Doc Democracy

Is it only here that it is reported that Mr Trump said that grocery stores would work with federal workers and not charge them for food because "that is how it works"? Is it not noteworthy that that kind of statement by the President is no longer noteworthy??

My problem with "may take some time" is the impact that has on the game. Does it mean that every two or three sessions the player has no character to play? Does it mean they go to a different character? Does that not mean the player is already getting the benefit of switching anyway? There are lots of little details that would swing my judgement. I could be persuaded either way though...

My group only plays about every two weeks or so. So your 3-10 episodes probably brackets what I am thinking. If the character dies about every 3 episodes (with an episode taking one or two sessions each) then I reckon I would be looking for a build that allows switching powers. If it was every 10 episodes, I would be tempted to handwave it.

Why is it not simply flight through an OAF focus usable by anyone. I might build it in a multipower, like Sean but you only switch to TK when you remote control. I would put limitations on the ability to switch between flight and TK to represent how difficult it might be to take control. Doc

I have a question, as the player, how often do you expect your character to die? This will dictate my response...

Sounds to me like a port of Runequest (specifically RQIII) very similar principle.

You say that like it is a strange occurrence... ? Are not all gamer groups like that??

How often are you thinking. I am thinking rare enough to be a colour +0 limitation than worth points. If you say that it burns out on 18 then it occurs once in every 216 times. That feels less rare than you want. You can (because it is gaining no points) stipulate any kind of situation. So you might say that one time you roll an 18. The wizard feels some feedback through his focus, a sign that the core has destabilised. If he continues to use it, it might break irrevocably (when you roll another 18 - for a 1 in 47,000 chance). There might be circumstances that would increase the roll, trying to counterspell something too powerful causes you to take +2 on your next roll etc. Thus the player might take some risks, knowing that he might deprive himself of that resource. Doc

I fully endorse the idea that you want to give the players the information. It is slightly more work but if you had four versions of the truth that they might get depending on what they try and how successful their rolls are you can drive the scenario in a couple of different ways... Doc

My immediate thought was that the focus should be an END reserve. The REC would only occur when the wizard does "something" and it gains END. Middle level powers can only burn END from the END battery. Every time the REC is used it will have a chance to burn out. If it does, the wizard will need to do "something else" to make it work again. You could have different END reserves for different spell groups, it is bureaucratic but it almost feels right for magic to be bureaucratic... Doc

I am working with the players to turn concepts into actual characters. As they are mostly not HERO afficionados, I am looking at ways to get an idea of how they might work in combat. As such I have written a short narrative of an early gathering of the heroes as a group. I am hoping this engages the players to either adopt the narrative or change it and that this will provide me with more information on what needs to be on the character sheet. I thought I should kick it out here too. I might do one or two more before I get to the point of generating and posting the character sheets. Prologue-part 1: A sensational beginning What a disaster. This was supposed to be the first triumphant meeting of Britain’s greatest heroes. It was supposed to provide the broadsheets with a morale boosting story to communicate to the the citizens of the United Kingdom. The Empire might be fading but Britain still wields power and influence in the world. That is what is was supposed to be. Mr Chamberlain promised them that when they signed up, he called them The Union, to represent standing together, joining things, didn’t hurt, in Mr Churchill’s mind, that it also weakened the brand of those upstart socialists who were determined to unravel the fabric of British society and hasten the end of Empire. It should have been easy, Chamberlain’s team had uncovered a plot to subvert the King. The fascists in Europe had found a siren, someone who could bind a man’s heart and twist him round and apparently they were going to use her to bring the King to their cause. All the Union had to do was stop them meeting. They knew how she was coming to the country, she was American and the fascists had got their network over there to provide her with protection, should they be intercepted. The plane she was supposed to be on arrived in London empty, not even a pilot on board, though it flew and landed perfectly. The hunt through London was frustrating. Tank, Robbie and Colonel Mustard were frustrated as the promised opportunity to confront these fascists constantly slipped away, each lead vanishing into the London fog. It was almost as if they knew the Union was coming, knew what they were going to do. The date of the annual Guildhall City of London dinner was fast approaching and the Union had not found where she was being kept or even who was protecting her. The team decided that the leak had to be somewhere in Chamberlain’s office and so, with two days left, the former Army Chaplain, known to his fellows as Charlie Foxtrot, delved into his network of former soldiers, clerics, medics, charity workers and friendly civil servants. It is amazing what this network was able to accomplish or find out. A day later they had a lead, one not being preferred by Chamberlain’s office. A huge man with a strange French accent had been seen somewhere in Brixton, he was accompanied by an albino man who did not speak at all but, when seen in the gloom, his skin seemed to almost glow. They had taken residence in a house over a fortnight previously and recently had friends appear. Plans were drawn up. Charlie would approach them directly. Offer them the chance to go home, the game was up, and while nothing had been done unlawfully, they should take their corrupted woman back to wherever she came from. Charlie would be accompanied by Colonel Mustard as they should be able to get out of trouble as quickly as they got into it. Robbie, Tank and Tam would be stationed close by, ready to intervene if these colonials decided to fight. It was obvious that the big man was puzzled at the appearance of Charlie at his doorstep but the albino behind him was quickest to react. His clothes burned away to reveal a being of light rather than flesh and his skin began to pulse with fascinating colours, making the muscles of both Charlie and the Colonel go slack. Robbie jumped the gun, he went blazing into the house, firing at the light being, The Fascinator as he came to be known. Tank followed up as he heard the sounds of fighting, he crashed through the back entrance. Tam decided to scout, he cast Kelly’s Eye on a large diamond he always carried with him. When placed against his own right eye, the diamond merged and allowed him to see right through walls. The problem was that it also saw through skin and other things. He was able to see that there were three other people in the house, two of them upstairs, one of whom was bound to be the Siren. Tam let Tank know to head upstairs. He reckoned Robbie and the Colonel should be able to keep the muscle busy and while Tank distracted the upstairs guard, he would pop into the house, grab the Siren, and get out of there. He blew on his chanter and imps popped into existence both beside him and 60 feet away within the house across the street. These imps could create a gateway that Tam could just walk through and he waited until the guard was drawn away by Tank to make his move. Charlie came to his senses as everything went to hell in a hand basket again. Robbie was flying past, pouring eldritch fire into the man of light, the Colonel vanished in a burst of speed, heading into the house to engage the big man. There was another figure in a back room lurking, apparently hiding from Tank who had burst through the back door and was heading up the stairs to confront a strange clockwork type figure heading in the opposite direction. When the big man fighting Robbie turned into Gator, Charlie thought things would be fine, that played into Robbie’s strength, he could control reptiles, surely that would make everything easier. Charlie phased into his Sanctuary mode. Most things would now not affect him and he could walk relatively unhindered through the chaos of battle. He strode into the house. The Fascinator had fallen under Robbie’s assault, the Gator was now looking at fighting both Robbie and the Colonel while Tank battled the Clockwork Man, machine guns rattling against rods and pistons while metal muscles creaked as they smashed down on the plates of armour protecting Tank. Where was Tam? On the roof of the adjoining building Tam removed Kelly’s Eye and cast a quick enchantment to provide him with protection against the probable charms of someone called a Siren before trilling a command on the chanter to the imps to create his gateway. He steeped through and faced the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She sang to him, her music disrupting his control of the imps and, despite his protection, causing him to pause, hesitate and actually consider helping her to escape. It would be easy, the others were occupied and she wasn’t dangerous, just a misunderstood woman being used by these brutes. Charlie passed by Robbie, blessing his reptile control powers to give them a boost, and Robbie tried to get into the mind of Gator. Colonel Mustard threw a trench foot grenade into the room the other person was hiding, it should cover the entire room, causing anyone in there some difficulty in moving or acting against the Union. Tank was gaining the upper hand and he presumed Tam was in the process of taking custody of the Siren. It was there he was probably needed most. The Colonel, acting at his blindingly fastest, had followed up the trenchfoot grenade with one of his glue bombs which even Tank would take time to escape from. He had ignored the potential that the bound opponent might still be a threat. Stupid. He would not have been hindered by those bombs, it had not entered his mind that someone else might be similarly advantaged. As he passes Tank and the Clockwork Man he can hear singing above the noise of the fray and then hears the Colonel swear. Robbie has indeed controlled the big gator man but has sent it crashing into the Colonel, it took him by surprise and how has him in its arms, crushing and biting him. Those jaws have caused massive gashes in the shoulders of the Colonel and are working up to taking his head off. Charlie does not hesitate but rushes back down the stairs and touches the Colonel, granting him Sanctuary, that will keep him safe while his speedy metabolism heals him. In the meantime Robbie has sent the Gator crashing into the back of Tank, swinging that battle back in favour of the bad guys. Charlie begins to help Tank but realises that he needs to address the source of the problem, the shadowy figure trapped in the Colonel’s glue. It is obvious his power is not obstructed by being trapped and Charlie needs to deal with him before he causes this to become the kind of situation he took his name from, an army slang for when everything goes wrong. Tam, with the help of his magical protection, shakes off the influence of the Siren, long enough to switch protection from the effects of the Siren song to not being able to hear it at all. With his hearing blocked he sees just a well-dressed middle class American woman. Not particularly beautiful, nothing special. Nothing threatening. He steps forward to grab her and his head explodes with pain as he is attacked from above. There was another guard! On the stairs Tank wrestles with two opponents. Neither of them are able to beat him individually but together it is a struggle. He reckons if he focuses on the Clockwork Man then he might finish him quickly, allowing him to concentrate on this reptile opponent. It is at that moment that Robbie pours Eldritch fire into him and the addition of a third opponent quickly reduces him to unconsciousness. Charlie sees him collapse and he realises he needs to rescue him, wading through the melee and takes Tank into the Sanctuary before rushing upstairs to find Tam. He arrives just in time to see the Cougar leap from rafters onto Tam’s back. The claws rake down his back exposing bone and muscle from his head to his waist. Charlie does not hesitate, he pulls Tam into the Sanctuary and shouts to Robbie to join him. It is time to retreat. It is obvious they have not worked together before and there was more threat in this house than anticipated. When Robbie arrives, he pulls him into the Sanctuary, steps in himself and closes the door. When he opens the door again it will be to the small church garden in Ely where he first found his vocation after the horrors of the Great War. It always opens there and nowhere else. They will have to pull themselves together and get back to London.

christopher is right, the comic books are an inspiration, not a rulebook. There are tropes in the comics that cause games real problems, revolving doors on prisons is the one I have eliminated from my games.

Good grief, a complete apology on the internet. I nearly choked. Kudos, Duke. I think the earlier posts should stay just to reinforce the value of the last two in this thread. Doc

May be a great system but as a version of Champions it sucks bigtime! ? ?

GURPS.....

I will bet there is a third edition rule I am using that I have never noticed changing. I play HERO, editions are irrelevant and ephemeral except to give everyone a base to start from. It is us to blame for paragraph long powers, we love to tinker and argue about the minutia - Steve simply tried to make it all clear. That took a LOT of words. Doesn't mean you have to use them. I don't have a favourite edition, I play HERO and I think arguing about details is pointless, especially as you can now download and play any edition you want.

Useful, I tend to make this a problem for the players rather than me. I ask that each character has a reason why they would want to team up/ help at least two other members of the group and I do not allow a closed loop of three players. This would help them think about ties that would work for two or more characters in the team.

There are huge threads on the boards about this stuff. If you want details you can go find it there. In essence the idea was to seek to price the characteristics on the value they provided in game. DEX does not just impact on who goes first in a fight but adds to an impressive number of skills and thus is valuable in buying up if you have a lot of these. Obviously if combat is important then not being stunned in a fight is quite useful, that is reflected in the cost (which reduced because CON no longer provided any figured characteristics). EGO is very useful in combat if one of the opponents is looking to use a number of mental powers or presence attacks. It no longer changes mental combat values. Again, the price now reflects that. 6th edition's biggest change (IMO) was the removal of figured characteristics and the revaluation of primary characteristics was the result of the necessary rebalancing. Doc

I might be wrong Bolo but I am not sure Massey’s perception of killer GM was particularly aimed at you. It may be more geared toward some of the more punishing scenarios being suggested along the lines of paper tiger villains to catch the players out.

It never hurts to underestimate what the players understand about the plot or how the campaign guidelines relate to any particular scene. Not until you have had several sessions over as decent period of time....

Howmuch you willing to pay? ?

I do not entirely disagree, however, I think this might belong in Die Hard or Lethal Weapon but not in Superman. The killing of a suspect warrants investigation, even if you were a mandated officer of the law with the right to use lethal force. A vigilante cannot be allowed to function as judge, jury and executioner, even if MurderClown does have a fantastically high body count. Obviously if he was killed while in the process of killing others, that is a defence in court, as would having no viable alternative. If neither of those things were true the law would mandate the prosecution of a killer. heroes are heroic because they effectively operate outside the law and NEEDto demonstrate that they are not even a minor threat to life. Especially in the context of secret IDs, heroes need to stay safely on the side of no prosecution.

I guess we are going to have to agree to disagree. To me the metagaming is blatant, to you it is the acceptance of a completely different perspective on world. I understand your point, I just do not agree with it. ? Vive la difference!

I think it is because you are working on certainties that would not exist in any real-life situation (even a real-life comic book one). In my opinion, the players are making decisions that their characters could never make with the same level of certainty.

To me you have a compound power. One is actually moving an object from one place to another (teleport as you say - but this should be exactly as you built teleport) , the second kicks in when the object vanishing is greater than 200kg and you move an item to the ethereal plane (that is Extra-Dimensional Movement, usable as an attack) and create a barrier to replace the vanished object. I would be looking at a multipower with NCC over the slots - what happens all depends on the nature of the object to be vanished. Doc