Doc Democracy

Re: Facing and Passing However, to address Sean's original question, I think I would like to propose a change to Interpose. If a hero is defending someone in HtH combat they may try to interpose themselves between the attackers and the person being defended. The Hero can add 1 to the targets DCV for every 1 reduction to the hero's DCV up to half the hero's DCV. He may further increase the target's DCV by 1 for every 2 DCV reduction to the hero's DCV. Any attack made on the target that misses due to the interposition hits the hero instead. The target's DCV is reduced by 1 for every additional opponent after the first for all attacks made on the target. I reckon this would get to the point of the defence - making opponents miss to the point of taking hits and ignoring your own defences. Doc

Re: Facing and Passing Had to go read it, not rules I am familiar with. Having done so, I think you are being generous. I can see the usual 1m being expanded to 2m as a guarded area - the defender moving 1m back or forth to cover the extra area. However, I do not see that holding a 1m weapon would gain 2m, the defender apparently now able to move better now that he has a sword?? And a 2m spear would increase mobility again? I think I would stick with a 1m addition to the area covered and I would not have the opponent maintain an additional 1m beyond that. I could be convinced to go a bit over the 9.5m but not above the 12m... Doc

Re: Facing and Passing Not going to get too much more drawn into the detail of this example - not finding it useful but the wrong maths needs addressing. The radius with a +1 reach would be 3m (2m + 1m) not 4m. Thus the circumference to traverse would be (Pi * Diameter)*0.5 = (Pi * 6m)*0.5 = (Pi*3)m or about 9.5m. Still more than a half move...

Re: Immunity to Drains

Re: Facing and Passing

Re: Facing and Passing

Re: Immunity to Drains I agree with Neil but I think there is room in the negotiation for an absolute effect for the GM to agree with the player that he will showcase the immunity as often as possible but one in ten games or fewer will feature someone or something that blows the immunity away. The story will be all about that and so the character gets spotlight but at the expense of his feature power...

Re: Immunity to Drains

Re: Immunity to Drains I'm not trying to make a scientific thesis, just a good enough comic book case for an immunity to drains. In that case it means whatever I need it to mean as long as the narrative holds up most of the way... Doc

Re: Immunity to Drains

Re: Immunity to Drains

Re: Immunity to Drains Hmm. Cannot be drained. I am an avatar of antimatter. My creator has sent me to this world to assess its value. Drains are an application of anti-matter and so may even strengthen me. As a construct, poisons and gases do not effect me. Doc

Re: Immunity to Drains What about a constant always on dispel versus drains? it is power specific and you could pitch it such that most drains would have little or no effect. Doc

Re: VPPs and Variable SFX

Re: VPPs and Variable SFX You know. When talking superheroes, pointing to the real world is usually the wrong way to work anything out... Rockets fly by throwing mass in one direction (not fire) to propel the rocket in the opposite direction. Rockets are a brute force thing. The fire is only the effect you get from air being superheated in the process. What is important is that the rocket is ejecting mass (becoming lighter) the longer the thrust continues - Human Torch does not lose mass in that way. Flying through being lighter than air is not contrary to real world physics but if I limited myself to real world physics then very few of my character concepts would ever become characters... Doc

Re: High Range Radio Perception with visual display? Nothing more than focus already does. If I choose an OAF that is not specific to me then anyone that picks it up can use the power, no? So by having an OAF, I can share the power with others, I can also share the power with an OIF, it is just more difficult to remove it from me. This is slightly different way of sharing - other people that can crowd round can share without having to take it off me. The others are advantaged in that they don't have to take it off me but are limited by the fact that they have to live with my perception rolls for that sense, regardless if they would be better or not. I think it is a wash. Doc

Re: High Range Radio Perception with visual display? That is all SFX justification Christopher. If the kid was a robot then what he could do would depend on the powers bought. However, if the robot displayed what he recieves then what everyone else saw would depend on the perception of the robot. he is not giving the power for others to use, he is simply displaying what he percieves using that hardware. Doc

Re: High Range Radio Perception with visual display?

Re: Another 'Old School' 3rd edition question about END cost Not irrelevant but what it comes down to is whether the energy is spent cutting the surface or making the hole. I would imagine that cutting the surface can be made easier without increasing the energy spent by focussing the energy to smaller surface area and so increasing the psi of the attack. However that is no help at making the hole.... Adamantium claws may not be a realistic example but it is a good source material one...

Re: Another 'Old School' 3rd edition question about END cost I'm with Joe here. I think that an absolute answer in HERO is likely to find itself somewhere where the answer is absolutely wrong. On the face of it you might think that it makes sense to spend more END cutting through higher defences. However, that can be entirely dependent on the tools available to you. If you have ultra-sharp adamantium claws, that might help you cut through rock as if it were dirt. The effort involved would all be due to moving the earth and thus the END involved should be based on the effort, not the sharpness of your tools... Doc

Re: High Range Radio Perception with visual display? Hmm. I am wondering if we are getting stuck on SFX and not quite getting to the underlying game mechanic. Essentially you want to share your perception of the world. If you want someone to be able to 'see through your eyes' what power would we use? Mind Link? Clairsentience? Telepathy? Obviously these would all have to come properly limited. I was thinking that you might have a small area effect Telepathy with a focus. So you would be able to transmit your perception to others that were close enough to be able to see the object through which that took place. I chose Telepathy as it is more possible to broadcast to anyone that comes close. I discarded the possibility of perceptions usable by others etc as this means that the perception of everyone is based on the ability of the person that has the HRRP... Doc

Re: Help with Adding Damage And there is the answer I was looking for - you don't know either. You have the same vague suspicions as me (someone at some time saw game balance issues) but no real examples to throw out. That's cool. However, I wonder if anyone does have examples. It is a rule I honoured more often in the breach than in the observance and explicitly broke it for an Ultraboy style character (3rd edition - small EC of powers good enough to be heroic level character - large MP with ultra slots each of which took an EC power to superheroic levels) Doc

Re: VPPs and Variable SFX Wolfgar I think that this highlights one of the main burdens that HERO places on its GMs. The system does not restrict what can be built or the effects that can be put together because it is supposed to be open to replicate anything. As such, consistency is something that a GM has to add to his campaign. So certain effects may be done in certain ways and the GM has to ask the right questions when builds are sent to him for approval to ensure that the system effects written down match the game effects that result. If the power, as described by a player, could have broader effects then it is for the player to justify the broader effects or to limit the power. Drain flight may be a power for the scion of an air god. This scion may, at any time, remove permission to fly in Air God's sky. Such a broad magical ability may impact over a wide range of SFX that lead to flight and the best way to do that is to tackle the underlying game effect. However, it all comes down to the build on the paper as to whether it makes sense in the context of the character presented. Doc

Re: Help with Adding Damage Anyone want to venture a thought to why this might be? Would you be able to abuse the combination more if they were in frameworks?? Is it just a game balance thing because it will surely seem odd in gameplay. "Yeah, I know you can lift a building but when you are using your claws none of that strength matters...." Doc Doc

Re: Knockout Gas If you are a brick, this knockout gas will not have really impacted on you and even if it had, one recovery should probably easily set you back on your feet. And there would be no sluggishness - just close to unconsciousness - they are different things though they can masquerade as close cousins in a game.