BarretWallace

Re: Palladum to Hero Conversion thread I suppose it wouldn't hurt to download useful files in case Emperor KS (Psych Lim Egomania, Very Common, Total) decides to unleash his Legions of Terror against these boards.

Re: Commando Hero

Re: Browncoat Mal Reynolds on Castle Castle dressing up as Mal, I shamelessly admit, is what drew me in to watch this episode. (As an aside, I do not watch TV except on complete season DVDs and on extremely rare other occasions). I plan to grab the season 1 DVDs when I get the chance. Don't know if I'll watch Castle regularly, because Monday nights are typically booked for me, but I actually like it a lot. Echoing some other comments on this thread, it is much less drama-heavy than other cop shows I've sampled. I find the characters likable yet real (i.e. each one has his/her limitations), and they play off of each other well. Hopefully this doesn't count as a spoiler...but one other line I liked from this episode was when they find the murder victim and Castle quips, "Looks like Buffy's come to the Big Apple."

Re: Top 75 Spaceships in movies and TV I tend to favor Star Wars ships the most, in part because they cheerfully violate the laws of physics the most and actually look used when they are old or beat-up. In contrast, Voyager still looks spacedock-new after getting shot up time after time in the Delta Quadrant...but at least Trek ships have cool stories to go with them too. I can't forget Serenity from Firefly either. No weapons, no stellar battle record...but one of the coolest crews ever to sail the Black. Regrettably, I have not seen B5, so I can't comment on their vessels.

Re: Help naming a campaign I don't know if I can top the suggestions already given, so I will simply make an effort with a couple of entries: Event Horizon New Moon Rising The World is Changing New Breeds New Neighbors The Leading Edge The Verge of Evolution A New Frontier Take 'em, leave 'em, ridicule 'em, or any combination of the above...

Re: "Super" Doctor skill set Thank you all! The build is progressing nicely thanks to the excellent suggestions I've seen. The character is turning out to emphasize skills over powers, but for this concept I think that works.

Hi all, I've done a few searches through the forums and haven't found anything useful, so I'm taking the risk of starting a new thread. I'm building a character whose powers center around the healing arts. I am not so concerned about building the powers, but I'm wondering what a good skill set would be to complement those powers. He is definitely a trained MD. There would be plenty of science skills (biology, chemistry, etc.), Paramedics...and that's about where I fall short. He's gonna have training on working with supers as well as normals, but beyond that I'm not quite sure what to do. Any thoughts are appreciated. T'anks, EC

Re: Genre Conventions & Values Well, to put in my two cents on the initial topic of the thread, I suspect that the "flavor" of Dark Champions games varies as much as the groups of people who play them. I have only played one "true" Dark Champions game, and that was our Special Forces campaign. The morality regarding killing was fairly clear: kill the enemy before they kill you, or even better, avoid them altogether as much as possible. The welfare of the team and the success of the mission were the two highest moral priorities. All else was secondary. We crossed into moral gray areas quite a bit, although truly heinous acts like killing innocent children were avoided. There was nothing even close to four-color heroism in how we played our characters. That being said, when the chips were down, those guys were definitely people you wanted on your side. But...that is only one example. I suspect that there are countless variations of games under the aegis of Dark Champions. As with all Hero System material, Dark Champions is not a game; it gives you the tools to build a game. Take what you like, leave what you don't like.

Re: Mottos for use in games Yeah, I suppose some of these postings (including most of my own) might be more appropriately placed on the gaming quotes thread, but at least they are good reads.

Re: A New Dawn. 'Post-Apocalyptic' Fantasy Yes, I suppose meeting in battle or otherwise surrounded by hostile forces (i.e. being the sole representatives of New Dawn for miles around) has a way of convincing folks to overlook many differences. Forget, no, overlook, yes. Otherwise I agree, more "traditional" ways of gathering a party probably would have been comical failures at best. Although I am but a newcomer to New Dawn, I think it is working pretty dang well so far. No one is exactly chummy with Darius, as the "good" vampire concept is very much a work in progress. Symm is a bit on the creepy side pretty much all the time, and "feels" a bit like a coiled snake: harmless enough unless you set him off, then watch out. Thalia is aloof in many ways, but we get frequent clues that her aloofness is grounded in real events in her past, not just some silly prejudice. Layla is (so far) one of the most levelheaded of the party, although she too struggles with her own inner demons. I don't have a very good feel for Cires yet, and it is a pity that Michael bowed out before I really got to know the character. Also, as was said previously, it is at least noteworthy that the campaign is still going strong, especially after the recent character turnover. That speaks well for its vitality.

Re: A New Dawn. 'Post-Apocalyptic' Fantasy Hmm, maybe I shoulda looked closer before I made my last post. I realized that our party currently contains 2/3 of the entities listed in Shadow's last sentence. Oh well, if done right, it will be interesting indeed.

Re: A New Dawn. 'Post-Apocalyptic' Fantasy Heh...this could bring about some interesting social dynamics within the party to have a character like this around. I look forward to it!

Re: Mottos for use in games No worries, I believe you as to that quote's original source, but the place where I read it was X-Men 2099. It's been a while, but I do remember it being uttered by one of the nuns who ministered to victims of narcotics wars in Central America. The original source is much more poignant of course.

Re: Mottos for use in games Here's a few that may or may not qualify as mottos... "Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition." (from X-Men 2099) "It doesn't take rocket science; it takes a rocket." (from a Punisher comic, I forget which one) "Mercs never die; they go to hell to regroup." (from a T-Shirt at the local military surplus store) "Wolverines!" "What's grazing fire? Why don't you just shoot right at 'em?" (a pair from Red Dawn) "Never, I mean NEVER take off your helmet in combat." (a mantra from our Special Forces campaign, where failing to use one's helmet resulted in a strong tendency to get shot in the head)

Re: Mottos for use in games I ran a short-lived Rebel Special Forces campaign in grad school. One of the soldiers, considering a fight with several times their number of stormtroopers, quipped, "We're not outnumbered; we're in a target rich environment." Here's another d6 Star Wars quote which later became a kind of group motto: "We've got you outnumbered 5 to 70!"

Re: Star Trek: Goodbye Majel Roddenberry As Spock once said, all things must end. Even knowing that...it doesn't make someone's passing any easier. Thank you for the memories, Majel. You will be (and are) greatly missed.

Re: Question: how to build mechano-link power It seems so obvious after simply having other sets of eyes look at this: "Mechano-link" really is a suite of powers rather than one. Thank you for the great thoughts and suggestions! I will try a few builds over the weekend. On a semi-related note, I've been on a few other gaming-related boards before, but I've gotta say, the people on the Hero Games board are consistently the best I've ever seen. Even heated discussions are almost always conducted with a good measure of civility (even if it is disguised as backhanded compliments and such), and I have yet to find a solid example of the infantile flame wars that other boards stoop to. Long Live Hero!

Greetings one, greetings all, This grew out of the “What’s Wrong with Palladium” thread I browsed earlier this week. It got me thinking of a character I built for Heroes Unlimited in days of yore, and I am trying to build such a character for Hero System. I did search the boards and can’t find a good description of this power in Hero terms, so here it is. Also, I’ve never built a new power in Hero System before, so please be patient with my awkward leap into the realm of power building. The Power: Mechano-Link What does it do? -It links the hero with any mechanical or electronic device (weapons, vehicles, computers, etc.). The hero has an instinctive “feel” for the device and can operate or repair it better than a similarly trained normal human. -It grants a bonus to mechanical/electrical skills the character already possesses, including relevant operation and repair skills. -It allows the character to interface directly with computers, bypassing security lockouts etc. -It grants a chance for the character to understand and operate completely alien devices. Alien devices are not necessarily of extraterrestrial origin; this could just mean something the character has never encountered before. How is it limited? -Use of the power requires physical contact with the device in question. Contact is not considered “blocked” by clothing (costume, space suit, gloves, etc.) that the character is wearing, since these are also touching the character. -Failed attempts to understand and use alien devices may not be re-attempted until the character has studied the device intently for at least a day. I added in the limitations myself, but beyond that the description matches the HU power as nearly as I can recall. Any and all advice and constructive criticism is muchly appreciated. If there really is a good description of this power in the boards, please point me to the thread and I’ll happily dissolve this one. Thank y’all!

Re: Poison's Champions Art Thread WooooooOOOOOOwwwwwwww!!!

Re: I killed a fellow PC last night... Ah yes, mind control... That can be a tricky beast. In an Urban Fantasy Hero game, we had one elf PC (the sniper) who was mind controlled by a vampire several times. The same vamp tried to control my dwarf, but the stumpy guy was too stubborn for him each time--though barely. Eventually our poor elf earned the ill will of the actor/swordsman who was his main target while mind-controlled. Fortunately it never evolved into outright murder but the resulting tension made for some awesome roleplaying. I am currently playing in a campaign using home-brewed rules where one of my characters (each of us plays two) is possessed by a demon. Not quite the same as mind control, but there are some parallels. I'll say one thing for sure: it is the most challenging roleplaying I've done in ages, perhaps ever. Not only must I keep the other players and their characters in the dark, but I must also maintain ignorance in my other PC. The demon was summoned and bound to my character (a berserker) by a powerful wizard, and its mission is to kill another PC. The catch is that the killing cannot be accomplished directly. It must be achieved through the indirect manipulation of other characters. Already I've managed to cast suspicion in the target's direction by planting some important loot in his pack (the target is a rogue). Now we have found a powerful spirit imprisoned in an urn, and my demon-possessed PC is going to enlist its help by sneaking to the chamber where the urn is stored and releasing it. It's a ton of fun, and the players are mature enough roleplayers that I need not worry about retaliation........I think...........

Re: Newb Champions Welcome Blake! I'd recommend the Hero System core rules at a minimum. It sounds like Champions is also a good choice, and maybe Fantasy Hero for the magic-slinging in your party. The Mystic World also seems like an excellent choice. Depending on your group's collective financial clout, I recommend Hero Designer. It's not needed, but is a great aid for character building and record keeping. Hope this helps, and welcome to the system!

Re: Problem Player (?) Sorry, my brain is still waking up. Anyhoo, another issue is that your buddy's behavior is not friendship. Real friendship is symbiotic, not parasitic. It has to go both ways, i.e. he must be a friend to you as well, otherwise it ain't friendship. Yes, you want to stay on good terms with him, but what are the limits? How many compromises will you make just to keep him happy? If the root of the issue is that your friend wants his character to be top dog (or "group leader" to use a more polite term), can he just ask to move into the role of leader? Does he really need illegally high stats in order to be in charge? These are questions only you (and your friend, and ultimately the rest of the group) can answer. In the meantime, may you always roll low, except when rolling damage...

Re: Problem Player (?) I like this one! Maybe if your friend realizes that his actions are disrupting the game for everyone, he will change his tune. If not, well then the game will likely fester until it erupts into something particularly ugly (in-game conflicts are always worse when they spread into real life). If this person thinks he can sneak over-powered abilities in under the gun, there's no reason you can't do the same. Maybe the first villain the party meets is similarly tweaked beyond your declared limits, and he targets the munchkining character first, since he's the most dangerous opponent. Several turns in GM La-La Land may prove to be an effective time-out. More later after I've had some more coffee perhaps.

Re: Mind Scan confusion -Based on my relatively limited knowledge of building Hero Powers but a decent working knowledge of the system, I think you can make the power as general or as specific, as powerful or as weak, as you want. To use an example from the old West End Star Wars RPG, a novice Jedi character (i.e. one with a low Sense skill) might say "I have a bad feeling about this". An experienced Jedi, one who has honed his sensory abilities (put more points into his Sense skill), might examine the same situation through the Force and say "there are four squads of stormtroopers waiting behind secret walls in the next room". -If you are just looking for a "Spidey Sense" to tell you that there are other minds in the room, then it seems to me that this version of Mind Scan should be cheap in terms of points. If you want it to distinguish between different types of minds, then require the use of appropriate Enhancements or Advantages (Detect with Analyze being a very reasonable one). The same goes for being able to find a specific mind in a crowd. -Well, those are my two cents.

Re: Dark Champions hero fragility So many threads, so little time... My only real experience with DC-style levels of lethality was our Special Forces campaign that we played in the mid-1990s. It was set in more or less the modern day, but in a sort of alternate timeline with differing political situations etc. The characters were modern-day soldiers (duh) equipped with military weapons (assault rifles, various pistols, grenades, etc.) Each of us played two characters to round out the team better and to give the players something to do when one character was killed or incapacitated. We used the hit location chart for flavor. This added an extra roll to combat, but we got used to it quickly. Hit locations also gave us a real incentive to wear our armor. This was especially true when my M-60 gunner was taken out by a single lucky shot to the head--and yes, if he'd worn his Kevlar, it would have saved his life. My medic was nearly killed by one lucky AK burst. He was saved only through the prompt attention of a teammate. Had our characters gone Arnold when fighting the enemy, they all would have died before the first clip was emptied. Our enemies were usually competent enemy soldiers. We attacked with surprise, from cover when possible, and retreated when the numbers of enemy edged too high. Although wounds of varying severity were fairly common, strong teamwork carried the day. If one guy was down, another would drag him to safety, and still others would cover the rescue. Wounds received prompt attention. I guess this is a long-winded repetition of a few points that have already been made. The lethality of a DC campaign depends on the players, the characters, and the tactics used. We found it quite manageable. Them's my two bits (inflation, y'know).