Welcome aboard. This is the Out Of Character thread. Start presenting yourself and your character.

I am Loose Cannon, an experiment gone wrong, an anomaly that had to be terminated. I run away from my captors alongside Scarlett Wolf and have been living in the sewers of Century Station for some months now. We help to those in need when possible but we have to keep in the shadows as the company that created us, is still tracking Wolf and me to end that annoying loose end.

Thank you thank you for letting me join your game. I've loved this companies games since I started roleplaying when I was 12 years old. Most people seem to not like to play this companies games online, so I was so glad to see someone was running one here.

I am a very flexible GM, use the materials you want and create the character you feel confortable with. You do not have to roll the random tables, you can pick whatever super abilities you are entitled to. Regarding how many super abilities and the type, keep it average and feel free to use whatever sourcebook you own.
We are starting at level 1. For attributes roll 4d6 dropping lowest. Allot the rolled numbers as you wish.
Select also your education and skills.
The gruop we are forming is something like Batman and the Outsiders from the 80's a mix between street level and some powerful assets.
We are a cohesive group but we do not have a quarter yet. We are an underground group not yet visible and some of the members are considered outlaws. Everyone has a life but we meet when trouble arise. We are totally new and not attached to any group or hero in Century Station.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:58, Sun 27 Aug 2023.

Okay, I tried to use the Rifts setting in the die roller and most of the rolls suck. a 4, a 5 and two 6's. Like wtf? I should've went with what the GM said and did the 4d6 drop the lowest 1. :(

I'll get to work on my character tonight.

Looking forward to the game.

In reply to Scarlet Wolf (msg # 5):

Yeah, the dice roller tends to be a bit wonky.   It either gives you really bad results or really good.

I'm still thinking about the exact character build, but leaning toward magic user (either something like a wizard or a super who's powers are mystic in origin).

I think I got through all the dice rolling I need to setup, so I should be good to go whenever we need to start.

Seriously considering a Body of Metal Tank. I have never played one in 36 years of loving this game.

It would be nice you create a short origin, if you are familiar to Century Station, you could include some of the city's lore in your origin. That would be awesome.

I recommend you to see the maps I have uploaded in the maps section. Those pictures will give you a general idea of Century Station.

Promise you I will do this.

---

This message was last edited by the GM at 04:21, Mon 28 Aug 2023.

Space Ghost is amazing!

Trying to insert the image to be visible in the forum, but cannot find the correct code.

I have the link but I need the opening and closing code to make the image visible. The image is in a cloud.

OK, too sleepy to find my HU book at the moment.

I will get my character done tomorrow (I work in a game store so it won't be a problem).

I did not expect this response from players. Thought HU was not that popular but I was wrong. This group is full and some people who requested joining could not. I created a second campaign for those who could not get into this one. It will be set on a regular American town, the fictional town of Valle Lindo in California. The population is roughly 500k inhabitants and our group is the only vigilante group in the city. They have good relations with the law and are beloved by the neighbors. About four people probably will join the second campaign but I would like having 2-3 more players to round the group. Do not want to advertise it because probably some other people again will be left out so if some of you participating in this game want to participate in the other campaign send a RTJ following the link below. First come, first served, sorry for that.

link to another game
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:53, Mon 28 Aug 2023.

Keep in mind that RPOL tends to front load interest, but it falters easily and attrition will happen, it is almost always best to have one or two extra characters in any new game.

Yes, player attrition is expected, the group is 7 right now. Staying 3-4 is acceptable for me. I can handle two campaigns at the same time, have plenty Palladium material so I don't think will run out of ideas any time soon.

In reply to Patricus (msg # 18):

Palladium is one of those systems that everyone wants to play but no one wants to GM.  Is everyone doing the human/alien/mutant origins in the HU book?  I was thinking that something like elf might make more sense as a magic user.
Edit: Yeah, I'm going to make an alien and see how that plays.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:57, Mon 28 Aug 2023.

I branched out a bit to get some of the more interesting powers from the supplement books, but the OOC and core mechanics are all from the HU Book.

Having run multiple games in several Palladium systems over the years, and more in those settings with a different system I can understand why few are willing and able to translate that into a pure text environment.

It is not particularly attractive to be an alien in Century Station nowadays, however having an alien in the group will square it nicely as "Justice Front" is not a recognized superhero group and still moving in the shadows.

GM do you have Powers Unlimited 2?

In reply to Crusader (msg # 24):

I have the complete three volumes series, unless there is a fourth one I am not aware of.

Would you allow an Empowered?
If yes, I read if you are blind you get either Radar or Sonar for free. Do you concur?

In reply to Crusader (msg # 26):

Sure, why not? Are you thinking in a sort of Daredevil?

In reply to Patricus (msg # 27):

YUP!

My thought is: Radar + 2 major & 3 minor
Radar
Enhanced Hearing
Ex PP
EX PE
Natural Combatant
Either a souped-up version Nightstalking (adding the ability to short range teleport between shadows)
or
Alter Physical Structure Rubber.

I actually like the second one a bit better, but the first one fits the theme better.

This one looks interesting.

In reply to Patricus (msg # 29):

Thumbs up. Thanks now I can get started on the sheet.

Okay, my character no longer has the ability to hide her identity as she is now effectively the female Goro from Mortal Kombat. (I forget her name.) My character has an extra pair of arms and hands, giving her four arms and hands total.

So yeah, no longer able to find shirts that fit commercially either. They all require modification. Going to be an interesting character to play.

https://1drv.ms/i/s!As3yY-2vjI...DZqWvlq012Q?e=AZFzY1

I think it is totally possible to hide four arms under a large coat. My character has a secondary permanent effect of triplet body hair. The Thing hides his body under a coat, a scarf and sunglasses successfully.

https://1drv.ms/i/s!As3yY-2vjI..._9_a1D4mUnw?e=YqENCm

In my country RPGs were totally unknown in my childhood years but I discovered their exitence since my early teenage years, specifically D&D although thanks to some video game magazines I discovered there were other RPGs besides D&D.
Today I can buy whatever I want in the United States, thanks to credit cards, online shopping and courier services that bring my packages to my country from a P.O. Box in Miami but for those years and with no Internet I could only desire.
It was 1993, I was in my late teenage years, when I got some comics a relative sent from USA in which I saw the advertisement from the link and my head blew out. I always associated RPGs with fantasy but to the best of my recollection I did not know for those years that there were Superhero RPGs as well and as a fan of superhero comics I just could drool over that ad (do not remember how many times I read it or how long I was looking at but it was a lot).
It was amazing to know about Rifts and the other products, but it was Heroes Unlimited that got my full attention and desire. For those years there was no way to get the game so just forgot about something impossible.
Thirty years later I finally can read the book and play the game. As I told you, HU was probably the first superhero RPG I was aware of, so nostalgy is a big factor why I am organizing these games.
You are here because you played the game, I am here because a never could.

Wanted to share that, by the way English is not my primary language so expect mispelling and semantic mistakes.

https://www.scribd.com/documen...ted-Century-Station#

Free version of Century Station.

Great, I have been reading the book, it works as a reference book very well, the sections have been very well organizaed and it is easy to find what you are looking for.

I grew up in rural Appalachia (so some would argue English isn't my first language either) with similarly limited access to gaming materials. Now in my 50s I run a game store.


More on topic: I'll be finishing my character today. Not sure of all the details yet but he will be a "Altered Physical Structure: Metal" tank with the name "Alloy".
This message was last edited by the player at 17:40, Mon 28 Aug 2023.

In reply to Patricus (msg # 23):

Yup, I read that about aliens.   It seemed easier than digging through the various sourcebooks to try and find something close.   I'm planning on using Kzinti* (singular Kzin) as they seem to it all the check-boxes.  I looked at a few others, but like this one the best.

I'm going to be an alien mystic, with a sciences specialization.   Oddly enough, there really aren't any mystic oriented skill groups.  I'm going to end up using my secondary skills for the various Lore skills from Rifts.

*https://larryniven.fandom.com/wiki/Kzin

I've about got the character sheet set, threw a few curves at the description, etc. I'm attempting to run a Shifter (from Rifts) as a Mystic Study character. I'm not sure how well that will work.
To avoid confusion, I should mention that I tend to write this character's dialogue with a specific accent. I've been around the Ozarks enough to know what a hillbilly sounds like.

---

Also, I saw this, and think I can help. The "img" tag requires a link to an image file. Onedrive doesn't permit direct links to the files. Moving the image to another location allows it to work:
<img src="https://i.postimg.cc/Px72HMZF/Space-Ghost-TPB-unscanned.jpg">

Okay, creating my character brought up a couple of questions for me.

#1. If you have Super Psionic powers, does that make you a Master Psychic? Need to know for I.S.P. generation.

#2. Are we allowed to world build at all? I got Private Industry for my sponsoring organization and was wondering if I could decide what that would mean?

In reply to Hatfield McCoy (msg # 38):

Yes, you are right. I think I will stick to One Drive and you will have to see the images outside rpol. I am just not in the mood to create a new account into another storage site. Thank your for your help,

My Century station PDF is 10 years old, along with a big pile of other stuff I picked up around then, and I don't think I have ever read past the introduction.

I was planning on having Alana fairly new to the whole super hero thing, and to the city itself, so I can learn it first through her eyes, but I will probably read some of the guided tour section as she has been in the city long enough to join whatever team we build.

In reply to Alana (msg # 41):

I'm leaning in the direction of "been here long enough to learn the language", myself.

#1. I do not think so, since you are an experiment and your psychic powers are derivative of your condition. Was the same question I wonder when I created my experiment character and I assume a Master Psychic is a character whose build is Psionic.

#2. If you still want to keep the backstory of Loose Cannon and Scarlet Wolf running away from their creators I will tell you our character's creator is Triton Industries (p. 66 setting book), it is military company but alongside replicating alien technology, they also want to break into the field of cloning, specifically cloning super beings. Scarlet Wolf and Loose Cannon are defective attempts that have to be deleted. You can go with the sponsoring company idea but if you want to stick to the first story the sponsoring company idea have to be dropped.

You native American indian?

Not enough to matter. What I am is Native Hillbilly.

Reading through Century Station right now.

Thanks for the link.

@ GM - my character sheet is posted in proper place. Awaiting your input.

Just checked it. It goes well.

I did some fiddling with my sheet as well, should be done and ready to roll out.

P.S. There aren't any group 0 maps visible, if you have more maps on other groups you will have to flag us as part of those groups to see them.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:20, Mon 28 Aug 2023.

Did not know that, I will do it now, thank you.

You should be able to see the maps by now. Let me know if not.

Looks like group 1 through 7 have maps, the other groups may be overkill.

@ GM

My character sheet is likewise done, I think.  I forgot how long it takes to make a character.

Just wanted to save time in case more pictures are required. Any negative repercussions at having that amount of groups?

There is sometimes an advantage to having people in different groups, some GMs use it for personal IC threads, some do work behind the scenes on locations they switch into an active group later.

For most it is just a longer string of symbols on the cast list.

Alloy is coming together well.

He will be an experiment as well but he gets along a lot better with his creators than some of the others. In fact they are a well meaning organization and he is still employed by them.

I ended up with the alien mystic route.   He can't really hide his non-human appearance, nor really does he want to.

Alloy's charsheet is more or less done if you'd like to take a look at it Patricus.

In reply to Alloy (msg # 58):

Approved.

Well, that was one of the longer character sheets I've created. But it's done and sent on its merry way.

We have to decide who will be the team leader. Classic super teams always have a leader, either de facto or named. Who will be? Any ideas?

In reply to Patricus (msg # 61):

Not it!

Not It!

In reply to Patricus (msg # 61):

If no one else wants it, I'll do it for the convenience of the game.

I'm happy to support this.

In reply to Crusader (msg # 64):

You're hired, congratulations. Not sure if there's pay, but eh, it sounded good.

The leader of us!

No payment, just love for justice.

Hey Lex, I hope you noticed that guy is actually named "LOOSE CANNON".

I have it in mind that Alloy can actually fly faster along the MagLev tracks but no real rules to support that.

In reply to Crusader (msg # 64):

I don't normally mind jumping into that role, however Puck is not the leader type.  So, thumbs up from me.

By the way Patricus, where is Century Station located in your world?

Somewhere in the north coast of Mendocino, California. Near the limits to Humboldt. Valle Lindo is less than 50 miles east from Century Station.

Cool.

I'm enjoying reading through Century Station but I am less than thrilled with how he hands out Supernatural Strength like candy at Halloween.

I tend to think of things like that as a visibility bias.  If you have 100 supers and 10 of them have some kind of 'super strength' then you really only see 10 supers, and a few other guys who spit lightning in some flashy way.

wow 4 of the characters are from the experiment power category? I mean we're all different obviously, but I'd never seen that before in a HU game.

Things that happen only in Century Station.

My issue is that very nearly every NPC in this book with any level of Super strength at all has Supernatural strength. There are even Cyborgs with supernatural strength which is a thing that cannot be done.



Yeah I almost went a different way when I noticed but I was so far into a really long process that I just rolled on.

I believe Scarlet's sheet is done, except for equipment, but I'm playing it as Korashi would provide Scarlet with the equipment she needs. If not I could list some, but it's really my least favorite part of making characters.

Yeah, I bought armor because it made sense.   Skipped the rest as I wasn't sure what we might have as opposed to need.

A bit of context for today's news: There are four types of superbings in the city: Cavaliers (sanctioned by the law and members of CHIMERA), Legionnaires (crimefighters outside the law who pursue their own methods to apply justice), Public Enemies (the super scum of the city) and Free Agents (neither good nor evil, that pursue their own interests, many of them end being muscle for hire).
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:58, Wed 30 Aug 2023.

Are we presumed to already be Chimera by default?  Or do we need to do something about that now?

We are legionnaires right now. Things can change in the process but we start the campaign under those circumstances.

Are we posting?

Posting where?

In #0 replying to news.

Hello. We are waiting for the last player to post his character's background. After that we will round the zero issue with a flashback of the adventure that reunited us and then we will start with the actual campaign with issue #1 which follows the events described in the news.

I have always tried to create my own personal character sheets and worked from scratch on this one. It is for an experiment power category and has been done in Word. Any input will be highly appreciated.

https://1drv.ms/w/s!As3yY-2vjI...LK2txuuvWNg?e=nOgeHr

Nothing against Mr. McCoy but it is very important to maintain momentum here on RPOL.

He hasn't logged in for a couple of day and while there could be any number of good reasons why it is better to go ahead and move the story along at your pace than to create a habit of waiting.

You have a point.

Century Station is an intimidating setting with a lot of information. I prefer we start short and then expand large. We will start our adventures in Fairfax (district 34 on map), a district of Diego Verde, a rural zone with about 200k inhabitants. It is a residencial, commercial and industrial zone that shares with the rest of Diego Verde's districts to be mostly country.
I picked Fairfax for being among all Diego Verde's districts, the only with a moderate crime rate (all other districts have a light crime rate) so the team will have more opportunities for adventuring without getting entirely to the most hot area of the city.
As we develop the campaign we will have opportunities to visit the hot spots of Century Station.

Congrats to all for the amazing backstories. The campaign is moving now.

For my own posts I tend to wait until 3/4 of the players in any given game or thread have posted since my own last post.  I can make exceptions if specific IC dialog requires a response, and obviously any kind of initiative messes with everything until the fight is over.

On that point as so much of Palladium's initiative process is just a flat dice roll and characters tend to have wildly different numbers of attacks I recommend we run combat by having all the players post as a group, then the NPCs actions come in as needed and the GM post the results along with the 'next round' setup.

In some situations we will need to fiddle with that but it tends to be a good start for managing game pacing during combat.

Missed the hit points, I do not know how could I.

In my experience in RPOL I have preferred to divide the combat in three phases:
First act those who got better initiative than villains.
Second act the villains
Third act those who got less initiative than villains.
Only one initiative roll is made for all the combat and that initiative remains for the rest of the combat, despite the HU rule to roll initiative every round.
It is the first time I GM a Palladium game in this platform so there will be a learning curve ahead to determine the best strategy but with D&D 5e it worked well.
My recommendation to make things move faster is that players in phase 1 use all their attacks at once and GM resolves accordingly, then the villains attack with everything they have and finally players in phase 3 attack with everything they have and the round is resolved.
Tell me what you think.

My experience has been players don't want to commit to using all of their actions, worried that they'll want to change their second, third, or other actions based on someone else's first action. It might seem harsh, but to get the players to post all their actions at once you might need to invoke the 'unposted actions become GM property' rule to avoid this.

I would just default any unused actions to 'dodge'.  Sometimes that is a good thing, but most of the time it isn't helpful.

Having a partial/surprise/early round for the people with good perception and or initiative rolls can work, but you will notice that after the first round phase 3 of any given round is the same as phase 1 of the next round, so those should post at the same time with cinematic interchangeability.

That is to say that narrative effects take place in the order posted within a phase so we don't have to go back and fix or adapt existing posts just because someone rolled 1 point higher to have their effect happen first.

P.S. On perception rolls Palladium is horribly disorganized on that sort of thing, you should either work out who has better senses in each category and always use that, or make random rolls on your end however you like.  Wasting a post cycle to ask for perception rolls never helps.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:17, Thu 31 Aug 2023.

I'd agree, except dodge requires an action...unless I'm misremembering something.

---

Puck happens to have Fly as the Eagle, which has a top speed of 50 mph.  Just about all of his magic is utilitarian in nature rather than damaging...and yes, he has portals.   :D
This message was last edited by the player at 10:25, Thu 31 Aug 2023.

This is what I meant. It's also what I've run in to. The only way combat resolves on RPOL without considerable time passing is to force the players to post all their actions at the beginning. Therefore, the GM gets to use any actions the players don't post as the GM wishes.
Players need to accept that they won't be executing perfect use of game mechanics to defeat their adversaries and RP the results of combat as best they can. The narrative has to be left to the GM.

With all this said a propose next rules, you could give feedback to revise or improve:

Before a combat:
1. Everyone rolls initiative including villains.
2. The combat order per round is divided into three phases: in first phase post those who got better initiative than villains (a tie with villains always plays in benefit for the player), second phase GM resolves and moves villains, third phase is for those with less inititive than the villains to post, GM resolves and ends the round.
3. The process repeats every next round until the combat ends.
4. Players have 12 hours to post from the beginning of the phase they are placed at, if player fails to post in the 12 hours window since beginning of the phase GM will act in behalf of the player to best of the benefit for player and team.
5. If by chance a player that failed to post in the proper time and GM posts simultaneously, then GM will delete the post and the one by player will be considered the official one.

It seems my ideas for issue zero was not well understood. The three months ago flashback was intended for all the members of the team to concur to a situation in which they meet each other and after that emergency they would create the Justice Front and start friendship.
I am not going to disregard the posts already done so a retcon will be made for issue zero and let's change the approach and the issue will show the first mission Justice Front worked together for the first time as a team.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:44, Thu 31 Aug 2023.

In reply to Patricus (msg # 101):

Hey,
Im sorry I misunderstood. Thanks for understanding.

This will work as well as anything if we all work toward it.

I had not seen it yet but this sounds like fun anyway.

Do we want to do one of these for this game as well?

----------------------------------------------------------
Justice Front Organization Statistics

A. Outfits:
B. Equipment:
C. Weapons:
D. Bionics & Robotics
E. Vehicles:
F. Communications:
G. Offices, Hideouts, and Distribution:
H. Military Power:
I. Super Powered Operatives:
J. Sponsorship:
K. Special Budget:
L. Administrative Control:
M. Internal Security:
N. External Infiltration:
O. Research and Information Gathering:
P. Agency Credentials:
Q. Agency Salary:

Total Organization Points: 000
-----------------------------------------------------------

I'm good with this.

In reply to Patricus (msg # 100):

This looks good. I'm probably going to paraphrase these rules for my own game.

What is your game?

Im good with rules

I won't plug my game in someone else's, but I will answer the GM's question:

In reply to Alloy (msg # 105):

I don't see this in either the HU corebook or the Campaign sourcebook.  Is this basically the same table that pops up in Rifts Mercenaries?

It's from organizations in Ninjas and Superspies. It's a great way to organize the various factions in a game.

Affirmative.

In reply to Alloy (msg # 113):

*thumbs up*

As this isn't my normal genre of play, I do have a question.

What level of force do we usually use?  Is it more Justice League, where we beat the bad guys up but take them in alive; or more Invincible, where things ... happen.

I was thinking something between invincible and the boys would be a good target.

O.O

Really hope that was a joke and you're just trying to give the GM a heart attack.

In reply to Alloy (msg # 116):

It's a rather serious question.   As Puck is a mystic rather than a super, any punk kid with a gun is a viable threat.   So before he starts giving business to the undertaker; I'm wanting to make sure that's okay.

Normally in the genre killing is a very last resort.

Absolutely so.

The team is already engaged to Proton and the guys inside the car so everyone rolls initiative. Do not need to post anything, I will see your initiative rolls in the dice roller you only have have to tag them "Initiative".
How may rounds will take to Crusader and Company to arrive to the combat scene?

DO NOT POST IN THE ADVENTURE THREAD, WAIT FOR THE COMBAT THREAD TO START MOVING.

Really I can go either way on the violence thing.  If we want to play it clever first that works but if someone is threatening to blow up a city because we aren't allowed to kill them first do expect a more final result to that scene than normal.

In reply to Patricus (msg # 120):

I still would like to cast spells before combat starts, given that I can only cast twice (or once, depending) per turn.

Continuing the previous subject: At this stage, it's much easier for Puck to make corpses than prisoners; but by the same token, not everyone has the same expectations...so I'd like to get that off the table before it becomes a situation in game.

The combat starting is not something coming from you but coming from Proton. He will not tolerate any intervention in the car's escape. In the moment Alana tried to stop the fleeing car you detonated Proton's wrath.

It's been a while since I read this book. Isn't Photon a complete moron?

Scientist turned criminal with IQ 20. I don't think so. Unless you talk about Photon and not Proton.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:07, Fri 01 Sept 2023.

I figured there would be some reaction, that is why I included a most likely response on my own part

Do you think we should apply the 12 hours rule to the initiative roll too once a combat has been called?

Wanted to tell you that I rest from 6 pm Friday until 7 pm Saturday, so that is a window of time I won't answer any message or make any post. Thanks for your understanding.

Well, I do not have experience with the Paladium system so please shed some light about how do i have to proceed according to what the actions will be:

One of the thugs (the copilot) will break car's windshield with a sub-machinegun (one action? does require checking windshield's SDC?), will open fire over Alana (how many shots are counted per action? how is the roll done?).

Proton actions will depends on the outcome of situation and who attacks him.

I think I will divide combat like this:

Round 1 - Action 1
Phase 1
Phase 2
Phase 3

Round 1 - Action 2
Phase 1
Phase 2
Phase 3

The Round X - Action X scheme will continue until everyone has run out of action, this means that only the characters with actions remaining will keep posting. I do not know how till will behave, let's see how things go.

By the way, I rolled Initiative for those who did not until now.
I am not going to complicate things as this is my first combat with the system, so let's assume Crusader and company got to the place on the same moment the combat started and his car is riding a few meters from the fleeing car.

The action by action initiative style is what we were talking about getting rid of earlier.

It is better to post all actions at the same time.

In your example there are several different firing modes for different kinds of machine guns but generally you can short burst fr a single action and that should do plenty of damage to break out of a normal car window.

Shooting me is another thing entirely first I have a natural Armor Rating of 13.  So any D20 roll of 1 through 12 fails to do damage at all.  For rolls higher than that add the available strike bonus then I get to roll to dodge that.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:42, Sun 03 Sept 2023.

I thought as some said people could change mind in the middle of a combat after seeing previous actions outcome.

Well, I am stuck at this point. Do we then move all actions at once? I need some input from players for this.

IDC

I'm for trying your way to start. There are always folks around saying you cant run Paladium "rules as written" but in a decade on here I have never seen anyone actually try it.

All actions at once is too much of a change to the rules. I came here to play Heroes Unlimited not Heroes Abbreviated. Id like to get as close to the actual game as we can.

Most successful game I've played in had folks roll 3 attacks and 3 defenses and then the GM put the combat together from that.

Breaking out the windshield would take an action, but a windshield has 70 SDC so it would take a fair amount of force. The submachinegun is an automatic weapon so a long burst is one attack.
At one point in another game, I tried to give everyone a relative similar number of posts during a round by indicating how many actions each character should post at once. The number of posts per round was determined by the character (NPC or PC) with the fewest actions, and all other character had to cover a certain number of actions in each post.

Slightly cumbersome, but it worked. My personal preference is to have the players post as many actions as they like. The GM uses as many of those actions as they can and allows the players to post as many of their remaining actions as they like. The cycle repeats till combat is done.

I was thinking that we could have a separate thread where we list our choice of default actions, that way things don't slow down once we get into combat.    Which adds my agreement about everyone posting their entire action set at once.

You're either just going to have to accept either some compromises based on the medium we're using or accept that it'll take a least a week real time per combat turn.   The solution will be whatever the GM feels works best; and while we can toss out suggestions, it's ultimately up to him.

Corollary: I've been on rpol a very, very long time.   The longer things like combat drag out, the more likely (and faster) that the game is going to die.  I can sympathize with wanting to play as written; but even when I ran Palladium systems on table-top, I found it necessary to make some adjustments to how things worked.

Sorry, don't get it. So even rolling your armor plus one, it is a fail.

To this point you have noticed I am new to the system and although I am doing my homework (believe me I am reading as much as I can) I am in a learning curve that could take a while until I master the system as you probably do.
I do not think handling a bunch of actions and trying to configurate them in a logical order to get a nice fight scene (with all the load of rules that demand) will do any good to my efforts to learn the system.
I have the ideas for the story on my head but the system perhaps is not as smooth as others could be for the purpose of a play-by-post game. However you are here because you love Palladium System and want to play it.
I do not have any haste to advance in the game as I want to process the rules action after action, learning how to make the rolls and interpret them. This could be annoying for some but think of this as an investment, you are investing time in forming a new GM for the Palladium System something that (as far as I know) is everyday more difficult to find.

With this said, I will keep the format already posted in the combat thread and since the combat has already started those in phase one can already post their first action.

May I suggest you ignore Roll With Punches for now at least. That one rule doubles or triples the time it takes to play though a combat. Everyone rolling for half damage and 99 out of a hundred succeeding means what would be a brisk walk turns into slogging through mire. My two cents.

Technically, any modified roll of thirteen or less fails. Firing a submachinegun with a long burst the die roll is modified if the shooter has the weapon proficiency, it gets a plus one.

So, a proficient submachine gunner wouldn't do damage on a twelve or less.
It's also noteworthy that firing from more than sixty feet away, the attack is only successful on an eight or better.

Automatic parries and automatic dodges tend to slow things down if they're done in response to successful attacks. To alleviate this I would suggest having an automatic parry and automatic dodge roll done at the beginning of the round and using that roll for ALL automatic parries/dodges the character makes that round.

Sorry about that I am on my phone all week, so typos are more common.  The AR is 13 so the roll needs to be 13 to hit instead of the normal minimum of 4.  Some very specific weapons can change that but they are so rare, and tend to do half damage, so it generally doesn't matter.

10:09, Today: Crusader rolled 17 using 1d20+14.  Dagger Attack to tire.

10:14, Today: Crusader rolled 20 using 1d4+16.  Damage.

Ok I assume since the tire does not have any AR then I only have to deduct damage from tire's SDC? Am I right? Does anybody could tell me if there is a source to find the SDC of a tire. Page 70 of the PHB mentions some items SDC but in the car section does not mention tires :(

In reply to Alana (msg # 141):

Got it.

From what it looks like on the Forums of the Megaverse, a normal tire would have 6-8 S.D.C., high performance tires would have 8 S.D.C. but I couldn't find it listed in any book I have access to.

I say 6-8 cause of this post here.

"High Performance Tires: These tires are designed to have better response and handling than normal tires. Cost: $500 per tire, Bonuses: +5% to Control Roll if all tires match. A.R.: 5, S.D.C.: 8.

Heavy Duty High Performance Tires: These tires are designed to have better response and handling, and withstand high speeds better than normal tires. Cost: $600 per tire, Bonuses: +4% to Control Roll if all tires match. A.R.: 5, S.D.C.: 10."

Since a motorcycle has 100 SDC, and is mostly tires, I would put a tire at about 30 SDC. However, somewhere (I can't find it right now) in one of the books it points out that losing part of an objects SDC changes the object and logic should prevail. In other words, if you shoot a bunch of holes in a door, you can see through it. So if someone slashes a tire on a moving vehicle the moving vehicle would have a blow out and should probably act as listed for a tire being shot out.

On the other hand, slashing a tire on a moving vehicle from another moving vehicle should probably be a special attack (like a called shot).

In reply to Hatfield McCoy (msg # 145):

I would normally agree called shot, unless someone can say stretch their arm into the tire well.

Wiggles Eyebrows*

The control vehicle section starting on page 83 talks about "control rolls". Definitely a control roll must be made for the thug to prevent the car from losing track. But the thug's stats does not mention a skill associated to the word "car" or "vehicle". What is the criteria used to do the "control rolls"?

I think it is possible if you aimed to the most inner part of the tire, you use enough strength and let the knife go in the precise moment before it breaks your wrist.

He'd roll his Pilot: Automobile skill for the control roll.

In reply to Patricus (msg # 148):

Rubber bends, twists, and contorts. Your call boss.

NPCs, if they have stats, are often intentional missing skills so you can add more for role specific use without worrying about taking others away.

In general if the narrative uses a skill you can just roll it at the base level+ the party level and it should make the game make more sense rather than less

All characters get Pilot: Automobile, Basic Mathematics, and native language (with literacy) regardless of education level, give the NPC the base roll (60% plus 2% for each level beyond the first).
The attack roll was high enough to strike whether or not it was a called shot, but that rule might have altered any attacks against other vehicles.

Got it, thanks.

You can keep the knife, your rubber body avoids you breaking your wrist.

Crusader
Alloy
Hatfield McCoy
Puck

Three more to go on first phase.

I am thinking I am not moving anyone's character (it looks like additional work I do not want to do) but a character that fails to post in any action will be able to post in the next action his/her first and second action. If failed first and second then will be able to post his/her three actions in the third action of the combat. The last action of the combat will be one additional action that the villain with the highest number of actions and for that action everyone have to post their remaining actions or lose them.

Example:

Player A (3 actions), Player B (4 actions), Player C (7 actions).

The villain with the highest number of actions has 4 actions.

The combat round will be divided in 5 actions (one more action than the villain with the highest number of actions).

In this example, players will have 5 different cycles to act. If they are attentive to the game they will be able to take better decisions regarding the use of their actions as they can decide in what cycle they can act as long as they act in the phase they belong to.

In this example if action 5 (the last action) has arrived, players with higher actions e.g. Player C will have to consume all the remaining actions or lost them (provided he/she has been posting on action per action cycle) and players that did not post any action till then  will have their chance in the last action to post all their actions. For instance Player A did not post in any of the action cycles then he/she will have to post all his/her actions in the Action 5 cycle or lose them.

This system of posting will demand keeping strictly the 12 hour waiting window with no exceptions. If you lost one cycle could post in the next and so on until the round ends.

Characters that do not act in the combat round will remain "unmanned" and will be assumed they are shocked, hesitant or distracted.

Nuff said!

The thug failed to keep control of the car. What would be a consequence of this?

Blowout tire at high speed? Likely spinout or possibly even crash.

20:19, Today: Patricus rolled 44 using 1d100.  Loss of control.

Stall! Forced to make sudden stop; the car stalls out. Getting it going again takes 2d6 melee rounds.

It seems the dice played in our favor.

In reply to Patricus (msg # 159):

By the way I found this table on page 83 of the PHB.

Could Control Radiation work even under the effect of Carpet of Adhesion?
This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 02:14, Mon 04 Sept 2023.

Seems like as long as it didn't require movement it would.


If he's in the Magic Net though he's helpless for a couple of rounds.

Proton could avoid the Magic Net via ST. It is only stuck to the Adhesion Carpet. It seems Proton could emanate radiation even stuck to the carpet but he will not do that since that would kill his partners and the girl inside the car. He could aim beams from his hands but they are stuck to the carpet.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:46, Mon 04 Sept 2023.

In reply to Patricus (msg # 163):

Well it seems like he is in a bad spot.

Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

In reply to Patricus (msg # 163):

Of course, the idea was to first get him into the Net; then pushing him down into the Carpet.   We should be done and long gone by the time he gets free.

So far, it's about as I predicted. Hatfield doesn't fight well, but he has other attributes that will prove useful in the future.

Does Mind Bolt takes into consideration AR? Description does not tell. I rolled a natural 20 that means it is a critical. Regular damage would be 2d6, do I roll 4d6 or roll 2d6 and multiply the result by 2.

I don't know mind bolt very well but most powers are very clear they do a form of non physical damage, but anything like projection of energy uses AR as normal.

Mind Bolt is not stopped by AR. Double damage goes either way you want. My TT game uses the house rule (Max damage for base dice- 12 here and then roll the second set 2d6 here). The key to the crit roll thing is consistency, everyone uses the same rule every time.

I've always had Mind Bolt affected by AR, but I've also always had a natural twenty bypass AR.
The rules as written indicate that a natural twenty is a critical strike in hand to hand combat. The rules make no mention of this for other attacks. However, when the rules do describe 'critical strikes' they indicate the original damage is rolled and the result of the roll is doubled (or tripled if necessary).

In reply to Hatfield McCoy (msg # 170):

Indeed, HU and Palladium in general are heavily geared for hand to hand.

BTW/ Hatfield, nice play getting the crowd involved in giving you PPE.

Hand to hand is the baseline.  Everything else is added to that unless it says not to.

Changes to critical hits should propagate into most attack types.

Any rules for perception? To overheard a conversation.

In reply to Patricus (msg # 173):

Well, the story is Proton will start mumbling into something that seems a telecomunicator.

There are various skills¹, powers², devices³, et al⁴ that give a chance to perceive things normally not noticed or heard, but a base chance to perceive is usually left to the GM as in if it's not something someone might've heard based on their location, no one hears it.

Examples
1. Lipreading
2. Heightened Sense of Hearing
3. a robot's Advanced Audio System
4. Psionic Sensitive Powers, spells like Eyes of Thoth

In reply to Patricus (msg # 173):

I think there is a bonus based on IQ.

Otherwise Hatfield covered it, and Crusader has Enhanced Hearing.

Sorry everyone, it's been a busy day rl. I might not get a post up until tomorrow as I am exhausted.

Yup.   You can usually punch/shoot something four to six times, but everything else is once or twice per turn.  Sometimes less.

I'm really sorry Alana I had to delete your post as it was out the respective phase.

Perhaps after looking the outcome of Phase 2 could make you take new decisions regarding the combat.

Remember the phase ends when I post a message like this:

END OF PHASE 2

In reply to Scarlet Wolf (msg # 177):

I hope you rest well.

Can Crusader alert Scarlet to placements of thugs and child in this turn?

In reply to Crusader (msg # 181):

Logic tells me that you are unaware Scarlet is heading to the car's door to open it until your action has occurred, which was before the thugs and even before Scarlet's actions. So I say you can do it in your turn on next phase as a free action while yo do something else.

Got it. Thanks boss

One of the things that sometimes turn problematic for GMs in rpol is the fact some players do not read previous posts to their actions creating certain disruption or acting in ways that are not necessary anymore.
Crusader you are hitting a man that is already down so wasting your damage rolls.
Loose Cannon had already knocked down the passenger thug, something I clearly stated in a previous post.
Only for this occassion I will adjudicate the full damage to the driver so he is now knocked out, but if you do not pay attention mistakes like this one will not be overlooked and will apply as normal.

"You over knocked out the already knocked thug"

Sorry I missed that boss.

Let it be a lesson to evil doers every where; Crusader will stomp your ass out!

LOL

So what enemies are left or are they all unconscious now?

Two guys in the backseat with the kidnap victim between them.

Thanks. Did I ever get the door open?

Message #23 of the combat thread was devoted to describe the outcome of your action. You are no paying attention.

You know, if Alloy landed near Proton, he could get caught in the Carpet of Adhesion. That spell is no respecter of persons, just like real flypaper.

In reply to Hatfield McCoy (msg # 192):

You have a point. I thought that probably Alloy was speaking metaphorically. He knows more the rules than I do.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:26, Wed 06 Sept 2023.

Well, I guess Hatfield didn't get that thug (yes, a twelve is a save). He's still going to walk out and make a spectacle of himself waving at the thug like he's doing a Jedi Mind Trick.

It's an actual carpet that's only ten feet wide (and 20 feet long unless the caster changes the shape).

If it isn't summoned right under you there is absolutely no reason to touch it.

If I was that thug at this point I would pretend you got me until I was safely in custody.

I have a question about death blow. Please help me to interprete this:

Whenever the words "death blow" are presented [should a comma be here?] without limitation, the character can use a death strike whenever he desires;

What does "presented" mean? Presented from the verb "to present" e.g. "Ok, I present you GM my wish to apply a death blow". Or it means "present" as it is present in some sort of special ability, power, skill, etc.

If it is something players can use whenever they want, why using regular blows when they can go directly to HP bypassing SDC to the cost of only one attack?

Sorry, forgot the source, it is PHB p. 67.

Death Blow is usually a function of Hand to Hand skill. You have to call it before the strike (unless that has changed) and meet a roll requirement, which is usually the same as a crit. Failure to meet that point means the attack fails (again unless that has changed).

The entry on page 67 is part of the glossary of terms, descriptions of how to use things.  It isn't a source of those things it doesn't grant you any new abilities.

In order to use death blow you would need to get it from somewhere else, generally a hand to hand combat style or some OCC ability or power.  Without knowing where the ability comes from you can't know exactly how it operates.

What I suspected. Thanks guys.

Alloy, you must wait until phase 3 ends so you can act. Remember you are placed on phase 1.

Dang, sorry. Got excited again. I'll take it down.

Editted it to remove anything he couldn't do as a defensive action.

You don't have to lose your action, you can act right now, I simply deleted you former post. In fact, I liked what you said to the thug and was thinking in a reaction.

Good thing I saved the whole thing. :)

The Horror Factor applies to anyone who witnesses him pulling his stretched man gag.

Boss, I think you're trying to one-up me (My HF is 13) and I was doing pretty good. :)

I go first in the order, right? If not I'll edit. You are absolutely scarier than Crusader is and honestly between the two of us the poor guy will likely pee himself or something.

How about we compromise and you keep the cobra thing but leave me the words? I was quite proud of them.

You got it.

Horror factor? Some kind of morale check? Sorry, never read about it, at least no a rule about it. Could you head me to the page?

Horror Factor is a power unto itself. HU2 p 234.
Alter PS Rubber is PU1 p 58 where you get a HF of 9.

Yeah that. Couldn't recall where it was at in the HU book.

Given the opportunity Alloy will "Wing Cocoon" himself and the girl hostage.

Anything would then have to blast through his Mega Wings entire SDC (and AR 16) to hurt either of them.

Thanks for the input.

Is there anyone other than us and the thugs around/in the car?

No, there are some bystanders but they are to plenty distance.

Just so everyone is aware, Lex/Crusader is vehemently opposed to registering. He has lots of reasons, which he would be happy to share IC, but it boils down to "don't trust any form of government."

Hatfield isn't opposed to registering, but he's truly 'not from around here'.

Puck really doesn't care about registering one way or the other.

Puck doesn't want to be part of the team? This is a big red flag for me.

I ask questions, I don't get answers.   I raise concerns I have, I don't get answers.

---

So as I'm quickly discovering that I'm not a good fit for the game, I'm going to drop out.

Good luck.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:21, Thu 07 Sept 2023.

You can check the whole OOC thread and Puck's only question was message 217 which was answered immediately in message 218.

Perhaps he did not like the way how I treated his innocuous spell:



But what else could I do? The combat was already over and he was there posting as if he had not read anything previous from his post.

In reply to Patricus (msg # 224):

You did fine boss. The player behind Puck seemed to be a bit childish. Adults know that when they are corrected, they accept the correction and attempt not to repeat the mistake.

In reply to Crusader (msg # 225):

Probably a teenager, if not a kid.

Well I hope you had read the epilogue for issue #0 that will have repercusions sometime in the campaign.

Now tell me something: how is your civilian identity? Loose Cannon puts a large coat on, with sunglasses, a scarf and a hat (same as Thing does). I ask this because that is the way the decide to go to the convention.

I posted in the thread.

https://www.furiouscinema.com/...ds/2018/01/they2.png

1.Goodbye Puck. I'm sorry you feel that way and hope you have fun in all your other games.

Very much appreciate the goodbye message as opposed to ghosting (the preferred method of many on rpol) and leaving us potentially waiting for you to post.

2. GM you've done a fine job. We're all in the period of adjustment having just started playing together (although many, almost all, of us have been in games together before because we are fans of Palladium) and so there will be bumps. If someone isn't having fun they can go, no hard feelings. You want everyone to have fun but sometimes that's not achievable.

We know also that there is a language barrier and we are also getting used to how we all type English (though I reiterate in some way your English is better than mine and I'm a native speaker).

3. Hal (Alloy) is known in Century Station having been a sergeant on the CSPD prior to being contracted by Arcus (Advanced Research Corp: United States). Having lost his wife on the job makes him doubly recognizable to CSPD cops.

He is also a known, public employee of Arcus.

That said he undergoes a total physical transformation that leaves him almost totally unrecognizable between superhuman and normal forms. Hell, he's actually FAR more attractive at 7ft tall than his normal self.

4. Alloy is strongly in favor of registration. Having been born in Georgia his issues with authority are similar to Crusader's but he has learned the hard way the price of a disorganized front (see what I did there).

He has decided to follow Crusader's lead but one too many conflicts with other White Hats over jurisdiction and he will certainly start to dissent.

His strong suggestion is join to avoid conflict with the law and then simply go off book if our sense of Justice requires it.

Hatfield McCoy isn't his real name and he never wore anything like a costume or mask. He's pretty much always in his civilian identity.

Thank you for your generous comments.

To this point I think we democratically have to decide the registration - no registration controversy.

My character Loose Cannon could never register because he is wanted by Genesys and once he goes to a public registry with a picture and all he knows GENESYS will find him. Perhaps he could be that member that helps the team "fom the shadows".

I expect there is a way to register without an accurate picture.  Either nothing, an obvious avatar, or something forged and realistic.

Alana doesn't have a human identity connected to her at all, her humanoid robot from is unique and easily identified so her "civilian" disguise is something mundane and portable like a camera, suitcase, or backpack.  The exact details depending on the setting.

In this case an older style mechanical film camera seems appropriate.

Ya, for Scarlet it's a case of you can't serve two masters, so she will not be registering.

Crusader/Lex knows that there isn't a politician alive who wouldn't hesitate to cut their own mother's throat to get ahead, so our identities would be less than a bump on the road. Lex wants to just be a normal person when not out heroing.

It would seem more likely to me that Korashi would want you to be legal.

Wouldn't an asset of theirs publicly breaking the law be a PR issue, at least, and a legal issue, at worst?


Also, Crusader, that a pretty anarchist position for a team lead. How can we hope to win if we don't believe there is anyone who can be trusted to be in charge?


Bot are meant as actual questions, opportunities to explain, so please don't read this as an attack.

These subjects HAVE to have come up on our camping retreat.

It isn't about winning, it is about fighting the good fight. If you guys register, that is fine, Crusader will be in shadows with LC

I propose another option. What if Alloy becomes the leader and the public face of Justice Front, he registers and he takes the credit for all the cases we solve. But he always mention a team of "friends" that help him to fight the goog fight, "friends" that without whose help he could not solve all the cases he solve. It looks like an interesting concept to me.

In reply to Patricus (msg # 238):

That would be fine with me.

If the registration system accepts single member 'teams' with 'adjunct' or 'temporary' help from others then Alana is all about ignoring the paperwork.

As for perspectives on organization she likes order and structure, but doesn't trust anyone elected by anything as silly as a popularity contest to be doing anything other than moving chaos around for their own benefit.

Nobody has to know Ally has a team, they are just "friends", nothing official, in other words Justice Front does exist only in the shadows.

We can do that or Alloy can simply go with the majority vote (which is clearly a No on registration).

As indicated previously, Hatfield is truly from another world. He could register and the authorities would still be unable to find any record of the man. That being said, his character is such that he doesn't care about registration one way or another.

I think the point is that No is not a viable option for a hero team.  As we have previously indicated a preference for that hero style of play we need at least someone to register the name for use.

Agreed. I vote for the GMs option.

Dozens of legionnaires in Century Station will remain like that and won't register. They will be the superheroes that have to flee the cops when they get but they still fight for the ideals of justice.
The sourcebook lists some legionnaires teams so Justice Front could be one of them. I am not pushing things to any direction or another just telling the whole landscape and make clear we do not need to be register to be superheroes.
Let's define this once to avoid bogging on this topic, the majority of the team seems to go for the NO registration route. Now it is up to Alloy to register and the rest of the team to assist him from the anonymity or Alloy does not register and we all remain legionnaires.

I feel like the sentiment is to go with the Alloy as a Faceman plan. I'm into it.

Case closed. So be it.

Wanted you to know I posted this on the IC thread, just in case you are interested.

link to a message in another game

Is it okay if Lex's blind man cane is a quarterstaff?

Hell, I own a walking stick that a full on warhammer.

Does any of the characters is comic fan? At every level, the geekest the best.

I mean, a true fan, a collector, a comic geek.

In reply to Patricus (msg # 253):

Are any of our characters comic fans? Lex/Crusader is not. He has vague knowledge from what pieces of pop culture he allows into his life. He cannot see the contents of books, pictures, etc. Three dimensional objects are the limit of his radar.

I, the player, am a total comic geek!

Neither is Scarlet. She was raised in isolation mostly so was not allowed comics and other things of the type by her guadian.

My character barely knows there are comic conventions, he read some comics as part of his education but never knew there was a whole culture around them.


It is ok if no one is a comic geek, I will have to do some changes to the adventure but we will be ok. The comic geek character looking for comics was a hook but there are others as well.
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:44, Fri 08 Sept 2023.

In reply to Patricus (msg # 252):

Hatfield would've been a comics fan as a boy, but on a different world. He chose to dress as Kerr Avon because apparently Blake's 7 transcends dimensions.

Do you have the knowledge to identify key issues and understand their value like Hulk 181, Batman 232 and such?

I believe Batman transcends Dimensions as well.

Well in this universe the comic industry exists exactly as in ours (same companies, same universes). With the only exception that the superhero genre is considered a more "real life" genre, imagine the war or western genre in comics.

Hal definitely digs comics. He would recognize those classics (I, the player, worked in a comic shop for 20+ years) but he would consider them hopelessly mainstream.

Real fans read Nobel Comics(tm), Ape Entertainment, and other obscure indie companies.

That's why he's wearing a "Justice Machine the Movie" t-shirt despite the fact that the movie was a mega-bomb that lost millions of dollars (it may have made more if I hadn't made it up).

Is there a way your affinity to obscure comics be something somehow known by the people that worked with you in your law enforcement years? Or something that a hacker with resources could know about you?

In reply to Patricus (msg # 262):

He wouldn't have made any effort to hide it so, yes definitely.

Ok, I have the hook I needed.

Clever stuff right there!

Hey guys, is it really necessary for there to be a bunch of secret stuff going on?

I'm reading this like a comic book so if Alloy isn't supposed to know what's happening then tell me that and he won't know but I would really like to read about the cool stuff everyone is doing.

In reply to Alloy (msg # 266):

Nothing secret in my post.

What secret stuff? I don't know anything about that going on.

Secret may have been the wrong word.

I'm talking about PMing stuff that other players don't see directly to the GM.

What I'm saying is that I'd like to be able to read that stuff and then just rp that my character doesn't know about it.

Oh, you mean private lines. I get it now. Yeah, haven't used any of those either.

Alloy may mean me, I posted the write-up of the spell Hatfield is using. That way the GM doesn't have to look it up and it (I hoped) wouldn't intrude on anyone else's immersion. I'll just keep it open from now on.

I tend to put my roll results in private lines to the GM (unless they need other players involvement) just to keep things focused on the IC events, but I also put a lot more effort into including more details in IC description of those actions than is commonly used.

Something I really appreciate.

I've got my next post prepared, but I'm holding it to give others a chance to post.

Is there a place for Alana and I to change?
Are there masks and gloves available?

Rest rooms are a bit far, but you some of the booths have tables that offer closed spaces as they have some long banners with the name of the store. If you don't mind crawling under the table... and sharing space with Loose Cannon who will go after you looking a place to change as well.

Wait till I set the combat.

Crusader has no actual social life and thus spends his time learning what he can about Century Station.

11:18, Today: Crusader rolled 21 using 1d100.  /66% Intelligence (Body Shots?).

What does he know about the Body Shots?

BEHOLD THE BODY SHOTS:

https://1drv.ms/i/s!As3yY-2vjI...1MgmgdCubsw?e=rrdZUc

Nice.

Please roll initiative. No attacks will count now until the combat starts.

Initiative or not, after we beat these guys Hatfield has dibs on the codpiece.
Oh, and I DO like the Kubrick callback, very nice.

Dang it! Ya beat me to it! :)

17:52, Today: Crusader rolled 29 using 1d20+11.  Initiative

I've been meaning to ask, Oh GM-Sama, does this team have radios or similar?

I made sure the Knights have them (in the other game) but we haven't discussed it here.

Hal could certainly afford to buy one for himself.

The situation of the Mighty Knights is very different to this team. They are sanctioned and hence they have some budget. But if Hal wants to generously donate some equipment, that would be great. :D

$500-$1000 per unit (varies from different books. (N&SS says $500. HU:R says $700.) maybe the group could afford to buy them ourselves?
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 22:59, Mon 11 Sept 2023.

Loose Cannon is a beggar. He hasn't seen 500 bucks together in his whole life. LOL
This message was last edited by the player at 22:29, Mon 11 Sept 2023.

Crusader can afford $1000 but that is all his savings.

Hatfield would probably be using a cheap smart phone from Walmart and communicating through the team's discord server.
Don't tell him it isn't working, he's not really a tech kind of guy.

Oof on that initiative.

Now I congratulate myself did not decide characters postings all attacks at once. I only can say one of these punks have 10 attacks, so we need to take them down as soon as possible.

In reply to Patricus (msg # 292):

Which one?

In reply to Crusader (msg # 293):

Isn't telling that metagaming?

That depends on how much IC knowledge is appropriate for any lore type rolls.

I gave Crusader all the information his roll was worth of.

Natural Combatant is an either or thing. You either get the hand to hand statblock in the power or an opponent's, whichever is better.

Basically, Crusader fights with the best HtH out of all opponents or the one given by the power + the bonuses provided by the rest of his powers.

Even if he doesn't know whose style he is using, he would get the better stat block. Im open to alternate interpretation, on GM fiat changing the power. Rules as Written, he should have the best HtH available + his other powers.

That power is an epic achievement of un-clarity even for Palladium.

As you say it is completely up to the GM to determine but I will make a couple of points here.

All of the "Mimics the opponents fighting style" stuff is in the description of the power (HU2 pg 284), not in the mechanics. In fact it says "the character will fight with a similar style (but not level of experience)" which would mean you wouldn't get anything that comes specifically from being higher level than you are.

I read it that you are intended to use the rules listed after point "1." (which are phenomenal) all the time but it will resemble the style your opponent is using (maybe giving access to combat maneuvers eg Claw Hand Strike if you fight an Eagle Claw guy)

Given the depth of how crazy some of the hand to hand styles in books like ninja's and superspies can get I think there are plenty of good advantages to get from that power.

The majority of the advantages are listed in the power itself, the weapon proficiencies and hand to hand skills would add more bonuses on top of that, but only based on the character's own level.  It doesn't copy net bonus totals from anyone, or mimic other powers that grant their own bonus, just the skill itself.

That is how I understand it as well. If their style at his level is better than the one he has, he gets the bonuses of the mimicked style. Again I am more than happy to have Patricus alter it as long as it stays within the parameters given by the write up. The write up is extremely vague as Alloy stated.

I am about to start up a second team/game in Century Station.

This group, The Street Wardens, will run parallel to, but separate from, the Justice Front and are more closely allied to the authorities behind Operation Overlord.

I wanted to extend an invitation to all of the current players before asking anyone from outside the game. This would require building a new character (or if you wanted you could just tell me what you want and I can build it).

I expect there will be occasional crossovers Brave and Bold style.

Give me some time to come up with a concept, Okay?

I would love to see a team-up "comic" in this universe.

Absolutely. I'm targeting to start next Monday but it is flexible.

Trying to resolve Crusader's action and stumble upon a doubt I am not being able to clarify.

When a dodge is attempted a natural 20 is always success?

Some of the guys from The Body Shots don't stand any chance to dodge Crusader's entanglement even rolling a natural 20. But if they do, would it mean they succeeded?

In reply to Patricus (msg # 305):

I have seen it played both ways. I think it is fair to assume that a 20 is always a success, but I leave it to those who know this system better than I.

I honestly can't tell you if that is a rule but I can say I've been running it that way since the 80s. :)

I think it's mostly out of a sense of mercy.

And also that "strike of luck" we can have sometimes.

I need everyone to please write in the bio your current hit points, PPE or ISP points and SDC, your responsibility is to keep that information updated once you receive damage or spend points in powers. Please help me to carry the burden of the game doing that, thank you.

Now comes the hard part Crusader: to keep the hold. You have to roll again, add PP and relevant bonuses, the holded ones have to do the same. Whatever the result, everyone on the villains side have lost this action.

Absolutely excellent opening move!

In reply to Alloy (msg # 311):

Thanks. My favorite part of combat is coming up with creative things to do what I have, maybe something unexpected.

In reply to Patricus (msg # 308):

I wish I had my books here. A natural twenty succeeds at a dodge even if the to hit roll is a natural twenty.

Crusader, when possible roll your holding so we can end phase 2.

Sorry sorry
I thought that was for next turn.

15:30, Today: Crusader rolled 24 using 1d20+17.  Entangle/Grapple

Sorry, my bad, they cannot start trying to break the hold until next action. Ok this roll will be your next action as I assume you will try to keep the grappling.

Alloy
Hatfield McCoy

Still not acting in this phase. Your actions could be decisive to save the hostage come on guys.

Sorry, was at work.

Can Alloy reach Haymaker in this action?

And this?

You can reach her but remember she is using a person as a human shield for the effect of certain attacks.

Yes, the 200 mile an hour running power punch is officially canceled.

But a gentle touch on the arm may have some merit?

To this point I believe any attack unless it is psychic as LC and SW did or furtive as Alana did (still waiting McCoy explanation but remember he was invisible), will have a penalty. Due to the hostage human shield. If you fail there will be a chance you hit the hostage but I could not tell if there is a rule for that to find a percentage.

Attempt posted. Dice were very kind.

Alloy I need you to tell me next:

What place in your house you have your JM #1 comic?
How many people live with you?

If you have a map of your house, you can handle it to me otherwise I will look for a map for your house.

This would be Scarlet Wolf's theme song here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfEwx0JDyB8

What about the rest of you? Do they have a theme song?

Gotta be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSMVflSBKx8

It will be placed, still sealed in it's plastic case, on the mantle in his living room so that he can see it when he is reading, watching t.v., and hosting guests.

Alloy has a terrific income ($300,000 per year) from his contract with Arcus and so he has a nice apartment in Diego Verde.



Loose Cannon has an open invitation to crash at Hal's apartment but no one else lives there.

He hasn't been back long enough to have a live in girlfriend or similar and all of his living relatives live in Blue Ridge, Georgia.



I do not. It's a nice apartment, large enough that Hal doesn't feel uncomfortable in it.