torchwolf

Re: Succeeding The Blood Imperions:

Re: CHAMPIONS VILLAINS Sneak Peek #1: The Triptych Cover! Exceedingly exquisite. Of the individuals, I especially like the new look of Istvatha V'Han. Yay! Wallpaper!

Re: Requires another power limitation?

Re: Requires another power limitation? Even though basing spell-casting ability progression on Active Points when it comes to combat-effective magic, some weird results come up, especially with utility abilities such as Life Support. Immortality (3 Active Pts of LS) should maybe not be one of the first spells learned.* There's no way around GM adjudication of acceptable spell builds, but making a list of those Powers that should require a higher level of magical proficiency in a specific campaign is an easy enough step to give players an idea of how things are supposed to work as well as indicating what kinds of spells would be considered very powerful and/or rare within the setting. *Fantasy Hero for 4th Edition (which used the Limitation -1/4 per 10 required real point purchase) placed the Light of Lifegiving Spell [LS: Immortality] as requiring 40 pts of spells in the College of Light Magic before it could be purchased - easy enough, but only once you had the necessary expertise. Almost all FH 4th Edition (actually 2nd edition of FH, but for 4th Edition Hero System) schools of magic were redundant, meaning it would tend to make magicians specialize a bit since the choiciest abilities were put at "Requires 40 Real Points Of Spells From School Of X". Not entirely such a bargain as it would seem, since it effectively allowed almost all casters to be reasonable effective while keeping some abilities restricted to certain schools. The styles of spells are pretty utilitarian though, and the 5th Edition Grimoires and sample spells for published settings have far better flavor specific to their magic schools.

Re: CotN Outtakes Rep and a Thank You for posting this. Personally I find this kind of material very useful.

Re: What's a good way to learn the game? Very Repworthy. Please, re-post the others too. This is the perfect place.

Re: Champions Auxiliary I'm guessing you have the Champions 6th Edition book, where those characters are mentioned. Like DusterBoy says, those are in the Millennium City sourcebook, with writeups in 5th Edition. 6E1 (Character Creation) p20-21 should help you use those with 6th edition with ease though. A 6E version of Dr Silverback is on p178 of Champions Universe for 6E (as well as updated, more experienced versions of the Champions, plus some other Champions Universe heroes - The All-American, Black Mask X, a Silver Avenger of PRIMUS, and Victory) but the others have yet to detailed for 6E. Since pictures of Blockhead keep turning up I'd guess a writeup will turn up sooner or later. Crusader was a much-used 3rd/4th Edition Champions Universe example character and I'm a bit curious if this new Crusader will have any connection to the original concept... Hope that's helpful.

Re: Victorian Era Champions This might also be worth checking out, since it's free: http://www.forgottenfutures.com/game/index.htm

Re: Complications When you want to adjust the required number of Disadvantages/Complications, but not alter available points to build the character: 1E-5E: Adjust allowed Disadvantage total PLUS inversely adjust Base Points by same amount. 6E: Adjust required Complications total. Makes no difference to most on these boards but reduces a step when adjusting Disads/Comps up or down, which might be better for new Hero players/GMs. Not to say this was the reason, but may have had bearing on the decision.

Re: Fantasy Hero 6E - initial impressions pdf looks teh awesome. Layout style, graphics and font choices makes me realize something: The 6E lines of new books have a more distinct style to everything that made me go more "aha" after looking through the FH - each definitely plays to their respective genre. The 5th edition books for different genres are more generic in general appearance. I expect this same idea to hold true for Star Hero etc. Very clever and effective, IMHO. About the numerous quotes: it's a very nice way of bringing up samples from the myriad subgenres; definitely inspirational for world building details, at least to me. I think it's a brilliant way of doing genre / concept overviews (since fantasy is so indefinitely broad as a genre), as well as prompting me to check out some stuff I've missed. Plus, since the quotes are clearly distinguishable from the rest of the text, you can easily skip over them at first skimming if you want to check out the crunch first. This is the first fantasy genre book that's been released in a long long time, that all by itself beckons me into wanting to start up something fantasy again.

Re: Two-weapon fighting I would think that it depends. For instance: A fencer with TWF and WF:Offhand might carry a main gauche or dagger and a rapier with the intent of having tricky options. Attacking with the rapier twice might not be unreasonable; he'd threaten with the main gauche even if he'd use it primarily to parry, and entertaining descriptions from a player in such a case shouldn't be penalized (I'm not a fencer so feel free to disagree). OTOH, TWF and WF:Offhand also allows you to appear as if you're going to parry/block/defend with the main gauche but choosing to forego the DCV bonus to attack with the Main Gauche instead might earn a surprise bonus (the first time at least; the city guard you do this to will likely also tell his fellow guards about it if he survives). Another variant would be to use Sleight Of Hand to shift hands with the main gauche and rapier, allowing a second attack with the rapier that could be allowed with TWF (though probably requiring Ambidexterity to attack without a penalty). Special cases, granted, but not too far fetched in a campaign featuring TWF. In either case, all intended attacks beyond the two allowed by WTF would start to penalize all attacks attempted during that Phase (as been stated).

Re: Critical and Altered Maths This would presumably not include a fumble result, so that would be a likelihood of somewhere between 0.5 and 2.3 % depending on your needed success roll. Nice thing about it is that it increases your Crit chance proportionally to your chance of success, not so nice is that it may make certain Skill numbers too popular. You could of course also combine rolling a triple with exploding dice (rerolling and adding on triples), in which case everyone could have at least a slim chance of hitting a really high target number. This could work either with natural 18 as a Critical, or possibly a 5 to 8 success margin indicating a Critical. (It would require occasional rerolling though, potentially slowing down the game by 10% or so if you include the time players will spend on rerolling, recalculating, etc.)

Re: FANTASY HERO Sneak Peek #1: The Cover!

Re: FANTASY HERO Sneak Peek #1: The Cover! Indeed, I meant not to diminish that illustration - I agree that it captures that old "Sense Of Wonder" - just that I am curious to see its successor image, especially after the new FH cover.

Re: FANTASY HERO Sneak Peek #1: The Cover! Slightly off topic: Looking forward to the sneak peek of the Star Hero background, judging from those comments on the color scheme.

Re: FANTASY HERO Sneak Peek #1: The Cover! Truly inspiring and attractive cover. I'd use that Mary Poppins word if I'd remembered it, but I'll settle for Amazing.

Re: Things that trigger Complications / Limitations I agree. Any weapon used against a character (PC or NPC) that has Susceptibility and/or Vulnerability against an sfx the weapon uses would just increase the base damage purchased for the weapon, normally; multiplying the damage for a Vulnerability PLUS causing additional effects from the Susceptibility. Starting with defining what effect Holy Water has in general against demonic/supernatural beings makes the other issues easier to resolve, like any campaign-specific ground rule. This would probably apply to any and all special items or substances expected to come into play frequently. Another aspect of Susceptibilities and Vulnerabilities: Threatening a demon with holy water (or a werewolf with silver, etc.) would reasonably provide a bonus to PRE Attacks (another ability that might or might not be included in "free" equipment, but should probably be paid for if used with great frequency). There are some other issues though - forgive me for (re)stating the obvious in the interest of maintained line of thought: In a superheroic campaign it's always about what the GM defines as "free", but in cases like this it definitely gives PCs an edge against their supposed opponents. Either restricting such equipment through limiting availability, increasing the frequency of breakage/malfunctions, or adding a special requirement for exactly who can "bless water" etc. can work. Some ordinary equipment can replace point-purchased abilities to a degree (like the cell phone in a recent thread), and the only equitable way to resolve that fairly (without calculating point values for absolutely everything) is GM discretion. However, using the Resource Points rules in the APG (or Dark Champions I believe for 5ER) as either a guideline or fully applied as a rule helps a superheroic GM considerably in adjudicating these issues. Of course, it only matters for any equipment that PCs actually use during adventures; anyone should be able to have a car to drive to their Secret ID job without spending points on a Vehicle (as long as they don't abuse this to chase down demons in their bulletproofed Vector V2). Still, players should get the benefit of using opponent's weaknesses, be it by carrying holy water balloons to throw at demons, maneuvering demons onto holy ground, brandishing crucifixes, or what have you, but should probably only discover from experience exactly what works, etc. Holy water may not stay holy forever if subjected to demonic surroundings, holy ground might have been desecrated, a PCs religious belief may not prove strong enough to wield a religious or holy symbol to any noticeable effect, and so on. I don't really see an issue with Susceptibility here - just as a Vulnerability, it applies to a specific situation and/or sfx, and the appropriate values depend on Frequency, neither relates to the potential abilities of whatever triggers the Susceptibility or Vulnerability. Situations or sfx that cause game effects need game mechanical definitions whenever values are needed, just like everything else. The Physical Complications/Limitations "Blocked By Magical Circles" or "Must Obey Caster That Knows True Name" also needs at least some minor consideration by the GM, just as Holy Ground needs a brief definition for what qualifies (a church, a graveyard, Stonehenge, an Ancient Burial Ground?). Obviously, no GM in their right mind would attempt to anticipate all possible situations (unless Dr Manhattan GMs, but I'm unsure of his state of mind anyway), so YMMV. The central issue is maintaining consistency... or rather: Perceived Consistency.

Re: Special Effects Interactions: Burden on the defender or the attacker?

Re: Special Effects Interactions: Burden on the defender or the attacker? I think "burden of effect" would generally apply to the defender, both for consistency and to avoid unnecessary arbitrary arguments. IMHO, silk curtains catching fire accidentally might result from fire use in case of a really bad roll, Unluck, or special circumstances, but would generally occur mostly because of a defined Side Effect. A fire-user with precise control (no Side Effects) shouldn't really be penalized based on FX. As a GM, I'd encourage those kinds of builds, but not enforce them. The supplement you're thinking of might be the Ultimate Energy Projector book, which goes into great depth on the interactions of special effects and suggests altering costs (mainly applicable to Offensive powers) based on how useful a particular effect is; using these rules changes the situation to making the FX user assume the benefits/burdens of a particular FX, both in the case of Offensive and Defensive. I haven't yet used the UEP rules in practice, but will likely do so for an upcoming campaign. Hope that's useful. EDIT: Gosh, 3 other posts before I finished writing this one, including IndianaJoe3 who already mentioned the UEP. EDIT 2: Re sfx vs sfx etc: Having run into many odd sfx definitions, I'd not automatically assume that Dr Smoke's Smokey powers were in fact true smoke, even if they appeared to be.

Re: The Hero System is bland and over complicated Old Skool vs Modern Systems: I submit to you for consideration, in comparison to the Hero System's accusation for being "bland and overcomplicated", the following excerpt from the free sample of this recently re-released system: (to determine "E. Basic Hand to Hand Damage", the calculated Carrying Capacity is then referenced on a chart to find the type and number of dice you roll) I leave it up to you to ponder if you consider this approach a more modern and smooth game mechanic than the Hero System equivalent.

Re: Bygone Champions - Early Editions Empathy and Sensitive are Weird Talents from Justice, Inc. - revised for 4th Edition in Hero System Almanac 1, though most are fairly straightforward. Exactly.

Re: Writeups for Cellphones [5e Champs campaign] Sometime around 4th Edition, I did much the same, described it to my players along approx these lines: Foci are subject to the rules defined negative aspects (including "plot hazards"). Mundane equipment, especially weapons, are (in addition to being Foci) treated as Real Equipment (extending the Real Armor and Real Weapon Limitations to other objects; a certain minimum care in handling needed), and also subject to Real Points/5 levels of Unluck, manifesting as expressions of Murphy's Law. Confiscated equipment not paid for with points are subject to the same effects as mundane equipment (in the case of certain unique equipment, Murphy's Law will not usually cause equipment breakdown but other undesired effects instead). At first, some players of course tested the limits of this just for the heck of it, with annoying to dangerous (and sometimes hilarious) results, but picking up mundane equipment became appropriately limited in utility, and players never argued about it since it was declared up front. *Heroic campaigns would have these Murphy's Law effects apply once every few sessions or so, while Superheroic campaigns would have Murphy's Law applied with extreme prejudice.

Re: The Hero System is bland and over complicated

Re: The Hero System is bland and over complicated ...and then he reforms, 10 minutes later, only now he's radioactive. [overused CoC joke] I actually played one Call of Cthulhu investigator with a happy end. He had POW 6 so SAN 30, went insane mid-way through first scenario, fell in love with a nurse at the institution he spent the next year, retired from the Mythos forever, and got married, living happy until the Stars Are Right when everything ends anyway.* I think Trail of Cthulhu does the bleak and terrible insights even better, separating it into losing Stability (how close to mental breakdown you are getting) and losing Sanity (how far away from the human perspective you are getting). Cultists, of course, may have great Stability (passing for normal) but very little Sanity (hey, they think the End Times is a bright future). In a Cthulhu Horror Hero game, there should really be a Sanity Char (similarly to STUN/BODY) and something akin to either acquired Psychological Limitations/Complications of "Alienation vs Humanity" maybe coupled with a KS: Things Man Doesn't Really Want To Know. *or maybe he was snatched away by monsters later in his life to start a scenario for new PCs

Re: Wanted: Normal-Level Paragons of Virtue Nicely ominous. I guess you've already looked at this, but just in case: Seven Virtues You could go either way on those - or maybe both? Considering how DEMON operates, in that they often have to run through some complicated loops to complete their more extensive rituals, you could extend the notion a bit - maybe the Paragons of Virtue can't simply be slaughtered, but their sacrifices needs to be collected at the verge of being forced to abandon those Virtues? Idea: DEMON starts the sequence of events leading up to the Great Summoning of the powerful demon by locating seven low-lives that represent the Deadly Sins. Those are sacrificed, Se7en-style, to summon seven demons representative of these sins. These seven demons will not actually appear until at the Great Summoning, when they arrive to torment their appropriate Paragon of Virtue and force them to abandon their particular Virtue, at which time the demon rips out their heart and soul as an offering to the Great Summoning. Depending on your intentions, you could then have alternate lead-ins to the adventure; the initial, fairly grotesque slayings can also establish a sense of urgency and demonstrate what the stakes are. Having demons trying to force the Paragons to abandon their Virtue might also allow for nice roleplaying depending on where the players come in... Seven Deadly Sins Sins and associated demons (suitable names to throw around if nothing else) from a 1589 classification: Lucifer: Pride (superbia) Mammon: Greed (avaritia) Asmodeus: Lust (luxuria) Leviathan: Envy (invidia) Beelzebub: Gluttony (gula or gullia) Satan/Amon: Wrath (ira) Belphegor: Sloth (acedia) Lesser cannon-fodder demons corresponding to the sins should be easy to pick; there are a lot of those writeups around. Chastity (opposite of Lust): While most directly associated with priests or nuns, any dedicated ascetic person might qualify; some students of meditation, martial arts or various Eastern philosophies (especially hinduists and buddhist monks) might have a self-imposed vow of chastity as well as possibly believers in traditional family values, or some members of royalty. Temperance (opposite of Gluttony): Some icons of self control might be judges, samurai, some of the examples under Chastity, or anyone with an amazing level of self restraint. Charity (opposite of Greed): The essence of philantrophy, a poor person who shares with the needful might qualify more than a businessman who donates to get tax deductions and good PR. Diligence (opposite of Sloth): Any hard working dedicated person, this may be the easiest one to pick. Maybe a GM? Patience (opposite of Wrath): Mediators, diplomats, and hostage negotiators might be some examples. Kindness (opposite of Envy): Most of those people might not be very famous, even if their closest friends would know. People who dedicate time and effort to do volunteer community work could all qualify. Humility (opposite of Pride): Might be hard for DEMON to locate, since those people would actively avoid publicity even more than the others - could possibly be anyone, since few people would know about such an unassuming person. Traditionally, servants of great mystics are renowned for their humility in the source material, and inscrutable masters of martial arts that spend their time tending bonsai trees might qualify. This all supposes a rather broad definition of the classical virtues, well aside from religious and philosophical debate.