HERO System 6th Edition Rules Questions
Post here for answers to your HERO System 6th Edition rules questions.
This forum is a question and answer forum - only members of the Rules Mavens group can post answers.
Please consider these as temporary, advisory answers until such time as Steve Long's health and personal circumstances permit him to resume answering rules questions himself.
Posting Guidelines
1. All posts in this forum should be questions pertaining to the HERO System 6th Edition ruleset.
2. How to build questions are better posted in the discussion forums.
3. As much as possible, try to keep posts to a single question. If you have multiple questions, consider breaking them out into separate posts.
Explore Questions
There are no popular questions to show right now
There are no new questions to show right now
6,881 questions in this forum
-
Mechanic vs Special Effect
So we are having a lively discussion about turning polluted water into clean water and its devolved, as such questions are randomly devolved into, a more technical question. I understand some of these items are more opinions rather than a clear dry effect, so if the answer is "as the GM dictates" that is fine, but I would like to see how you would rule it in your own game and the reason why. Here are my questions. 1) One writer is using life support as a way to clean the purified water, using the special effect of life support need not drink usable by others nearby to say the water is permanently clean. Several of us disagree saying that if you took the wat…
0 votes1 answer -
Moving while prone
HI Steve, What effects does being prone have on a characters ability to move (or continue moving if they were already doing so)? For example, Sprint-Man has 60 m of Running and is using it with Passing Strike to attack Frost Gunner (40 m away). At 20 m he is hit by one of Frost Gunners minions using a held action (Ice Floor Ray: Telekinesis - weapon element - Trip) and is knocked prone. Can he crawl (with all the prone penalties) the rest of the distance and finish his attack? Example 2 - Wise to the ways of Frost Gunner could he have just crawled (moved while prone) the 50 m and not risk being tripped in the first place (…
0 votes1 answer -
Continuing Charges in a multipower?
So i'm still relatively new to the system. I have a player that has the majority of his powers on a continuing charge, within the multipower. Is this acceptable? I only have the Champions rulebook so I don't know if its in the core books, but I've seen nothing in the rule book that says it isn't illegal. let me know. thanks!
0 votes1 answer -
[6e] Barrier with Multipower
I have a multipower and in it I have a standard barrier power Wall of Earth Barrier 4 PD/4 ED, 6 BODY (up to 12m long, 4m tall, and 1m thick), Opaque (Sight Group) just for an example from the book I use it and put it up infront of me during my first phase. Then on my second phase I can act again I switch to another power in my multipower slot Now what happens with the wall According to the text in the rule book for 6:edition it should stay there since it is a physical object? A Barrier, once created, is a physical object that remains in existence until destroyed by attacks, the passage of time, or other factors. Or does the "other factors" im…
0 votes2 answers -
Grenade Launchers from 6E Equipment Guide
Hi Steve. The 40mm grenade launchers (e.g. M203) are built with a +1 STUNx. Several of the grenade rounds (e.g. 40mm Fragmentation) are also built with a +1 STUNx. Are these Stun Multipliers cumulative? Thanks.
0 votes1 answer -
Aid and Multiple Attack
Hi Steve, Aid requires an attack action to use (with all the comes with that). As such does Aid fulfil the criteria to count as an attack for the purposes of 'Multiple Attack' or is it just a power that takes an 'attack action'? For example could a character expend double endurance to Multiple Attack (2 attacks) a Standard Effect Aid to get to their full Aid potential in single phase instead of two? Could they combine it with something else - an aid strength on themselves with one attack and a strike action against a foe with a second? Thank you
0 votes1 answer -
Varying Effect and Defensive Absorption
Varying effect on Absorption requires a player to choose from Phase to Phase whether his absorption is against Physical or Energy attacks. Based on your answers to other questions regarding Defensive Absorption, it appears that Absorption as a Defense provides your full levels of Absorption as defense against an attack that can be absorbed. My question(s) is: 1. Could Varying Effect instead be "Any combination of Physical or Energy per Segment", and if so how would that change it's value? For example, a character with 12 levels of Absorption with the above Varying Effect variant is hit by an 8 BODY Energy attack, which he absorbs. Later that Segment he is hit …
0 votes1 answer -
False Visions
If a mage wanted to create false visions for a precog (or retrocog), I'm assuming they would involve Images vs. Clairsentience (with that as a Targeting sense). However, if said visions have both visual as well as auditory elements, would he need to buy both Images vs. Clairsentience (Sight) and Images vs. Clairsentience (Hearing) with both as Targeting senses? Or just Images vs. Clairsentience as a whole?
0 votes1 answer -
How to cost/buy Naked Adders on powers with advantages?
Scenario: A character has several 60 active point powers within a multipower centered around powers with lingering special effects (one of which is Barrier, for example). All of the multipower slots entail powers that have advantages (some more than others). The player wishes to add a Naked Adder (per 6e1 p314) to allow him/her to use the Dismissable Adder with any power in the multipower (per APG1 p81) ... meaning it would be a Group Naked Adder (akin to a Group Naked Advantage a la 6e1 p314) -- specifically because this dismissal is an ability separate from the actual powers being dismissed. (From a convenience angle this also means the player doesn't have to monkey wit…
0 votes1 answer -
Life Support - Safe In Intense Cold
Strange question came up, if a character has LS:safe in intense cold would this protect them from the effects of hyperthermia? With hyperthermia being more than just the effects of cold I can see ruling either way.
0 votes1 answer -
Do Mental Attacks use Range Modifier penalties?
Do Mental Attacks now use Range Modifiers or are they like 5th edition where mental attacks do not take range modifier penalties?
0 votes1 answer -
Mind Link vs. Clairsentience with Animal Class of Minds
My priestess has a familiar. She wants to be able to send it out ahead of the party to scout the way. I was wondering if Mind Link would be the way to accomplish this. She could send him ahead and he could notify her of any problems ahead. But he, the familiar, is an owl. Would he recognize the dangers as she would and be able to communicate them with her back through the Mind Link? He might get excited if he saw a mouse along the trail but not care if he saw a band of Orcs. Does Mind Link allow the user to read the mind of an animal to determine what it sees and interpret that information intelligently? Or would it be as useless as trying to communicate with the anim…
0 votes1 answer -
Vehicles with built in AI
When buying a vehicle with a built in AI, are you supposed to just add INT, EGO, DMCV, etc to the vehicle? Or are you supposed to buy the AI and vehicle completely separately, so you end up paying 'twice' for things that the vehicle and AI have in common, like SPD and DEX?
0 votes1 answer -
Getting Out of Mental Paralysis
A two-part question for characters escaping from Mental Paralysis. Note that this is for a superheroic campaign. 1) Since EGO doesn't (normally) cost END to use, is it possible to push EGO to help escape from a powerful Mental Paralysis? Example: Osiris (angry over not getting enough attention) hits LongMan with a 2d6, 3 Mental Defense Mental Paralysis and rolls 2 BODY. Since LongMan only has 13 EGO (and thus rolling only 2 1/2 d6), his chances of breaking out are slim... but he has a deadline to meet. Can he push to 23 or even 25 EGO? 1a) Related question -- though EGO doesn't typically cost END to use, would he have to spend 1 END to use his normal 13 E…
0 votes1 answer -
NND for Telepathy and Mind Control, how does it work?
Greetings HERO system! How would NND work for a Mental Power like Telepathy or Mind Control? Would it just ignore Mental Defense or would it also make the targets EGO inapplicable? Thanks alot on before hand!
0 votes1 answer -
Desolidification and presence attacks
I'm trying to figure out if any special rules apply to Presence attacks by someone with Desolidification active. Specifically, does one need to pay the +2 for Affects Physical World on the presence attack. I found one archived post asking the same question, and the response was simply 'See the Rules FAQ under "Desolidification."'. The problem is that I have no idea where the Rules FAQ is located, and attempts to find it via searching these forums or searching the larger internet turn up nothing. Where is this document located?
0 votes1 answer -
Gravity vs throw
Hi Steve, Nice easy one: If a character uses the throw action to throw something primarily vertically (like a brick throwing a car at a villain flying 5 meters over and 20 meters up) is the throw distance reduced by gravity like Flight is? Thank you
0 votes1 answer -
Drains vs. Entangle BODY
I see that in 6E1:217 it says: Is this already (effectively) taking into account BODY and PD / ED being Defense Powers (since an Entangle is actually an Attack Power), or does the Drain effect rolled still need to be halved, in addition to using the costs above? For instance, Dr. Deathtouch has a disintegration field (2d6 Drain BODY, AoE Personal Surface, 0 END, Persistent, No Range, Always On). Captain Gummo hits Dr. DT with his Entangle 5d6, 5 PD / 5 ED, and Gummo rolls 5 BODY. Dr. DT rolls 8 on his damage shield Drain. Does that mean he Drains 4 BODY from the Entangle, or 2 BODY?
0 votes1 answer -
Advantages for Frameworks
The wording for adding advantages to frame works is kind of unclear. It consist of 2 lines: 1) So you use just the option of "Framework Only" when applying the advantage. So if i want Armor Piercing it would bring up a 40 point mutpower pool to 60 Active points. Got it. 2) But then it talks about calculating the advantage on the slots. I thought it was only added to the framework and not the slots? Say I have two powers in the framework. One is a blast with no advantage but the second I want with less power but it has Armor piercing advantage. Does adding the Armor piercing only to the multipower reserve just raise the AP of the reserve. Do I need to also…
0 votes1 answer -
Constant Powers and Endurance Cost
Constant powers in hero 6th, how much END do the cost when it is not the hero's phase? Flight for instance mentions that you use 1 END per phase it is active, however things like Growth do not state it. It seems like it is too much END for a growth power to cost 5 END per phase not active phase as that would mean a person would need to pay 60 per turn and that seems crazy high, can someone help?
0 votes1 answer -
Variable Limitations
I *think* I already know the answer to this, but: 6E1 396: "The power always has a set total of Limitation values, but the character can alter the exact type of Limitations to fit the circumstance." Does this mean a variable set total of Limitation values which is a strict number? Or does this mean a variable *minimum* set total of Limitation values? For example: Variable -2 worth of limitations (worth -1) and must have ONLY -2 worth or limitations. Or, Same power actually has -3 worth of limitations, but can only switch around -2 worth of those? Thanks! DC
0 votes1 answer -
Leg sweep "Target Falls" clarification
Hi Steve, What happens if McDojo (str 10) successfully hits Manument (base str 30 plus the Enormous size template applied due to Growth) with Leg Sweep (3d6+target falls)? As far as I can tell Manument falls (somehow). Barring GM dramatic sense squashing it - is this correct? In more general terms are 'target falls' martial maneouvers governed by the same rules as Throw or Trip or are they unresistable? Thank you
0 votes1 answer -
Barriers
Is there any limitation preventing a character from putting up multiple barriers in front of themselves? As an adjunct question, one of my players put up an englobing barrier and said he defines the inner part of the globe as the outside so he can teleport out of the globe if needed. This seems to be a very wrong thing in a stinky cheese sort of way.
0 votes1 answer -
Adding Damage Example
In the example of Adding Damage on 6E2 99 (at bottom of 2nd column), it states that the dagger is a HKA 1/2d6, Armor Piercing (+1/4) and that the GM has stated that you can’t more than double the DCs of the dagger. The example concludes by stating that the dagger’s damage is capped at 1d6+1. According to the reference tables on 6E2 101, it appears the doubled DC that is listed in the example is from the +0 column (from DC 2 at 1/2d6 doubled to DC 4 at 1d6+1). But wouldn’t the value come from the doubled DC under the +1/4 column since the dagger was listed as having Armor Piercing (+1/4)? Thus, shouldn’t the capped value be 1d6 instead? Or am I missing something here? …
0 votes1 answer -
Attacking From Behind
Hello, I seek to clarify some rules trouble at my table regarding attacking from behind. I've done a search in three forums for "Behind" but came up nothing, so here goes... At my table, as we've played in the past, anytime someone has a shot at your back, that PC/NPC is at half DCV to that attacker. A player brought up a decent point that as of yet I cannot refute. We cannot find any concrete description as to what behind means, and 6E2, 37 has the DCV modifier table listing 'attacked from behind' with the 'surprised' tag attached to it, but nothing indicating 'behind' as a standalone modifier. Now enter my counter argument - enter Defense Maneuver I. …
0 votes1 answer
-
Recently Browsing 0 members
- No registered users viewing this page.