Wyrm Ouroboros

Re: X-Men: The Next Generation campaign on Hero Central

Re: Help this person Yes, well -- it's a bad example.

Re: Medium powers Build what it means. Just seeing & communicating with them would probably be either a basic Detect ('Sense Spirits and Ghosts') or else Transdimensional on your sight, hearing, and speech. If your GM is running spirits as a mental thing, though, you might just need Mental Awareness. Otherwise, it's a question of whether or not you need to communicate with the spirits to find out the information. If you do, that's lots of RP, no real powers; if you don't, then it's other sensory powers. Danger Sense, for example.

Re: Fighting against more speed A bomb. Meaning an AoE attack. Glue bomb, explosive, whatever...

Re: X-Men: The Next Generation campaign on Hero Central I'd like to submit M-Proof.hdc (as found in the Marvel: What If? campaign) as a candidate.

Re: X-Men: The Next Generation campaign on Hero Central So what's up with Barrendur? Anyone know? (And does this mean there's an opening?? *hope hope hope*)

New campaign at Hero Central: Dark City. No, not the movie. Dark City takes aspects of Champions, Dark Champions, Cyber Hero, and a touch of Star Hero, mixes them together, and kicks out something that's all its own. (Okay, so I'm touting myself, here.) Read more and submit characters in the Dark Champions Dark City Thread.

New campaign at Hero Central: Dark City. No, not the movie. Dark City takes aspects of Champions, Dark Champions, Cyber Hero, and a touch of Star Hero, mixes them together, and kicks out something that's all its own. (Okay, so I'm touting myself, here.) Read more and submit characters in the Dark Champions Dark City Thread.

New campaign at Hero Central: Dark City. No, not the movie. Dark City takes aspects of Champions, Dark Champions, Cyber Hero, and a touch of Star Hero, mixes them together, and kicks out something that's all its own. (Okay, so I'm touting myself, here.) The year is 2281. Corporations run the world, and yet national and cultural identity is as important as ever. The Solar System is being colonized and harvested, for mankind is hungrier than ever for resources. The Dark City runs from Boston to DC and beyond, and includes New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and all of Connecticut and Rhode Island. In the Dark City, there is no green zone larger than perhaps ten square miles; there are few buildings smaller than three stories. Crime, at both blue- and white-collar levels, is an all-time high, ubiquitous and rampant. Gang activity is significant; it is difficult to tell where the local governments end and organized crime begins. Corporate security has extensive leeway in actions taken on corporate grounds. Characters will be part-time heros, part-time mercenaries -- corporate espionage for pay. Code Vs. Killing not necessary; Casual Killer not recommended. Killing on the part of the PCs MAY happen, but deliberate murder is frowned upon. (Unless you're hired for it...) Killing sprees will get you into all sorts of hot water. Characters should be built with Dark Champions in mind; build on 300 points (150 base/150 disad). Cyberware (including a fully-immersive Internet) is in significant use, as are other biotic implants. Psychic ('mutant') powers have been genetically unlocked. Magnetic-bottle technology is in the forefront, with 'blasters' and 'lightsabers' in existence, if expensive. (All plasma weapons must be either x2 AP, x2 Penetrating, or AVLD (+3/4) Does Body (+1).) Group points will be available for group gear, contacts, etc. Contacts, Streetwise, and CKs strongly recommended. Restrictions: EDM: Matrix use only. (Special rules here.) Duplication: Matrix use only. Multiform: 'Alternate Armors' only. No Megascale. No self-powered movement above 150 mph. Max Dex: 25. Max DC: 12. Max Defenses: 20/12r Max AP: 90-100. Applicants MUST submit character sheet/file. HDv.3 is preferred, but if you have to put it together in Word or Excel, stuff it into your HC file folder and give me a link. Combat/Power characters with few points put into non-combat skills will be refused. Characters with little to no background are likely to be refused; I want people who write well, who imagine well, and who RP proactively. More information as I create it.

New campaign at Hero Central: Dark City. No, not the movie. Dark City takes aspects of Champions, Dark Champions, Cyber Hero, and a touch of Star Hero, mixes them together, and kicks out something that's all its own. (Okay, so I'm touting myself, here.) Read more and submit characters in the Dark Champions Dark City Thread.

Re: Help this person ... they worshipped the Sun, not the sky, because it was a mysterious daily phenomenon that sometimes (like during eclipses) went away for no reason, or when it was raining, or whatever. Cats and dogs go wild over laser pointers / tennis balls because you're engaging their hunting / chase reflex, not because they're stupid. IMO, it was played almost perfectly. This was a ganger; the guy was attacking before the INT drain. He'd continue to be aggressive after the INT drain, doing what was familiar to him (point and click). IMO, he should have CONTINUED to attack, ignoring the bank teller, until all his prey/enemy was down. Lowered INT, lowered ability to reason, change plans, etc.

Re: Is this Dark Champions or Regular Champions? We're agreeing far too often, Vann.

Re: HCPD - The 13th District (Campaign Idea)

Re: System Gurus...help? Also remember that DFC means that Target is PRONE -- disoriented, etc. -- until his next phase comes around. This means that Target cannot continually DFC ad infinitum, unless the GM is amazingly generous. From the Target's POV, he'd best actually get behind something, forcing the Attacker to maneuver first, or close with the Attacker, disabling the Attacker's ability to use the AoE attack without hitting himself. (This has all been said before.) Presuming that they actually know each other's capabilities, Target's wisest choice is as Von D-Man said -- he Hurries his first action, closing with the Attacker and starting things up face-to-face. The truly wisest thing for the martial artist Target to do, though, would be to be able to take the Attacker's shot one way or the other, so that he doesn't HAVE to Abort to a DFC. And get a ranged attack of some sort, buddy ...

Re: High level Cramming That's ... rather drastic. I sort of presume you figured that out by adding together the costs for all the skills, then applied limitations?

Re: HCPD - The 13th District (Campaign Idea) I saw this and went, 'Dresden Files!!' Thinking about it, I'm not sure if I'd prefer a real precinct house location where they all operate from, or a virtual one; I sort of like the 'virtual' idea, just so that they can have their fingers in all the other 'real' stuff, be able to heads-up things if/when the superweird shows its face. Kudos on the ideer.

Re: High-End Autofire

Re: High-End Autofire This -- suppression fire -- is where high-autofire weapons come into their own. You can suppress a number of hexes (or hex rows) up to the number of rounds you can Autofire. (This is also where 'one bullet per inch' comes into play.) With 'Accurate Sprayfire', you're receiving only a -1 for ALL your suppression fire, instead of -1 per hex row fired into. Now, my house rule is that you can 'suppress a line', but only a maximum number of targets can be hit per hex line equal to the number of rounds you put into that line; your AF 20, poured into 5 hex lines, can hit up to 4 people per line per segment; if Target A runs across your five hex lines (and is thus attacked 5 times) but is only hit twice (once in each of two hex lines), then those 2 specific hex lines can only hit 4 more people -- while the other 3 hex lines can still hit 5 people. If, by some miracle, you hit 20 targets, anyone beyond them won't be attacked at all, because all the rounds have been 'soaked up' already. Firing 20, 40, or 80 rounds can therefore be nice and nasty. To cut down on the damage rolling, I also use Standard Effect for this sort of thing. IMO, if you've got a gatling weapon -- or really, any autofire weapon, such as a 'rapid-fire skill to shoot my bow' -- Suppression Fire is the only way to go. Your targets are simply 'attacked' just for being in the hex. And if you've spent 5 points, it's like attacking every target in your line of hexes as many Segments as they stay in them (remember, once per segment!!) with only a -3 to your OCV. For example: Arrow Storm: Energy Blast 3d6 (standard effect: 9 STUN, 3 BODY) (vs. PD), Reduced Endurance (0 END; Functionally Limitless Supply; +1), Autofire (20 shots; +1 1/2) (52 Active Points); Concentration, Must Concentrate throughout use of Constant Power (1/2 DCV; -1/2), OIF (Flatspace Tech Bracers; -1/2), Required Hands Two-Handed (-1/2), Incantations ("Rapid Fire"; -1/4), Real Weapon (-1/4) Great for hosing down large quantities of mooks, especially if you have a normally high OCV; after all, how many of them can take four shots of 9 STUN, 3 BODY in the one SPD 3 phase they spend charging towards you? 36 STUN, from which they'll only likely soak 12; heaven help them if they cross into another hex line...

Re: Is this Dark Champions or Regular Champions? Power Man and Iron Fist would generally be DC; Captain America, full-on Champions. Batman varies depending on the comic, but if you take away the JLA stuff, he's a DC sort of guy, but he really does walk the line; far too many of his recurring villains are people who are powered up in one way or another; Ivy and Croc come to mind. Look at it this way: little/no innate power, mostly normal criminals, some gadgets, 'peak human': DC. Otherwise, Champions. Batman really walks the line, so you pays your money and takes your chances. Also, in general, you have to look not just at 'what they are', but what they DO. Captain America doesn't break up gangs, throw himself into the middle of a Mob shipment, or track down a serial killer. Iron Fist doesn't fight HYDRA, go to the Savage Land, or involve himself with SHIELD. (Well, any more than he absolutely has to.) DC isn't just about what powers (or lack thereof) you have, it's about what 'level' of involvement with the 'super' world you have. Again, Spider-Man may break up muggings and stop bank robberies, but he's more frequently involved with shutting down the Rhino, or the Green Goblin, or some other powersuit/crazyman/whatever. Ergo, Champions.

All right, so the Bunny built Adamant for the X-Men: TNG campaign over on Hero Central; good build, all the fun stuff. Unfortunately for me, I'm not entirely satisfied with the build on one of his powers, which reads thus: Okay, so, I love this idea. It's a great idea. I don't think it's complete, rules-wise, though; it needs range, but you transmit your orders via voice, which means you could do it via radio, which means you could do it at extraordinary ranges. Also, the person can't use the power/skill unless they follow the directions of the tactician. Would that be a question of a Limitation on the power, or just the effect of whether or not the person is willing to be affected by the power? How would you build?

Re: WWYCD: Out of cash

Re: Martial Arts In A Focus ? Hm. If you're trying to mirror Bourne himself -- at least in the first movie -- you might simply apply No Conscious Control to the skills. He reacts instead of choosing to act; he doesn't know he knows all of these things. This, of course, is noted in a PhysLim of 'Amnesia, Frequently, Slightly Impairing (10 Points)'. He can speak, has muscle memory, etc. etc., but doesn't know who he is -- or all of what he can do. I like the conversation in the truck stop best.

Re: Istvatha V'han - why can't she conquer Earth? Yes, well -- like I said. It doesn't make sense the way it's written up. 'Major Nation' or 'Large Interstellar Society' is 25 points; 'all the followers, vehicles, and bases she could possibly need' is ... mind-boggling, basically. I don't know what the actual points look like, but I build my villains with the same rules I'll allow my PCs; if I don't want my PCs to have it, my villains can't buy it that way either. With everything she's stated to have, though, her inability makes no sense. With the ability to jump hundreds of millions of invasion craft filled with billions upon billions of soldiers across dimensional boundaries, and having done it so many times it's routine (which is what ruling a hundred million dimensions would mean), there is no reason she should be having problems conquering the CU. This isn't an alien invasion force landing in Millennium City, or in the desert outside Phoenix or something; this is hundreds of huge landing craft dropping out of the sky in each city, with battleships keeping overwatch above. This is massive, simultaneous, and practically a foregone conclusion...

Re: Champions games you've run Hmmm. Heroes and Monsters (Shadowland) Intended to be a Freedom Force style group, but with Ultimate Avengers sort of power level and actions. Never really got off the ground, alas. After the End (Hero Central) Post-Herocalyptic adventuring where heroes are no longer socially acceptable, and are being 'rounded up' and mostly quietly 'disappeared'. No PC knows what's happening to them, and it's one of the mysteries of the game. Home-grown universe, but borrows a lot from Champions, DC, and Marvel. One of the PCs is the son of that universe's 'Superman' and 'Wonder Woman'; others are techno-geeks, demon-bound, and just plain mutants. After the End: Immortals (Hero Central) Same universe as AtE, but involving the deep forces of the worlds -- those people who are essentially immortal. They are gathering together to decide what must (or should) be done about the world in which they all live, now that 'normal people' have the ability and have proven the will to utterly destroy even such as they ...

Re: TWF and Martial Arts DCV penalties stack, not to mention your DCV is always halved; therefore in the last one, you're at -2 DCV, then halve the result. Now, according to the Two-Weapon Fighting rules, the skill negates off-hand penalties and the first sweep penalties (i.e. the first two attacks are 'free'); otherwise, one uses the Sweep/Rapid Fire rules, which say that OCV penalties stack as well. However, the first example provided violates this. I don't know what the base DCV is, so I can't judge the DCV results; it should be: DCV = [(Base DCV + Lowest Bonus) - All Penalties] / 2. OCV is functionally the same -- though bonuses apply ONLY to the specific maneuver, and ALL penalties apply. Example 4 would thus have a -2 Penalty to OCV on both attacks.