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fourstring_samurai
A character in my game has the killing hands power, and i was wondering how others represented it in their games. In ours, its a close fitting shroud of energy that surrounds the hands, and requires forceful movement to inflict damage to a metahuman body (i.e. he can't just touch a guy to harm him, it has to be an attack of sorts), and he can't be wearing more than light gloves for it to work.

also, i ruled out "killing feet" as a secondary use, mainly because of stuff like this:
"oh! i'll run around constantly with one shoe on, to fool my enemies!" ohplease.gif


Tanka
I just represent a mystical "Holy shit you just punched a hole in that guy" instead of "Hey, look, he's almost unconscious!"

Edited for one typo. I'm such a fragging perfectionist.
Ancient History
I prefer the Jack Hawkmoor "I haven't punched someone in the brains all God-damned day." approach.
Adarael
Amen to that, AH.

"Hello. Welcome to Seattle. We're here to hit you."
Kagetenshi
I have absolutely no idea what you mean by the killing feet comment.
As for how I represent it, depends on the player. I let it work with anything as long as it is not, in my mind, deemed to be filled with vanilla cream.

~J
Siege
I think you're taking Killing Hands too literally.

I've always interpreted it as an adept's ability to inflict real damage through an unarmed attack -- be that elbow, knee, foot or fist.

I don't even qualify it to contain energy fields glowing around hands -- that seems just a little silly to me.

-Siege
Large Mike

Yeah, I've alwayse pictured it as kinda Matrix-like. "Holy crap!? Did *I* do that?"
Cain
I let it be whatever the player wants it to be. As long as it's just a special effect, and not a rule twist, it's fine with me.

Among the ones I've seen, they include bone spurs from his hands, the glowing field, the Death Touch or other mythological technique, or what have you. The "killing feet" trick also works. There's nothing to suggest that an adept can't wear gloves and use his ability to full effect, so why he should go shoeless is beyond me.
Saintgrimm
I agree totally with Siege. Killing hands always represented the total use of body to enact a killing blow, as long as you has the skill to do so.

As for effects, I never used them for my chars, nor enforced it used for anyone else. But if a player wants a cool after effect, or something for his killing hands.... he's welcome to it.
mfb
i've got a technomancer adept whose powers are all geased to pieces of gear he's modified. his killing hands / distance strike manifests as any number of different beams, blasts, and whatnot.
kevyn668
I just imagined it as there being more "crunching" sounds. And blood.
BumsofTacoma
QUOTE (kevyn668)
I just imagined it as there being more "crunching" sounds. And blood.

Dont forget snaping screaming and begging......... and blood.
Phaeton
And then blood.
Austere Emancipator
But I think you guys are forgetting something important: There's got to be lots of blood.

I always describe it like the restaurant scene in Dumb&Dumber.
Phaeton
But what about the blood, the blood and then the blood? silly.gif
Frag-o Delux
It is more like the ending of Dead Alive. now that is a lot of blood.
BumsofTacoma
I have yet to see that. any good?
heard its a real gore fest.


when i ask is it good, I mean is it the gore fest everyone says it is.
Adarael
GOOD GOD YES.

And it's ridiculous yet fun.
The Grifter
That movie is whack. But I agree, can't beat the gore factor.
Zazen
That glow is worth a geas in my games. When Leroy Green shows up to kick the crap out of Sho'Nuff he needs The Glow to do it, man. That glow would get your ass pretty shot up in an SR game.
Diesel
Kill Bill has a lot of carnage towards the end.

People with short attention spans, like me: Go get drinks or food or go to the bathroom in the first half of this fight, it's nothing you won't see again for the next fifteen minutes.
Frag-o Delux
The main character runs through the house with a gas power push lawn mower to kill the zombies, body parts are every where. And if you are curious how zombies make love and if they have children watch this movie. biggrin.gif
Siege
QUOTE (Frag-o Delux)
The main character runs through the house with a gas power push lawn mower to kill the zombies, body parts are every where. And if you are curious how zombies make love and if they have children watch this movie. biggrin.gif

Oh, ugh.

When they talk about a stiff one, they're not kidding.

-Siege
BitBasher
And stupid trivia time, Dead Alive was a zombie gore fest directed by our very own "Lord of the Rings" Peter Jackson biggrin.gif
fourstring_samurai
QUOTE
think you're taking Killing Hands too literally.

I've always interpreted it as an adept's ability to inflict real damage through an unarmed attack -- be that elbow, knee, foot or fist.

I don't even qualify it to contain energy fields glowing around hands -- that seems just a little silly to me.

-Siege


yeah biggrin.gif
when i first started GMing, the first character i helped a PC make was our adept, and when we talked it over, the energy thing seemed to be the way to go, since the story in the beginning of 2ed had an adept who's strikes left a magical residue, and we kinda took it and ran with it. Actually, i totally like the way you guys have mentioned, with the strikes being more like super deadly effectiveness in combat.
its funny how big of a difference there is between stuff you thought was cool when you were 18 and stuff you think is cool at 24. biggrin.gif



QUOTE
I have absolutely no idea what you mean by the killing feet comment.
As for how I represent it, depends on the player. I let it work with anything as long as it is not, in my mind, deemed to be filled with vanilla cream
~J


well, when we decided on the energy special effect, we said it was confined to his hands, and to prevent my group (an incredibly silly one) from making jokes about a killing feet power, i nipped it in the bud.
smile.gif


The Grifter
Lemme get this straight. An energy field around the hands is silly, but glowing powerballs, oral whips, and invisibility spells aren't?
BitBasher
Yes grifter, that's exactly right in some cases. Silly is in the context of the game man.

Incidentally powerballs don't glow either. There's no game mechanic to seeing combat spells except the roll to notice spellcasting which can be fairly hard to do. IE: powerball isn't really visible. You sure do feel it though.

Mandating a visible energy field on an adept power means that power is not obvious when it may not have been otherwise. That has many negative ramifications for the adept.

I allow a user to take a visible manifestation of the energy and if they do I count that as a gaesa on the power. Very Obvious. It has a lot of drawbacks just by the virtue of it being visible. The user can use that gaesa to get the power cheaper or however they see fit.
The Grifter
Well, to me, the whole concept of Shadowrun could be considered silly, depending on how you wanna look at it. I mean, if you're gonna suspend disbelief for one thing, you might as well do it for another. I do agree with you about maybe putting a gaesa on the power.
Kagetenshi
Let me put it this way. Lord of the Rings doesn't seem silly onscreen. Now imagine those hoardes of orks. Imagine that they carried a battle-standard, and had the dread figure of their god painted on all of their siege towers. Imagine that this was a visage that would strike fear into all who saw it, indeed, it was the very visage of the dread lord Sauron himself in his dark tower of Barad-Dur.

That image is the following, only much larger: smile.gif

Some disbelief can be suspended more easily than other disbelief.

~J
fourstring_samurai
thats still pretty freakin' scary. a horde of orcs marching under the walmart rollback banner? AAIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!
biggrin.gif

BitBasher
QUOTE
I mean, if you're gonna suspend disbelief for one thing, you might as well do it for another.
I disgree. Some things work int he context of the game world while others do not. You literally have to draw that line someplace.
Rev
I would suggest requring the player to have thier killing hands always have the same visual appearrance.

If they want wispy shamanic mask type claws to come out thats fine but they always come out. If they want crackling electricity thats fine but it is always there when they use the power. If they want it to look normal but for the damage done it always looks normal.

The special effect is sort of cool and would give an edge to intimidation, but it is also an identifying mark and will draw attention. I think that balances out just fine.
BitBasher
I agree with that too Rev.
Siege
QUOTE (Kagetenshi)
Let me put it this way. Lord of the Rings doesn't seem silly onscreen. Now imagine those hoardes of orks. Imagine that they carried a battle-standard, and had the dread figure of their god painted on all of their siege towers. Imagine that this was a visage that would strike fear into all who saw it, indeed, it was the very visage of the dread lord Sauron himself in his dark tower of Barad-Dur.

That image is the following, only much larger: smile.gif

Some disbelief can be suspended more easily than other disbelief.

~J

Ahem, actually I do think LotR on-screen is kinda silly. grinbig.gif

-Siege
Kagetenshi
Ok. Insert a "ignoring all scenes involving Legolas" into the above.

~J
toturi
QUOTE (Kagetenshi @ Jan 3 2004, 07:26 AM)
Ok. Insert a "ignoring all scenes involving Legolas" into the above.

~J

No, I liked those scenes with Legolas, after all, he did "level up" after Fellowship.

And I find that the Undead attack was anti-climatic. Those ghosts simply went in and cleaned house... no fun. love.gif.....Where do I hire them? rotfl.gif
Kagetenshi
Yeah. Those ghosts were never supposed to be anywhere near Minas Tirith.

~J
Siege
Legolas didn't bother me particularly, but there were lots of little things that just didn't sit well with me.

I suppose I was looking for a grittier version, not the shinier model that hit the screen.

-Siege
Zazen
QUOTE (toturi)
And I find that the Undead attack was anti-climatic. Those ghosts simply went in and cleaned house... no fun. love.gif.....Where do I hire them? rotfl.gif

Yeah, that was one of the stupider-looking parts of the flick, when the "scrubbing bubbles" ghost army came in and swished the battlefield.
Siege
I get it now! Elowyn is the great-grandmother of Luke and Leia!

-Siege
toturi
QUOTE (Siege)
I get it now! Elowyn is the great-grandmother of Luke and Leia!

-Siege

More like great-great-great.... grandmother.
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