how that could be worded. Doc

Re: New Advantage: Stackable As a GM? Well, first I wonder why mr stackable SPD bought 4 SPD as stackable rather than SPD 6 and then whether I allowed him that because he had good SFX for being able to stack with someone else's SPD. My initial thoughts are possibly the spirit transferring from one body to another so that more actions are available to the stacked PC while the other stood effectively lifeless and defenceless. Seems fair to me that two PCs who have paid enough points in SPD to have SPDs 6 and 12 get to take 10 actions between them... Doc PS: this is making me consider whether both the stacker and the recipient should have the advantage on their power. In some cases it doesn't seem that there should - but that should be more expensive for the stacker. Hmm.

Re: New Advantage: Stackable

Re: Endurance Disadvantage It _is_ an interesting approach and I'm not sure that the Vulnerability mod might not actually be the right one. As you say VULN relies on attacks where something acting reduces your STUN and BODY, in this case you acting would be reducing your END and the VULN would be increasing this by 1.5 or 2 times. That feels more right than doing a set amount of END whenever you act - if you are working low level then the 2x VULN to heat means that the END ramps up but possibly not enough to really notice but as you begin to get vigorous the END costs mount rapidly leaving you burning STUN... rep to Mayapuppies for the idea.... Doc

Re: Pulp Era Board Games Gumshoe was a fantastic game but more cooperative than competitve - now online apparently. Doc

Re: New Advantage: Stackable Oof! You really notice when one of these 100+ rep power people hit you with the rep stick! Doc

Re: New Advantage: Stackable Hmm. Not much support then? The stackable advantage means that the blast can be built up by someone else with compatible effects or can stack onto another attack with the stackable advantage. I reckoned that it would need GM supervision to avoid the cheesy applications like followers with the stackable EB...but I thought it would be simpler than trying to work out the Aid and Succor for a one off boost. Never mind - if it works in my game then that's all that counts. Doc

Re: New Advantage: Stackable

Re: New Advantage: Stackable Well, co-ordinating applies defences against each attack 30ED versus each 12D6, stacked it would be 30ED versus 18D6. Co-ordinated attacks need two successful to hit rolls and successful co-ordination rolls, this simply requires points paid on two powers and one successful to hit roll (by the controlling player). co-ordinated inflicts (on average) 24 STUN, stacked inflicts 33 STUN. Both characters pay END for their powers as normal. FireGuy and FlameLass both spend the END for their stacked EBs - obviously more END for each of them than a normal EB. No need - that's a multiple power attack. Stackable combines similar damage against a type of defence.

I would like to propose a new advantage that would allow powers to stack to someone else's rather than apply to the person using the power. Stackable A power with this advantage can stack half the effect of the power with the full power of another character with the same stackable power as long as SFX are compatible. Thus FireGuy with a stackable 12D6 Fire Bolt can use his power to provide FlameLass' stackable 10D6 Flame Strike with an extra 6D6 damage. A stackable power can accept only one power boost at a time unless an adder is bought to extend its capabilities. For 5 points the number of boosts can be doubled. A character cannot use a power for other purposes while using it to boost someone else's power stackable power. Stackable is a +1/2 advantage and can double the number of powers that can be stacked for +5 points. Obviously this advantage would require careful examination but it allows a number of common effects to be modelled. Doc

Re: How to do a weapon that has a free trip attack? My thought would be that the free trip would be skill levels only available to offset penalties due to using a multi-attack. Wouldn't that be the simplest option? Doc

Re: Incremental End Cost?

Re: Duel Wouldn't it be simply a combat manouevre for energy blasters? Something along the lines of block/grab where you are stopping the other person shooting you and making them focus their eb on you alone... Something like that? Doc

Re: Incremental End Cost? Very few of the powers in the characters I design have full or half END on their powers. I tend to be a bit build crazy and a low END 12D6 energy blast will cost 0 END for the first 5D6, 1 for the next 5D6 and 1 for the final 2D6. So 2 END for the full 12D6. I tend to break the power down and buy reduced END on various segments and sometimes even increased END on the final few dice. Sometimes a 12D6 EB that costs 6END to throw will not cost END at all until you get beyond 9D6. I find that this gives the heroes a lot of power fighting agent types and makes players think about how many D6 they are throwing about as well. Doc