Doc Democracy

Re: Multiple Power Attacks: How much is too much? My only big issue with MPA is linked to that of the STUN lotto. It makes it more likely that you are going to win big in any one attack action if you are firing several killing attacks. Doc

Re: Can this be done x 2 This is a situation where a custom character sheet would be almost a must have.... Doc

Re: Can this be done x 2

Re: Accelerate

Re: Accelerate Movement in HERO is always something that annoyed me and so I tended to ignore it and fudge velocities etc for what seemed dramatic and appropriate. Most of the time I haven't needed to get into the details. The fact that someone moving more slowly in velocity but in bigger jumps can catch someone because their phases overlap - an artefact of moving in phase jumps rather than smoothly over time is just jarring. I am all for the simplicity of some of the rules as written but when they are examined in any detail, I do think they cause a lot of problems... Doc

Re: Spell Advice Look. If all you're going to do is repeat me... Doc

Re: Rolling lots of D6s There could be any number of ways that you might want to do it as GM. Rolling a set number and multiplying works. Using standard effect works. You might also want to check out a few threads on the boards that discuss using the success of the to hit roll to indicate the amount of damage done. Or you might come up with another system... Doc

Re: DEX vs. CSLs

Re: Various Powers at Edge of System You know, the idea is that we discuss stuff. If you put something up for discussion then you have to expect people to discuss it - even if you dont like what they say. As you point out to Treb, you can simply ignore his comments and move on to the ones you want to read. I think you need to lighten up a bit, it's only a game.... Doc

Re: Various Powers at Edge of System The abilities above, I think, will rest on how you decide to do your absolute abilities in your game. I know that I could make all of this work in my game and, in play, would do this. I'm not sure you would accept the builds as, from my experiece, you would indicate that they fell under one or more fallacies. A number of other listed abilities are almost simply GM discretion stuff: A GM can decide that any of these things are possible in his game and come up with a costing. It's nothing that you buy off the shelf or that would be guaranteed portability between campaigns. Time travel and resurrection are tricky things to model (and to play) but are not impossible to cost. In most discussions on here requests for builds are most often met with - give us some context on why you want to build it, how it is to be used - and then you get comments and suggestions and often disagreements. You have presented a list of things that the system does not provide off the shelf for no (seeming) particular reason other than "I wonder if this will break things?" Doc

Re: DEX vs. CSLs In my mind it never hurts to examimne even the things that we hold as fundamental. Always a pleasure to discuss with you Mr Steamteck sir. Doc

Re: DEX vs. CSLs Please let me say that I dont think levels and DEX are equivalent. They perform things slightly differently. The one thing they both do is alter CV. What I am saying is that requiring one player to purchase a more expensive way to increase CV simply because they chose the 'wrong' special effect for the increase. While that might be fixed by changing the balance between DEX and levels, I'm not sure I think the role of the GM is to dictate such things, just to point out the differences of approach and what those might mean playing in his game... In fact I actually did exactly that in a thread recently. There is a small amount of handwavium as described in Fantasy Hero. You buy enough DCV to agree it as absolute. If an attack never hits then it also never does damage. The rest is all in the description of the effects. As you say, we are not going to convince each other and I'm sure we both enjoy playing HERO in the way we want. I suppose the purpose of talking is to ensure that we get insight into how other people play the game. Doc

Re: DEX vs. CSLs So you dont use energy blast for anything except energy blasts?? This is pretty much core HERO...even direct reading from the rulebook says that. Why should it be different for one category of things?? Doc

Re: DEX vs. CSLs I guess it depends on whether you believe that characteristics should follow the HERO philosophy of mechanics do not equal effects or that they are unique in the system in that they are (always?) exactly what they represent. Personally I think, that if we are to keep characteristics in the form they are in they should come within the HERO philosophy of SFX being laid on top of a set of mechanics. I do not think that any player should have his mechanics dictated to him because of his choice of background to his character. If he wants a high OCV in combat you can accomplish that two ways, he should not be charged more points simply because the GM thinks that the description of the character means that he should purchase the high OCV via skill levels rather than DEX. Doc

Re: Spell Advice Hmmm. Now, if you look at the VPP and the restrictions you have, why would the wizard not cast the tricky spell? He can cast it as often as he likes and allows the use of any spell in the spellbook. As long as he can do that then his whole spellbook is available all the time?? What is the disadvatnage of casting the Tricky Spell? Longer Time (two spells rather than one)? More Tiring? Trickier to cast - spellcasting roll trickier 1/5 pts rather than 1/10?? If this was so, I might allow the same limitation on the VPP control cost even although it increases the flexibility, it does this in a limited way. So the availability of the Tricky Spell would change how flexible the use of the spell book is, not actually change anything else. Obviously that is all mechanical - in game, the wizard would cast the tricky spell and get the results he was looking for. Doc

Re: Yes, but what about the other guys?

Re: Spell Advice So just to get this straight, George gets the spell (BODY 10) cast upon him. When it is cast he drops to BODY 7 (it hurts!) which he regains at natural rates. He has however a candle which, when lit, will provide him with 3 BODY. The candle cannot be lit until George is at 0 BODY. That cover it? I am thinking that it is healing that you have to look at. A 3D6 healing (standard effect) with a 1D6K side effect (standard effect), effect delayed until the recipient is at 0 BODY and the candle is lit. Doc

Re: New option: Absolute Abilties, help please

Re: New option: Absolute Abilties, help please Here's a question, not picking on Utech's mechanic here, pyro is just a convenient example. Would that absolute defence provide defence against Mentallo's 16D6 Mental Illusion of a fiery blast that does BODY damage to him? Absolutely or simply increase the multiple required to achieve the effect? Doc

Re: New option: Absolute Abilties, help please The problem with Invulnerability is that it is a very specific instance of an absolute. If such a mechanic is to be truly HERO, then we need a mechanic for absolutes so that things like invulnerability can be done (an absolute defence). Thus I would be against granting Chris Goodwin his power/machanic labelled invulnerability which had invulnerability style effects in the game. I would be more likely to welcome something that discussed absolutes and how any power/ability might be made absolute for a particular game (such as they have done in FH but possibly more comprehensive). So if you are going to pop that half-baked idea in to brown it up then it needs switching from specific to general instances if it is not to cause HERO indigestion. Doc

Re: What costing for noncombat movement without penalty? I like this. It is like the Strength table, the colour (travelling speed, lifting) works for the genre stuff while the game mechanic aspect is based on the damage caused. I think I will use this in my games though might have to give a thought for heroic characters - for supers and vehicles I have no doubts as to whether it will work... Doc

Re: Yes, but what about the other guys?

Re: New option: Absolute Abilties, help please Hmmm. So you reckon damage reduction is too expensive for most campaigns? You reckon that's supposed to price it out of the reach of PCs or to try and campaign proof it so that high point games still see it as a significant purpose. 3/4 damage reduction is, after all, a pretty absolute kind of power.... Doc

Re: New option: Absolute Abilties, help please

Re: New option: Absolute Abilties, help please It is an interesting system and granular (which makes modelling stuff much easier) but there would have to be lots more guidance on the costing campaign by campaign. ED gets broken down into quite a few categories (fire/sonics/cold etc) PD gets broken down into much fewer and so physical immunities would be more expensive? It would be 10 points per point of ED immunity and 10 points per point of PD immunity? You thought about how the physical side might break down? What about if you had 6DC immunity and 15 ED? Apply it all against the remaining 6D6? Doc