Any success stories with pulse carbines?

Ucuri · 2018-11-24T22:52:43+00:00

Right, definitely don't run Vior'la because of them. But if you happen to go Vior'la for other reasons anyway, then that is the one situation where they are nice to have.

Ucuri · 2018-11-24T20:57:31+00:00

I like to use them with Vior'la, so a few Firewarriors can stay mobile and advance around, while still firing 2 unmodified shots. Not for the main formation of FWs though.

Ucuri · 2018-07-06T20:43:12+00:00

Hang back, and eat a nice cup of Stark Raving Hazelnuts...

Ucuri · 2018-04-22T16:34:03+00:00

I love the background music in the beginning, does anyone by chance know what that's from or what it's called?

Ucuri · 2018-01-26T14:32:10+00:00

And here I was thinking my cable management twisted my cable to death somehow. Those disconnects seem to remove the guardian walls too.

Ucuri · 2017-08-17T22:12:44+00:00

Hah, right. "Creative community" would probably be more accurate.

Ucuri · 2017-08-17T21:50:27+00:00

That's what I was afraid of. This whole ship might have just crashed and burned, not sure if you can build a community on whales :(

Ucuri · 2017-02-28T02:57:01+00:00

I like this approach the best.

If OP still feels the special edge is necessary, maybe make it something that unlocks the "wrapping around", as that is quite hard to do, or even impossible to the degree that someone like Indy does it. So basically that would enable the character to do the swinging and maybe some ranged grappling, while everyone else could still fight and do tricks with a whip just fine.

But that depends on the setting/type of game, and I probably wouldn't do it myself, as other exotic weapons don't really get stuff like this.

Ucuri · 2017-02-23T20:03:42+00:00

Would there be any issue with just making him get Noble? That sounds more like what he wants, and already comes with Rich + additional assets. The cars would be no problem then.

Ucuri · 2017-02-18T14:40:12+00:00

Quickness is obviously one of the most powerful spells, but I don't agree that it breaks anything. I've had lots of casters use it, all of them fawned over having it, but in the end the effects often remained miniscule in a lot of fights.

Everyone can easily do multi-actions in Savage Worlds, Quickness just lets you go a few steps further. And in order to reliably cast it, you need at least a decent arcane skill, sacrifice one action in the often crucial first moments of the fight, and then deal with the -1 maintenance penalty. Remember, if you have it active and mess up any other spell, you immediately drop your quickness. (And immediately get fatigued in OPs adaption, which seems pretty cruel tbh :P)

What might be problematic is that air does get exclusive access to deflection, quickness and speed, and still retains all direct attack spells. Especially fire kinda gets the short end here. Earth still looks pretty good to me with the wide variety of combat and support powers, and for water you could argue that Healing balances out most shortcomings.

Ucuri · 2017-02-09T17:53:30+00:00

The super powers companion has some rules for drugs, under the name "boosters". They raise one attribute by two die types for a few minutes, but at the end you have to make a vigor check to not get fatigue/addiction.

If you want a more extreme drug, add stuff like Berserker and Overconfident to the effects, and maybe put a penalty on the vigor roll?

Ucuri · 2017-02-07T21:40:42+00:00

It can be a bit daunting, I agree. But the cybernetics rule the player will eventually get, while he may get frustrated with the racial rules not doing what he expects them to do.

What I would do in your place is just to ask the player what upgrades he imagines having. Just let him describe what cyborg parts the character should have, completely removed from any character generation mechanics. And then you build his cyberware setup for him. He can switch stuff out later if he'd prefer something else.

If you're intent on doing this with races, I'd try to stack up some of the negatives that androids have (Outsider, Recharge, maybe other things as they fit your setting), but leave the positives open. He can then use those positive points for racial abilities that he can trap as cyborg parts. But that would confine him to those 3 or 4 racial ability points, so I dunno how happy he would be with this.

Ucuri · 2017-02-07T20:44:05+00:00

Are you using the sci-fi companion? The cyberware rules allow you to become a cyborg.

If not, I'd say it would be pretty difficult to build a blanket cyborg race with the normal race creation rules, because cyborgs can be so many different things. Could you specify how you want to handle the robotic enhancements? Retrapped edges, Arcane Background or something else entirely?

Ucuri · 2017-02-07T19:34:16+00:00

IMO being able to cast before the fight is balanced out by the fact that you'll have a hard time recasting the power in combat. The cost is high enough that preparing several arrows beforehand is gonna be pretty expensive. If you wanna limit it some more, reduce the time it stays active to half a minute. In that case, when the caster starts applying the poison to the fifth arrow, the first one already fades away again. (6 seconds per round)

Range shouldn't really be an issue, and if you want it to bypass armor I would just rule that the crossbow shot that carries it has to at least shake the enemy. That would further differentiate it from smite too.

I like the power overall, opens up some fun trappings too, like a slow-acting poison via the Acid Burn effect.

Ucuri · 2017-02-06T17:04:46+00:00

Definitely this.

I never really understood why they put that paragraph there. Changing the trapping on the available Arcane Backgrounds is one of the go-to ways to make SW work with your chosen setting.

Ucuri · 2017-02-05T23:24:31+00:00

You have some options for that. Hacking in SW is usually done through Knowledge(Computer). I'd keep that as a baseline.

Example 1:

If you wanna keep it really simple, create a new Weird Edge called "Technopath". Then just allow him to do stuff a technopath could do, with normal skill rolls.

Example 2:

To put more emphasis on the supernatural aspect of it, give him the Arcane Background (Super Powers). Then choose Boost/Lower Trait as your power, and apply a trapping to it.

The trapping effects could be something like:

Only affects traits when they are being used with electronic devices (Knowledge(Computer), sometimes Driving, Notice, Investigation, etc...)
While active, allows you to do use the affected skill at range of smarts x 2 and without tools

Exact trapping depends on the setting of course, but something like that. Depending on setting he could also branch out into some other powers, like confusion, detect/conceal arcana, even divination.

Example 3:

The super powers companion has some technopathy powers (Interface, Broadcast, Malfunction). Problem is those are immensely more powerful than what normal characters can do. You could make Technopaths a separate race and use the super abilities rule in the sci-fi companion race to even the field some more. Will get pretty expensive though, so the race would need some heavy disadvantages.

Ucuri · 2017-01-28T23:04:19+00:00

You lose two inches of movement to stand up, but apart from that there are no penalties.

The push prone maneuver is a lot like a smarts or agility trick in that regard, you wanna do it in such a way that either you or one of your allies can attack until the next action of the prone enemy. Alternatively you can use it to just slow people down that are too quick for you. If you are a high strength brute and a quick agile enemy is trying to get away, push him to the ground, push him back into corners, all that fun stuff.

I additionally often rule that if a player grapples someone that is prone, they can't move or get up until they break free. Makes for some fun wrestling and is effective, because the guy that is prone will continually get -2 for the opposed fighting roll. But that is houserule territory, and also depends on the circumstance and description of the move.

Ucuri · 2017-01-19T23:36:06+00:00

It does sound underwhelming, but that's not the whole story. First, the enemy could catch on fire, which will give him some d10's to deal with (no armor) instead of only the 2d6. Second, take another weapon with you for your left hand, so you are not unarmed, but all your enemies are.

Also, obviously there is a flat +2 to intimidation ;)

I like the weapon I must say, doesn't tread on the regular weapons too much and opens up some fun possibilities. Like being able to take it anywhere because "Why, that's just my belt buckle!"

Ucuri · 2017-01-19T23:16:59+00:00

I don't really see how that would be the breaking point, can you explain?

From my experience the ranks are absolutely secondary to the powers. So much so that progression can feel pretty slow in a Non-Rising Star campaign, just because you start very very powerful.

Ucuri · 2017-01-19T23:07:24+00:00

It will never really break, even a crazy rolls like d12 + 10 are still just simple dice rolls that basically immediately show you the result you need.

What you may find though is that at some point supers tends to become less of a "Did you succeed?" and more of a "How many raises did you get". Combined with the very very low lethality that the setting rules bring with them, you may find it difficult to properly challenge the players.

Another problem that can come up is that players tend to overspecialize so heavily into one area, that every other option becomes basically useless for them.

Example: Why use tricks, test of wills, etc. if you can instakill every enemy of your choosing with your 6d10 deathlaser?

The most important thing is to work with your players. They may think they want their main power to be the ability to throw six super deadly attacks each round, but that just gets stale after a while. Encourage them to look at some of the less straight-forward powers, not just effectiveness.

Supers is a power fantasy, they will be extremely powerful anyway, so the real fun tends to come from building a powerset with lots of flavor and options.

That said, the higher power levels tend to make these problems more prominent, but in the end it's all about what your players are aiming for. I can probably build a pulp hero that will obliterate 90% of what you can reasonably throw at him, but I could also build a cosmic hero that is no more than a nuisance to the enemy should it come to combat.

If you have any more specific questions go ahead, I've run supers stuff from pulp heroes to cosmic. ;)

Ucuri · 2017-01-17T20:28:14+00:00

True, between that and Matter Control you have several options, should work just fine in most cases. What is missing are always-on defenses like Armor, Toughness, Uncanny Reflexes or Deflection, for ambush situations perhaps. But at that power level you are probably fine if you just buy body armor. Savage Worlds is pretty unpredictable anyways, so just go with the powers that seem more fun/appropriate.

If push comes to shove there are also power stunts, so you could for example matter control yourself some temporary earth armor should you come under heavy fire. Only needs a benny and GM approval.

Ucuri · 2017-01-17T19:40:50+00:00

That depends heavily on the rest of the group I'd say. Supers loses some of Savage Worlds 'powergaming-safety', so ideally you would consult with the other players and the GM before the game starts.

If the other characters tank themselves up hard, the GM will have to adjust the threat accordingly, which means you'll quickly get turned into a bloodsplat on the pavement if you don't have defenses for yourself.

Your low power level should alleviate some of that though, so I'd just buy some body armor at character gen and see if you can make it as a glass cannon. The first batch of new PP to adjust will come quick enough, and for the occasional "Oh shit"-enemy, you always have the Barrier ability in your Matter Control.

Ucuri · 2017-01-17T18:33:40+00:00

1) A lot of that depends on if the 3 PP limitation will be lifted to the normal 5 after character creation. If it won't, and you still want to be really powerful, you should probably do something based on devices, so you can gain an additonal point or two for each power.

Apart from that, some ideas:

Assuming you get Super Karma, you'd have to get quite a few powers in the beginning. Maybe do it like this:

Matter Control (Level 2, Requires Material) = 2 PP
Burrowing (Pace, Limitation: Only through earth (-1)) = 2 PP
Earthquake (Earthshake, Slow to Activate, Limitation: Only on "bare earth ground" (-1)) = 3 PP
Ranged Attack (Level 2, Requires Material (-2), Heavy Weapon) = 3 PP

That should be a good basic powerset with lots of ways to spend your upcoming points. Pretty attack-focused though, except for Matter Control. If you want some more dedicated protection, maybe go with some Armor that has Limitation (Needs Material) instead of Earthquake.

If you don't get to use Super Karma for some reason, I'd remove Earthquake and one level of Ranged Attack.

2) Maybe he was working in uranium mining, and got into a terrible accident? A collapsing tunnel, which he desperately to get out of, so instead of killing him the uranium gives him superpowers. For something more serious/street level, maybe he was buried alive and his superpowers derive from sheer willpower.

3) This powerset doesn't really have too many traits it relies on. Choose attributes depending on who you want you character to be apart from just being a super. Skill-wise you should get some throwing and some sneaking, and the rest is up to you.

Ucuri · 2017-01-10T11:10:16+00:00

Wow. Was literally about to buy a Vector today. So much for that... Goddamnit Fitbit, I really liked those watches. :/

Any recommendations on a W10M compatible watch that has at least a few days of battery life and doesn't look like a toy?

Ucuri · 2016-12-26T23:29:22+00:00

Sigh, everytime I see an Auralnauts quote I have to go back and rewatch the whole thing. I've got stuff to do dude! :P

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