Futuristic SDF(OOC Thread)

[Roche777]

Welcome to the Superhero Defense Force OOC. All questions, comments, ideas, and complaints should be posted here. Thank you.

People have had Powers since ancient history, but were always extremely rare and relatively weak. In 1957 C.E.(Common Era) the first scientific report analyzing superhuman populations was published and noted a rise a sharp rise in superhuman birth rates. The cause is still unclear, but over the following decades the instances of children born with Powers rose steadily. They were also being born with stronger and more diverse Powers. The ultimate cause is still unknown, but in modern times roughly 1 in 10 people have a Power. There is no conclusive evidence that parents with Powers will have children with Powers, and family trees devoid of Powers for generations can still produce a child with Powers.

 

[Phineas Forge]

All complaints?

I'm not a fan of mustard.

 

[Roche777]

Any complaints you would like to share with the group, including your distaste of mustard.

I love mustard, and use way to much of it. I sense a rivalry forming already.

 

[Phineas Forge]

I posted 2 ideas and now I'm just not sure which one I wanna go with.

 

[Roche777]

You have until Friday to finalize your character, so do not feel rushed. I liked your second character's power, very interesting.

 

[iijora]

PlusUltra Hope you don't mind if I model my CS after yours.

 

[PlusUltra]

iijora Fine by me. I've used those fancier ones before but in all honesty it just made it harder to read (plus sometimes screwed with tablets and phones) the most I will use is Tabs but for this one outfit reference was too big to work with how I usually do tabs (like a Civilian/Costume tab etc)

So try and keep it simple, basing it off whatever CS template is in the game then adding to it as I go. Plus I prefer Image alongside text to save on too much empty space.

 

[Phineas Forge]

Ok, here's a question:

Enhanced reflexes at 3. Is that worth it? I know its not my character, but I'm more using it as an example to get a better grasp on the system.

Basically is speed 4, smarts 2, and enhanced reflexes 3 really any different than speed 4, smarts 5? Seems like the former is spreading thin but not truly getting anything that wouldn't naturally occur in the latter.

 

[Roche777]

Smarts would not increase your reaction speed. Enhance Reflex does not increase his top running speed, but would give him advantage dodging attacks, and impart a quicker recognition of incoming danger, like a soft spidey sense. It's applications are ultimately up to AphroBoy to explore. If he decides he would like to change anything that is allowed. If characters with equal Speed or Skill are in a fight Enhanced Reflexes would grant an edge in the fight.

 

[PlusUltra]

Kept Bio brief/simple since was drawing a few blanks, but for most part should be done unless there is more you want me to add?

 

[Roche777]

Nope. Looks good. I'm not too picky and don't mind you expanding on your own time. My characters are almost always in a constant state of updating. I'm pretty sure you have the most complete bio out of all of us anyways.

 

[Phineas Forge]

Hmm, well, you've got 'thought speed' listed as part of smarts, so I figured (evidenced by my inclusion of a high smarts score to accompany high speed) that would play a part in reflexes: the more quickly your brain processes the stimulant, the more quickly you'd respond to it. It seems to me like someone with high smarts would then be able to react more quickly than someone with low smarts and low enhanced reflexes... As you explained previously, 2+3 wouldn't equal 5. Someone who's thoughts are processed at 5, I'd think, would have better reflexes than someone with 2 smarts and 3 enhanced reflexes (especially assuming the same speed).

Maybe I should ask what you mean by thought speed.

 

[PlusUltra]

Steven Hawkings would have had high Smarts but low Speed, hence while Smarts would let you think about what to do, Speed is needed to react to it physically.

 

[Phineas Forge]

Right...

But we're still working under the original assumption that speed is the same (in this case, 4). What I'm getting at is that I assumed a higher smarts stat (5), with faster thought speed, would likely be better than low smarts (2) and low enhanced reflexes (3) despite being the same number of hero points.

But I completely understand that smarts is not 'just' thought speed and reflexes.

 

[Roche777]

Conscience thought and autonomic impulse are not necessarily correlated. Character's like Sherlock Holmes or Tony Stark are able to input and output massive amounts of information with their brains, but do not possess ungodly reactions speeds because of it. Elon Musk is easily one of the most intelligent and creative people alive, but that isnt going to help him dodge a punch. Being dumb also does not limit your ability to react either. Many professional boxers are not very intelligent, but trying to punch one in the face would be a futile effort for most people. Reflexes are tied to your nervous and muscular sytems where as intelligence is a product of the prefrontal cortex and other brain areas. IQ does not correlate to reaction speed and vice versa.

All good questions though.

 

[Phineas Forge]

So smarts is wholly unnecessary for a speedster? Traditionally, speedsters like the Flash are also "able to input and output massive amounts of information with their brains".

 

[PlusUltra]

I mean Flash sure, Quicksilver, A-Train, Krypto, Sloth, Dash......(long list of other speedsters) not as much.

 

[Roche777]

Flash is smart but not a super genius. The ability to type 2,000,000 words a minute is cool, but ultimately futile is you do not have the technical knowledge to dismantle the algorithmic security you are trying to hack. And remember Smarts is not just thought speed, its IQ, knowledge, ability to abstract, number of objects you can keep in short term memory, ability to perform complex arithmetic, and so on. Flash can hack faster than anyone else, but is limited by his technical understanding. The Speed Force makes him the fastest man alive not the smartest. Quantity does not equal quality.

 

[Phineas Forge]

I'm not saying he's smart. I'm saying that his thought speed needs to be really high in order to understand the world around him at the incredible speeds at which he's running. As I stated, I understand smarts is more than just the ability to process information, but the faster you go, the more information you need to process. Like you said, Sherlock Holmes and Tony Stark would have high smarts cause they can process massive amounts of info. Likewise, the Flash needs to do the same though he doesn't have the IQ, knowledge aspect of what you label as 'smarts'.

So, a high speed stat (6) means that you can process everything around you when running at max speed? Like someone with that stat could read a sign as they run by it? Notice bumps and potholes in the road as they run by at 1000 mph?

 

[Roche777]

You can process general environmental information fast enough to allow you to operate. The faster you go the less detail you take in though. Imagine you see a billboard on the highway. The faster you drive by it, the less of the information you are going to be able to take in. At highway speed you will be able to fully enjoy GenericBurgers advertisement slogan, at 200 mph you would see the burger and maybe catch the first 1 or 2 words, fly by in a fighter jet and it will just be a blur of color. You will always see the billboard, but the finer details will become more and more blurry.

 

[Roche777]

Real thought and reaction to the environment are not the same thing. When you sit down and ponder a concept or engage in a conversation, you are thinking. When a lion jumps out of a bush and starts chasing you no thinking takes place, instincts take over. As your running from said lion, you come to a fence, you don't think about whether or not you can jump over the approaching obstacle, you either do or you don't. A lot of what we do in our day to day lives is not thought driven, but simulation of habits and instincts.

High Speed and Smarts will both let you "think fast", but Smarts governs the quality of that thought and Speed determine how quickly you can act of those thoughts.

 

[Roche777]

The main thread is open. Sorry it was late, had a lot going on with Thanksgiving.

 

[iijora]

Oh cool, no problem. I honestly didn't know if this was still going on. But I'll finish up my CS and try to get a post up today.

 

[Roche777]

I wanted to get the thread up Friday, but got busy. We only have three people who have completed their character sheets. I'll open to more people if the other don't post their characters in the next couple of days. It is still going if there are people interested. You have some free time for introductions and meeting new people before the official first day. When I see that initial post are done. I will introduce the first major Gamemaster post.

 

[PlusUltra]

Cool, it may be worth tagging people in the Main thread so they get email notifcations, only just saw it now after your OOC comment myself