Living Supers - General Discussion Thread

rgordona said:

Yep :>

I guess I consider it rude to hold whispered conversations at the table.



If I knew in advance that was the game I would probably not read the Sblocks,

[sblock]But I would be very unlikely to try and pass that sort of message by sblock. And I might well avoid that game entirely.[sblock]

I guess I see the game as cooperative at two levels. The Heroes cooperate to defeat the bad guys. The players and GM cooperarte to create a fun game. For me secret conversations are non-fun: they lead to exclusion and suspicion.

Click to expand...

Sblocks are one of the big advantages of PbP. You can have characters in different locations, learning different things. A side plot can be run at the same time as the main mission. That's probably the one of the only real advantages other than convenience in a busy schedule.

Yep :>

I guess I consider it rude to hold whispered conversations at the table.

Click to expand...

You've never played a game of D&D where the GM passes a note that a character has been replaced by a doppleganger / dominated by a vampire and to play accordingly? Saying that out loud to everyone just sucks no matter what you do because you either metagame and figure it out immediately (not fun!) or you allow your characters to go along with it even though you know otherwise and let yourself be screwed in the name of RPing (not fun!). If the players themselves don't know, then they can have the fun that comes in the moment of recognition.

Sblocks also let you do inner monologues/"thought balloons" with 'em, things the characters might now know (probably won't, unless they're telepaths), but the audience (and players) probably would. Or, at least, the player of the thinking/monologuing character won't mind the players knowing (as long as no PC acts on knowledge the PC would not have). Like I do with Dr. Archeville and his "Shoulder Angel/Demon" -- I don't mind the players knowing about the ethical/mental/moral conflicts going on inside him, but I'd hope the players don't have their characters act against such knowledge since the characters should not have it (other than knowing that Archeville very much fits the "Mad Scientist" stereotype).

I guess I just assume it's okay to read any char sheet or OOC comment, unless it specifically/explicitly says "Not for General Reading" (or similar). Vast majority of the sblocks I've seen here have not been labeled as such.



As for the Device -- I believe Enhanced [Trait] has been approved for the LS games, and a character in the Freedom City sourcebook has a Device granting Enhanced Attack, Defense and Feats (Downtime, pg.196), so I'd say it certainly seems such would be allowed here.

For the Fades thing, though, I'm not sure on -- do you mean having Fades on the Device itself (so that every time any effect from it is used, all the the effects/powers it offers fades), or on some of the individual powers within it (so that only that one power fades with use)?

Here's a possible solution to the issue: update the Living Supers Campaign Information and Living Supers Timeline threads to include the blatantly obvious/publicly-known knowledge, like that Dr. Archeville is known throughout Germany for having done some superhero-ing work there before joining the Resolutes (and that accidents in his laboratory can be perfect sources of powers ), or that Mr. Jones and Psyren are/were both public entertainers.

(And since I've already "confessed" to reading most of the existing PC char sheets, I'd be more than willing to help with this project.)

Or, speaking of Psyren, we could all do like what Bront did for her (and what was done for most the characters in The Algernon Files and Paragons), and write up what a Knowledge check might dig up on a character.

Hand of Vecna said:

For the Fades thing, though, I'm not sure on -- do you mean having Fades on the Device itself (so that every time any effect from it is used, all the the effects/powers it offers fades), or on some of the individual powers within it (so that only that one power fades with use)?

Click to expand...

The Device itself has fade. So every round it's in use(most of them), It uses a point off of device, thus reduceing the rank of the device itself. It's a problem the character will eventually fix.

Rystil said:

For the device--if your device is dynamic in the division of points, you should be able to rearrange the points when it fades. Otherwise, you never can regardless. Just remember--Devices are balanced by how easy they are to remove, and if you have the cheaper device and villains realise they can get rid of not only your best powers but also your attack and defense bonus by disarming the device (or deactivating it), you should expect it to be targeted a decent amount of the time.

Click to expand...

I should know what you mean but it's not coming to mind. :\
Ah, hmm. The power within the device are payed for with the total points gained from the ranks of device, no alt powers. Would I have to pay extra for traits such as +Attack and +Defense to make them dynamic?

Sorry if that gets off track for whatever reason Alt powers and dynamic-ness have usually thrown me for the loop.

As for the second comment, fear not, it's not able to be disarmed so easily. Though were I to be knock out and stripped of the device it would be monumentally bad for me, and well everyone else.

Hrrmmm... it might help us if you could be more specific in what you're wanting. I.e., tell us what you're looking to make, and see if we can crank out some stats for it.

I can tell you, though, that the only way to "rearrange points" in something is if either A) the powers are part of a Dynamic Array, or B) it's a Variable power (like Adaptation or Nemesis or Shapeshift).

A Dynamic Array is like a regular Array (a fancy way of saying "a power and some power stunted alternate powers), except that in a regular Array, the total pp in the assorted alternate powers are all pre-set, whereas in a Dynamic Array, the points in the powers can be shifted on the fly.

So a regular Array might look like

Electrical Control 10 (base effect: Blast 10; Power Feat: 1 Alternate Power)
Alternate Power: Force Field 10

Click to expand...

In a given round, you can either have a Blast (at rank 10) or a Force Field (at rank 10)

Whereas a Dynamic Array would be

Electrical Control 10 (base effect: Blast 10; Power Feats: Dynamic, 1 Dynamic Alternate Power)
Dynamic Alternate Power: Force Field 10

Click to expand...

In a given round, you can have a Blast (at rank 10) or a Force Field (at rank 10), or some combination of the two as long as the total points equal those of the base power (so in this example, you could have Blast 5 and Force Field 5, or Blast 3 and Force Field 7, and so on, changed from round to round).

I'll stat him out in the next day or two and post.

The idea is as follows.

Guys body creates an organic liquid-like metal, it's controlled by thought/touch togeather. It(for now) is a imperfect control. As he uses it it drips/flys off/plots away.
Though he is the source of it. It can be used by others. This is to allow the transfer to others. When a power is given away it fades as normal. Seeing as it can be given away, it can be taken also. If he we're unconsious and the BBEG knew the particulars.

When he uses it, it covers him from head to toe, he can create simple weapons, or use this amazing substance to boost his strength, speed, combat abilities, ect.


That's what I've been trying to create. Is it too much? Not enough rules backing?

The help is very much appriciated.

Hand of Vecna said:

Here's a possible solution to the issue: update the Living Supers Campaign Information and Living Supers Timeline threads to include the blatantly obvious/publicly-known knowledge, like that Dr. Archeville is known throughout Germany for having done some superhero-ing work there before joining the Resolutes (and that accidents in his laboratory can be perfect sources of powers ), or that Mr. Jones and Psyren are/were both public entertainers.

(And since I've already "confessed" to reading most of the existing PC char sheets, I'd be more than willing to help with this project.)

Or, speaking of Psyren, we could all do like what Bront did for her (and what was done for most the characters in The Algernon Files and Paragons), and write up what a Knowledge check might dig up on a character.

Click to expand...

Not a bad idea, and I'm admitedly a little lax on the timeline (though I haven't gotten many submitions on it, and the last one I haven't added yet).

But not all PCs need be mentioned on the timeline, at least in a background sense. The timeline is for campaign events more than it is for player background events.

Time for a new thread.

Find it here