Oh—I don't think anyone minds, it was just unclear to me (and I figured possibly others) whether the scene was continuing or not.
Ooh, and I've finally found a character who looks like my image of Janice as a "human"
Please don't hold the next vignette for hide and seek
cheers
Ok all, first combat starts tomorrow, so teeing up the fight now.
I've put in new tabs for combats, one for each table.
The way to read the grid is this :
I'll post .
Then, you look at the grid, and if you have an X in the phase 12 column, you get to go that turn/phase combo. You go in the order on the table. If your name is on it more than once, it means you have options to do either Mental or Physical things, or, you have a variable dex/speed combination (Like Pixie). Ego goes before Dex, at the same level (EGO 20 goes before DEX 20). Tied Ego or Dex is broken by Speed. Tied both just goes simultaneously (Dex 18 Speed 4 goes simultaneously).
I've put in the vital combat stats. Please don't hover over the blacked out things. I've put them in blacked out for the first combat to make it easier. For future, I won't put them in at all, but want to make the first one simpler for everyone.
It is up to you to keep track of your stun/body on the grid. If your stun is 100, and you take 20 stun, you should change it to 80/100 from 100. When it hits full, it goes back to 100.
The way the combat will start is, you are allowed to start anywhere you want, with certain restrictions that are specific to a given table. You can keep defensive up after you walk out, however, the fight will start after a random amount of time has passed, so you'll have to expend endurance to keep it up, could be a minute, could be an hour. I'll roll random for a number of turns between 1 and 1000 to determine how long passes before it starts.
There will be two observers, Sanction and Shimmer. They are there to watch and evacuate anyone who goes down, respectively. You are to ignore them, per their request, for all purposes (in other words, don't try to not hit them, they are not worried about an occassional side hit).
Oh, and sorry for being snippy, Jack; Snapdragon just doesn't see much reason right now to trust tactical estimations of other metas' powers from someone who clearly doesn't understand his own.
Before I do my turn, could you quickly explain how much we're allowed to do in one phase? For example, if Pixie goes invisible, can she still use her Pixie Powder in the same phase?
Sure...
Each phase is broken up into 3 standard types of actions, and two special types :
Zero-Phase Actions : You may do as many Zero-Phase actions on your turn as you wish, as long as it's before any full phase actions, or before your second Half-Phase Action.
Half-Phase Actions : You may take up to 2 half-phase actions per phase, but may not combine them with a full-phase action.
Full-Phase Actions : You may take 1 full phase action per phase, if you have not taken any half-phase actions.
Special types
Attack Action : An attack action is any action (Zero, Half, or Full) that you take that requires a to-hit roll. An attack action ends your turn, even if you have actions left unused.
No Time Actions : A No Time action can be performed at any time, before, during, or after your actions on your phase, or even on a segment you don't normally have a phase on.
Zero Phase Actions :
Brace
Accelerate/Decelerate while moving (Each inch of movement allows you to accelerate or deccelerate by 5" of velocity)
Shift a Multipower Slot (Once per segment)
Shift Skill Levels (Once per segment)
Turn on a Power (Once per segment)
Use Casual Strength
Half Phase Actions :
Find Weakness
Grab* (If successful, free Squeeze or Throw)
Haymaker* (Action completes end of next segment)
Missile Deflection*
Move-By*
Move-Thru*
Any action that requires attack roll*
Draw a Weapon
Get to one's Feet
Make a perception roll with a NonTargeting Sense
Open a Door
Start a Vehicle
Use up to Half-Your Movement in Inches (Half-Move)
Full Phase Actions :
Set
Set & Brace
Change Clothes (Includes Instant Change)
Recover from being Con-Stunned
Take a Recovery (Cannot be done if you delay your action)
Use more than half your inches of Movement (Full Move)
No Time Actions
Make a Presence Attack
Make a roll at the GMs request
Perform a Soliloquy (AKA Tell the hero the dastardly plan)
* Actions marked with this are considered Attack Actions
Note, they apparently changed a rule between 3rd edition and 5th edition that I missed until just now. Formerly, in 3rd edition, activating a power was a half-phase. However, it is now a 0-phase (although the way I'm reading it, that only applies to that single power, the once per segment). So you can activate any number of powers, then deactivate them before the end of your turn, but can't re-activate them again the same segment you activated them before.
Okay, so I could activate invisibility, fly up to nine spaces (half my movement), and then toss my pixie powder, all in one phase. Thanks!
Yep Note, being invisible and flinging powder while having a fringe makes you much easier to target than being invisible with a fringe and not firing. :) Still harder than visible, but wanted to make sure you realized it's not perfect cover.
Added section on invisibility to the tutorial
Just now found the combat map. You said you'd allow swinging earlier, I hope that still applies?
Only once toward an empty area, up to half movement, then you're down to walking or jumping.
Two questions:
1. Does Bolt have a lower DCV in the entangle?
2. Can you target Bolt instead of the entangle, or do you have to damage the entangle before damaging Bolt?
Cheers
1) Yes, Bolt has a lower DCV in the entangle. She has 0 DCV until she gets out of the entangle.
2) No, you can attack the entangle without attacking Bolt, but not vice versa.
Wow, Gridlock's jumpy! And hmm... so I'm con stunned. Does that mean I completely lose the next phase, or can I stand and/or take a recovery?
(Now I'm regretting not starting with like 15 more con for 1 CP more...)
Welcome to brick attacks. Tatiana hit Jack the same way. Ouch.
Not sure how you'd have gotten 15 con for 1 CP.
But yeah, bricks tend to be jumpy (all that strength).
Nope, you are con stunned, so you lose your next phase, no recovery (other than the post 12 recovery you got at post 12)
An 18, uh oh...
Not quite as good a number in Champions as it is in Pathfinder.
So... 15 more points of CON costs 30 CP, but provides +3 ED (3 CP), +3 REC (6 CP), +30 END (15 CP), +7 STUN (7 EP). That's... oh I miscalculated, that's 31 CP of benefits. Since you can "buy down" all those stats, it would've actually been cheaper to start with 15 higher CON, but I picked a human-level CON mostly because it felt like a cheap exploit (and probably is). Just an interesting quirk of the numbers.
That said... I've raised all of those figured characteristics, because I like them. Snapdragon will probably be raising CON for a while without raising any other characteristics—possibly because she can learn to do a lot of things with her body, but the best way to improve CON is get punched a lot.
(Also: Do you use the rule where you can pay partially for a characteristic by "buying down" figured characteristics—e.g. I could pay 4 points to raise my CON by 5 if my ED doesn't go up by one? I think I've heard about this being houseruled either way but I'm not sure the official convention)
It's up to the GM.
We'll talk about it after the first combat.
Oh, also: how do we want to handle abort actions, like dodge/block, that I believe typically get used before rolls are revealed? Because I think Snapdragon's about to start dodging.
We'll just allow both sides to declare after the fact, due to there not being another way to do it. Equally beneficial to both sides.
Couldn't Bolt have shrugged out of the 1 Body Entangle with casual strength?
No, she would have had to do 6 body (it still had 5 defense).
OH!
7 Body, the entangle has 6 Defense.
Question for my next phase (if I survive to get there): Snapdragon has 10" of noncombat stretching. Can I use stretching to grab onto a ledge and pull myself up to the top of the ledge (form prone), or does it not work like that/is a full-phase action?
You could do that. Just remember, you'll still be at half DCV for doing non-combat. But you would be out of being the center of attention.
What phase did Gridlock go? Where are we in the turn order? Who's up?
cheers
MDT, Jack planned here to abort to block. His base DCV would be 12 -1 = 11 for the danger sense mitigating the acting. Isn't that a miss by Gridlock, because he only hit an 8 DCV?
EDIT I'm regretting not playing a speed brick. I forgot how much fun they were.
DCV would be 7 (Base) + 3 (10) - 1 = 9.
So yes, blocking would block that. I missed your intention to abort to block.
Doesn't his 2 combat levels that I put in DCV count too?
Ah, yes, sorry, for some reason, they aren't showing up on the first page under combat levels, so I missed them.
Trying to keep track of 19 characters in this combat, plus 2 observers.
Dodge and Block are normally 1/2 phase actions—are there reasons they're taking full phase (and thus Jack/I aren't getting full-phase actions)? (Snapdragon dodging while on the ground, Jack being distracted by a feint, etc.) or is this another 4e vs. 5e thing?
Also, totally asking Gridlock for combat-asking tips after this battle.
Short Answer
It's da rules.
Long Answer
Sometimes a character can act first to protect himself, regardless of relative DEX or the fact that he doesn’t have a Phase. Th is is done by Aborting an Action (sometimes called “Cancelling a Move”).
A character can only Abort his next Action to perform a defensive Action (see the accompanying sidebar for a list of “defensive Actions”). Typically a character must declare an Abort when an attacker announces he’s attacking that character, but before any rolls are made. A charactercan’t wait to see whether an Attack Roll misses, and if it hits, then declare an Abort (unless, of course, the GM permits this for the sake of drama).
Aborting an Action requires the character’s next full Phase to perform — in essence, the character uses his next Phase “early” to protect himself. If he’s Holding a Phase or Half Phase, he may Abort to use his Held Action to perform a defensive Action; in that case he does not lose any more Phases.
Oh! So why are Dodge and Block listed as half-phase actions? Can they be used before the attack they're dodge/blocking?
Situtaion : You are running zig-zag to avoid being shot, you run a half-phase and use a dodge action.
Situation : You know if you are in the middle of the thugs grunts, they will attack with their swords. So you use a half-phase to run in the middle of them, and then use a half-phase to block.
You can use them without aborting (see above). Remember, you can't abort on the segment you already took an action (such as running in the situations above). The only way to dodge or block after moving is to immediately do it, or hold a half-phase to do so. However, you can't abort the held action on the segment you held it, due to the rule about aborting on a segment you already took an action. So if you do anything first, you have to block/dodge with the other half immediately if you think you will need it.
Note to Pixie, you forgot to take range penalties into account. You are currently 8 Inches (diagonally) from Gridlock (7" up, 4" over). That's a -2 OCV penalty. You still hit, but you hit a 5 or less, not a 7 or less.
My Pixie Powder has No Range Modifier. Does that not mean what it sounds like?
Nope, you're fine then. As I said earlier, juggling 19 characters.
No range modifiers is a nice little advantage. Keeps attacks rolls easy, no calculating distance and checking the slide rule.
I think its Chess's action in Turn 1, Phase 6, right?
cheers
Yes, if he doesn't post by tonight I'll bot him. For combats, I'm going to have to be fairly annoying about botting people after 24 hours, otherwise due to the system, it will be an insane pain.
Use the zoom button, dude!
Also, man, I'm excited to be on my feet and close enough to actually punch someone.
I don't think people had a chance to call out where they wanted to be moved to, so I'll move people around as best I can guess based on vague orders. :)
Just to reiterate folks, these guys are well trained to work together, and two of them know your weaknesses. This fight isn't about winning, it's about getting you exposed to the system. Ergo, I'm trying to throw as many different things as I can at you, which is why I chose the teams the way I did. This isn't about 'winning' it's about 'learn the system via crash course'.
Just don't want people thinking I'm trying to blow you all away. I hope you are all learning what to do to enemies, and how to overcome things that happen to you as well.
Yeah. Janice has already learned a lot about CON stunning and knockback—which makes sense, since this is the first time she's fought supers.
Also, heh, if Gridlock's about to shoulder check me, I'm on my feet and can dodge effectively again. Yay!
Explanation of what just happened :
Welcome to Area of Effect Attacks. Gridlock grabbed an object that was 2 x 1 hexes, and threw it at the hexes that contained Pixie. He successfully hit he hexes DCV (hexes have a 3 DCV to hit a hex, and you get bonuses for using something bigger than the hex to hit the hex, which I put toward range penalties).
This is how bricks take out speedsters, they throw cars at them. However, Gridlock had to take half a turn to set it up. He worked his way toward the wall, hitting people along the way and drawing Pixie's NND attacks. When she got him low, Arachnid signaled to take her out, and everyone targeted Pixie on their next action.
Ohhhh, okay. Gotcha.
What exactly happens when you go below zero stun?
Important thing for Pixie to learn... area effects suck for speedsters and sneaky types because there is no DCV target, everything in the area takes the damage, including those low defense high DCV people.