HERO System Sixth Edition--What do *you* want to see?

[Nelijal]

I figure we may as well start a list now. With ten years worth of input, "SREd" should write itself.

[Dr. Anomaly]

Actually, better make that "Sixth HERO Rules Edition" = "SHREd" (it's more eupohonious).

[Nelijal]

Originally posted by Dr. Anomaly
Actually, better make that "Sixth HERO Rules Edition" = "SHREd" (it's more eupohonious).

SHREd, I like it, though I have no idea what eupohonious means.

[TheEmerged]

Sounds better, I think?

My hit list, no order implied. I'll admit right out the gate some of these are petty. Anything I put in bold is something I couldn't personally put my name on a Sixth Edition without addressing.

1> Damage Shield's requirements/cost brought back into line.
2> Either eliminate the "Talent" section outright, or move the "no roll skills" like combat skill levels, defensive manuever, Rapid Attack, et al into it so it's something distinct and coherent instead of "collection of neat stuff you can let PC's have without calling them Powers".
3> List "Ranged" under "Range Advantages" instead of separately. Similarly, put "Does Knockback" and "Double Knockback" under a single "Knockback Advantage" header.
4> Make Autofire gain +5 shots instead of doubling the shots after the inital 5. Drop the advantage back to +1/4
5> Expand "Dispel" the way Change Enivornment (among other) powers got treated in 5th. This is an underutilized tool in many campaigns, IMO.
6> Give a more thorough discussion of the applicability of powers for EC's, MP's, and VPP's.
7> Eliminate that "Trigger: Whenever I need it" example.
8> Place at least one, and preferably two, additional steps on the MegaScale chart (10m and 100m). Explicitly state this can't be done for movement powers of less than 10" per phase or single-hex areas.
9> Address the problem of STR & CON's over-influence on figured statistics, especially relative to PRE, INT, and EGO. I don't think the answer is increasing the cost of STR/CON, I rather think the figured attribute formulas need to be adjusted.
10> Move Suppress back to its 4th Edition status of being non-cumulative/not stacking with itself. There were balance/cost problems between Drain & Suppress under 4th Edition -- that favored Suppress -- and making Suppress cumulative/self-stacking eliminated one of the few advantages Drain had. You want a cumulative/self-stacking Suppress, take the Cumulative advantage.
11> The picture of Seeker looking up Damage Resistance is simply too funny not to use. If ANY piece of art gets recycled, this is it
12> Give Multiform the same increasing cost rule that Duplication, Followers, Base, and the Computer/AI rules have: if the value exceeds the point cost of the character, the cost changes to 1 pt per 1 pt over the character's value. Consider giving it the mandatory +1 Advantage Duplication has, as well.
13> Eliminate any examples in the rules/power descriptions that says you "shouldn't use this power to do this". This violates the "never get worked up about the right way to do things" policy.

I'll think of more, I'm sure.

[JmOz]

A few more

Remove Duplication, it is now handled as a form of summons

Instant Change is back (this is a trivial but cool power and to have to jump through hoops is wrong

Armor is history

New Regeneration rules, every 5 points spent reduces the amount of time needed to heal your recovery in body one step (starting at month, uses timechart) furthermore include the "healing" options of limbs and death, takes as long as one cycle to regain (Ie if you recover your body a day you would reserect in a day)

to ECHO: DAMAGE SHIELD DOES NOT NEED CONTINOUS, but should have the same +1 cost as some powers do in regards to AF

[Mutant for Hire]

My big alteration, if we're going to go all the way to a sixth edition is to take the basic powers and break them down into their component parts.

That is, instead of having separate powers for Armor and Force Field and Force Wall, for example, there is a base effect Armor and then you figure out whether or not it costs END to use, whether or not its personal or on a wall, how it gets invoked, etc. Essentailly to build every power from the ground up.


This can ultimately shrink the power list considerably and make it easier to build new and interesting power such as a wall of flame (using the Force Wall with the Armor effect ripped out and a KA used instead).

The idea is, HERO is really about having the ultimate power construction toolkit and I'd like to see it go to the logical conclusion. Instead of advantages like Constant and limitations like No Range, why not make choices like these part of the power construction process?

[BobGreenwade]

Actually I have several potential candidates for reform, some of which Steve has already addressed in either the FAQ or a HEROglyphs article (in Digital Hero).

However, the only one I'm really adamant about is Telekinesis. When I saw in 4th Edition that the cost had been raised, I was crushed, because I could no longer make one of my favorite characters viable in a game with Active Point limits.

My fix for Telekinesis is to 1) return the cost to the earlier 1 point for 1 STR, and 2) completely remove the Punch/Squeeze aspect of the Power. That should never have been introduced in the first place, or at most should have been a Power Advantage. It's a violation of Meta-Rule #5, "One Power should not be used to do what another already does." Currently, for 60 points I can lift and move things with 40 STR, and I can also do 8d6 of damage -- but isn't doing Normal damage at range the function of Energy Blast?

Then again, if my superheroes have a limit of 60 Active Points for their Powers, that 8d6 is going to be a bit wimpy, so I'd better buy a real Energy Blast at 12d6 -- except that I can still do 8d6 damage with Telekinesis. But why would I want to, if I can do 12d6 with Energy Blast?

I could go on and on about this, but I think you all get the basic idea.

[keithcurtis]

I'd like to see NO sixth edition! Don't you realize we'd have to buy our whole HERO library all over AGAIN?

Keith "cha-ching!" Curtis

[Chris Goodwin]

Include the Incomplete Character rules!

[Zoth]

What are y'all talking about we need Hero System 5.5 first so we can buy a 20% redone FREd, Hero System Bestiary and, Ultimate Martial Artist.

We can call it FREd senior

[Nelijal]

Originally posted by Zoth
What are y'all talking about we need Hero System 5.5 first so we can buy a 20% redone FREd, Hero System Bestiary and, Ultimate Martial Artist.

We can call it FREd senior

Wouldn't that be FREd junior?

[Zoth]

Originally posted by Nelijal
Wouldn't that be FREd junior?

hehe thanks, its late and I should get to bed before something bad happens

[zornwil]

I would really like to see a concentration on a "roll your own" flavor with a large section on how to design new capabilities and eliminate existing ones. I'd like to see fewer core rules/constructions with a larger collection of suggested uses in other books. But I am very much in the minority, a lot of people take great exception to scattering "new rules" (their terms) in genre books. I feel on the contrary it lends more specific flavor to those genre books and is not "new rules", rather it is simply specific applications of an underlying structure (if done correctly). For example, Instant Change would really be crucial in a superhero game but less important, to the point of non-consideration, in other genre. That or Instant Change ought to be recosted in superhero games to better represent its commonality and encouragement.

[Nelijal]

Originally posted by zornwil
But I am very much in the minority, a lot of people take great exception to scattering "new rules" (their terms) in genre books.

Yep, you're right, you're the minority . I have purchased genre books that I'm not really interested in just for those few rule pages that also apply to other genres.

[The_Hero]

OK, my take...

Fix Damage Shield!!!

Return Haymaker to a Str only maneuver and make it 1.5 times Str again...

only things I can think of...