Digest Archive vol 1 Issue 303
From: owner-champ-l-digest@sysabend.org
Sent: Thursday, April 29, 1999 5:03 PM
To: champ-l-digest@sysabend.org
Subject: champ-l-digest V1 #303
champ-l-digest Thursday, April 29 1999 Volume 01 : Number 303
In this issue:
Re: Recognition & Reputation Comments
Re: say INT ain't so
Re: <FHList> eating and sleeping
RE: Recognition and Reputation Comments
DBZ adaptions finished
Re: DBZ adaptions finished
Re: DBZ adaptions finished
Follower question:
RE: <FHList> eating and sleeping
Re: Follower question:
RE: Follower question:
Re: <FHList> eating and sleeping
Re: Follower question:
Re: Recognition & Reputation Comments
Re: <FHList> eating and sleeping
Re: Recognition & Reputation Comments
Re: <FHList> eating and sleeping
Recognition & Reputation Rules (second try)
Re: Follower question:
Re: Follower question:
Re: Follower question:
Re: Follower question:
Re: Follower question:
Re: Follower question:
Re: Pie-In-The-Face Flash
Banter in combat
Re: Banter in combat
Re: Recognition & Reputation Comments
Re: Banter in combat
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 13:13:33 -0400
From: Geoff Speare <geoff@igcn.com>
Subject: Re: Recognition & Reputation Comments
>I typed in the Recognition & Reputation rules as is from GAoC, with a few
>minor spelling & grammar corrections. I think they could probably use some
>revision, however, to fit into most campaigns.
One thing occurred to me: the statement that Recognition never goes down.
It seems to me that heroes and villains can "fade" from view, especially
when there are many other heroes and villains to distract the public. I
would consider assigning some sort of automatic time-based subtraction that
would simulate this; characters that don't stay in the public eye will
gradually lose Recognition. (Probably there would be a lower limit, say
half of the character's highest total, since truly great heroes are not
forgotten.) Since Recognition and Reputation points are connected,
Reputation points would have to go down as well, although this seems odd.
Geoff Speare
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 12:12:21 -0500 (CDT)
From: Curt Hicks <exucurt@exu.ericsson.se>
Subject: Re: say INT ain't so
> From: Bill Svitavsky <nbymail11@mln.lib.ma.us>
> I'd rather start an Einstein-like character with inappropriately high PER
> rolls and such, then add a few disads, then have to pay a fortune merely to
> define the character as a slower thinker.
>
Without disagreeing, this is the same thing that leads to 'DEX inflation'.
Curt
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 12:11:31 -0500
From: Lance Dyas <lancelot@radiks.net>
Subject: Re: <FHList> eating and sleeping
Brian Wawrow wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Although rarely a factor in supers games, I'm about to lean on my PC's with
> a little food and sleep deprivation. Has anyone dealt with this in a heroic
> game?
>
> I was thinking I would give a penalty to all PC rolls equal to the number of
> days without sleep squared. A successful meditation roll modified by this
> penalty allows the PC to function normally for the rest of the day.
>
> For food and water, I 'm not too sure. Any thoughts?
About 2 hours of Transcendental Meditation can completely replace the problem of
sleep deprevation
humans are way more vulnerable to lack of Water than food lack 5 to 7 x as
vulnerable
Just a thought or two to keep in mind
Lance
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 13:38:28 -0400
From: BILL SVITAVSKY <NBYMAIL11@mln.lib.ma.us>
Subject: RE: Recognition and Reputation Comments
Geoff Speare wrote:
One thing occurred to me: the statement that Recognition never goes down.
It seems to me that heroes and villains can "fade" from view, especially
when there are many other heroes and villains to distract the public. I
would consider assigning some sort of automatic time-based subtraction that
would simulate this; characters that don't stay in the public eye will
gradually lose Recognition. (Probably there would be a lower limit, say
half of the character's highest total, since truly great heroes are not
forgotten.) Since Recognition and Reputation points are connected,
Reputation points would have to go down as well, although this seems odd.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
That had occurred to me, too. I didn't bother to comment on it,
though, since it seems to me to be a lesser reflection of a
general limitation of the Hero System - it doesn't simulate
degradation in anything. Heroes can fade away, and they can
also get rusty at their skills, but Recognition and Experience
just keep going up.
Recognition is probably an easier fix, though. Maybe a Recognition
penalty based on the character's last appearance (based on the
time chart?) would do the job, with the lower limit Geoff suggests.
- - Bill Svitavsky
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 13:54:26 -0400 (EDT)
From: Michael Surbrook <susano@dedaana.otd.com>
Subject: DBZ adaptions finished
For thosewho are interested, I have finished my Hero System adaption of
Akira Toriyama's manga series Dragonball Z.
A few numbers to amuse you:
Lowest point character:
Chi-Chi & Mr. Satan (133 pts)
Highest point character:
Perfect Cell (2700)
Average point total of the named characters:
741 points
Number of characters totalling 1000 points or more:
7
Number of characters totalling 800 points or more:
12
- --
Michael Surbrook - susano@otd.com - http://www.otd.com/~susano/index.html
If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an
infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even
considering if there is a man on base. - Dave Barry
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 13:11:41 -0500
From: Lance Dyas <lancelot@radiks.net>
Subject: Re: DBZ adaptions finished
Michael I can barely stand to be in the room as my son watches this stuff...
thinking about them in the detail it would take to design the characters
would be
a horrible experience. I can't even distinguish the characters which are
supposed
to be adult versus those that aren't.... the title sounds like a gross game
of find
the giant lizard testicle, Im experiencing severe culture shock I think.
I love Vampire Hunter D. so I think it isnt a total genre problem.
Michael Surbrook wrote:
> For thosewho are interested, I have finished my Hero System adaption of
> Akira Toriyama's manga series Dragonball Z.
>
> A few numbers to amuse you:
>
> Lowest point character:
> Chi-Chi & Mr. Satan (133 pts)
>
> Highest point character:
> Perfect Cell (2700)
>
> Average point total of the named characters:
> 741 points
>
> Number of characters totalling 1000 points or more:
> 7
>
> Number of characters totalling 800 points or more:
> 12
>
> --
> Michael Surbrook - susano@otd.com - http://www.otd.com/~susano/index.html
>
> If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an
> infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even
> considering if there is a man on base. - Dave Barry
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 14:18:44 -0400 (EDT)
From: Michael Surbrook <susano@dedaana.otd.com>
Subject: Re: DBZ adaptions finished
On Thu, 29 Apr 1999, Lance Dyas wrote:
> Michael I can barely stand to be in the room as my son watches this stuff...
The American dubbing is rather wretched.
> thinking about them in the detail it would take to design the characters
> would be a horrible experience. I can't even distinguish the characters
> which are supposed to be adult versus those that aren't.... the title
> sounds like a gross game of find the giant lizard testicle, Im
> experiencing severe culture shock I think.
Or something.
> I love Vampire Hunter D. so I think it isnt a total genre problem.
Where as I don't like Vampire Hunter D very much at all.
- --
Michael Surbrook - susano@otd.com - http://www.otd.com/~susano/index.html
If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an
infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even
considering if there is a man on base. - Dave Barry
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 14:26:44 -0400 (EDT)
From: Michael Surbrook <susano@dedaana.otd.com>
Subject: Follower question:
I'mtrying to figure out if I bought a power properly. Basically, I gave a
character a small group of 0 point followers. The power looks like this:
25 Followers: Loyal Band of Gypsies (32 0 point base normals)
My question is, since a follower is base points/5, a 0 point base follower
costs nothing... right? All I did was pay +5 points for every x2
followers. Is this correct? Or should I pay a base 5 points for the
first follower regardless of his base cost?
- --
Michael Surbrook - susano@otd.com - http://www.otd.com/~susano/index.html
If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an
infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even
considering if there is a man on base. - Dave Barry
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 14:28:20 -0400
From: Brian Wawrow <bwawrow@fmco.com>
Subject: RE: <FHList> eating and sleeping
] About 2 hours of Transcendental Meditation can completely
] replace the problem of
] sleep deprevation
Well, yes and no. I've done some TM and I sure can't substitute it for a
good night's sleep. Of course, I would only have it at 8 or less. Thus the
successful meditation roll is required.
] humans are way more vulnerable to lack of Water than food
] lack 5 to 7 x as
] vulnerable
Right. I'm not so much worried about food and water for this specific
adventure. I'm planning on a two-week hike across the plains with a pack of
hounds [See Mike's Black Dog writeup] baying and sniffing every step of the
way. I think I'm also going to have people's REC stat drop by one or two
every day.
]
] Just a thought or two to keep in mind
]
] Lance
]
] <FHList> <FHList> <FHList> <FHList> <FHList> <FHList> <FHList>
] The Hero Fantasy mailing list is hosted by fhlist-owner@planetx.org.
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] See http://www.planetx.org/fhlist-archive for old messages
]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 14:32:43 -0400
From: Geoff Speare <geoff@igcn.com>
Subject: Re: Follower question:
>My question is, since a follower is base points/5, a 0 point base follower
>costs nothing... right?
There's no minimum cost, so you did it right.
Of course, now I'm kicking myself for not giving every one of my characters
a free Follower. :)
Geoff Speare
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 14:30:52 -0400
From: Brian Wawrow <bwawrow@fmco.com>
Subject: RE: Follower question:
In theory, you could just buy them all individually and pay nothing.
However, at this level you should treat them as much like DNPC's as
followers. They should pull their own weight and nothing more. You may even
want to just buy them as contacts.
] -----Original Message-----
] From: Michael Surbrook [mailto:susano@dedaana.otd.com]
] Sent: Thursday, April 29, 1999 2:27 PM
] To: Champions Mailing List
] Subject: Follower question:
]
]
] I'mtrying to figure out if I bought a power properly.
] Basically, I gave a
] character a small group of 0 point followers. The power
] looks like this:
]
] 25 Followers: Loyal Band of Gypsies (32 0 point base normals)
]
] My question is, since a follower is base points/5, a 0 point
] base follower
] costs nothing... right? All I did was pay +5 points for every x2
] followers. Is this correct? Or should I pay a base 5 points for the
] first follower regardless of his base cost?
]
] --
] Michael Surbrook - susano@otd.com -
] http://www.otd.com/~susano/index.html
]
] If a woman has to
] choose between catching a fly ball and saving an
] infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even
] considering if there is a man on base. - Dave Barry
]
]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 13:45:58 -0500
From: Lance Dyas <lancelot@radiks.net>
Subject: Re: <FHList> eating and sleeping
Brian Wawrow wrote:
> ] About 2 hours of Transcendental Meditation can completely
> ] replace the problem of
> ] sleep deprevation
> Well, yes and no. I've done some TM and I sure can't substitute it for a
> good night's sleep. Of course, I would only have it at 8 or less. Thus the
> successful meditation roll is required.
I agree it would take someone with really good skill at it my own levels 8 or
less
also, My dad had direct experience of people who could stop and start their
heart for long enough time to freak out doctors. I'm taking his word for it
myself.
Medical science seems to say if you could some how get into deep deep sleep
immediately
you could do with 20 minutes of that with no ill effect.
Our fantasy worlds can easily be a little more magical than reality, so its
your call. But even
making meditation very effective may not be unrealistic at all.
Lance
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 11:41:29 -0700
From: Bob Greenwade <bob.greenwade@klock.com>
Subject: Re: Follower question:
At 02:26 PM 4/29/1999 -0400, Michael Surbrook wrote:
>I'mtrying to figure out if I bought a power properly. Basically, I gave a
>character a small group of 0 point followers. The power looks like this:
>
>25 Followers: Loyal Band of Gypsies (32 0 point base normals)
>
>My question is, since a follower is base points/5, a 0 point base follower
>costs nothing... right? All I did was pay +5 points for every x2
>followers. Is this correct? Or should I pay a base 5 points for the
>first follower regardless of his base cost?
You did it right. This is one of those odd vagaries of the HERO System,
one of the little "impurities" that actually helps make it work (kinda like
Green Lantern's ring not being able to affect anything yellow).
- ---
Bob's Original Hero Stuff Page! [Circle of HEROS member]
http://www.klock.com/public/users/bob.greenwade/original.htm
Merry-Go-Round Webring -- wanna join?
http://www.klock.com/public/users/bob.greenwade/merrhome.htm
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 11:51:57 -0700
From: Bob Greenwade <bob.greenwade@klock.com>
Subject: Re: Recognition & Reputation Comments
At 01:13 PM 4/29/1999 -0400, Geoff Speare wrote:
>
>>I typed in the Recognition & Reputation rules as is from GAoC, with a few
>>minor spelling & grammar corrections. I think they could probably use some
>>revision, however, to fit into most campaigns.
>
>One thing occurred to me: the statement that Recognition never goes down.
>It seems to me that heroes and villains can "fade" from view, especially
>when there are many other heroes and villains to distract the public. I
>would consider assigning some sort of automatic time-based subtraction that
>would simulate this; characters that don't stay in the public eye will
>gradually lose Recognition. (Probably there would be a lower limit, say
>half of the character's highest total, since truly great heroes are not
>forgotten.) Since Recognition and Reputation points are connected,
>Reputation points would have to go down as well, although this seems odd.
Perhaps Recognition and Reputation should have a "half-life" of some
sort.
- ---
Bob's Original Hero Stuff Page! [Circle of HEROS member]
http://www.klock.com/public/users/bob.greenwade/original.htm
Merry-Go-Round Webring -- wanna join?
http://www.klock.com/public/users/bob.greenwade/merrhome.htm
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 14:52:05 -0400
From: BILL SVITAVSKY <NBYMAIL11@mln.lib.ma.us>
Subject: Re: <FHList> eating and sleeping
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Medical science seems to say if you could some how get into deep deep sleep
immediately
you could do with 20 minutes of that with no ill effect.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
I'm not sure of the details, but I do recall there was a
turnaround on theories of sleep about 10 years ago. Prior to
that, it was believed that most of the need for sleep was
psychosomatic, a survival reflex which kept people relatively
safe during the dangerous nighttime hours. Later research found
more biological need for sleep, though.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Our fantasy worlds can easily be a little more magical than reality, so its
your call. But even
making meditation very effective may not be unrealistic at all.
<<<<<<<<<<<<
I certainly agree that in fantasy (superhero, whatever) worlds
it's appropriate to let some characters get by with very little
sleep.
- - Bill Svitavsky
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 11:51:20 -0700
From: Bob Greenwade <bob.greenwade@klock.com>
Subject: Re: Recognition & Reputation Comments
At 01:02 PM 4/29/1999 -0400, Bill Svitavsky wrote:
>
>
>I typed in the Recognition & Reputation rules as is from GAoC, with a few
>minor spelling & grammar corrections. I think they could probably use some
>revision, however, to fit into most campaigns.
>
>The most glaring problem is that this system isn't quite compatible with
>the Reputation Disadvantage. It can be tough coming up with points as it
>is, and players won't like losing one of the less harsh Disads. And unlike
>the Reputation Disadvantage, the R&R rules make no provision for starting a
>character who's an experienced and well-known hero. I'd be inclined to
>simply allow players to choose their initial Recognition and Reputation,
>taking into account the character's history, Psych Lims, and such.
Or perhaps some sort of positive "Reputation" can be taken as a Perk. I
think Fuzion does something like that....
>Since they come from the Golden Age of Champions, the R&R rules as written
>are tailored for heroes of the 1940's. Society has changed, expectations of
>heroes have changed, and the media have changed enormously since then, so I
>think some changes to the charts are probably needed. I could have left
>out all the 1940's examples from the text, but figured I'd leave them in as
>a reminder of what these rules were originally designed for.
Good call. :-]
>One problem that came up in the modern-day campaign where I used these
>rules was that of newsworthy public appearances by the characters when they
>were neither particularly heroic nor objectionable. In our media-saturated
>modern world, the press is likely to seek out heroes for comments on just
>about anything, report on their lifestyles, or use their images to promote
>the city or commercial products. All of this should add to Recognition, but
>does nothing for Reputation. Granted, a hero who goes around endorsing
>products probably should be a little tarnished, and a sound byte can
>express some ideals and hence add reputation, but even the noblest of
>heroes will be vulnerable to out-of-context portrayals fairly often. I
>can't suggest a rules fix, other than some leniency when comparing
>Recognition & Reputation totals. It might just be a good representation of
>why our society is more jaded about heroes in general.
This is to be expected, and arguably is as it should be. Portraying
Reputation in a complex society like today's would naturally be more
complicated than the system set up for the comics-style world of the 1940s.
>Obviously, the media have changed a lot since the 1940's. "Newsworthy act
>that is printed" should read as "Newsworthy act that is printed, broadcast,
>disseminated over the Internet, etc." - and we probably shouldn't forget
>the effect of word of mouth. It might be worth establishing modifiers for
>the size of the news report's audience: +0 Recognition for the local paper,
>+1 for the national news, -1 for an obscure e-mail list?
I like this. :-]
>I imagine the adjustments for value of saved/destroyed materials should be
>adjusted as well, since thousands, millions, and billions mean something
>different today than they did in the 1940's. I'm not sure how far I'd
>change them, though, since a hero doing thousands of dollars of property
>damage is still going to attract attention.
Probably no huge adjustment is needed -- no more than -1 to the
Reputation, or something similar. (I'm doing this before seeing the actual
write-up, because "Comments" is alphabetically before "Rules.")
>I'm eager to hear others' opinions on this stuff, since after typing all
>this up I'm giving serious consideration whether to integrate it into my
>current campaign.
I'm giving serious consideration whether to make an updated version of
this something for my website, once I have a program that will handle web
buttons of the type I like to use so I can put new stuff on. (I have a
*bunch* of updates that really ought to be made.)
- ---
Bob's Original Hero Stuff Page! [Circle of HEROS member]
http://www.klock.com/public/users/bob.greenwade/original.htm
Merry-Go-Round Webring -- wanna join?
http://www.klock.com/public/users/bob.greenwade/merrhome.htm
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 14:03:46 -0500
From: Lance Dyas <lancelot@radiks.net>
Subject: Re: <FHList> eating and sleeping
BILL SVITAVSKY wrote:
> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>
> Medical science seems to say if you could some how get into deep deep sleep
> immediately
> you could do with 20 minutes of that with no ill effect.
> <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
>
> I'm not sure of the details, but I do recall there was a
> turnaround on theories of sleep about 10 years ago. Prior to
> that, it was believed that most of the need for sleep was
> psychosomatic
> , a survival reflex which kept people relatively
> safe during the dangerous nighttime hours. Later research found
> more biological need for sleep, though.
>
Based on what I read the 20 minutes of deep sleep covered the biological
elements. I don't remember exactly where I read the artical, so i can't quote
my
sources...
Penalties to rolls in general ofset by ego rolls to avoid those penalties would
simulate sleep deprivation in a heroic fashion.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 15:22:19 -0400
From: Bill Svitavsky <nbymail11@mln.lib.ma.us>
Subject: Recognition & Reputation Rules (second try)
It appears that my first post of this didn't get to everbody on the list,
so I'll try it again. (Let me know if you see this, Lisa.)
As requested, here it is:
RECOGNITION AND REPUTATION
(From Golden Age of Champions, 1st (1985) ed., by Chris Cloutier)
What makes a Hero a Hero? Simply the fact that people recognize him as a
Hero. Bad publicity and crusades (even by one man) can make a Hero seem
like a Villain or a Villain like a Hero. The media made Joseph Stalin, the
leader of the Soviet Union, out to be "Uncle Joe," a swell guy you wouldn't
mind introducing to your daughter. They ignored or deliberately forgot
about the purge and other questionable acts. (One source estimates that
Stalin killed 10 million of his own people because they disagreed with his
policies and views.) The same thing can happen to Heroes and Villains.
There are two factors involved in determining public awareness of a
character - Recognition and Reputation. Being a Hero means nothing to
anyone if they don't recognize the character as one. Just imagine how you
would feel if no one knew who you were. Everything can have a recognition
value. A man dressed in a blue uniform swinging a nightstick will easily,
but perhaps wrongly, be recognized as a policeman. The names Boy Scouts,
Marines, police, and Mafia are all known. Individuals become celebrities.
Moviestars, Congressional Medal of Honor recipients, politicians, fighter
aces, and Superhero/Supervillains become household words. At first, a
character will be an unknown factor, just another mystery man.
RECOGNITION starts out with a base 8 or less roll on 3d6. This number will
increase as the character becomes more well known to the public. Those
characters who battle in the shadows will not be recognized as quickly and
may often be mistaken for Villains. The following chart shows how
Recognition is earned for various acts. The simple rule is "if it gets into
the news, the character earns Recognition."
- ---------------------------------BEGIN
CHART------------------------------------
RECOGNITION
Did newsworthy act that is printed...........................+1
Publicly saved or caused the loss of
thousands of dollars of equipment,
materials,
etc..................................................................+1
Directly responsible for saving or
killing many normals...................................................+1
Capture of enemy spies which is not
"hushed
up".....................................................................+1
Publicly saved or caused the loss of
millions of dollars of equipment,
materials,
etc...................................................................+2
Directly responsible for saving or
killing prominent citizen(s).......................................+2
Saved TOP SECRET governmental project * ..............+0
Destroyed TOP SECRET governmental project * .......+1
Others (GM Discretion)........................................+0 to +3
* If a Hero saves a project that's TOP SECRET, the
government will "hush it up" in the interest of the
United States Government, and so no one will know
about it. But, on the other hand, if it's destroyed
and there are no plans to continue the same project,
word will "leak out". The GM may secretly keep track
of these points and add them in when the characters
deal with the government again.
- ---------------------------------END
CHART-------------------------------------
These Recognition points are cumulative and should be recorded on the
character sheet. Whenever a character encounters a situation where being
recognized would help, the GM should make a RECOGNITION CHECK. If it is
made, help will usually be rendered, requests usually granted, etc. The
following charts detail this.
- ---------------------------------BEGIN
CHART------------------------------------
TOTAL RECOGNITION POINTS RECOGNITION ROLL
0 8-
1 9-
2 10-
3-4 11-
5-8 12-
9-16 13-
17-32 14-
32-64 15-
65-128 16-
129-256 17-
256-512 18-
513+ 19-
- ---------------------------------END
CHART---------------------------------------
At this point, the Hero or Villain has become a household word and is
immediately recognized. The Recognition Roll is modified whenever the
character is outside of his usual stomping grounds.
- ---------------------------------BEGIN
CHART------------------------------------
LOCATION OF HERO LEVEL AFFECTED
Hero is in home territory -0 levels
Hero is in neighboring territory -1 level
Hero is across state -2 levels
Hero is in another state -3 levels
Hero is across country -4 levels
Hero is in another country -5 levels
- ---------------------------------END
CHART---------------------------------------
REPUTATION is how the general public perceives the character AFTER it has
recognized him. Unlike Recognition, Reputation will fluctuate depending on
what the character does. The names Boy Scouts, police, firemen, and Abraham
Lincoln all have good Reputations. Mafia, Nazi, Benedict Arnold, and Adolf
Hitler all have bad Reputations. Such terms as politicians, soldiers, and
moviestars have mixed Reputations. The higher the Reputation index is, the
more heroic the character is (and the lower it goes, the more mercenary are
the character's methods). All points are cumulative.
- ---------------------------------BEGIN
CHART------------------------------------
REPUTATION
Action Points Awarded
Captured Villains...................................................+1
Allowed Villains to escape.....................................-1
Saved or allowed destruction of
public/private property........................................+/-1
If property is in the millions of dollars..............+/-1
If property is in the billions of dollars...............+/-1
Saving normal humans before anything else...+1
Saving normal humans after the situation
is resolved...................................................
..............+0
Endangering human normals................................-1
Killing human normals...........................................-2
If they are rich/famous/prominent.....................+/-1
Solving a major crime when everyone
else is stumped...........................................................+1
Circumnavigate the law to accomplish
objective...................................................................
...-1
- ---------------------------------END
CHART---------------------------------------
Reputation establishes the character - the shock of Recognition is usually
based on the Reputation that has preceded him. Thus, whenever the character
is recognized, his Reputation is immediately known.
Reputation and Recognition totals will change constantly. Recognition will
always increase. This total compared with the Reputation total will
instantly give a feeling of the Hero/Villain. The general public and other
Heroes/police view this comparison as follows: if the Reputation exceeds
the Recognition, the character is a saintly type. Total Code of Honor,
Total Protection of Human Normals, Total Protection of Property from
Damage, and Total Code Against Killing are usual Psychological Limitations.
If the Reputation and Recognition are about the same, the character is a
True-Blue Hero, but sometimes makes mistakes. He recognizes the human value
on life and rescues them first. Codes of Honor, Codes against Killing, and
Protects Human Normals are common Limitations. If Reputation is quite small
as compared to Recognition, but still positive, the character usually
operates on the right side of the law, but is mercenary in nature. Berserks
and "to take the Villain at any cost"-type Psychological Limitations are
common. Finally, if the Reputation ever goes below zero, the character is
recognized as a mass murderer, a tyrant, or insane. "Killer", Berserks, and
"Loves to Destroy Things" are common ailments.
Villains and other nasties view Recognition and Reputation differently. If
Reputation exceeds Recognition, the Villains know hostages, time delayed
bombs, and other mass murder operations will balk the character. If they
are about equal, the same tricks apply, but only if the Hero is sure that
he can stop the incident first. If Recognition exceeds Reputation, the
"so-called" Hero is not above taking them out first. Perhaps a partnership
could be arranged as the Hero could be disillusioned about what true fame
and glory are all about. Maybe a bribe is not out of order. And if a true
Villain meets a character with a negative Reputation, he might shoot first
(to save himself.)
Not all Villains will have negative Reputation. Many Villains have their
own "Code of Honor" which doesn't differ from the Hero's by much.
Non-killers will perform acts compatible with their code. Robbing from the
rich (others) and giving to the poor (us) can be done without blowing up
half of Gothic or Manhattan.
Reputation can act as a Presence Modifier (as detailed in CHAMPIONS). A
weak Presence is one in which the character is unknown or is easily bullied
around. A strong one is as good as action (either high or very low).
Finally, remember that groups can have Reputation and Recognition totals as
well which is the sum total of their individual counterparts.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 14:28:07 -0500
From: "Michael (Damon) & Peni Griffin" <griffin@txdirect.net>
Subject: Re: Follower question:
At 11:41 AM 4/29/1999 -0700, Bob Greenwade wrote:
>At 02:26 PM 4/29/1999 -0400, Michael Surbrook wrote:
>>I'mtrying to figure out if I bought a power properly. Basically, I gave a
>>character a small group of 0 point followers. The power looks like this:
>>
>>25 Followers: Loyal Band of Gypsies (32 0 point base normals)
>>
>>My question is, since a follower is base points/5, a 0 point base follower
>>costs nothing... right? All I did was pay +5 points for every x2
>>followers. Is this correct? Or should I pay a base 5 points for the
>>first follower regardless of his base cost?
>
> You did it right. This is one of those odd vagaries of the HERO System,
>one of the little "impurities" that actually helps make it work (kinda like
>Green Lantern's ring not being able to affect anything yellow).
Much as I hate to diagree with my more knowledgeable colleagues, you are
all wrong.
BBB, page 43, FOLLOWERS, near the end of paragraph 3 --
"The minimum cost for a Follower is 5 points. A character can have 2x as
many Followers for +5 points."
So, you have to spend 5 points to buy your first 0-point Gypsy, then +25
points to double him five times. 17-32 Gyspies cost 30 points, not 25.
Damon
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 15:34:10 -0400
From: Geoff Speare <geoff@igcn.com>
Subject: Re: Follower question:
>Much as I hate to diagree with my more knowledgeable colleagues, you are
>all wrong.
I dunno, you seem to be enjoying it a bit. :)
Geoff Speare
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 12:59:43 -0700
From: Bob Greenwade <bob.greenwade@klock.com>
Subject: Re: Follower question:
At 02:28 PM 4/29/1999 -0500, Michael (Damon) & Peni Griffin wrote:
>
>BBB, page 43, FOLLOWERS, near the end of paragraph 3 --
>
>"The minimum cost for a Follower is 5 points. A character can have 2x as
>many Followers for +5 points."
>
>So, you have to spend 5 points to buy your first 0-point Gypsy, then +25
>points to double him five times. 17-32 Gyspies cost 30 points, not 25.
This is, of course, absolutely correct. I was wrong.
- ---
Bob's Original Hero Stuff Page! [Circle of HEROS member]
http://www.klock.com/public/users/bob.greenwade/original.htm
Merry-Go-Round Webring -- wanna join?
http://www.klock.com/public/users/bob.greenwade/merrhome.htm
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 14:43:33 -0500
From: Lance Dyas <lancelot@radiks.net>
Subject: Re: Follower question:
Geoff Speare wrote:
> >Much as I hate to diagree with my more knowledgeable colleagues, you are
> >all wrong.
>
> I dunno, you seem to be enjoying it a bit. :)
>
> Geoff Speare
Yep I can smell the subtle odeur of smugness radiating... ;)
Lance
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 15:07:22 -0500
From: "Michael (Damon) & Peni Griffin" <griffin@txdirect.net>
Subject: Re: Follower question:
At 03:34 PM 4/29/1999 -0400, Geoff Speare wrote:
>>Much as I hate to diagree with my more knowledgeable colleagues, you are
>>all wrong.
>
>I dunno, you seem to be enjoying it a bit. :)
>
>Geoff Speare
Sir, you wound me! Okay, maybe a bit. :)
Damon
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 16:10:26 -0400 (EDT)
From: Michael Surbrook <susano@dedaana.otd.com>
Subject: Re: Follower question:
On Thu, 29 Apr 1999, Bob Greenwade wrote:
> At 02:28 PM 4/29/1999 -0500, Michael (Damon) & Peni Griffin wrote:
> >
> >BBB, page 43, FOLLOWERS, near the end of paragraph 3 --
> >
> >"The minimum cost for a Follower is 5 points. A character can have 2x as
> >many Followers for +5 points."
> >
> >So, you have to spend 5 points to buy your first 0-point Gypsy, then +25
> >points to double him five times. 17-32 Gyspies cost 30 points, not 25.
>
> This is, of course, absolutely correct. I was wrong.
It's not a big deal. Dracula is now 674 points instead of 669 points.
- --
Michael Surbrook - susano@otd.com - http://www.otd.com/~susano/index.html
If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an
infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even
considering if there is a man on base. - Dave Barry
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 13:38:40 PDT
From: "Jesse Thomas" <haerandir@hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: Pie-In-The-Face Flash
At 10:12 AM 4/29/1999 -0400, Jason Sullivan wrote:
>Flash 2d6
>Effects groups Sight and Taste/Smell +20
>NND: Flash Defense is ineffective. The Defense is a Force Wall,
>Force
>Field, frictionless surface surrounding one's body, having extra
>eyes (or
>no head or face at all), or hard eye coverings that can be taken
>off. The
>character may spend Segments "clearing away" the sticky masses, which
>should take some time (+1);
I'd think that this mechanic would simply be part of the effects of a
Flash. Remember, the roll you make when you hit with a Flash attack
determines how long it lasts. Presumably, the reason that the Flash
only lasts X number of phases is not because the pie evaporates of
it's own initiative, but because the victim is trying to remove it.
Jesse Thomas
haerandir@hotmail.com
_______________________________________________________________
Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 16:48:41 -0400
From: David Stallard <DBStallard@compuserve.com>
Subject: Banter in combat
How do you guys handle talking in combat? The way I've done it was to
allow PCs to say short things that don't require responses, but only on
their phases. So if you have a SPD 6 and a SPD 5 character, the 6 could
say "Let's flee!" on segment 6, but the 5 could not reply until segment 8=
,
his next phase. Even on 8, which is a phase for both, they only get one
chance to say something. So one person might say "Into the alley!" and t=
he
other one could reply "But what about our wounded comrade?", but that wou=
ld
be all the talking allowed on phase 8.
This sorta works okay, but does feel awkward at times. Now, I want to
start introducing a lot more banter between PCs and villains, similar to
the way Spider-Man talks to his opponents (and vice versa) as they are
punching at each other or whatever. Should I continue to use this method=
for villains too? My thinking is that it will be so chopped up that it
will be hard to follow, especially when there are multiple characters on
each side.
Any recommendations on how to handle conversation in combat?
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 15:59:53 -0500 (CDT)
From: Curt Hicks <exucurt@exu.ericsson.se>
Subject: Re: Banter in combat
> From: David Stallard <DBStallard@compuserve.com>
>
> How do you guys handle talking in combat?
>
> Any recommendations on how to handle conversation in combat?
>
It's not realistic, but the genre convention is that both heroes and
villains can recite entire speeches in the same amount of time it takes
to punch / blast / whatever somebody.
In which case, don't put any restrictions on talking during combat.
It does sound like your players may be using this to coordinate their
efforts during combat. If this is a real problem, I suppose you could
limit the talking as you say....
Curt
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 14:00:22 PDT
From: "Jesse Thomas" <haerandir@hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: Recognition & Reputation Comments
On Thu, 29 Apr 1999 Geoff Speare wrote:
>
>half of the character's highest total, since truly great heroes are
not
>forgotten.) Since Recognition and Reputation points are connected,
>Reputation points would have to go down as well, although this seems
odd.
>
It does seem odd, but if you think about it, it can make sense,
especially if you stipulate a minimum decrease in Reputation, as
well. This represents the fickle nature of the public. Even if they
adored Superguy when he was fighting crime 10 years ago, if he
disappeared and showed up again later, he might well be greeted with
a "what have you done for me lately?" attitude. Obviously, this
wouldn't downgrade anyone to villain status (except, perhaps, in
those cases where someone was counting on him and he didn't show up),
but would definitely take him out of the "can do no wrong" category.
Jesse Thomas
haerandir@hotmail.com
_______________________________________________________________
Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 17:00:03 -0500
From: Bill Svitavsky <bsvitavsky@mln.lib.ma.us>
Subject: Re: Banter in combat
At 04:48 PM 4/29/99 -0400, David Stallard wrote:
>How do you guys handle talking in combat?
For a comic book feel, I suspend logic a great deal in allowing plenty of
conversation regardless of the combat time passing. That's exactly why the
action time chart lists "No Time" for soliloquies; superheroes can get a
lengthy soul-searching discussion into the time it takes to punch someone.
I don't, however, give infinite time to heroes who want to talk. If they
really want to talk things out with an opponent, they'll just have to stop
the fight; I try to keep combat talk at least a little terse, and move
things along by telling players that's all they have time to say after
they've gotten out one or two statements in a segment.
In other words, I don't have a system, I just try to maintain a sense of
pace. I don't aim for strict realism, but I don't allow endless blathering
either.
- - Bill Svitavsky
------------------------------
End of champ-l-digest V1 #303
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Date: Tuesday, June 29, 1999 10:16 AM