My House Rules. Comments Welcome

[Worldmaker]

The Normal Person Doctrine: Anything a normal person in the Guardians Universe can easily acquire and own, a player character can have without spending points. A player character can own a car, a house, a cell phone, a pet, and so on, for free. However, if the character can use it in combat, or if the object is otherwise unusual, the points must be paid for the item.

(For example, a character could have Spot the loyal house dog who chews on slippers for nothing; Spot the highly trained attack dog who chews on opponents' limbs must be paid for.)


The Rounding Rule: With the single exception of Speed, fractions are always rounded off to the nearest whole number. Speed does not round. The Rounding Rule comes into play the picosecond a fraction of a whole number is encountered, not at the end of the calculations. Always round to two decimal places.



Advantages:

Armor Piercing: Not Armor Piercing Against Resistant Defenses is a +¼ advantage.

Damage Classes: The following advantages increase the DC of an attack power: Area Effect, Armor Piercing Attack Versus Limited Defense, Autofire, Based on Ego Combat Value, Cumulative, Does Body, Does Knockback, Double Knockback, Explosion, Megascale, No Normal Defense, Penetrating, Sticky, Useable on Others, and Variable Advantage.

Double Knockback:

• Double Knockback can be purchased multiple times on a single power.
• 1½ x Knockback is a +½ advantage.

Reduced Endurance Cost:

• The Endurance cost of a power is not increased by the application of Reduced Endurance. The active cost of the power is increased as normal.
• The following replace the advantage Costs Endurance Only To Activate (+¼) from pages 76 and 86 of the Hero System 5th Edition rulebook, and should be used instead of the advantage listed in the book:Costs Endurance Only To Turn On And Off (+¼): Powers purchased with this advantage only cost Endurance when they are activated. Once on, they do not cost Endurance again until the character turns the power off. Costs Endurance Only To Turn On And Off (-¼): This limitation may only be taken on those powers which normally have no Endurance cost. This limitation causes such powers to have a normal Endurance cost which must be paid when the power is activated or deactivated.

Uncontrolled: Any Reduced Endurance advantages taken on a power purchased with this advantage are doubled in value (0 Endurance Cost and Persistent becomes +1 advantages, ½ Endurance Cost becomes a +½ advantage, and so on).



More to come.

[Hawksmoor]

The Normal Person Doctrine: Anything a normal person in the Guardians Universe can easily acquire and own, a player character can have without spending points. A player character can own a car, a house, a cell phone, a pet, and so on, for free. However, if the character can use it in combat, or if the object is otherwise unusual, the points must be paid for the item.

(For example, a character could have Spot the loyal house dog who chews on slippers for nothing; Spot the highly trained attack dog who chews on opponents' limbs must be paid for.)

This one is simple, and I do believe is how the game is meant to be played. The only problem I have ever had with the HERO system is the requirment to spend points to "buy" commercially available items.

Google TAROT and you might come up with some interesting information. So why require a supercomputer? A laptop bought at BESTBUY can do this.
Radio communications: Go to Bestbuy again...I hear that NEXTEL has a good deal this week.

The Rounding Rule: With the single exception of Speed, fractions are always rounded off to the nearest whole number. Speed does not round. The Rounding Rule comes into play the picosecond a fraction of a whole number is encountered, not at the end of the calculations. Always round to two decimal places.

Again I I think Steve wrote the 5th ED rules and mentioned this. I would like a clarification about to the advantage of the player on .5s.

Advantages:

Armor Piercing: Not Armor Piercing Against Resistant Defenses is a +¼ advantage.

Damage Classes: The following advantages increase the DC of an attack power: Area Effect, Armor Piercing Attack Versus Limited Defense, Autofire, Based on Ego Combat Value, Cumulative, Does Body, Does Knockback, Double Knockback, Explosion, Megascale, No Normal Defense, Penetrating, Sticky, Useable on Others, and Variable Advantage.

Double Knockback:

• Double Knockback can be purchased multiple times on a single power.
• 1½ x Knockback is a +½ advantage.

Reduced Endurance Cost:

• The Endurance cost of a power is not increased by the application of Reduced Endurance. The active cost of the power is increased as normal.
• The following replace the advantage Costs Endurance Only To Activate (+¼) from pages 76 and 86 of the Hero System 5th Edition rulebook, and should be used instead of the advantage listed in the book:Costs Endurance Only To Turn On And Off (+¼): Powers purchased with this advantage only cost Endurance when they are activated. Once on, they do not cost Endurance again until the character turns the power off. Costs Endurance Only To Turn On And Off (-¼): This limitation may only be taken on those powers which normally have no Endurance cost. This limitation causes such powers to have a normal Endurance cost which must be paid when the power is activated or deactivated.

Uncontrolled: Any Reduced Endurance advantages taken on a power purchased with this advantage are doubled in value (0 Endurance Cost and Persistent becomes +1 advantages, ½ Endurance Cost becomes a +½ advantage, and so on).

Everything here is quite reasonable and not divergent from my ideas, except the uncontrolled. Did you have some people that abused this ability? And how do you work continuing charges?

Hawksmoor


More to come. [/QUOTE]

[Worldmaker]

I would like a clarification about to the advantage of the player on .5s.

Basically, whenever a fraction comes up as precisely .5, it is rounded in such a way as would give the greatest benefit to a player. For example, you make a calculation and get, say 8.5 as the result. If it would be bette for you to have the result be 9, then its 9. If its better for the result to be 8, then its 8.

Everything here is quite reasonable and not divergent from my ideas, except the uncontrolled. Did you have some people that abused this ability? And how do you work continuing charges?

I had a succession of people abuse it. Basically, one picked up on it, then several more wanted to play the same game.

Continuing Charges are given a precise duration, but are otherwise handled normally.

[Worldmaker]

Characteristics:

The Rule of 23: In general, the maximum primary characteristic score for any normal human being is 23. If a character has no concept-driven reason to exceed the normal limits of human ability, those limits should not be exceeded.


Selling Back Characteristics:

• No more than two characteristics may be sold back per character.
• Characteristics so sold can never be lowered below 0.
• Speed is the one characteristic that cannot be sold back. The fractional part remains, affecting either the cost of the next point of Speed during construction, or the use of Adjustment powers upon this Stat during the game.

Dexterity: It is difficult to train a person to be more agile and dexterous. Rather than spending experience points to increase a character’s Dexterity, it is recommended that the player purchase skill levels instead.


Intelligence:

• Very few characters should have Intelligence scores higher than 15. Having an Intelligence score close to 23 is entering into the range of genius inhabited by Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, and Robert Forward, and should happen but rarely. Exceeding 23 requires a defined special effect that pushes the character’s Intelligence above human norms.
• Exceeding Intelligence 28 will not be permitted without special exception granted by the administrators. This is to preserve certain well-established background elements (namely, the rarity of characters with an intelligence higher than this).

Comeliness:

• Comeliness must be purchased in whole amounts. Paying 1 point will not gain the character 3 points of Comeliness.
• Very few characters should have Comeliness scores higher than 14. Having a Comeliness score close to 23 is entering into the range of beauty inhabited by supermodels, teen heartthrobs, and People Magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful. Exceeding 23 requires a defined special effect that pushes the character’s Comeliness above human norms.
• Distinctive Feature: Unearthly Beauty (15 Points): Any character with a Comeliness score over 20 is required to take this disadvantage, reflecting the fact that anyone that beautiful is going to be turning a lot of heads.

Endurance: Characters who sell back their Endurance are not permitted to purchase the Endurance Reserve power, and vice versa.


More to come...

[Rene]

The Endurance cost of a power is not increased by the application of Reduced Endurance. The active cost of the power is increased as normal.

This is a official rule now. It was a little unclear in 4th edition, but in 5th it's clarified that this is the way Reduced END should work.

[Worldmaker]

This is a official rule now. It was a little unclear in 4th edition, but in 5th it's clarified that this is the way Reduced END should work.

Good to know. I've needed to revise these rules for a long while now.

[Mentor]

These are completely reasonable "balancer" house rules, especially in the context of a PBEM game. Is there some major contovery over these rules, WM?

[drrushing]

So far, I like all the things discussed. I do have a question though........

With the limits on Comliness, most heroes are going to be rather attractive. How much of an effect does it have in your campaign. I generally, as a house rule, looked at the combined PRE and COM to determine the players outward effect on their environment. Some people are truly beautiful wallflowers after all.

[Worldmaker]

These are completely reasonable "balancer" house rules, especially in the context of a PBEM game. Is there some major contovery over these rules, WM?

No, I'm just looking for wider commentary.

[Worldmaker]

Disadvantages:

Mystery Disadvantages:

• If the player wishes to take a Hunted, Susceptibility, or Vulnerability, but does not wish to determine the exact details of that disadvantage, he may take a mystery disadvantage. The player must still determine the type of disadvantage he is taking, however. (In other words, the player chooses a Mystery Hunted or Mystery Vulnerability rather than just a Mystery Disadvantage). Other than the three specified types indicated, no other type of disadvantage may be taken as a Mystery Disadvantage.
• Having more than one Mystery Disadvantage requires GM approval.

Dependence: Characters who are addicts are very rarely heroic. Please keep this in mind when choosing this Disadvantage.


Distinctive Feature:

• Hair color is not distinctive enough to be taken as a Distinctive Feature, unless your hair color is a shade not normally found in human beings (such as neon orange or lime green).
• Unless the character's eyes are on fire, glowing brightly, are unusually large, on stalks, or otherwise unusually promininent enough to be seen from a distance, a character's eyes are never distinctive enough to gain this disadvantage.
• Belonging to a particular ethnic group is not distinctive enough to gain this disadvantage.
• Unless you are tattooed over a majority of your body's surface area, tattoos are not distinctive enough to be used as Distinctive Features.
• Obvious Superhuman (20 Points): Any character whose status as a superhuman is blatantly and permanently obvious is required to take this distinctive feature. Note that if you can turn off your superhuman status, you do not qualify for this disadvantage.
• Overwhelming Aura Of Self-Confidence (10 Points): Characters who possess Presence scores in excess of 23 are required to take this disadvantage. It represents the fact the character stands out from the crowd just through pure bearing and demeanor.

Hunted and Monitored:

• No hunted should be taken higher than 11 or less, or else the campaign will eventually evolve into "Which hunter is going to show up this week." Monitored may still be taken at 14 or less.
• Any hunter that is specifically invented by a player for his character must be approved beforehand by Jack, Rebecca, and the GM of the appropriate campaign. If the new hunter is approved, the player of the character in question must provide a full background and character sheet for the hunter by the time the character enters play.
• Governments and Government Agencies: With very few exceptions (none of whom are Player Characters), no single being can marshal the power and resources of a government or even a government agency. Thus, any government or government agency taken as a Hunted or a Monitored by a character is automatically More Powerful, generally not restricted to a single area, and automatically has Non-Combat Influence.
• Tarot: Tarot is quite easily as powerful and resourceful as a government (and compared to some governments, is even more powerful and resourceful. Thus, Tarot is always More Powerful, has no area restrictions, and automatically has Non-Combat Influence.

(NOTE: Tarot is the GGU's Viper or Hydra.)


Social Limitation:

• Known Mentalist (20 Points): Every character who qualifies as a mentalist, and whose status as a mentalist is widely known, is required to take this Social Limitation. For the most part, mentalists are looked upon with suspicion and doubt by the general public. At the very lowest levels, this manifests as a subtle unease at the mentalists presence. At the worst, it manifests as an outright hatred and discrimination against the mentalist. It should be noted that this unease is not truly universal; there are a great many people who have no problems with mentalists. But for the most part, the "mentalist phobia" prevails.
• Permanent Identity (15 Points): This disadvantage represents a person who can have no other identity than his "super" identity. This generally leads to many of the same problems that Public Identity causes, such as lack of privacy, danger to friends and relatives, being mobbed by fans or enemies, and so on. In addition, characters with this disadvantage cannot retreat into the relative anonymity by blending into the common crowd. Generally, characters who take this disadvantage must also take Distinctive Feature: Obvious Superhuman.

More to come...

[Worldmaker]

With the limits on Comliness, most heroes are going to be rather attractive. How much of an effect does it have in your campaign.

I see it as a perspective issue, plus a step toward adding a touch of realism.

[Vorsch]

"Dexterity: It is difficult to train a person to be more agile and dexterous. Rather than spending experience points to increase a character’s Dexterity, it is recommended that the player purchase skill levels instead."

As skill levels can be learned after character gen would this not ecourage high dex starting characters?


"Intelligence:
Very few characters should have Intelligence scores higher than 15. Having an Intelligence score close to 23 is entering into the range of genius inhabited by Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, and Robert Forward, and should happen but rarely. Exceeding 23 requires a defined special effect that pushes the character’s Intelligence above human norms.
Exceeding Intelligence 28 will not be permitted without special exception granted by the administrators. This is to preserve certain well-established background elements (namely, the rarity of characters with an intelligence higher than this)."

are super scientist/gadgeteers generally allowed 28 int, most of these characters i have seen written up tend to be int 23-33.

[ChuckB]

Don't really agree with the buying up skill levels instead of dex argument and, although I like the "Aura Of Confidence" Dist. Feature disad, I don't think it should be mandatory for high-Pre characters.

[nexus]

I agree with the buying skill levels rather than more Dex argument. Its a personal thing I never liked just buying up attributes because it was more efficent pointwise when you're really trying to reflect improvement in a certain area (combat, acrobatic, whatever). Not every great gymnast should have a 23 Dex and be an incredible combantant too.

Never liked the limitations on Comliness personally. I like my character to be attractive and Com has almost no impact in the rules.

[nexus]

I like the normal person doctrine. I use something similar. In my games normal technology comes with some inherent limitations. Basically it performs realistically. Your Laptop is not going to perform like the Batcomputer, the cell phone might die, breaks easily. You have to pay the bill, etc. Tech which has points paid for it has less problems, performs better, etc. Its "comic book tech" rather than real tech.