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Post by reiphil on Mar 11, 2010 15:49:06 GMT -8
lol the problem with the "going for this" style is that people always take you for your word.
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Post by Joseph Barros on Mar 11, 2010 17:12:40 GMT -8
Yeah. So basically you weren't really trying to do Mega Man at all, you just suck at pop culture.
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Post by frobones on Mar 11, 2010 18:12:41 GMT -8
Ok, when I play my hero I better not hear any of you say "Oh, you're kinda like Megaman" :p
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Post by Joseph Barros on Mar 12, 2010 16:33:04 GMT -8
I was planning on saying "Oh, you're kinda like a faggoty ass Robo Cop."
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Post by reiphil on Mar 12, 2010 17:01:35 GMT -8
+ wannabe megaman
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Post by frobones on Mar 12, 2010 18:54:36 GMT -8
Just call me Robocop X
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Post by frobones on Apr 18, 2010 14:24:19 GMT -8
Joseph: would you be opposed if I were to make a hero who could locate anyone in the world using ESP in a matter of minutes? I would be the team's recon hero.
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Post by Joseph Barros on Apr 19, 2010 9:58:47 GMT -8
Quick Answer: No, you may not.
Possible answer: yes, but there better be some serious fucking drawbacks and limitations. If you can just find anyone by closing your eyes and thinking really hard, then hell no. Emphasis on serious drawbacks. X-ray vision whose only limitation is it can't see through gold is not a drawback at all really. X-ray vision that doesn't work on steel or only at night would be a real drawback. No loopholes and cheap rules workarounds this time.
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Post by frobones on Apr 19, 2010 11:11:42 GMT -8
Alright, what if I needed a machine to do so, like how Xavier needs Cerebro to amplify his powers to locate people across the globe. It would be a room-sized device in our headquarters or something. Or how about having it limited to existing optical devices like security cameras, etc. Instead of it being ESP it would be some sort of techno-pathy like Cable has. If that's still too powerful, I'll think of some other way to fulfill a recon roll.
Also, I approve of less shenanigans on our part by you giving the final word on what we can/can't do.
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Post by Joseph Barros on Apr 19, 2010 15:40:55 GMT -8
This is a game, and being able to find anyone whenever you want means I pretty much can't do anything related to discovering the whereabouts of someone. That power single handedly ruins that entire avenue of adventure ideas. Or maybe I don't want you to know where someone is, but I don't want to be forced to make a character with special mystical or mental blocks every single time I want someone in hiding. It's the kind of power the is pretty much going to be NPC-only so I can control not only the pace of the story, but what kind of story I want to run in the first place. I like the pace being in my hands, with the direction in the players hands. (unless they get stuck.) Such a power without very strong limitations is just too much of a game buster. We do heavy role-playing, but it is still a game and while I want all of you to have as much control over the direction of the game as possible, you have to keep in mind that some powers just don't work if you want to tell a variety of stories with the same characters. A power like that takes too much of that power out of my hands. Being stealthy is recon. The idea of recon is that you go into a situation and scope it out yourself. Opening a drawer and pulling out exact directions to your destination is not recon. It's an easy button. Might be ok for a one-shot quickie adventure where I build the adventure around you having that power, but I do not want to have to build every adventure I ever do around that one extremely powerful ability.
Think about it this way... how would you feel if someone had the ability to find you at all times no matter what? Imagine if that someone was as powerful as the government? Fairly nightmarish and the reason why is because there is no defense from it. Just as you wouldn't want your characters to be subject to such bullshit, neither do I want my villains to.
Here is some ideas of acceptable drawbacks for such a power. Feel free to suggest others:
*Max range is 50ft radius.
*You don't get a precise location. More of a "hot and cold" type locator. You know the direction and how hot or warm you are, but that's all you get.
*You don't get a precise location. You get a snapshot of where the target is. Think along the lines of recieving a vision. You then do your best to analyze the "snapshot vision" for clues as to where it may be... and your power doesn't always work on everyone for reasons you've never been able to pinpoint.
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Post by reiphil on Apr 19, 2010 15:49:10 GMT -8
That power single handedly ruins that entire avenue of adventure ideas. How I feel about power gaming right there. Stephen: Any time you create anything, just put yourselves in our shoes. And no, saying something like "well the DM can just throw harder things" is not a valid excuse.
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Post by frobones on Apr 19, 2010 18:02:55 GMT -8
Well, maybe I should have explained myself a little better. I don't just "magically" know where someone is, it's more of me making a search check on the world. It's me extending my senses over areas of the world, making a search check. To make an extended search on the world (pg. 53), it would take a normal person 3 months mechanically, but I would have the Quickness power to speed this up to a matter of minutes. So mechanically, I just don't auto-find someone/something - I still have to beat the Search DC to find the person/building/location/etc. I would also have to know what I'm looking for, a simple disguise could throw me off when locating someone. Same with locations, I wouldn't just be able to find area 51 or some obscure base of operations because I have no prior knowledge of what the place looks like.
Also, my power could be impeded by a high DC when attempting to find a hidden base or a person not wanting to be found. I will take to heart what you said about choosing powers that takes the pace of the game out of the GMs hand and will curb my enthusiasm when thinking up ideas.
As for drawbacks, another reasonable option I think is to make it unreliable and it only works when you deem it so.
Oh, and relating it to the government idea of having this power, think of it as a satelite surveillance network (movie land I guess); just because I have eyes in many places doesn't mean I can just find anything unless I know exactly what I'm looking for (now that I think about it, that would be a pretty cool way to roleplay ESP for a techie super hero).
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Post by Joseph Barros on Apr 20, 2010 6:28:08 GMT -8
Satellite surveillance doesn't auto find people unless you already have a very good idea where to look. For example, if they are indoors, satellites aren't going to find much. Your power doesn't have eyes in many places... it has eyes in ALL places with that power.
A search DC isn't much better. Making everything dependent on the numbers is rarely a challenge for you power gamer types. Having the power just not work when I feel like it is awkward at best. "why did your power fail? "I dunno, it just sucks sometimes." And like I said I don't want to be forced to come up with a reason why every single time. If I assign a high DC to someone there must be a reason why that person is so hard to find and as I said I don't want to have to be restricted to villains with mental and mystical blocks every time I don't want you guys to find them right away. A DC isn't an arbitrarily contrived number; it represents the traits and characteristics of a person, thing, or situation. This means that every DC applied has to have a reasonable explanation as to why it is the number it is. The drawbacks I offered cover the unreliability option much better than a DC or "please hang up and try again later."
And like I said, it's an easy button. A power best left to the GM to help move the story along.
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Post by frobones on Apr 20, 2010 9:42:23 GMT -8
*You don't get a precise location. You get a snapshot of where the target is. Think along the lines of recieving a vision. You then do your best to analyze the "snapshot vision" for clues as to where it may be... and your power doesn't always work on everyone for reasons you've never been able to pinpoint. Then I like this version of the power
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Post by Joseph Barros on Apr 20, 2010 10:25:59 GMT -8
Ok that works. I think I'll also require some sort of focus as well. You'll need something to connect with and the more closely related the focus is to the target the more clearer the vision. Anybody you in particular are very close with will not need a focus, because you yourself will be the focus.
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