11-19-2010, 12:34 PM | #31 |
Wielder of Smart Pants
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Ventura CA
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Re: [Supers] What's the point of making Mêlée-oriented characters?
This why straight-up attrition slugfests are generally a bad idea. On the other hand if you use your 2 defenders to put your 3 offenders in a position that allows them control of the battlefield, then you win.
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11-19-2010, 12:37 PM | #32 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Dobbstown Sane Asylum
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Re: [Supers] What's the point of making Mêlée-oriented characters?
So far, no one's touched on grappling and incapacitation.
A brick is an all-purpose tool. A blaster is a rifle. You can't use a rifle to subdue a strong teammate who's being mind-controlled. You can't use a rifle to take down a foe carrying a ton of explosives. The ability to walk up to someone and grab him is amazingly useful, and it's often the fastest way to end a combat. (If you've ever managed to get pinned after a grapple and takedown, you know how there's nothing that says You Lose quite like a pin.) In addition, there are times when you need to get up close. Say the bad guy stole something, and getting it back is the priority (e.g., a chemical weapon that's about to go off) -- someone needs to be able to take it away from him. Basically, a brick can do dozens of things, while a blaster can do one thing. That's not to knock blasters -- you need a ranged attack or two in your group! -- just to say that bricks are really important as well.
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11-19-2010, 12:39 PM | #33 | |
GURPS Line Editor
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Montréal, Québec
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Re: [Supers] What's the point of making Mêlée-oriented characters?
Quote:
Getting back to supers, this is why it can be fun to play a zippy ninja, hefty tank, long-ranged blaster, or supporting role (healer, hacker, etc.). Your side will win against unbalanced forces and not lose so easily to balanced ones. Granted, individualist players won't see the goals of their side as important to their fun, but that's not a rules issue . . . that's a personal hangup.
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11-19-2010, 12:46 PM | #34 | |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: [Supers] What's the point of making Mêlée-oriented characters?
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Not really relevant; there are no 'all defense, no offense' units in that mix. |
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11-19-2010, 01:45 PM | #35 | |
Forum Pervert
(If you have to ask . . .) Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Somewhere high up.
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Re: [Supers] What's the point of making Mêlée-oriented characters?
Quote:
Observations from multiple decades of playing supers games: Blasters are pre-Madonna’s. They’re pretty and flashy and they expect everyone to bow to their awesomeness. Sure, they can be impressive, but, they’re fragile and they’re of no real strategic use. Tactically, in a small battle, they’re going to win. Scrappers are reliving their first day in prison. Every fight is “Prison Rules.” You go and find the biggest, meanest, nastiest thing in the fight, that isn’t you and not on your side, and you beat it up. You tie it up and you don’t let it do anything else but focus on you. A large supply of quickly replenishing HP is the ultimate defense. Tanks are walking walls. Their job is to tie up scads of goons. That’s a strategic role. And, that’s the one that’s going to get the attention of the enemy’s long-range snipers. You go in and keep everyone’s attention off the squishies in the backfield and hope that the scrapper is doing his job. A well-made blaster can have the ability to take out their foes in a non-lethal manner. Blue Electron has a nice alternative attack power that includes a high-ST bind and all of her attacks include “Side Effect: Stunning” and a couple of “Side Effect: Unconsciousness.” But, Blue Electron is a single-target girl. She’s got a single AoE, but it’s not really strong enough to do more than slaughter innocent civilians . . . hence she doesn’t use it much. Heartbreaker, the team Scrapper (and person who explained the logic that scrappers are reliving their first day in prison every fight), is much more versatile, and all she has is, as listed above, a large supply of HP that regenerate quickly and some mystically-enhanced martial arts. Blue Electron has a higher “body count” (they really try not to kill people), but Heartbreaker is usually the one who takes out the high-priority targets. And, a group of guys with AK-47s is pretty worrisome to BE, HB just waltzes up and introduces them to her feet and fists. And, while BE can immobilize and incapacitate some targets, the threat of HB coming over to trounce them is enough to get some enemies to lay down their weapons. Scrappers tend to be more effective in a fight because they have more options open to them then "I shoot it, again." |
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11-19-2010, 01:56 PM | #36 |
Dog of Lysdexics
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Melbourne FL, Formerly Wellington NZ
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Re: [Supers] What's the point of making Mêlée-oriented characters?
Using Mark's Blaster, Scrapper and Tank definitions: The Things is the teams's scraper, The Human Touch the Blaster, and The invisible Woman is Heavy Tank (either protecting the team, or encasing the goons in her fields) Where Mr Fantastic is a Light Tank with his Binding attack.
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11-19-2010, 01:56 PM | #37 | |
Doctor of GURPS Ballistics
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Lakeville, MN
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Re: [Supers] What's the point of making Mêlée-oriented characters?
Quote:
The versatility of high stats, esp ST, DX, and IQ, is hard to overstate.
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11-19-2010, 02:06 PM | #38 |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: [Supers] What's the point of making Mêlée-oriented characters?
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11-19-2010, 02:07 PM | #39 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
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Re: [Supers] What's the point of making Mêlée-oriented characters?
And this may be cheaper using Imbuements and homing or guided attacks, though the FP cost may be a factor.
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11-19-2010, 02:11 PM | #40 |
Doctor of GURPS Ballistics
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Lakeville, MN
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Re: [Supers] What's the point of making Mêlée-oriented characters?
If this is intentional, it's hysterical. If it wasn't intentional, it's still darn funny.
(prima donna...first lady)
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Tags |
balance, melee, supers |
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