HERO System 6th Edition Rules Questions

6,882 questions in this forum

1. FHG2 - Areomancy Spells build using Differing Modifiers

   Many of the spells in the Areomancy section of FHG2 are built using the Differing Modifiers rules for UOO Powers. For these spells, two different Total Costs are given. Am I correct in assuming (based on the example of Differing Modifiers given on 5E p. 177) that the spellcaster buying the spells to grant the abilities pays only the second figure given for Total Cost, the one listed at the end of the "Casting:" section for each spell?

   Asked by Mark Taylor, August 12, 2004

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2. incomplete Knockback Resistance

   This situation has only come up once ever in a game, but it's nagged at me ever since. With 5ER on the way, I figured this would be a good time to bring it up. The character in question had a high amount of Knockback Resistance -- 8" pure, and another 8" from Density Increase -- that only worked when he was in contact with the ground. Another character made some lucky rolls, and managed to do 17" of Knockback. Would my character be Knocked Back only 1" (suffering minor injuries), 9" (suffering major injuries), or the full 17" (suffering fatal injuries)? Or would that basically be the GM's call based on Special Effect?

   Asked by BobGreenwade, August 11, 2004

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3. Spreading = AoE?

   Steve, A group I am in seems to have some confusion about Spreading. Because of the wording in the GMB (or FREd, for some), p 251: "A character may also Spread his attack to be able to hit more than one target. The character loses 1 Damage Class for each hex he wants to fill with his attack." They focus on the word, "fill", equating that to AoE: Hex. I've searched the boards and the 5ed eratta, but this seems to have not been changed. I would suggest that in 5er, the wording be clarified. For instance, if a target has a defensive power that has "Not Vs Area of Effect Attacks", would an attack spread this way be unaffected by it?

   Asked by SteveZilla, August 11, 2004

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4. Bases providing income

   Is it possible to apply/add the Money perk to a base? In the two examples below, if the space and personnel are purchased with the base, can the money perk be added to have it generate income? A.) Supervillain secret base is hidden in a city building (disguised) that has a drugstore at street level. The villains have paid points for the floor space as well as for the personnel to run the drugstore. B.) Well known superhero group conducts weekly tours around their base and run a gift shop in a separate building on the grounds. The heroes have paid for the points for the base, grounds and gift shop area and pay points for personnel to conduct tours, work security …

   Asked by GhostWing, August 11, 2004

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5. End Reserve Only For Spells And Magic Effects -1/4 Question

   A query about Demonologist from the Arcane Adversaries playtest. His End Reserve has a limit Only For Spells And Magic Effects -1/4. That seems a valid limitation, but it was pointed out to me that only powers that are defined to use the End Reserve can use it. How does this limitation actually limit him if only his spells and magic items could use the End in the first place? I was thinking that maybe he was giving up the ability to use his End Reserve to power his running or for STR. Thanks and keep up the good work!

   Asked by cndblank, August 11, 2004

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6. Entangle as Armor

   Steve, Since a barrier can be represented as Force Wall (continous END) or Entangle with the Barrier advantage, is there [currently] a legal way to do the same with Force Field? That is, personal protection can be Force Field (continuous END) or Entangle (no movement/DCV restrictions) ? {What I'm thinking about is a way of representing Trek shields, where each attack removes BODY until the shields are gone...}

   Asked by Eodin, August 10, 2004

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7. Grab And ... Delay?

   Is it legal for a character to perform a Grab, then hold his action with the 'and X' (and Squeeze, and Throw, or the UMA options)? For example, Brickman successfully grabs Foxbat (because he's fun to pick on), then waits until Speedboy's turn next segment; Speedboy runs towards Brickman as Bricky throws Foxbat towards Speedboy, adding the throw velocity to Speedboy's velocity for more moveby damage. Is that legal?

   Asked by CrosshairCollie, August 10, 2004

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8. BODY that Costs END

   Steve, What happens to the BODY of a power that costs END (such as Aid/Succor 10 BODY, or +10 BODY, Costs END (-1/2) ) after one or more attacks? If the character takes 5 BODY to this effect, does he automatically go back up to +10 BODY the next phase because he's continuing to spend END to power it? Or is the BODY gone for some time period determined in the rules?

   Asked by Eodin, August 10, 2004

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9. Automatically resetting Trigger

   Is there any way to form a Power, with Trigger, so that the Trigger resets itself -- that is, so that the character does not have to consciously set the Triggered Power back up again. 5th edition, p.174, mentions this is appropriate if the Power is formed with Focus or Charges, and p.175 has an example with Charges. How would Focus interact with Trigger to achieve an automatic reset of the Trigger? Is there some other method for achieving and automatic reset? Thank you for your time.

   Asked by Basil, August 10, 2004

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10. AoE, No Range, on self

    How do I form a Power that has AoE, No Range, so that it stays centered on the character as s/he moves? The only relevant section in the FAQs deals with centering such a Power on someone else. Or do I have to by Usable As Attack for the character to "attack" him/herself? What if the Power is not an Attack Power? Somehow, that seems silly. Thank you for your time.

    Asked by Basil, August 10, 2004

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11. Missile Deflection Question

    Is Missile Deflection automatically considered Restrainable? I ask because that would seem to be giving the power a default SFX and I can think of a few sfx that wouldn't be hampered by being entangled/grabbed. If it is automatically restrainable, how would you built an entangle that can't be restrained?

    Asked by nexus, August 10, 2004

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12. Force walls and penetration

    ok simple question i'm sure but Lets say a Force wall gets hit by an penetrating attack, and the wall holds against the damage... what happens then? does the PEN body destroy the wall? or damage the intended target? Cheers Snafu

    Asked by nzSNAFU, August 10, 2004

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13. Teleport and Surprise

    Teleport is a movement power, and thus you can teleport as a half phase action and attack. Is it possible to use this to your advantage and teleport behind an opponent each time, thereby attacking your opponent from behind (and surprised?), putting him at half DCV?

    Asked by theskaven, August 9, 2004

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14. Can martial maneuvers be linked?

    Steve, I'm building a character for a martial arts campaign, and I'd like to have a few martial arts maneuvers built with pairs of linked martial maneuvers. such as... choke hold linked to martial escape (only if escape is successfull) martial throw linked to martial block (only if block is successfull) martial strike linked to martial block (only if block is successfull) I've been unable to find anything specifcally prohibiting or endorsing this method of building attacks. Is it possible and/or permissable to build linked martial maneuvers in the manner I have presented here? If it is legal, what would be the appropriate way of applying the '…

    Asked by Spectre, August 9, 2004

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15. WF and CSLs

    Hey Steve, quick question... can combat skill levels that cover one or more "categories" (such 8 pt. levels w/ All Combat) be used for attacks with which the character has no WF? e.g., could a character offset some or all of the -3 OCV penalty for lack of WF by using one or more levels w/ All Combat? I checked around and couldn't find this referenced anywhere else...thanx in advance. MANCER

    Asked by Mancer, August 9, 2004

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16. Aid in a Multipower question

    Is it legal to have an Aid or Succor that can boost another slot in the same Multipower?Say,if a character has a 5d6 Succor (Standard Effect) at 0 END that boosts STR & one Movement Power simultaneously,could it boost another Movement Power in the same Multipower,if the Multipower had enough points in the reserve to apply to the power in question? (Say,if both powers were in a Multipower with 80 Active points & both Movement Powers were 15 Active Points or less.)

    Asked by Southern Cross, August 9, 2004

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17. Aborting

    I had a scenario come up in a Champs game that I was curious about. A flying hero gets hit with an EB and suffers knockback. Will call him FH. FH doesnt have Breakfall so it is ruled that he has to right himself in the air on his next action for a 1/2 phase. Daredevil Clone (will call him DC) throws a billy club at FH hoping to gain an advantage of his "unrighted" state. FH says that he wants to right himself and abort to dodge. Can FH abort and do both these things before DC can hit him?

    Asked by GrooveD70, August 9, 2004

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18. Early DC Optional Rules Question

    In the playtest manuscript I happily noticed that Piercing is making a return. The old piercing power from long ago was negated by hardened defenses. This does not seem to be the case with Piercing as outlined in the Dark Champions manuscript. Is this correct? Hardened no longer negates Pericing? Yeah, I know, it would have been nice to bring this up on the playtest forum several weeks ago but it just now dawned on me.

    Asked by Edsel, August 8, 2004

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19. Missile Deflection Question

    Let me start off by saying that I know the rules state that missile deflection can not deflect an exploding attack. But tonight during my gaming group we ran into a situation where a character tossed a grenade (an exploding attack) at another character (who has missile deflection at range). Would the character with missile deflection at range be able to deflect the attack? The grenade was an OAF. My group had a minute or two of argument about it. The rules state that explosion attacks can’t be missile deflected, but the grenade does not exploded until it gets to its targeted hex. So until it explodes it’s just like a rock or something along those lines. The GM …

    Asked by Wolven, August 8, 2004

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20. Doubling In Heros

    I actually have 2 questions regarding doubling in Heros. 1. I read in an older Champions book (release 2, I think) that "every +2d6 does *2 damage". So, 1 Kg of TNT does 10d6 damage, 2 Kg does 12d6, 4 Kg does 14d6, etc. However, STR doubles for every 5 points. Which is correct? I'm trying to convert a megajoule laser (from a non-Heros source) into d6 of damage and need to know how the doubling works. 2. Several places in the rules, there is a statement of "+5 points gives *2 number of 'whatever'" (+5 points gives *2 followers, etc). In various places (mainly in the Bases/Vehicles section), the doubling isn't a true doubling. Instead of 10 doublings equalli…

    Asked by MistWing, August 7, 2004

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21. Smart Bases & Vehicles?

    Why do Vehicles and Bases have an INT score?

    Asked by SteveZilla, August 6, 2004

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22. Just how does Rapid Autofire work?

    Hello, Just ran an Alien War game last night and some of the characters had Rapid Autofire as a skill. The game turned out OK for the most part but I was hoping you could breakdown how rapid autofire works with say a 3 shot autofire attack. Thank you.

    Asked by starblaze, August 5, 2004

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23. Speed costs END?

    Or speed with charges, same question. Is speed "used" once per phase or once per turn? That is, if a SPD 4 character buys 4 extra SPD, costs END, does he pay 4 or 32 END per turn using it? If he bought it with charges, does he need 1 or 8 charges to use the extra SPD? Once per phase would be logical (normal constant power), but gets wierd with charges, or if the character is stunned or in some other way prevented to pay the END cost.

    Asked by Sabelkatten, August 4, 2004

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24. Limited form of Aid

    I'm building a superhero with the following Power: 1d6Aid(maximum of 30 CP) vs. PD,ED,Damage Resistance,Power Defense,STR,Leaping,Running & Swimming.(And bought with the Self Only Limitation,so he can't power-up any allies).The SFX is that the character can feed energy into his molecular structure making him not only stronger and tougher,but also enabling him to move faster,largely due to his strengthened bone & muscle structure. Unfortunately,the effect isn't perfect.In game terms,he can only add 15 points to his STR & Swimming,instead of the 30 points that his other abilities are boosted by. The question I'm asking is this- how much is the Limitation wor…

    Asked by Southern Cross, August 3, 2004

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25. AVLD Followup

    The question, from a character design POV is this: If a character wants to use the +3/4 AVLD (limited form of normal defence) to represent a attack that is stoped by Appropriate F/x based defence, despite what powers are used to achieve that F/X, would it be permisable (given that the GM feels that the F/X involved is not to limiting) Example Mystic Bolts 6d6 EB, AVLD (+3/4) that will be stoped by any magical defence, be it bought with Armor, FF, FW, etc... but go through normal defences like they are not there or Is it only intended for use vs Game elements, such as EB that are only effected by FF's

    Asked by JmOz, August 3, 2004

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