Doc Democracy

Re: What is the best way to stat out a minefield? This is how I would go about it. Selective Area Effect Killing Attack, charges (based on how many mines), continuous, uncontrolled (or is that 5th editionitis?) activate on 8 or less (+1 per hex travelled within the area of effect), Limited effect (-1 per 1 that a mine clearing skill roll made by, -1 per 2 for normal perception dedicated to spotting mines), only for those travelling on the ground. As a GM I would not want to plot out the minefield and then plot out the movement, so I would rely on a random roll based on travel speed and how good the person was at looking for mines. I would give bonuses to those following a trail-blazer on the activation roll (they might still trigger mines just off the safe path if they are careless). My idea is an area within which there is an attack ongoing. It only shows effects when it gets triggered by people moving across the surface of the minefield and it can be traversed safely if people take their time. You can model more densely packed minefields by changing the modifier for movement (+2 or +3 per hex traversed). You might, if you have the will, add a triggered autofire - adding an extra attack based on even faster movement, though I think that any movement will be curtailed by the first attack (though a second attack may be activated by movement due to knockback). Of course, when the charges run out it means the minefield is clear.... Doc

Re: Activating Power Sets The question would be, what is the downside of the energy form? If they are simply additional powers that the character can use by activating the form (0 action) whenever desired, then there is no real justification for them costing less. The downside might be that the activation requires some action (verbal or movement) and so might be denied these powers by knowledgable opponents. As such, this does sound like OIEID (Only in Energy ID) and the switch to that is necesary before accessing those powers. You might buy one or two complications that also have the OIEID limitation. Doc

Re: Record-able Mind Control

Re: Record-able Mind Control Isn't that old school thinking? :-) It is a complication. People being drawn to you due to your voice need not be a disadvantage but it can complicate things. If the character wants to derive constant advantage with no complication then there needs to be points paid. But, like I said "if it is simply colour" then a complication can deal with the slight good and bad things. IMO anyway. Doc

Re: What's a good way to learn the game? Like many games, the best way to learn is to play. The most difficult part of most systems (because it is most important to the players) is combat. In HERO that is exacerbated because it allows you to tinker with stuff other systems provide fully formed and immutable. As such, choices for new players and GMs sometimes seem overwhelming. I would suggest that you use the sample characters either in the books or in any one of the sites where afficionados such as Susano and Killer Shrike have been providing pre-built characters for many years now. Provide your players with these pre-built characters and find an old adventure you can use (either an old Champions adventure or one of the new ones - I would not sweat what edition they were using - it is mostly backward compatible in gameplay) and then run through it. Once you use the powers etc in gameplay then you will begin to read the rules in earnest and will find that, in essence, HERO is quite a simple game with lots of options. When you have done this a few times you will find that you want to do your own characters and, because you understand how things work, will have a reasonably good idea of what you need to use to accomplish stuff using the rules. And, if you get stuck (and we all do now and again) then the boards are a useful sounding board for suggestions. Doc

Re: Record-able Mind Control Like many things this comes down with what you want to achieve by it. If it is simply colour - that many people she comes across will be drawn to her due to her voice then it is a complication "Distinctive Looks, voice, common". If you want to accomplish more than that then there are all kinds of complications. If you can record a command and anyone who hears it will be susceptible then I think you are looking at an area effect, continuous, uncontrollable attack triggered by the playing of the recording. This is only stoppable by someone breaking the focus...expensive but then it should be. Doc

Re: Complications It depends on how it was played I think. I think the change was made to defend against the charage that you had to cripple your character before you could make it effective. Changing the name and changing the emphasis simply addresses that charage before it is made. In practice you may still take the maximum points available if you agree to all the complications. If you want fewer complications then you pay them off using your base points. If you want more complications then you can take them and, depending on your GM, might even get points for them. Doc Doc

Re: What do you think of Endurance Reserve in 6E? But charges are a limitation until you get to a certain point - END Reserves are a cost right from the very first point... Dont have an answer, just a frustration. :-)

Re: What do you think of Endurance Reserve in 6E? End Reserves (formerly known as END Batteries) have always been on the edge of munchkinny stuff. They are a good way of producing certain effects but the pricing becomes difficult - if the prices are more expensive than limited END and REC then why would you buy the power and if they are cheaper then the temptation of replacing END and REC for the standard characteristics is strong... I think that we need to think what we want to use the power for. Many people use them to limit the availability of a power - small battery that charges to get back to the level needed to discharge but then you are paying points to limit a power. :-) I think that if the idea is to have a seperate pool then you can use normal END and REC limited to reflect that, if you want the END 'protected' then you need an advantage for that. Ever since I was weaned off using END Battery to maximise my characters END profile and combat performance, I have rarely ever used this power... Doc

Re: How would I do this? I began to answer this and work got in the way! Neil has raised the basic points but it gets worse at bigger DC levels. I was thinking of a 10D6 attack. With everything even, a roll of 11 gets you 30 STUN; a roll of 10 gets you 40 STUN. Rolling 3 or more under your target number gives you maximum damage. This makes OCV rather valuable as it does with skill levels. You need about 18D6 to average 60 STUN (an additional 40 points on the 10D6 attack) or +3 OCV (an additional 15 points on the standard CV). I think you need to think about the costs or the numbers for your MoS. One additional damage per 2 MoS puts the costs at +6 OCV or an additional 30 points - more equitable. Doc

Re: How would I do this? My first comment would be to take care not to introduce more bureaucracy to the game. HERO is a detail game and is already bursting with detail (which can slow down gameplay). Make sure that whatever you do works to streamline rather than to add to the bureaucracy. My second would be that you have the potential for doing that - you are removing a dice roll and counting scenario that takes some people a lot of time - replacing that with multiplication (if that would have to be done on the fly) might take even more. I would think that a handy reference sheet might take away that risk. You have to be careful in such fundamental changes to the way things work because it changes the balance of costs. In your change you would make the purchase of OCV and DCV more important than they are at the moment as they would then become more valuable in the delivery and resistance of damage as well as its avoidance. This might mean that they would need to cost more points. You need to think carefull about the combat sequence and what you want. Currently it goes Hero decides to use a power If it is an offensive power the HERO determines whether he hits (use OCV versus DCV) If the power hits the opponent the HERO determines damage (rolls and adds up xD6) The defender subtracts defences from the damage and applies it to STUN and BODY (defences) See if you can provide a similar sequence before thinking about the detail of how you would do it, then you can see if it makes sense or puts too much emphasis on any one skill or characteristic. Doc

Re: Mental Powers Contest

Re: Special Effects Interactions: Burden on the defender or the attacker? You might want to read the thread When SFX lie started by Sean Waters - a detailed discussion on SFX and their game effects....

Re: Circle of Protection I have a question. Can you attack through the barrier? The disadvantage approach is the most elegant for most of the traditional, only versus type of magics. It means that you are concentrating on what the limitations of the protection are rather than the mechanics of trying to affect someone else. So. If demons are limted to not crossing pentacles, then anyone who can achieve a pentacle can trap a demon. However, one tradition may create pentacles where each point must contain a different elemental substance, another might require a particular kind of chalk, another might require perfectly drawn lines etc etc. It is a nice way to mix up the magic without breaking the fundamental rule affecting the demons. If you wanted a way of keeping safe then I might suggest EDM. You are moved to a visible but unachievable destination for the protected against group to go. If someone within the dimension breaks the boundary then everyone is moved back to where they started. Shooting attacks out of the pocket dimension may be more difficult and might possibly break the rule about breaking the boundary.... Doc

Re: Enatangles with mass I would think about having a telekinesis, continuous, physical manifestation, linked with a TK that adds to other slimes. On its own it does the TK, if it meets another slime the added TK becomes cumulative. If casual Str is equal to the TK then it disappears in a puff of SFX. Doc

Re: The Hero System is bland and over complicated

Re: A Whole New World That doesn't suggest a story. The sun disappearing into the pylons suggests a story at some point and something different about the world. Right now I am thinking that this world sounds like a 64 pin computer chip....

Re: A Whole New World ...into the pylons??

Re: A Whole New World I think Rex meant what was on the bottom of the flat earth (or that's how I read it)...

Re: A Whole New World I agree with Rex. I think you should design the bad guy with close reference to the world you are creating. They might have something to do with the flat earth (upsidedowners) or the pylons (pylon flying lizard men). They should be closely tied into the building and design of the background. Doc

Re: room filled with water

Re: END and Equipment? I think Beast is saying that END would be useful in a modern setting where the GM worked with encumbrance and long term END. I also think that he is saying that you could charge END for using a weapon that the character does not have familiarity with. Doc

Re: Speed and a Deck of Playing Cards

Re: Speed and a Deck of Playing Cards I used a deck of cards with my recent Day after Ragnarok game. It was an interesting change of pace. There are some issues with it. I did not sweat about numbers the same, after all what is the difference in a player having two nines or having a nine and a ten? If you start worrying about this kind of thing then you might as well stay with the more rigid SPD chart. When you add complexity you make it less worth. I used Kings as extra recoveries and jokers as the trigger to re-shuffle the deck. For mooks, I drew cards for the groups rather than individually. It does give a very different feel to combat and it allows for somethings that the normal chart does not - for example a player being able to choose an extra card and discard the one he does not want. I think you should try it - it is something that is easy to use for a session and tinker with or simply discard if you do not like it. Doc

Re: Cloak of Belief (Faith)