Showing posts with label rifts characters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rifts characters. Show all posts

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Rifts SDM Champion League Competitors

Note that, in general the characters named here are not using their real names. Rahu-Crusher's real name is Rahum Gruug, we all know who Shadow Face is and Stone-Death probably has no real name among his kind. Other characters such as Narga and Sarlea probably use their real names with a subtitle to promote their awesome arena might or political agenda.

Narga the Terrible
Narga is the most versatile arena fighter in the SAC, combining physical, weapons, and magic into one big symphony of pain. She is an adult Thunder Lizard and crushes virtually all of her opponents with ease. Her dragon traits give her incredible staying power, with enough health and mana to outlast virtually anyone. She has an incredibly flexible fighting style, incorporating modern weapons, techno-wizardry and magic items of all types as the need strikes her. She is extremely arrogant, and with good reason; most battles with Narga end in seconds. The only fighter to have a winning record against her is Shadow Face; she is 2-3 against him.
Blackstream note: Narga is a sexy beast (PB 19).

Sarlea, the Herald of Styphathal
Sarlea is a female adult Ultucan dragon and a devout follower of the teachings of Styphathal and the Cult of Dragonwright. She openly preaches against Stydro, and denounces the current Dragonwright faith in her battles. She is more magic-dependent than Narga, using her Ultucan magic songs to completely shut down any opponents not resistant to magic. She fights primarily with magic and techno-wizard weapons while she sings, and happily cleaves through her opponents with masterfully crafted magic blades. She is also a master psychic and will not hesitate to spam psionic mezzes if her opponent is vulnerable to them. She tends to utterly dominate anyone without strong resistance to magic or psionics but has a terrible record against Narga and the Abomination who have ready counters to all of Sarlea's bullshit. She also fares poorly against Shadow Face, who regularly gloats that the Black Flame of Zandragal could easily beat her. Her overall win ratio is the highest in the Arena, however.
Blackstream note: Sarlea is pretty hot (PB 17), but her real draw is her voice, which is absolutely mesmerizing.

The Abomination of Splynn
A massively powerful replacement for the Demon of Splynn, armed to the teeth with the best in magical weapons. He is a giant, rhino-hided bio-wizard freak with a breath weapon, poisonous claws and bite, and a bad attitude. He excels at fighting defensively and is nowhere near as overconfident as the Demon was. He has a surprisingly decent record even against the top two (positive against Sarlea) and has no awful matchups. The Abomination fights fewer matches per day than the others, typically only participating in one or two.

The Shadow Face
The highest-ranked human-sized creature in the SAC, he is most well-known for his strong defensive and evasive tactics. It is known that he is the criminal "Beautiful Slacker," but some political maneuvering appears to keep him above the law and he wears a monstrous visage in fights, lending him more popularity among the SDM purveyors. In either event, his offense focuses highly on lightning speed and agility, moving with such speed that he appears to teleport. He also has ready counters to most forms of mez and appears to be a spellcaster, although he does not cast offensive spells, preferring to fight with his fists. He has a terrible record against Well-Fed (1-8) due to his refusal to use magic aggressively. Despite his human-like physique, he is fairly popular since he does not use weapons, leading him to be somewhat of a "poor man's hero." Like Narga, he is extremely arrogant and frequently berates his opponents or shows off during fights. Almost all of his losses are to single hits from physically powerful opponents; he often throws in the towel after getting hit only once.

Sly the Slaver
A strange exception to the one-combatant rule, and most likely only waived because Sly is one of Splynncryth's minions, Sly enters battle with his six Altara blind warrior women. All of them are bio-wizard augmented and this means Sly is effectively a cheating bastard. He is quite popular despite this. Sly and his BWWs are all armed with magical weapons. While all of them carry typical BWW mez weapons such as magic nets and neural incapacitators, they also carry magic swords of fine Splugorth manufacture. Sly absolutely destroys most opponents due solely to his volume of attacks, although he has trouble with anyone that can lock down his Altara allies quickly. He has a good record against any non-flying, non-teleporting opponent. His matches tend to drag on for longer than most, as he relies mostly on repeated light debuffs that don't completely shut down his opponent before dealing lots of damage. Like the Abomination, Sly only fights in one match per day at most.

Rahu-Crusher
Probably the most outspoken arena combatant outside the arena, Rahu-Crusher spends a lot of money hyping his image. He rarely fights without a suit of his trademark armor, generally conceding a battle if it is heavily damaged. He carries a shield in one hand and up to three melee weapons in his other hands, although he will occasionally carry a heavy energy rifle or magical bow against an opponent who favors distance combat. Due to his heavy bio-wizard augmentation and magical items, he is well-armed for most sorts of battles but prefers close combat. A four-armed assault by Rahu-Crusher literally crushes his opponents; he can best any fighter in the Arena save for Black Face in close-quarters combat. Even the Abomination, who fights in a very defensive melee style, often switches to long-range aerial sniping to deal with Rahu-Crusher's phenomenal strength and combat speed. He has a tough time with Sarlea, as she often uses long-ranged stealth and teleport tactics combined with psionics, all of which he has a poor defense against. He has a friendly rivalry with Black Face, and the two engage in frequent verbal barbs while they fight (Rahu-Crusher is 2-8).

Well-Fed the Fool
The only Cyber-Knight of any note in the arena, Well-Fed is also one of the best melee fighters in the arena. He is also one of the most infamous and his matches are regularly sold out, as he denounces Atlantis and Splynncryth before, during, and after every fight. Most people go just to see him lose. Well-Fed has one of the weaker overall ratings in the Arena, and has problems with opponents who use heavy disabling magic. He is well-equipped with tattoos and a few magic items, though nothing fancy like many of the other top tiers. Well-Fed's success in melee is somewhat astounding; footage of him reveals that while he is very skilled, he does not have the fighting prowess to defeat an average Conservator, let alone fight toe-to-toe with Master and Champion League opponents. He has an incredible force of will, breaking mez effects via sheer willpower. He has an average winrate against most of the top tier except Narga (who is undefeated against him) and has a decidedly high winrate against the more melee-focused enemies such as Rahu-Crusher and Shadow Face. Shadow Face has the worst record against him, with Well-Fed 8-1 against him. Well-Fed also surprisingly easily defeats Sly, although no one is quite sure how the Altara warriors can miss with so many TW weapons.

Sight-Stealer
The highest-ranked arena slave, Sight-Stealer is a Tattoo Archer who enters battle typically wearing as little clothing as possible. She is owned by another Splugorth, and she is allowed to cheat by entering battle with a tattoo serpent active. The serpent attacks with spitting acid that causes blindness, and Sight-Stealer herself favors the Blind tattoo, Blind arrows, and a magical whip that weakens her targets. She is extremely popular among the more perverse arena purveyors and small riots generally occur when she loses. Sight-Stealer generally defeats the majority of opponents by blinding them and then flaying them with her whip until they forfeit. She has a poor resistance to psionics (relative to Champion League, anyway) but she often defeats psionic opponents before their mind powers become a problem. The fighters that are not dependent on sight, such as Sly and Shadow Face, easily defeat her, and Well-Fed also tends to power through her blinding attacks and win anyway.

Stone-Death
An elder gargoyle lord, Stone-Death is the highest-tier champion of Alvurron and a top tier candidate. He is somewhat of a freak of nature, and combines the magic of a gargoyle mage with the physical power of a gargoyle lord. His elemental powers serve to level the playing field of some of the more cheatery opponents and he is nigh-impervious to all "tricky" forms of attack. He is not quite as skilled a fighter as some of the more solid melee combatants, but he can wear down most of them with his elemental powers. He is much like a more flexible, worse-equipped Abomination. He does wield a number of magic weapons, but he is seemingly ignorant or unaware of the value of a more flexible magic weapon lineup. If this weakness could be solved, most consider him a serious threat for the #1 slot.

Seven Times Death
This bad boy is an adult seven-headed hydra. He is equipped with a few miscellaneous magic items, but he generally is not smart enough to use any tricky tools and is pretty much allowed to run amok in the arena, unleashing hell on anyone stupid enough to get close. He has a keen sense of smell and regenerates rapidly, using his teleport ability to get close to an opponent and unleashing hell with his full massive repertoire of attacks. He is bloodthirsty and will often forget that an opponent has forfeited, leading to massive magical attempts to disable him before he kills his opponent. He is huge, ferocious, and intelligent for a hydra and even Rahu-Crusher avoids fighting him in melee combat (though Rahu-Crusher is has beaten the hydra multiple times in close-range battle). The only fighter dumb enough to fight him in close combat is Shadow Face, and he often pays for it by getting hit with a brutal tail swipe.

Momus, the False Atlantean
Named for the Greek god of satire, Momus is a Maxi-Man who looks like an Undead Slayer, complete with Marks of Heritage-esque tattoos on his hands. He is more flexible than Sight-Stealer, but as a result he ends up losing more fights that she might win for free. His monster tattoos tend to be of mythological beasts of Greek myth such as bipedal bull-like creatures (not actually minotaurs) and flaming horses which he uses to ride around the arena. He is armed with a Millennium Staff of Purity and deals tremendous punishment to powerful demonlike creatures, giving him better matchups against creatures he might otherwise lose to.

The Firestarter
Another humanoid creature, he is a godling of unknown descent. The Firestarter is a mechanical genius, and wields homebrew explosive weapons in combat, including ultra-powerful grenades and bombs. He is virtually indestructible and does not generally wear armor. His body regenerates rapidly like a dragon and he never, ever forfeits matches, instead fighting until he is "slain," after which he regenerates. He wields massive supernatural strength surpassing most arena combatants, save for the true titans like Rahu-Crusher. Like Rahu-Crusher, he is a part-time fighter who runs a machine shop in the Outer Markets, fixing, repairing, and upgrading mechanical vehicles. He carries magic trinkets that protect him from spells and is a master psionic, wielding telekinetic powers frequently to deliver explosive weapons. Despite his magical protections, he is extremely vulnerable to non-spell magic (anything that doesn't cost mana) and is absolutely crushed by Narga's toxic breath or Sarlea's songs. He thus wears protective helmets in these matchups to prevent these and other environmental hazards from crippling him in battle, but his helmet is often destroyed or removed by a superior melee opponent. He has a versatile repertoire of weapons, but does not wield massive volumes of rune or TW items, making him somewhat second-string among the top Champions. His melee combat skill is high, though among the top tiers he loses to most in close combat. Still, his strength is so high that a lucky hit or a successful grapple often proves to be the end of his opponent.

Monday, April 9, 2012

Rifts proposed skill system (roll high)

Palladium's roll-low skill system is archaic and shitty. Roll-high systems are easier to understand and easier for both players and GMs to use. I've been hating on the system since better roll-low systems (like GURPS or BESM) came around, and since 3e came into being I've pretty much acknowledged its complete superiority in the skill system department.

Like any revised combat system, this will not be fully implemented until sometime during E6. I'll be going over existing character sheets and revising character skills to fit the new system.

While I do feel that 3d10 + modifiers is a much better model of realism/plausibility than a single die, converting Palladium's skills into any method presents a lot of challenges for 3d10; namely, "realistic" skill ratings while maintaining Palladium's level-up system. Converting to a skillpoints-based system is really impossible with existing characters, and even the trouble of hand-to-hand combat skills, weapon proficiencies and upgrading combat skills is pretty hard and not really worth the trouble.

Skill checks in the proposed system will use BESM 3e roll high mechanics. To summarize, 2d6 will be rolled and relevant modifiers will be added and compared to a target number or opposed 2d6 check. This does not affect combat rolls which will still use d20s for everything except damage.

You'll be able to "take 6" in a similar manner to taking 10. You'll also be able to "take 12," which will take 30 times longer than a normal check, in the same manner as taking 20.

Skills will be dramatically streamlined. Cultural and science skills will be lumped into "Profession" or "Craft" skills. Likewise, the technical categories of Electronic and Mechanical will be moved into Craft. A lot of redundant skills will be removed and skills will be combined. As an example, Climbing and Swimming will be combined into Athletics, and the ability to make Jump checks (technically not possible in Palladium) will be added. Horsemanship will split to only allow for riding animals and Animal Husbandry will be used for the care of animals. Social skills will be added (!!).

Stats will give relevant skill modifier bonuses, similar to d20 ability modifiers. This will probably be per 3 points above or below 10 in a statistic (+1 at 11-13, +2 at 14-16, -1 at 7-9 etc.) and yes, this means that stats are more meaningful now. IQ will apply to the vast majority of non-physical skills, excepting social skills which will use MA. Additionally, the previous "IQ bonus" will simply give more skills and more skills at level-up; this does mean Jackie and Gizmo will have a lot more skills than normal. It will still not affect skill training which will stay more or less intact. I will probably allow characters with an IQ bonus train a certain number of known, unrelated skills simultaneously (in order to level their huge skill pools up faster) but will not allow them to learn new skills any faster.

Leveling will work as +1 to known skills per character level (including 1). These will be treated as "ranks" and will be differentiated separately from other modifiers, mainly so that we know how many ranks the character can train to. Class bonuses will range from +0 (most skills) to +3 (Sarah piloting skills). These bonuses count as ranks and are not gained unless you gain the skill as an OCC Related Skill from leveling up or started the game with the skill. You can train them normally; for instance, if Sarah learned to pilot tanks through skill training, she would have 1 rank, but could train up to her character level +3 (reflecting her class' piloting expertise). Class-restricted skills will still be restricted for the most part.

Physical skills will mostly be getting removed, with physical "feats" being selectable skill options. PS can still be raised with +2d6 DC/+2 PS/+1 SPD per skill selection with a maximum of 5 (+10 PS). If Lee already exceeds this he keeps his stats but can't be raised anymore through physical skills -- I will probably also somewhat reduce the reward for any future +PS gains to compensate. For those of you wondering what this means overall:
  • Boxing's +APM will be folded into "man at arms" classes and will be unique to warrior classes. This includes Lee, Sarah and Gizmo.
  • Everyone with a physical skill that increases combat bonuses (such as parry/dodge) is having those bonuses removed. They were power creep and I hated them. I may add some parry/dodge to higher tier combat skills (MA and 4/5 forms) and some extra strike bonus to Assassin to compensate. PP bonus will be applicable to roll with punch now to compensate for the roll loss, and I will be adding a small amount to combat skills.
  • Everyone with +PE or +PP from physical skills keep it. I will retain the ability somehow, to raise PP by 2 maximum and PE by some number, possibly 5. I may fold PE into the physical training skill above, although it seems kind of powerful to get +2 PS, +1 SPD, and +1 PE per skill selection. Actually, that sounds more balanced than the current system, rofl.
  • Boxing's knockout punch and Wrestling's throws and pins will all be retained in some fashion.
  • Fencing is getting totally removed, to include both the bonuses and damage boost. Fuck you, Lee. You can pick something else.
  • Acrobatics/Gymnastics are becoming one skill and will basically be Tumble and Balance.
  • Although not exactly a physical skill, I'm unsure what to do with Sniper. I am honestly cool letting Brit keep it as an artifact of the old system.
 I will be adding skill perks, although I'm not sure how to add them -- either by sacrificing ranks when you level or by spending training time. A skill perk will let you do different things with your skill such as use Mechanical for aircraft or mecha repair, use Medical to install cybernetics, or Electrical to disarm explosives. Combat skill perks will also be added to keep the extra grappling skills of Wrestling or the knockout punch of boxing.

Skills will be loosely grouped into 3 categories. Easy skills will take 2 months of training time to learn. An easy skill has +1 maximum rank, which are learned automatically if you get the skill through leveling up. If you get the skill through training, you can train the extra rank normally. This is cumulative with class rank bonuses (such as Sarah +3 piloting; if she learned "Pilot Bicycle" she would have a total of +4 maximum ranks with the skill). Medium skills take 4 months of training to learn and have no bonus ranks. Hard skills take 6 months of training to learn (default) and have -1 maximum ranks; when you learn a Hard skill, you are effectively -1 on skill checks until you gain ranks in it.

Untrained easy skills suffer no penalty; untrained normal skills will probably suffer -2 to -3 penalty and untrained hard skills will generally be unusable.

Easy skills include things like automobile or bicycle piloting, reading sensory instruments, perception, stealth, and all social skills. Normal skills will include most skills, while hard skills will include Medical, science professions, escape artist, and similar extremely demanding jobs. In general, the maximum roll for an untrained Medium skill check will also be 7.

Weapon Proficiencies will be changing somewhat (streamlined melee weapon bonuses, some skills becoming skill perks, etc.) No idea on whether Sharpshooting will be changed. Quick Draw will be changed.

Input would be appreciated -- except in relation to physical skills. Physical skill bitching will result in experience penalties.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

The best superhumans HU2 can build

Unlike Nightbane -- where I made something ridiculously imba even before talents, spells, or even skills, HU2 requires quite a bit more effort to bust. There are some really powerful super abilities, and some good builds make strong use of them. No HU2 creature is as resistant to everything as Nightbanes are, and magic in particular is a gigantic weakness for superhero characters.

However, HU2 has a few major kinks. The biggest issue is the Alien and Mega-Hero templates and somewhat the Mutant template. While Mega-Hero is considered "optional rules" in HU2 for more powerful characters, Alien is not.

All HU2 superhuman builds have the option of megahero powers, and the best penalty is forced transformation. There's no limit on transformation time, making it essentially a pretty Nightbane Morphus. The obvious megachoice is immortality. Megaheroes automatically get supernatural PS, though in some cases it's a pretty low value. They get 1.5 times their normal SDC (or MDC), and magic has half duration unless the character has a magic vulnerability. We would never choose magic as a vulnerability, ever. Mega immortality makes you literally unkillable while mega-transformed, your basically has to be atomized to die. Nobody goes to that kind of lengths to kill someone. Megastrength is the second good megapower option and it basically gives you +20 +avg 7 PS, which can let some heroes rival Olug and most rival or surpass the cow.

Aliens can hit ANY power category in addition to their alien racials. This is actually totally okay, since any Alien template character could become some imba Rifts class (shifter, battle magus, techno-wizard, etc); likewise more absurdly powerful D-Bee races in Rifts could also become any of the power categories and that's fine. What Alien does is add power for free though, which is dangerous. It's especially significant because aliens can get base MDC by having either high gravity environment or tough hide/natural exoskeleton. High Gravity is the most cheatery environment ever, tripling SPD attribute, granting PS, and giving MDC. In addition, you can add in mineral bodytype for +180 MDC and more PS. Rhino gives more PS, Demon gives multiple arms (+1 apm). For most of my top tier builds, I'll be using high gravity mineral alien.


The general uber builds are:
Mutant/Experiment: 1 major + 3 minor
Mutant/Experiment: 2 major
Mutant/Experiment: 5 minor
Mutant/Experiment: 1 major + 1d4+1 minor psychic powers or 1 super psychic power (for TW item use)
Mutant/Experiment: 3 minor + 1d4 minor psychic powers
Mutant/Experiment: 2 minor + 1 super psychic power
All mutants take ambidextrous as mutant trait and unstable power level growth trait. Level growth could be replaced with the emergency alter physical structure trait, for when situations get really bad.
All experiments take forced transformation for the 1d4*10 SDC and 1d6+4 PS bonus. There are other, less good traits that don't increase size, most notably chemical resistance. No facial features is also okay but superhuman access to TW metamorph stuff is kinda limited, so it's a pretty big drawback.

A mystically bestowed character with mega-hero immortality can get 8 low level spells and 1 imbalanced major super ability. The 8 low level spells are inconsequential; the real advantage is that the hero can use TW items with his one imbalanced major. The one imbalanced major super ability in question is Multiple Beings/Selves. The multiple selves have mega immortality, making them nearly unkillable. He can make 1 clone per level of his experience, although the clones are one level lower than him. He has an average MDC in bestowed form of about 170 (plus physical skill bonuses), plus hit points of relatively normal. Each clone has minimum 20(s) PS, 18 PP, 24 SPD and avg 75+PE mana plus 7.5 avg per level. This character becomes retarded by about level 3 with 3 unkillable kage bunshins all with caster abilities and low-superhuman power levels. If he's teamed with a character who can grant energy spheres, this guy can provide the mana for any ritual ever. Megahero immortality makes this character imbalancedly powerful and because it's in the core as an optional rule (and the devs acknowledge that megahero makes you pretty imbalanced) this shouldn't be seen as a gigantic exploit. It is BY FAR the worst case scenario and it is only really bad when paired with Rifts-tier magic.

Another option for Mystically Bestowed is to start with basically any spell in the game. He can only pick a few but he can pick the more abusive ones like Energy Sphere, Talisman, and Create Scroll. With Create Scroll, he can create translatable scrolls of his rape spells to allied casters. He kind of tapers off in power once his allies have all his spells, but he does retain mega-immortality and can still use any TW devices with the same mana pool as the above character. You may want to give him mega-strength instead and kill him off so you can roll something that can actually learn spells. Obviously, you'd relearn all your high level rape from your allied wizards and pick something gay like chiang-ku shifter or battle magus. A similar build uses Enchanted Object but you are limited to spell levels 1-12; you get a few more good powers, lose some durability, and gain one unique special effect. The unique effect is generally pretty crappy, except for complete magic immunity. The problem with the immunity effect is that it permanently gimps your ability to get durability and is overall not a very good idea. I would go for Mystically Bestowed if I wanted to use scrollhax.

The problem with Mystically Bestowed as a category is that the character must do the bidding of whatever's granting him his powers. He's basically a priest, and that's cool for RP but he's gotta pick the right god. Kym-nark-mar ftw?!?

Enchanted Object gets to use scrollhax as above but is not quite as good. He can use TW though even with major super abilities, so there are some decent builds. I don't think any of them are "cow good" but there's always sonic speed for a mini-Harken build. Probably not as good as Mystically Bestowed kage bunshins though.

Enchanted Weapon is a character packing a rune weapon as his main ability and loses all of his megapowers if his sword is ever lost. This makes him kind of vulnerable right out of the gate. I would take mega strength rather than mega immortality; even if you don't die right away, someone just jacks your sword and you're hosed. Better to be more capable of avoiding death. They have around 53 MDC in transformed mode, plus normal HP. We'll assume they do 6d6 weapon damage.

Mystic Weapon of Order can get some ridiculous strength by doubling up on the strength weapon option plus megastrength. The best options after strength are the +6 damage bonus, fly, mystic shield, and invis superior at will. The +6 damage bonus applies to the wielder, so he can use it to wield a battle fury blade doublestriking at +6 damage per hit. Not too bad, considering this build will probably have over 70 PS.

Mystic Weapon of Chaos has a few more utility options but not as much strength. +6 damage, portal of fear (makes a grappling tentacle portal, really nice), invis superior at will, fly and mystic shield are the best overall options. There are some decent other weapon choices. In this case though, the +6 damage is probably better off used with guns and a Chaos Weapon wielder probably wants spells so he can power TW items. He's an inferior choice overall other than his +6 damage with guns. Megastrength doesn't do him much good, but it's better than nothing? I'm having trouble making a working build for this guy that is dramatically better than nightstalker mystic (which is kind of a benchmark).

For the Mystic Weapon characters, they either get 1 major or 3 minors, although they get a spells option it only allows spells up to 8 and doesn't allow learning new spells. This, obviously, is kind of mediocre and the base mana is really bad.

For the Weapon of Order character he probably wants Teleport (major) for perfect gap closing with his monster strength and melee damage. He could also go with 3 minors and get extraordinary speed and 2 other +APM minors, for +3 APM total and some good dodge/parry bonuses. He might also be able to work automatic dodge into a minor. Because he's a Weapon of Order wielder, Karmic Power (major) might also be good to completely screw his opponents (it nulls all enemy combat bonuses) but Karmic Power relies on being a good guy all the time. Obviously, Invulnerability works for anything. APS: Stone or Metal can also be used for more PS but less mobility.

Mutant and Experiment heroes (Mutant is really ideal) have some power flexibility.

One major + TW use is a big draw. This -needs- to be a durability increase as the mutant is not MDC by default. APS Liquid, APS Metal or APS Ice are the most flexible options but Invulnerability is always there. Alternatively, it can be something imba like Slow Motion Control or Karmic Power and he can rely on EBA, PBF, or TW mods to give him protection. He's still mega-immortal. However, the durability powers get bonuses from being a mega-hero (+50% MDC) and APS Ice and Liquid in particular have a lot of utility. The mutant character with the level growth unstable perk can get a major on level-up and combine another imbalanced power with his first one.

3 minor + TW use is inevitably going to be harder to break. Manipulate kinetic energy for double damage physical attacks is insane in team play. Otherwise, he pretty much can just rely on getting +3 APM and some form of mobility and some combat bonuses. 2 minor + a super psi is not really worth it compared to 1 major and a super psi. The best combo there is manipulate kinetic energy with super-TK for some really imbalanced item throwing, which might be cool.

1 major + 3 minor will give some mobility to a major. I really, really like wingless flight with APS Ice, but this stuff isn't really broken. It's nice though. Nowhere near as good as 1 major + TW + some random psi.

2 major is really sick because you can do some dumb combos, especially with the possibility that mutants give for level-up powers. Multiple Beings/Selves with APS of any kind is pretty retarded, Plasma being a huge offender for huge damage output and fly mobility. Unfortunately, 2 majors and no TW means combining Multiple Beings/Selves with any non-durability power is fucking dangerous, even with mega immortality.

So overall, the biggest abusers (unless stated, all use the basic Alien + Mega-Hero template: high gravity mineral alien, mega hero immortal transformation)

Build 1: Plasma/Electric Kage Bunshins
This build uses Demon multi-armed aliens rather than mineral aliens for +1 APM. Mineral adds more durability, though.
I choose Mutant with Ambidextrous/Experience Growth and 2 majors
Major super abilities: Multiple Beings/Selves, Alter Physical Structure: Plasma (or Electricity)
mostly normal stats (HP is mega) except
Triple normal SPD
+avg 7 PS (normal)
avg 142.5 MDC in normal form, +90 in plasma form (plus physical skills)
Can create 1 copy of self per level, copies are 1 level lower than creator.
Deals 10d6 damage to anything it touches (in plasma form)
Deals 20d4 damage to anything grappling it (cannot actually grapple since intangible)
Flies at 60mph +20/level
Can throw 10d6 +2/level plasma bolts with 200ft +20level range
Can throw 4d6 plasma bolts with 300ft +30/level range
Takes half damage from energy (in plasma form)
Immune to physical and heat (in plasma form)
Takes huge damage from cold, water, etc.
This build basically gives the character a bunch of flying, unkillable plasma allies that deal monstrous ranged damage. He starts off reasonably powerful and gets absurd at higher levels due to his per-level speed increase and massive number of clones. He also gets superpowers every 3 levels at 3/6/9/12/15. He does not have very good endgame scaling though, and is better off only keeping poorly-equipped clones in plasma form later on. He is easily ignored with i2e, but due to getting superpowers every 3 levels he may have some other means of damage by level 3 or 6. He can also dual wield rifle weapons, so against an i2e enemy he still has his superior speed and particle beam rifles or multiple grenade launchers. Due to having so many clones, he can arm some of them as machinegunners or other means of support.
 
Build 2: Slowing Kage Bunshins
Mutant, Ambidextrous/Experience Growth, 2 majors
Multiple Beings/Selves, Slow Motion Control (or Gravity Control)
Triple speed
avg +25 PS (35.5) normal
avg +382.5 MDC
Can do a no-save half-apm half-bonuses attack
This build is weird, since it relies almost entirely on mineral alien tank and normal weapons. It has to use mana cell weapons to even use TW, and it will never be able to use TW normally unless it spontaneously develops Mimic. Even then, it will have to Mimic a psionic ally or enemy and most likely, the clones will be dispersed doing various things. It loses pretty hard to the plasma alien mutant unless armed with cryo-weaponry of some kind. However, the character has the unique ability to royally dominate a battle if his kage bunshins are allowed to get close due to the slow-motion attacks. His clones are also incredibly hard to hit without concentrated fire. He can 1v1 almost anything except someone else also using kage bunshins. He is somewhat vulnerable to the cow due to his low magic save, but the cow cannot do anything but cast spells and has half APM with which to do so. The gravity control version works a little better by improving mobility of kage bunshins (multiplying a multiplied speed is kinda dumb) and completely destroying anyone with bonuses. He is only really vulnerable to a really powerful mage and some MB/S builds.

Build 3: Mage Army
Mystically Bestowed, Mega-Hero Immortal/Transformation, Multiple Beings/Selves, 8 spells 1-5
PE/PP minimum ~20 (thus good bonuses/saves)
Triple SPD
PS avg +27.5(s) (roughly 38)
avg +550 MDC
avg75+PE+avg 7/level mana
This build has ridiculous tank and speed like any mineral high gravity alien, but he is pushed to physical perfection thanks to Mystically Bestowed. His army can't cast any truly epic spells, but 1-5 has enough good stuff that he can really do some damage. In core, Mental Blast is level 5, as is Domination, while Magic Net is level 4. Astral Projection is there too. This guy has quite a few decent tools early and is a really big problem late, since he has full access to TW gear and each clone has enough mana to end a fight. He is a counter to casters due to his highish saves and magical aptitude. The plasma army can beat him early but it's as easy as TW ice guns lategame. The cow has no chance of beating even two of him as long as both of them stay out of Darksong range. In very close combat, the cow still might not beat him because he is unlikely to stun 4 or 5 kage bunshins for more than a melee round. Slow army build probably loses as well, as their magic saves are low.

Build 4: All the Strength
This build replaces megahero immortal with megahero strength.
Mystic Weapon of Order, +6 damage, fly, mystic shield, invis at will, strength x2 + 1 major
Alter Physical Structure: Metal
+1610 MDC in metal form (-1200 in normal form, ohnoes still 410)
+avg 97(s) PS (avg 107.5 before physical skills)
Triple SPD, which is halved in metal form
Can turn invisible at will, fly at 50mph (half in metal), create a 200 MDC parrying shield, and deals +6 damage with all attacks.
This character hits so hard, the universe shudders whenever he does not pull his punches. He's also unkillable and can just straight-up trade blows with almost anyone. He has a decent magic save (not listed) but no ways to boost his PE for more. He's really imba with a team, but is not actually one of the "titans." I just thought it would be amusing to build a character with over 100 supernatural PS. Almost any of the MB/S builds above can beat him.

Friday, March 2, 2012

In this thread, Nightbane are retarded

So yeah. Nightbane are pretty powerful in morphus form. According to the conversion notes, Nightbane in morphus form turn their SDC into MDC, which means that they can train Marvel Comics style in facade mode and gain stat buffs in morphus mode legitimately (I houseruled physical stat training for superstr characters).

The conversion notes in Dark Conversions screw us out of some fun options. Unfortunately, there is no benefit to playing as a spider, snake, or giant insect as their poisons are SD (obviously I would change this but I'm doing core just to show imba). Thus, the best options provide better senses or stats.

Note: fStat means facade stat, mStat means morphus

The base stats of any Nightbane are double HP (mPE*2 + 2d6 per level) and 30+2d6*10 MDC. They get a natural +10 to PS, PE, and SPD and +6 to PP. They also have some of the highest mana totals in the game at  fPE+3d6*10+20, +3d6 per level. Nightbane have to spend mana permanently to get talents, so this might be a compromise. Note that a Nightbane sorceror can select no talents and have his full mana pool for spells, although there are enough good talents that I think this is a bad idea.

Nightbane core abilities are +1 init, +2s/p/d, +3 roll, +4 save magic, +3 save psi, +3 save disease, +3 save hf. This might be a little retarded but at least they don't have a huge poison save. Good stuff to know if you ever fight a Nightbane, but racial +10 PE might have something to say about that.

Appearance type: Bizaare (1 Beauty, 1 Characteristic, 1 Animal Form, 1 Stigmata)
Characteristics: 2x Unnatural Limbs, 1x Biomechanical, 1x Alien Form)
Animal Form: Cow/Buffalo
Unearthly Beauty: Physical Perfection, Fallen Angel
Stigmata: Bones, 1x Biomechanical
Unnatural Limbs: Four Arms (actually two), Pseudopods
Biomechanical: Metal Endoskeleton, Metal Exoskeleton
Alien Form: Crystaline, Hulking Monster

I only choose this combination because I assume you can't run plasmoid with a bunch of metal exoskeleton parts. Otherwise, plasmoid is kind of ftw, but you end up running with less than half HP.

Overall it gives you, without physical skills:
avg 64+7 HP per level = kinda hard to kill
avg 623 MDC = you can tank glitter boy guns to the face
avg 41.5 PS = fuck trucks, you hit like a short-range missile
avg 19.5 PP = you are kinda dextrous
avg 32 PE = you resist everything
avg 19 PB = you're a hot cow
avg 50.95 run SPD = you can chase down cars going the speed limit
horror factor 18 = you are fucking terrifying... and I'll be honest, I'm terrified looking at these stats
+2 initiative, +2 roll with punch, +3 save disease = boring
+2 s/p/d, +3 save psi, +3 save hf = awesome
+4 save magic = you're probably immune
fire and cold resistance = does half damage
avg +2.75 APM = the chance for +3 APM is there, that's all I'm saying
automatic dodge = yeah that's right, what now bitch

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Brit's character -- Fire Elemental Shaman

Keezheekoni

Attributes
IQ -- 10
ME -- 12
MA -- 4
PS -- 12
PP -- 30 (+4 while using Totem Gift)
PE -- 25
PB -- 10
SPD -- 30 (+50 while using Totem Gift)

Derived Values

HP -- 58 (+1d6 per level)
SDC -- 60
Mana -- 141 (+2d6 per level)
ISP -- 0

Actions per Melee: 7 (+1 with Totem Gift)
Initiative bonus: +1
Dodge bonus: +16 (+4 with Totem Gift)
Parry bonus (normal): +14
Parry bonus (knife): +17
Parry bonus (polearm): +16
Strike bonus (normal): +10 (+2 with Totem Gift)
Strike bonus (knife): +12 (+2 with Totem Gift)
Strike bonus (polearm): +12 (+2 with Totem Gift)
Strike bonus (rifle, single shot):  +7 (+2 with Sniper)
Strike bonus (rifle, burst firing): +5
Strike bonus (rifle, aiming bonus): +5 (+1 with Totem Gift)
Strike bonus (handgun, single shot): +4 (+2 with Sniper)

Roll with punch bonus: +7
Save vs. HF: +3
Save vs. all magic: +2
Save vs. possession: +4

Special Actions and Abilities

Sniper: When using a two-handed rifle or shotgun, the Shaman gets a bonus of +2 to strike on single shots if she does not move during her turn. If she is attacked by an enemy, she loses this bonus until the next melee round. She may also use this power with a handgun, but only if it is equipped with a shoulder stock.

Quick Recharge: The Shaman can, once per turn, instantly reload any TW rifle or shotgun she is wielding as a free action.

Grapple: The Shaman is an expert grappler. She may tackle, takedown, or throw her opponent and can turn a grapple into a pin or hold. She may also turn a pin or hold into a choke or joint lock. She gets her unarmed strike bonus (currently +10/+12) in addition to her PS modifier (currently +0) in any grappling contest. On a natural 18, 19, or 20, any unarmed hand attack or grapple may immediately pin the enemy. This must be declared before the dice are rolled and overwrites any critical hits or knockout attacks.

Knockout: The Shaman can knock her opponent out with fists, kicks or blunt weapons if she scores a natural 20 to hit. This ability does not have to be declared on her strike roll.

Ignite Fire: The Shaman can ignite a small fire by spending 2 mana and concentrating. If the fire is touching combustible material, the fire will spread as a normal fire would.

Fire Resistance: The Shaman is immune to all heat and fire damage, including exposure to high temperature. This does not give the same resistance to her equipment, nor does it confer any other resistances, such as radiation or kinetic energy resistance (eg. conventional and nuclear explosives are still deadly).

Heat Detection: The Shaman can detect infrared radiation from warm objects. This power does not work through solid objects, but it is always active unless the Shaman is asleep. This power does not grant the Shaman thermal vision, but rather a sixth "thermal" sense.
  • At great distances (1 mile or more) the Shaman can detect large fires due to the large amount of hot air and smoke elevating above the fire. The larger the fire, the greater the distance that can be detected.
  • Smaller fires (medium-sized campfire or bonfire) can still be detected within a 1 mile distance. The exact location is not known but a general direction can be established.
  • Running vehicles or large groups of people or animals can be detected at roughly 2000 feet. At this distance, the Shaman is only -5 to strike at these targets even if she is otherwise blinded.
  • Human-sized targets can be detected at 1000 feet or less. At this distance, the Shaman is -5 to strike them if she is blinded.
  • At 100 feet or less, the Shaman can detect infrared radiation as a second sight and suffers no blindness penalties, except in high ambient heat situations or when the target has no thermal signature.
Sense Elementals: The Shaman can recognize any Elemental creature by sight, including Spirits of Light, Elemental Spirits, True Elementals or Elemental fragments. The Shaman can also sense the presence of an elemental creature within a 120 foot radius around her, although she cannot pinpoint a location without other forms of detection.

Summon Elemental Spirits: The Shaman may summon a Lesser Elemental Spirit of Fire who will assist her. She has a 45% chance for a summoning to be successful. The spirit will assist her with her current task until it is completed. The success chance is increased by 10% at a leyline or 20% at a nexus point. She gains +5% to her summon chance for each level of experience.

Vulnerability to Stone: The Shaman is vulnerable to stone weapons of any kind, both normal and magical. She takes double damage from them. If she is in an MDC form, SD stone weapons deal their base damage in MD.

Skills
Numbers in parentheses are the gains from each level-up.

Languages
Language: Native Tribal -- 128% (+5)
Literacy: Native Tribal -- 128% (+5)
Language: American -- 128% (+5)
Literacy: American -- 60% (+5)
Language: Spanish -- 90% (+5)
Language: Elven/Dragonese -- 90% (+5)
Language: Elemental -- 48% (+3)

Class Skills
Basic Math -- 95% (+5)
Horsemanship: Exotic -- 70%/60% (+5) (note: -10% to ride normal animals)
Dancing (professional) -- 70% (+5)
Singing (professional) -- 75% (+5)
Cooking (professional) -- 80% (+5)
Preserve Food -- 65% (+5)
Prowl -- 65% (+5)
Wilderness Survival -- 80% (+5)
Lore: Native Americans -- 65% (+5)
Lore: Animals -- 70% (+5)
Trap Construction -- 44% (+4)
Tracking -- 60% (+5)
Camouflage-- 50% (+5)
Sense of Balance -- 90% (+5)
Climbing -- 40% (+0)

Secondary Skills
Pilot Motor Boat -- 85% (+5)
Sewing -- 70% (+5)
Skin and Prepare Hides -- 65% (+5)
Land Navigation -- 60% (+4)
Navigation -- 70% (+5)
First Aid -- 75% (+5)
Swimming -- 80% (+5)
Radio: Basic -- 75% (+5)
Horsemanship: General -- 70/50% (+5)

Physical and Combat Skills
Hand to Hand: Expert
WP: Semi and Fully Automatic Rifle (Sharpshooting)
WP: Automatic Pistol
WP: Knife
WP: Polearm
WP: Flail
Acrobatics
Running
Athletics
Boxing
Wrestling

Magic and Spell Knowledge

Level 1 Fire (spell level 1)
Cloud of Smoke (2)
- 30ft diameter burst of smoke
Fiery Touch (5)
- Buffs self with fiery aura, adds +1d6 to hand to hand attacks
Fire Bolt (4)
- Medium ranged blast of fire, 4d6

Level 2 Fire (spell level 3)
Heat Object (4)
- Heats an object, generally used for cooking; long cast time
Resist Cold (5)
- Buffs with 100% cold resistance (doesn't prevent damage from cold-based physical weapons)
Swirling Lights (8)
- 60 foot long, 10 foot diameter column of bright light from hands; dazes enemies who fail their save

Level 3 Fire (spell level 5)
Circle of Flame (10)
- Starts a SD or MD magical flame at target location; 4d6 damage if passing through
Extinguish Fire (8)
- Cancels a large area of fire, can't extinguish magic fire.
Fireball (10)
- 90 foot range, 15 foot radius splash fireball, dealing 1d6+1 per caster level (eg 6d6+6 at level 6)
Fire Gout (10)
- 30/level foot long stream of fire (eg. 180ft at level 6), deals 6d6 +1/caster level (eg. 6d6+6 at level 6) and suppresses enemy as long as stream is maintained, up to 1 turn (2 seconds). Can hit multiple enemies in a small arc.
Part Fire (8)
- Cuts a small path through fire or deflects fire attacks.

Level 4 Fire (spell level 7)

Cauterize (15)
- Burns wounds closed, preventing bleeding and healing 4d6 health. Can only be cast once per injury.
Flame Friend (20) (ritual)
- Summons a powerful fiery creature to fight for you. He has 3 APM, is +2 on combat rolls. He is immune to energy attacks, has 50 MDC and deals 2d6 physical melee damage, +1d6 from fiery touch.
Fuel Flame (10)
- Triples the size and power of a fire.
Mini-Fireballs (20)
- Buffs self to throw medium-range bursts of fire, dealing 3d6 +2 per caster level (3d6+12 at level 6).
See Through Smoke (12)
- See through smoke effects and gain the infrared vision ability.

Level 5 Fire (spell level 9)

Blue Flame (30)
- A massive radius attack spell, dealing 1d6+3 per caster level (6d6+18 at level 6) cold damage.
Fire Globe (20) (ritual)
- A grantable fire explosive that deals 5d6 damage, +5d6 per round. Generally kills anything it hits if allowed to burn. The magical napalm can be extinguished with normal or magical countermeasures.
Screaming Wall of Flame (30)
- Creates a soul-devouring wall of rape. The wall has a fear effect (hf16) to anyone that comes near it.

Level 6 Fire (spell level 11)

Dancing Fires (35)
Creates 1 little fire buddy per caster level. Each one has 2 APM and deals 1d6 MD, has 20 MDC and has +2 to combat rolls. They are immune to energy and physical attacks; magic, ice, psionic, and water attacks are effective.
Flame of Life (40)
- Restores a character from coma to sustainable health. Can resurrect dead characters with 50 +3/level chance.
Flame Whip (30)
- A self buff, creates a nasty whip that deals 4d6+1d6 per level. +1 to strike and has 6ft + 1ft range per caster level.

Level 1 Shaman

Dowsing (6)
- Find water.
Nose of the Wolf (4)
- Greatly increases sense of smell, roughly equal to a dog or wolf.

Level 2 Shaman

Animal Speech (5)
- Grants the temporary ability to speak with animals.
Contact Spirits (8)
- Enters a trance to ask the spirits questions.
Spirit Quest (5)
- Enters the Astral Domain of the Spirits to ask for favors.

Level 3 Shaman

Animal Companion (20)
- Summons an animal (non-supernatural) to aid the spellcaster as a long-term pet.

Level 4 Shaman

Ears of the Wolf (10)
- Grants self superhuman, canine-like hearing.
Spirit Paint (10/20)
- Enchants self or allies with hunting or war paint.

Level 5 Shaman

Metamorphosis: Hummingbird (18)
- A very long-term enchantment that allows the caster to transform into a hummingbird.
Totem Gift (12)
- Grants totem animal powers (listed in character section) for 30 seconds per caster level.

Level 6 Shaman

Plant Travel (25)
- Travels at 6mph, relaxing. Can carry the caster with gear, but cannot carry gear alone.

Level 7 Shaman

Spirit Blessing: Animal (20)
- Changes an SDC animal's health into MDC health, and boosts maximum health by 30%. 2 minutes per caster level. Also changes natural weapons into MD natural weapons, but does not grant supernatural PS.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Helpful Tips on magic for shamans

Fire Level 1
Blinding Flash -- A good control effect for very cheap, but easy to find. A staple spell that everyone should have.
Create Coal -- At level 1, it creates fossil fuel for burning. Has a lot of potential uses, especially for providing fuel for low-income people. It's a really neat spell.
Fiery Touch -- A must-have. It's a class-defining spell. This should be cast before any sort of melee combat.
Fire Bolt -- Most notable because it's level 1, making firebolt TW weapons very cheap.

Fire Level 2
Cloud of Ash -- Creates a teargas like effect, although not as good as tear gas. Good but skippable.
Darkness -- Magical darkness that beats passive nightvision spells or abilities. Probably not as good as smoke spells or grenades overall though.
Heat Object -- A good utility spell for cooking.
Spontaneous Combustion -- A good way to make non-magic fire, which is nice for... certain other effects.
Swirling Lights -- Probably the main bread and butter control spell for fire warlocks. Short range but incredibly good.

Fire Level 3
Circle of Flame -- Pretty good area denial spell. Better than the wizard version in every way.
Fireball -- With a blast radius and huge damage, this is kind of scary.
Wall of Flame -- Also pretty good area denial spell.

Fire Level 4
Cloud of Steam -- A better teargas type spell than Cloud of Ash.
Fire Blossom -- A grantable object to set things on fire.
Flame Friend -- A fire pet who can fight for you.
Cauterize/Heal Burns -- The only healing spell in Fire.
Mini-Fireballs -- A strong buff that can be used in self-defense if you find yourself unarmed.
See Through Smoke -- Infrared vision at long range is good, even if you have infrared radar.

Fire Level 5
Blue Flame -- A huge area high damage nuke. Does a ton of cold damage.
Eat Fire -- Allows you to survive without food by eating fire.
Fire Globe -- A grantable napalm grenade. Wow!
Screaming Wall of Flame -- A spell too good for words. The best warlock area denial.
Wall of Ice -- Kind of high level for this kind of spell, but a very sturdy barrier that is hard to get past.

Fire Level 6
Dancing Fires -- Summons a lot of little flame pets that tear enemies up.
Flame of Life -- It's a heal and a rez! What else is there to say?
Fire Whip -- The damage on this spell is ridiculous. A great close combat weapon.

Fire Level 7
Fire Sponge -- Lets you absorb fires and unleash a mega-powerful flaming blast. Very short range, though.
Melt Metal -- This spell ruins anyone with metal armor and does tons of damage to vehicles. Absolutely frightening.
River of Lava -- Probably the strongest spell in Fire. Probably needs to be nerfed.
Ten Foot Wheel of Fire -- A gigantic fiery wheel of doom that you control. Causes massive amounts of chaos and destruction.

Fire Level 8
All 3 spells in this level are good~

Shaman Level 1
You don't actually have a choice here as there are only 2 spells

Shaman Level 2
All 3 spells in this level are pretty decent, Animal Speech is kind of must-have

Shaman Level 3
Animal Companion -- Gives you a pet animal friend! Permanent and can be recast!
The other two spells are decent, not amazing

Shaman Level 4
Ears of the Wolf -- Gives you super hearing!
Spirit Paint -- Provides some bonuses to combat and hunting skills

Shaman Level 5
Totem Gift -- Must have! Empowers you with your totem's bonuses

Shaman Level 6
...they pretty much all suck

Shaman Level 7
Spirit's Blessing (Animal) -- Makes your mounts or pets MDC

Shaman Level 8
Only 2 picks and both are pretty awesome

Shaman Level 10
Only 2 choices and again, both are great

Shaman Level 11
...3 choices, all are awesome... you probably won't get any of these though

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Spellforge Proposed Mercenary Fees

These are the fees proposed by Lion, Brick, and Lyra (who have rode this train before) for mercenary operations. Each merc gets a 20% cut of any service they provide.


10,000 credits for deployment costs.
50 credits per fighter per day of prep or non-combat garrison.
200 credits per fighter per day of combat garrison.
1000 credits per armed fighter, per day of combat.
An additional 500 credits for specialized combat units, per day of combat. Headhunters always count; snipers count if they are tasked with covert operations, but not as line troops.
100 credits per mile of operational transport (this does not include travel to or from HQ to the op zone, only for transporting allied personnel or equipment).
50 credits per person administered basic first-aid treatment.
500 credits per person administered emergency medical treatment (up to heal wounds)
5000 credits per person administered specialized medical treatment, including advanced magic or psionics.
500,000 credits per resto or resurrection (when such treatments are available).

1000 credits per fighter for the use of any Spellforge 40mm TW munitions.
500 credits per fighter in ammunition expenses (E-Mag, SDC, .50cal or railgun ammo)
1000 credits per fighter in armor repair expenses (note: CS armor is more expensive to repair)
1000-2000 credits per fighter for the use of exotic ammunition (75H ammo, etc.)
5000 credits per shoulder-fired rocket or missile.
10,000 credits per vehicle-launched MIM rocket.
20,000 credits per COLOS short-range ballistic missile or light laser-guided bomb.
35,000 credits per laser-guided SRM.
50,000 credits per heat-seeking SRM.

Monday, August 22, 2011

The Spellforge Roster (+allies)

Sir Lee Chen (Cyberknight 6)
Jaqueline Cassidy (Techno-wizard 6)
Blackstream (Night Stalker/Mystic 6)
Sara (RPA Elite 5) (3000c/mo)
T'fon (Shifter 7) (paid on commission)
Gargoyle A (Gargoyle 4)
Gargoyle B (Gargoyle 4)
Lyra (Operator 5) (barely a member as it is)
Brick (Mining Cyborg 5) (5000c/mo)
Lion (Psi-Stalker 5) (5000c/mo)
Olug (Mystic Kuznya 5) (doing his own thing)
Aptaev (Great Horned Dragon/Warlock 4) (paid in spells)
Izeuphy (Succubus 4) (2000c/mo)
Samador Imenth (Techno-wizard 4) (4000c/mo)
Charlie Guillermo (Techno-wizard 2) (3000c/mo)
Veronica Merriweather (Techno-wizard 2) (3000c/mo)
Abkii the Defiant (Chiang-Ku Dragon 4)
Lo Li (Chiang-Ku Dragon 3)
(1) Medic/Healer (Hired Gun 2) (2500c/mo)
(1) Johan Haus (Mind Melter 5) (2500c/mo)
(2) Headhunter 2 (2500c/mo)
(1) Military Sniper (Assassin 2) (2500c/mo)
(1) Spotter (Assassin 2) (2500c/mo)
(1) Wilderness Sniper (Assassin 2) (2500c/mo)
(1) Radioman (Spec Ops 2) (2500c/mo)
(1) Helicopter Pilot (Spec Ops 2) (2500c/mo)
(1) Field Technician (Spec Ops 2) (2500c/mo)
(2) Heavy Weapons Soldier (Spec Ops 2) (2500c/mo)

(total cost of employees 50,000/mo)

Bills: (6000c/mo total)
Power, Kingsdale complex: 0c/mo
Power, Atlantis storefront: 100c/mo
WGS, Kingsdale: 150c/mo
WGS, Atlantis: 150c/mo
Weapons Maintenance: 20c/mo per combatant (400c total)
Maintenance, Wheeled Vehicles: 25c/mo each (100c total)
Maintenance, Hovercycles: 100c/mo each
Maintenance, Helicopters: 500c/mo each
Food, Humans: 150c per person (3300c total)
Food, Monsters: 300c per person (1200c total)

Allies:

"Crazy" Florentino Villapondo (Crazy 6)
Kingsdale Dragons Captain (Juicer 4)
Julian the First (Mega-Juicer 8)
White Raven (Wilderness Scout 12)
Sgt. Beta (Android 10)
Sir Brakkus (Cyberknight 6)
Darien (Mind Melter 6)
Cale "Tim The Invisible Man" McLeod (Hardware: Mechanical 5)
Stydro (Ancient Great Horned Dragon/Shifter 15)
Richard Harken (Dragonslayer 15)
Terra (Vagabond 3*)
Dragonwright Followers (many)
Sgt. John Slaughter (Juicer 6)
Genem (Divine Knight 16)
Matthias (Chiang-Ku Dragon/Wu Shih 9)
Katrina Sun (Leyline Walker 10?)
Erin Tarn (Rogue Scholar 14)
Winslow Thorpe (Cyberknight 9)
Victor Lazlo (Parapsychologist 12)
Lo Fung (Chiang-Ku Dragon/Chinese Alchemist/Tattoo Master 15)
Sir Galahad (Undead Slayer 9)
Max (Undead Slayer 14)
Planeskipper "Skippy" (Shifter 6)
Rexus the Red (Cyberknight 7)

*Terra has no useful skills, other than language skills, basic math; all of her actual magical powers are racial advantages, similar to BS' inherent racial magic knowledge

This list does not include anyone who hasn't fought with the PCs, including:

Jaspin
Keith Overton
Jenna
Sylvie
Eleuka
Warlord Sabre Lasar
Gage

Mercenary Recruiting

Recruiting Mercs

In order to recruit mercs from an area, you need a contact. Generic mercs can be hired without a contact, just by putting work notices up or by doing the hiring yourself. All generic mercs start out at level 1, while better-trained or experienced mercs must be picked up through contacts and may have higher levels or special abilities.

Recruiting mercs is as simple as asking a contact for a mercenary of X type and Y specialty. I might actually create some random deviation tables, but for right now you're basically getting really generic people with 9-12 in all stats. Characters with dynamic skill selections can have -anything- in those skill slots, unless players specify. "A headhunter that can fly a combat helicopter" is fine (meaning WP: Heavy and Pilot Helicopter), but "An assassin with WP targeting, heavy, and archery" isn't really, unless you give him the weapons specialty.

Recruiting mages is difficult; you can specify either one spell, or the skill specialty, but not both -- except where the two overlap (eg. Rogue with Invis Simple).

Minor psionic characters (2 powers from 1 category) can be recruited, but must generally be out of the "generic mercenary" category and must be hired from a contact with the appropriate connections. A Hired Gun can have any MOS with psychic powers -- so you might ask for "a Hired Gun sensitive grunt."

Specialty mercs, including Samador (the TW), and your Medic and Spymaster, cannot be hired normally. They are one-time recruits. This includes characters with 2 or more skill specialties, major psychics, or characters of higher than normal base experience level. It may also include characters with extremely high stats, eg. an Assassin with Sharpshooting, or characters of normally non-recruitable classes, like Magi (any kind) or RPA Elite pilots.

Unless otherwise stated, NPCs ONLY come with 1 skill specialty by default (Hired Guns and Headhunters come with 0). Some "special" mercs may have more; if you see "max 2" or "max 3," that's what that means.

All characters have a vibro-knife.

Major psionics is 8 powers from one category (GM-determined).

Changes to Spellforge teams

Haus is now a named character
Note: Your Medic is now a level 1 Hired Gun with the Medic MOS, major psychic with healer powers

Tennesee Headhunters

Special Operations Soldier (Level 2)
Radio, Computer, Sensors, Weapon Systems
Literacy, Military Intelligence
RPA Basic, Pilot Tank
Expert Combat
Automatic Pistol, Automatic Rifle
Skill specialty (max 2): Any Military, Any Espionage, Paramedic, Communications, Mechanical, Electrical, Piloting, Rogue, Technical, Weapons, Wilderness
Equipment: Bushman EBA (50 MDC, -10%), NG-IP7 or NG-LC6 (if heavy weapons is known), NG-57
Spellforge wage: 3000c/month

Assassin (Level 2)
Radio, Computer
Literacy, 3 Languages, Military Intelligence
Demolitions, Demo Disposal, Tracking, Prowl, Concealment, Ambush
No Piloting
Assassin Combat
Automatic Pistol, Automatic Rifle, Sniper, +3 WP (possibly sharpshooting)
Skill specialty (max 1): Parachuting, Piloting, Communications, Any Espionage, Rogue, Technical, Weapons, Wilderness
Equipment: Crusader EBA (50 MDC, -5%), JA-11, NG-33
Spellforge wage: 3000/month

Headhunter (Level 2)
Radio, Computer, Sensors, Weapon Systems, ECM
Literacy, 3 Languages, Lore D&M
Navigation, Concealment, Ambush, Tracking, Survival
Pilot Tank, Jetpack, +2
Expert Combat
Automatic Pistol, Automatic Rifle, +3 WP (never sharpshooting)
Skill specialty (max 1): None (specialists may have 1)
Equipment: LE-B1 armor (135 MDC, -15%), Multi-optic eyes, Bionic laser, NG-P7 or L-20 or NG-LC6 (depending on weapon skills), NG-Super
Spellforge wage: 3500/month


Generic Mercenaries

Hired Gun (Level 1)
Radio, Computers, Basic Math
Literacy, 1 Language, Sign Language
Climbing, Running, Athletics
No Piloting
Basic Combat
Knife, Automatic Pistol, Automatic Rifle
MOS Skill specialty (max 1): Basic/Grunt, Medic, Piloting, Heavy Weapons, Scout, EOD, Communications/Computers
Skill Specialty (max 1): None
Equipment: Huntsman EBA (40 MDC, -15%), NG-L5, NG-33
Spellforge wage: Dunno yet!
Notes on MOS: Most of the MOS programs are superior to others
  • Communication includes ewar, sensors, and extra languages
  • Heavy Weapons includes the entire package (including weapon systems)
  • Pilot doesn't include RPA; more "motor T" type character, can include Helo (one of choice)
  • Medic includes MD and prereqs (!)
  • Scout includes most scout-oriented skills including Surveillance, no Tracking though
  • Grunt is generic, gives a pilot, a WP, Nav, and Expert
City Rat (Level 1)
Computers, Basic Math
Literacy, 1 Language
Running, Surveillance, Streetwise
Pilot Automobile, Hovercycle
Basic Combat
Automatic Pistol
Skill Specialty (max 2): Communications, Domestic, Paramedic, Pilot (limited), Rogue, Technical, Weapons (melee/rifles/pistols only).
Equipment: The Bandito (30 MDC, -0%), NG-33
Spellforge wage: Dunno yet!

Generic Mages (Mystic Quarter, Tolkeen, Kingsdale)

Leyline Walker (Level 1)
Basic Math
Literacy, 2 Languages, Lore D&M + 4 Lores
Climbing, Navigation, Survival
Pilot 1 (basic piloting)
Basic Combat
No Weapon Skills
Skill Specialty (max 1): Domestic, Paramedic, Pilot (basic), Pilot Related, Rogue, Science, Combat*, Wilderness
*Combat includes basic weapon skills and an upgrade to Expert
Equipment: The Bandito, NG-33; if Combat is selected, also has an NG-L5
Spells: 3 random from each level 1-4 (12 total)
Spellforge wage: Dunno yet!

Techno-wizard (Level 1)
Radio, Computers (pr), Sensors, Basic Math
Literacy, 2 Languages
Navigation, Electrical/Mechanical/Weapons Engineer, Field Armorer, TWCS
Pilot 2 (basic)
Basic Combat
Knife, Automatic Pistol
Skill Specialty (max 1): None
Equipment: The Bandito, NG-33
Spells: All TW starting spells
Spellforge wage: 6000/mo