Wyrm Ouroboros

Re: Spear of Destiny Huh. 'GM Plot Point.'

Re: Knowledge Skills for a (not-really) immortal? Ultimate Know-It-All: INT Roll for any reasonable Knowledge Skill. 20 points. (Do away with coming up with 9 different KSs...)

Re: new mutants; Magik's "soulsword" Magik's sword also may have been able to damage anything living, i.e. with a spirit/soul; that's open to interpretation, however. I'd give a -1/2 to -1 disad for the 'only affects magical beings' on the HA/HKA.

Re: Various explosive gadgets...am I doing this right? Most demolitions would probably be considered concussion; whether you want to define that as ED or PD is really a GM decision, because arguments can be convincingly made for both. (Yes, I know I split that infinitive. Sue me.) A 'fireproof' suit should provide defenses 'Only vs. Fire' anyhow, or at least a low level of energy defense with a high level of fire-specific ED. Otherwise, since it's the concussive force (i.e. it's the 'air' that's hitting you) that we're concerned with, well -- look at stories of what sorts of armor have saved people from blasts. Probably not reflective coating. Time Delay (+1/4) is what you're looking for for the timer thing. Bomb w/ Timer: Energy Blast 12d6 (vs. PD), Explosion (Reduced Fall-Off, -3d6/1"; +1/4), Time Delay (+1/4) (90 Active Points); 1 Charge (-2), OAF (-1), Extra Time (Extra Phase, Only to Activate, -1/2), No Range (-1/2), Concentration (1/2 DCV; -1/4), Real Weapon (-1/4): Real Cost 16. This represents a pretty serious comic-book bomb (lots of bang, not TOO much killing damage) that takes a few seconds of concentration to place and set the timer on. 'Explosion' is +1/2; reducing the fall-off seemed to reduce that by -1/4. You might, on the other hand, go with 2" Radius AoE (+3/4) instead; depends on the GM.

Re: Various explosive gadgets...am I doing this right? Just as a tip, you might also want to remember that this sort of thing is also usually carried in a weapons/gear/gadget MPow or VPP -- so the 'actual cost' of the thing is going to be a lot lower. One of my archer's trick arrows (weapons MPow) is a flashbang ... 13) Flash-Bang Arrow: (Total: 52 Active Cost, 18 Real Cost) Sight, Hearing and Smell/Taste Groups Flash 2 1/2d6, Explosion (-1 DC/2"; +3/4) (35 Active Points); 8 Charges (-1/2), OIF (Flatspace Tech Bracers; -1/2), Required Hands Two-Handed (-1/2), Incantations ("FlashBang"; -1/4), Real Weapon (-1/4) (Real Cost: 12) plus Energy Blast 2d6, Explosion (-1 DC/2"; +3/4) (17 Active Points); 8 Charges (-1/2), OIF (Flatspace Tech Bracers; -1/2), Required Hands Two-Handed (-1/2), Incantations (-1/4), Real Weapon (-1/4) (Real Cost: 6): 2 Real Cost in MPow.

Re: Failure To Stop Drill

Re: Extreme Weather, Et Al. Hm. I think ... a lot of extreme weather and environmental conditions can be handled by the GM -- a landslide or avalanche can become 'a continuous Move Through at 1/3 terminal velocity by 1-hex boulders (w/ strength appropriate to their vehicular weight/size/BODY) upon everything in its path'. If the Hero can handle that, great. Weather ... is a little weirder. Sean Waters talks up there about the different 'levels' one can affect, and in truth, this is good for what ails ye -- Wind Levels, Temperature Levels, Humidity/Precipitation Levels, all are aspects of what happens in a hurricane; less so, a tornado. Using all of the Change Environment rules for the former is not all that difficult; using a combo of CE and TK AoE is really all that a tornado needs. And, of course, most weather events are continuous -- or 'permanent'...

Re: Various explosive gadgets...am I doing this right? Flash-bombs and the stuff are rarely 'underpowered', because your common HERO player doesn't knee-jerk react and purchase 5 points in every FlashDef 'just because'. The EB portion might be 'weak', but that's what they are...

Re: Slowly Expanding AOE Hm. But the damage does not necessarily occur inside the 'sphere' continuously, does it? Otherwise, really, you'd have nothing at all left. If you put 'Gradual Effect' on it, then simply defined it as 'Central Hex - Phase 1, Hex Ring 2 - Phase 2, Hex Ring 3 - Phase 3, etc.' Unless the damage needs to be done to the central hex(es) each and every time, you don't really need the rest. The 'contracting' is just F/X, really. Oh -- and 'you must spread rep around before giving it to Thia Halmades, etc. etc.'

Re: Cosmic Entity Adventures! If you're ruling a planet, you're not a universe-level 'cosmic' being. The Heralds of Galactus are not 'cosmic' beings; they're fantastically powerful, yes, 'Omega' level beings, but not 'I am the essence of Order/Chaos in the universe'. The level you're talking about is 'galactic', not 'cosmic'. I think you need to refine your terminology; what you mean by 'cosmic' is different than what we understand by cosmic. For us, for the most part, 'cosmic' means 'an essential representative force in the Universe' -- examples in Marvel would be Death, Galactus, Eternity, Love/Hate, Order/Chaos, Eon -- all the folks that Thanos fought in the Infinity Gauntlet. They don't 'rule' anything; they ARE these things, and essentially separate from individual existences. What you're meaning are Silver Surfer, Nova, Green Lantern sorts -- people who COULD rule the world if they wanted to, but don't usually -- and who get involved in galactic events. 2000 points can be enough; 600 points can be enough. Remember, in the HERO system how 'super' your supers are is also defined by their opposition. You may be a 2000-point character, but if the battleships of the Imperial space fleets are 1600-point creations with armor that takes your OmegaBlast four or five shots to get through ... then you really are just a self-powered battleship. If Hero Vs. Starfighter is a roughly equal battle, then heck, they're just self-powered starfighters. Scale is as important in this as sheer point value. Are your characters going to have problems taking out a fighter? Are they going to have a tough time taking out a fighter squadron? Destroyer squadron? Or is a battleship group more their range of a one-on-lots tough fight? Characters aren't going to be -- going to feel -- that they're operating on a galactic/cosmic level unless the opposition they're facing is appropriately scaled.

Re: True Jack Of All Trades PSs are always relevant, and are almost always overlooked except for the free one -- and sometimes even then. I think something that is being misunderstood is that PS: Physician does not, and will never, replace Paramedics in the saving of a life. If a professional skill has another, game-significant skill, the PS is 'how to do the rest of the job -- but not the really important stuff'. I would, at best, give the character a -6 on the other skill, like Paramedics.

Re: Cosmic Entity Adventures! *eyes Liaden* Didn't I just say all that??

Re: Fortress The 'Growth, Always On' gig (and similar ones, like Shrinking AO) has been discontinued in 5th. The suggestion is to purchase the appropriate attributes, etc. and then give the character a physical disad appropriate to the size they would be -- 'Big Guy (Occasionally, Minor)', for example -- to indicate how often the problem comes into play, and how problematic it is.

Re: Flaming Swords

Re: True Jack Of All Trades The GM? Yes. Other players? ... I suppose. I'd say that 'consent' would be acquired by saying to them, 'My character is a jack-of-all-trades.' They'll likely nod, shrug, and go on with their lives.

Re: Internal Compartments g-a has a good version. I'd make the disadvantage depend on the size of the pouch as well as the universe you're in, of course; it might be good for rings and datachips, but it probably sucks for guns and knives. I'd probably make it -1 to -2.

Re: Problem Player (?) Agreed. And/or take the characters home with you, instead of letting them go with the players.

Re: True Jack Of All Trades

Re: Cosmic Entity Adventures! I wouldn't go with 'Cosmic Entities'; that's meaningless unless you're fighting literally for possession of the universe, and boring the fourth time you do it. Cosmic-level HEROES on the other hand can be non-cosmic, and yet -- like Silver Surfer, Nova, Green Lantern, whatever -- have the power to ruin worlds, fight battlefleets five-on-zillion, that sort of thing. THEN you have 'cosmic' level events to rampage around. "The Ghael navy is out to destroy Kun-Jar!! We must stop them, for on Kun-Jar is ..."

Re: clone war stuff or space game Detpacks are satchel charges -- you jam them against something, they blow through it. Thermal detonators are serious bad news; you set them off, and they wreck pretty much everything within a certain radius via near-stellar levels of heat. (It is not, however, instantaneous...) Hm. I'd call the first either x2 AP or x2 Penetrating, only possibly Explosive. I might give the charge the explosive damage as a Side Effect; you don't usually want it as a detonation, after all. It's a breaching charge. So ... DetPak: Killing Attack - Ranged 4d6 (vs. ED), Time Delay (+1/4), Penetrating (x2; +1) (135 Active Points); 2 clips of 1 Charge (-1 1/2), OAF (-1), Side Effects, Side Effect occurs automatically whenever Power is used (-1): 30 Points. The thermal detonator is more a sustained damaging effect -- as nasty as the DetPak, but continuous and vicious... Thermal Detonator: Killing Attack - Ranged 4d6 (vs. ED), Time Delay (+1/4), Penetrating (x2; +1), Continuous (+1) (195 Active Points); OAF (-1), 2 clips of 1 Continuing Charge lasting 1 Turn (-1), Side Effects, Side Effect occurs automatically whenever Power is used (-1): 49 Points.

Re: True Jack Of All Trades This is what I meant. The 11- Roll is, I think, an INT roll, just as the UT roll is. But this is what I meant, basically -- Universal (Insert Skill Modifier here).

Re: Power cost calculator? Add the base points together, including adders. Multiply by (1 + Total Advantage Multipliers). Divide this total by (1 + Total Disad Multipliers' absolute value). The result is your Real Cost. Energy Blast: 5 Points per die. A 2d6 EB is therefore 10 Points. Armor Piercing: +1/2, or 0.5. 10 x 1.5 = 15. OAF -- Obvious Accessible Focus, like a gun -- is -1. So 15 / (1 + 1) = 15 / 2 = 7. (Always round down in HERO.) So your 2d6 Armor-Piercing EB Gun will cost 7 points.

Re: True Jack Of All Trades Depends on how much you're willing to spend. You've got three choices, really: VPP: Jack of All Trades, 5 Pool Points, etc. etc., No Skill Roll (+1), No Time (+1); Professional Background Skills Only (-1), 8- Roll Only (-2). Makes it what, 6 points? Add in a GM requirement that you need to have the Skill Modifier as well, and you have a 9-point power -- that had best be your shtick. I don't think I'd do that for only an 8- roll. Or you go with 'Universal Worker', which does for a PS what Universal Translator does for languages -- 'full' skill on an INT roll. That's 20 points, which is a more serious investment -- but again, it'd best be your shtick. It also gives you the professions at your INT roll, which is a bit more than you might want. Your third choice is something along the lines of 'Cramming, 1 Phase Study (+1) (10 Active Points); PS Only (-1/2): 7 Points.' You get an advantage over other crammers that you can just go ahead and do it after looking at the situation hard for a moment, but, like all other crammers, you basically suck at it.

Re: THE BOOK OF DRAGONS -- What Do *You* Want To See? Conceivable? Yes. That we're conceiving of dragons at all makes it conceivable. Still, even 'near-total solitary' says something about their lack of society -- and, in my mind, the Shadowrun 'great dragon conclave' (I believe Forgotten Realms had something similar, and first) is an excellent example of what 'solitary' dragons could have, and why. Wabjalagh: 'Hi. I'm an incredibly old, intelligent, powerful, large, clever, and mean flying creature. I can wreck a city all on my own if I really put my mind to it.' Distafalal: 'Why, so am I. ... so, uh, what do we do now?' W: 'We fight, of course.' D: '.... why?? Your territory or mine??' W: '.... good question. Uh ...' If you have the ability to wreck dozens of square miles a day just by breathing hard, and yet there are no protocols for interacting with your fellow Mighty Beings on a non-physically-violent level, there's going to be an awful lot of scorched earth around. Even basic societal strictures are almost a requirement. Even for Rosenberg, and IIRC, he had them...

Re: Hammerspace Or if its the Technician shtick 'I got just the right tool in here', a limited VPP, all of which have physical manifestation. *shrugs*