Writing Up a Bunch of Powers

[Koumei]

CARDINAL SIN

Supervillain of the Vatican, destroyer of nations.

Unchecked Procreation:
For a minute or so, Cardinal Sin multiplies into five copies of himself. They all share the same pool of abilities, so if one uses Condemnation, they all have to wait for it to recharge, and still only roll once for each power to recharge, not once per power per clone. If one copy is reduced to zero HP, it vanishes. If four are defeated, then the power ends. If the power ends due to time running out, he has the highest HP of the various remaining clones.

Word of Destruction:
Sin speaks a passage of violence, and a small (3x3) area takes a blast of weak Explosive damage. Furthermore, all allies within 2 squares of him are incited into a Rage for one turn.

Word of Terror:
Sin speaks about scary things in the afterlife. All foes within 5 squares take a tiny amount of Psychic damage, and if the power hits they become Shaken for 1 minute. This can stack up to Frightened, Panicked then Comatose.

Word of Plague:
Sin speaks about the evils of condoms, and all enemies within 5 squares take a tiny amount of Poison/Gas damage. If it hits, they take ongoing damage 5.

Fanaticism:
This is a defence-based power. As a reaction, Cardinal Sin can negate the non-damage effects of a single Magic or Psychic attack.

Condemnation:
One enemy is condemned to Hell. If hit by the attack, they spend a few rounds (until they save?) trapped in a dark plane of evil, taking some kind of damage every round, and they emerge Shaken.

Rampant Disease:
A 5x5 area of enemies is affected if hit, all taking some kind of disease status effect.

Rampant Poverty:
All enemies AND allies within 5 squares suddenly lose one Charged power as though expended if this attack hits (may not intentionally miss allies). They may choose which. If they have none remaining, they luck out. Sin gains 5 temporary HP for each power so lost.

Exoneration:
This is a Swift action power. One ally within 3 squares, or Sin himself, may make another recovery check for all status effects currently upon them. This can be used even if he may not attempt actions. Essentially, he gets another recovery phase, but if he opts to use it then he loses a Swift action.

Dark Communion:
Cardinal Sin and all allies within 3 squares each regain some small amount of hit points, and may make another recovery check against a single status effect each.

The End is Nigh:
Sin speaks words of ill omen, and in a large area - 20 squares in every direction - fire rains from the skies, dealing large Explosive damage for 5 turns. Additionally, the area becomes dark, providing concealment to Sin, and any enemy who is hit by this power becomes Frightened for the duration or until they recover/save. The surrounding terrain is reduced to rubble, causing Difficult Terrain.

[CatharzGodfoot]

[Username17]

Could the controller archetype fit the X-Man Storm, or would you classify her as a blaster?

I would put her in as a controller. The vast majority of her in-combat powers do a lot more battlefield control and a lot less shooting people with lightning bolts.

Would thunder and sonic attacks be Speed manuevers?

A lot of thunderbolts are going to want to be Electricity. But certain thunders could be Speed or Explosion, depending upon what they do. Sonic attacks would pretty much always be Speed.

Does two or three sound about right?

Generally a primary and a couple secondaries. A Cape does Power, Speed, and Laser. Other groups get to be more varied than that.

Gadgeteers could probably benefit a lot from having to roll on the WoF table and having access to a number of extra attack types on only one of the results. Green Arrow can bust out with a Shock Arrow or something very rarely, for example.

Cardinal Sin

-Username17

[Koumei]

Don't blame me, you put the idea in my head!

Incidentally, I mentioned this in passing on IRC, and it was met with general approval. It's agreed that there are many point-buy hero systems so no new ones need be made, and that the "Pick an archetype/theme and sub-group" style certainly has merit.

Indeed, when one asked "So does it basically go like this...?" (I think they were basing it off City of Heroes), the answer was "Pretty much, yes."

So it's easy to understand what it does and why people want it ("I want to play someone like (hero). Oh cool, this class does it." and "Okay guys, no more 'I can do everything' characters. This is like (TV show), where you each have a couple of shticks and you know what you're meant to do.") People are also interested in seeing it happen.

I'm a little shocked, to tell the truth. No-one has yet been deeply offended and turned off the whole thing, whereas I STILL find people who think it's better to have monks make five attacks that all miss than have them actually do something useful.

[the_taken]

And then:


Also:

I think we need a better idea as to what kind of things the different hero types do. Like the difference between capes gadgetteers, bricks and suits that fly, or the difference between monsters and bricks. Besides cosmetics.

Then my train of thoughts ran out of tracks...

So, uh, yeah, some status condition ideas:

Unbalanced - Still standing, but not at max effectiveness. Can't use acrobatics movement, and Dodge defence is penalized.
Prone - Not standing. Can't run around or jump about. Can't use acrobatics or super speed movement. Probably can't use Speed attacks either. Dodge defence is really penalized.

Slowed - Half speed. Speed and Power attacks less accurate (or any other less effectiveness-ness).
Immobilized - Can't fly, run around jump about, tunnel or swim. Can't use Speed or Power moves.

Dazed - Head is spinning. General penalties around, but Electric and Spirit attacks are most affected. Can't Teleport.
Stunned - Your head is a merry-go-round of birdies. Can't use Spirit or Electric attacks. Can't Teleport.

Psyched - Thinking is hard. Mind and Shadow abilities are penalized. Can't Dimension Shift.
Brained - U hav teh dum. Brane stof nu gud.

Spooked - On edge. Penalty to Gas and Explosive attacks.
Frightened - Freaked out. Gas and Explosive attacks don't work. Also, GTFO ASAP.

Hyper - On a some sort of high, probably from too much sugar. Some minor penalties you may forget about, but Cold and Laser attacks are less effective. Can't become insubstantial.
Tripen - At the candy store. Everywhere. Can't use Cold or Laser attacks. Can't become insubstantial.

Torn Clothes - Lost first layer of HP or something. Bonus to Dodge and Psychic Wall defences. Also used by some abilities to power up.
Bruised - Lost second layer of HP or something. Bonus to Toughness, Force Field and Magic Shield defences. Also used by some abilities to power up.
Tired - Taken significant damage. Bonus to all defences, but abilities are taking penalties. Also used by some abilities to power up.
Neutralized - All HP is gone. KOed. A final attack may be triggered, but otherwise, the character is completely incapacitated.

[CatharzGodfoot]

And then:


Also:

The link I put up is to Picassa, so I'm not sure what you're getting at...

[the_taken]

And then:


Also:

The link I put up is to Picassa, so I'm not sure what you're getting at...

Thinking back, I'm not sure either...

[IGTN]

Prone - Not standing. Can't run around or jump about. Can't use acrobatics or super speed movement. Probably can't use Speed attacks either. Dodge defence is really penalized.

Remember that Speed attacks include both super-speed punches and shooting people with fast bits of metal.

Maybe "can't use speed melee attacks?" I mean, it's either that, or knocking someone over means that they can't shoot.

[Sir Neil]

Two more questions. Should heroes have a primary and secondary defense power, and why no flying bricks?

No You Don't
(Any Movement Power)
When a villain targets a bystander, as a free action the hero may become the target instead.

SAM I Am
(Acrobatics/Flight)
The hero rockets up, knocking an aerial villain from the sky with the (Power/Speed) of the blow.

Brainstorm
(Mind Crush)
Pink energy erupts from the hero to all villains nearby, stunning them while the hero sustains it. Supers get a saving throw every round to break free.

But I think the biggest important difference is that it's going to be put together to make melee artists like the Brick and Speedster synergize with ranged attackers like the Blaster and Sorcerer.

Well, not all villains have super mobility, so if ranged attackers don't get a penalty for firing into melee it makes sense to have a brick wall in front, ala OD&D.

[Josh_Kablack]

Hrm, let's rifle through some old champs stuff:

Baba Yaga:

Baba Yaga is a alcoholic Russian Pyrokinetic with an interest in folklore - hence the codename. She's also multiclassed as a gadgeteer who powers a mecha and some other devices with her psychic powers.


Immolation Baba Yaga sets someone's mind on fire. This is a Mind Crush attack that deals ongoing fire damage.

Cloak of Flames Baba Yaga sets herself on fire. Anyone touching her takes fire damage, and she can set scenery ablaze by touching it.

Crystal Communicatior She can communicate over the interwebs and satellite networks via a ruby crystal braclet. She can also record audio, video and do just about anything a modern laptop can do via this device.

Spark of Blazing Hades Baba Yaga makes someone go all Scanners head a'splode. This is a big Mind Crush attack.

Melt Down Baba Yaga makes everything else on the battlemap catch fire. All enemies, allies and scenery now take continuing fire damage. Save ends for characters, but scenery must be extinguished.

Deploy The H.U.T. Baba Yaga dimension shifts her signature vehicle from the psychic plane and may use its abilities as well as her own for the next few minutes. All of the H.U.T.'s abilities are marked with an *.


*Strider Legs The H.U.T. has the Speed movement type, each round in combat, it may begin in any unobstructed unoccupied square on the battlemap.

*Psychic Lasers The H.U.T. deals moderate laser damage against a target at range.

*Tantrum Missiles The H.U.T. launches brainwave-seeking missiles. These deal Explosion damage, but they only effect targets who actually have minds.

*Hull Polarization As an immediate reaction, the H.U.T. negates the damage from a single laser attack.

*Clouding the Mind The H.U.T. launches off psychic chaff which blocks line of sight and psychic powers. (Which is probably anything that deals Mind Crush)

[Sir Neil]

COLD
Hailstorm - Cold ranged attack/Area
Icicle Spray - Cold ranged attack/Cone
Sleet- Ranged Slow effect/Area
Snowblind - Hampers ranged attacks/Area

ELECTRICITY
Chain Lightning - Electrical ranged attack to several targets
Electromagnetism - Throws metal objects within range
Lightning Bolt - Electrical ranged attack/Single
Megalightning - Electrical ranged attack (emmanation) +Stun
Ride the Lightning - Turns into electricity, flies at 60,000 MPS
Spark Shock - Electrical ranged attack+Stun
Static Field - Electrical melee attack (emmanation)
Static Charge - Electrical melee attack+Stun

METAL BODY
Cannonball - Radial Power melee attack+Stun
Ram - Power melee attack+Slam
Shiney - Reflect Laser ranged attacks

WEATHER
Fogbank - Hampers ranged attacks/Area
Hurricane- Power ranged attack/Radius
Monsoon - Ranged Slow effect/Area
Thunderstorm - Electrical ranged attack/Area
Tornado - Power ranged attack/Area
Wind Shear - Power ranged attack/Single
Windwall - Blocks thrown missiles/Area
Wing Sweep - Power melee attack/Radius

SPEED/TIME
Tempus Fugit - Slow effect on enemies/Area
Whip It Good - Speed melee attack/Area

[Josh_Kablack]

this idea came up during a D&D game, and I am totally going to play someone who yells out some of these power names the next time I generate a character for a game where yelling out names is in-genre.

The Muckraker

Dare of the Hart Large Area Attack - causes a continuing fear effect that does damage to enemies each time they move away from you. This makes most of them follow you around to The Monkey Business

Arbud's Exploding Head - A psychic attack that can be sustained for continuing damage to both the you and the target.

Al'North's Telegenics - Your natural charm lets you respond well to adversity. As an immediate reaction, make a Diplomacy tjeck, you may substitute the result of that tjeck for any one of your defenses until the end of your next turn.

El Craig's Stance - Your wide stance and blazing hypocrisy confuses and astounds people. This gives you a chance to Daze people when you hit them.

Kenlai's Legerdemain - You and your shareholders may completely ignore the effects of any negative status effect for 1d6+1 rounds. When this effect ends, you suffer the effects of all status effects at once, but you're probably in a country club prison by then, and who even cares about the shareholders.

Truth of McGreevy - Pick an ally. So long as they are within X squares of you, you may heal any of their wounds and remove their status conditions as an immediate reaction. Doing so causes you to take as much damage to yourself as you heal, and to suffer the effects of that status condition in their place. This effect stops working as soon as anybody notices.

Club of Emporer Spitzer - Your crusading nature serves you well, but also empowers your enemies. For the rest of this encounter you deal massive extra damage every time you hit with any attack. However, any enemy who suffers this extra damage gains a similar bonus to damage against you for the rest of the encounter.

Agnew's Mirage - Immediate reaction. When you would be KOed, and otherwise disgraced as a failure and charlatan you may immediately retire (teleport) to sunny California (or other warm climate) with a fat bonus check (or any other unattended item from the battlemat)

Brownie's Heckuva - Your powers of denial are so strong that they influence the actions of others. Immediate Reaction: when one of your allies misses with an at-will or encounter attack, you may change it so they hit instead. You are dazed (likely by the media assault on your competency) on your next turn after you use this power.

Gates of Mitchell - Not only do they invent a new suffix from your crimes, you're so far gone that you're wife is dismissed as a raving loony when she tries to confess. But you can impede investigations (and others) like nobody. This attack deals no damge, but creates a zone of difficult terrain in a blast 3 that lasts until the end of the encounter. Your influence and knowledge of dirty tricks is good enough that you can ignore the effects of this difficult terrain.

Stain of Lewinski - You immobilize one enemy who doesn't have the guts to take the fifth amendment.

Scorn of Blagojevich It takes a lot to be this unpopular, but it sure does give you room to move. You push all enemies (and it's not like you have allies anymore) up to 50 squares away from you.

[OgreBattle]

I was searching for superhero RPG stuff on the den, bump to 'rise from your grave'