HERO System 6th Edition Rules Questions

6,880 questions in this forum

1. Darkness

   If a character targets a hex inside a darkness field that he can't see through, does he use OCV 0 vs the hex's DCV 3, or does the character get his full OCV vs DCV 3?

   Asked by Gary, January 8, 2004

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2. Blocks vs....

   What exactly can a person use Block for? Is it just HTH attacks HKAs, or is it for any martial or "normal" manuver? The reason I asked; I had a Brick try to do a Move-Through on an Martial Artist. I had the benefit of cramped quarters and thought it was a good move. The MA Blocked successfully (as far as rolls go) but I was left with the disturbing mental image of Mr. Miagi standing on a railroad track looking rather smug as the train races towards him. Thanks.

   Asked by Shanester, January 7, 2004

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3. 15" Swinging, Usable as an Attack

   A couple of related questions: 1) Dryad the Plant-Girl has 35 STR and 15" Swinging Usable as an Attack - as long as it's approved by GM, a legal choice of power, yes? That is, there's nothing dangerously abusive there, right? 2) Power-Thug half moves out of a warehouse shooting - Dryad's vines whip out, latch onto him and Swing him into an adjacent building - would this be a Move Through, using Dryad's STR damage + 3D6 for Speed? 3) Uberman flies into combat at 30", keen to avenge Power-Thug. Dryad tries the same trick with him - whose STR and Speed are used? Thanks, Col. Orange

   Asked by Col. Orange, January 7, 2004

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4. Mental Martial Arts

   Sorry, I couldn't find this in the FAQ anywhere even though this question must have been asked before, but can a character purchase Ranged Martial Arts maneuvers with his mental powers?

   Asked by Gary, January 7, 2004

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5. Mind Scan: Large Area, Small Population

   Suppose a mentalist needs to scan for a particular individual in a large area in which there are only a few people but has no idea exactly where in the area those people are located. For example, a Star Hero mentalist comes to a small planet that three different criminal groups are using as a hideout, but he's only after one individual and he has no idea where any of the three groups, let alone the individual in question, are located. So what's the Mind Scan Modifier for this situation: -18 for a planet-sized area, or -4 for only having about 100 minds to go through?

   Asked by BobGreenwade, January 6, 2004

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6. Follow up on UBO CSL

   Can I apply AOE to a UBO skill?

   Asked by Ndreare, January 5, 2004

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7. DCV for My Men

   Hello I have a character idea for a leader that buys the skill +1 DCV and +1 With all combat for all his men. Can I buy Possitive Combat Levels with ranged, persistant & UBO increased number of others? Or do I need to buy some other construct? The idea is that he is an increadable leader and all that follow him share in some of his eight die of luck. (I've heard you don't like them but I like the Wheel of Time Books and am looking to emulate one of the characters basic powers)

   Asked by Ndreare, January 5, 2004

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8. Megascaling and Movement

   Ah, OK. I had read the FAQ, but I had to re-read it a couple of times before I caught it. So Megascaling can be scaled to any number between the breakpoints, which neatly answers the question. I understand now. Thanks!

   Asked by Caped Crusader, January 5, 2004

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9. End Reserve

   If a character adjusts the End in his End Reserve to replenish it, do the points fade away at the usual rate even if the Reserve is less than its maximum? Would you need to purchase Healing for the End Reserve to prevent the fade away?

   Asked by Gary, January 5, 2004

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10. Megascaling and Movement

    If you have, say, Teleport at 5" with Megascale 1"=10,000km and have also purchased 'Can be scaled down to 1"=1km' on it, how does it break out? I understand that the minimum would be 1km, but would it go 1-5km, then 10-50km, then 100-500km, then 1,000-5,000km and then 10,000-50,00km, or could you Teleport anywhere from 1km to 50,000km (Assuming you also bought the requisite Megascaled sense so as not to bounce into a mountain)?

    Asked by Caped Crusader, January 5, 2004

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11. Char Maxima and Figured Characteristics

    Okay, so take the following example: I've got a character with the Age Disadvantage at 40+. However, I've bought up his Strength and Constitution to 20 each. His figured PD and ED would normally be 8. However, the maximum for his age is 6. Do his PD and ED start at 8, and cost double thereafter? Or do they start at 7, reflecting the double point cost to raise them beyond 6? I'm guessing the latter. --->M@ss

    Asked by ProfessorM@ss, January 5, 2004

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12. Recharging (or not) END batteries

    At what rate is an END battery recharged? And what is the modifier for a ONE-USE END battery (in other words, onc ethe END in the abttery is used up it's come forever -- sor of like non-replaceable Charges that can be used for any power the character can normally draw from the battery on.)? Finally, can you choose to put off recharing your END battery for later if the recharged END comes from your perosnal store of END?

    Asked by Michael Hopcroft, January 5, 2004

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13. "Coouple-in-Denial" as a disad

    If two characters are fixated enough on each other that it domoinates their thoughts, but are they unwilling to admit it even to themselves, can they take a disadvanatge to relfect such a 'relationship"? And if the nature of the relationship changes (i.e. they come out of denial) can they keep but alter the disad to reflect their new relationship? I'm trying to model the "couple-in-denial" syndrome, a common anime trope, in HERo terms.

    Asked by Michael Hopcroft, January 5, 2004

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14. Regarding sign language...

    A more real-world approach to the question of sign languages would probably be to treat them as having a 2-point similarity with their associated spoken languages; close enough to get a cost discount, but not close enough for an untrained person to "pidgin-out" what's being said. Quite apart from the difference in senses used (sight vs. sound), there are also significant differences in syntax. Braille, on the other hand, IS just another form of literacy with a known language. John T I'm not making this up. I'm married to a Linguistics Major / Graduate ASL Master.

    Asked by John T, January 4, 2004

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15. Continuing Effect Mental Powers and Zero END (remix)

    Missed that one. Next question: Can the END cost for preventing the breakout bonuses be reduced, and if so, how would this be built/written up? SteveZilla

    Asked by SteveZilla, January 4, 2004

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16. Continuing Effect Mental Powers and Zero END

    If a mentalist has one of his Continuing-Effect Mental Powers bought with Reduced END (zero END), does his "paying" 0 END after established count for the purposes of preventing the bonuses to the target's breakout roll? SteveZilla

    Asked by SteveZilla, January 4, 2004

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17. Ease to hit large targets...

    I just want to know: If a character buys 15 pts of Growth he gets -2 DCV, but do people targeting him also get +2 OCV for Target Size: 2x Human Size (p.247)? The same question would apply to vehicle sizes.

    Asked by SirViss, January 4, 2004

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18. Megascaled Senses

    Senses don't use END, correct? Does adding Megascale to, say, Sight, cause it to use END?

    Asked by Caped Crusader, January 4, 2004

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19. Understanding Animal Followers

    This is sort of a follow-up to something already in the FAQ (quoted below); I just want to make sure I'm understanding it correctly. So I have this Sholarron with four animals: a Terran cheetah (HSB 144), a Xenovore battlebird (HSB 212), a Mon'dabi hunting lizard (HSB 203), and the traditional Sholarron primate (using the character sheet for a gorilla; HSB 165). Of these four, the one with the highest number of points (Base Points plus listed "Experience Points") is the cheetah, at 75 + 99 = 174. That would come to 35 points as a Follower; +10 points gives three more Followers for a total of four, so my Sholarron has the four animals for 45 points. Is that correc…

    Asked by BobGreenwade, January 4, 2004

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20. Follow Up: Negative Adders

    A Side Effect does seem more logical. Perhaps I should bring this up in the HDv2 forum. It allows me to build weapons with a negative adder. Of course its a custom adder so maybe it's not really a problem, unless Negative Adders are supposed to be illegal in any circumstance. So About the Side Effects... If I design a gun that has a -1 OCV (poor quality) this is merely a 5 point effect (its giving the target a +1 DCV). However the minimum active point cost for a Minor Side Effect is 15 Active Points. So does this mean the the -1 OCV grants no break in the cost of the weapon because its too little of a limitation? Either way it will be fine by me. I just want …

    Asked by Edsel, January 3, 2004

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21. Negative Adders & Active Point Costs

    After reading the way to calculate the Active Point cost of a power (as detailed on page 157 of the Hero System Rules), I am unclear on a certain point. It states that, "You apply Advantages to Powers after applying all Adders and other modifications which increase the Power's cost." Does this mean that an Adder, such as -1 OCV which would actually decrease the power's cost, should not be counted toward the active point cost? For example, if I build a weapon that is 2d6 RKA, -1 OCV (-5 points), AP (+1/2). Would the Active Point cost be 45 or 37.5 (rounded to 37 points)?

    Asked by Edsel, January 3, 2004

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22. Damage Shield with Continuing Charges

    Can you buy Damage Shield with Continuing Charges, or is the Continuous advantage still needed? Seems like Continuing Charges already have the Continuous adavantage purchase within it. Mike

    Asked by TechnoViking, January 3, 2004

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23. Spreading

    I searched "spread" in the Combat part of the FAQ - but didn't find this pretty basic question. If I spread an NND to gain +2 OCV, do I sacrifice 1 or 2 dice of damage? The former assumes a DC is 1/2 d6 since the NND has a +1 advantage. This implies every power with an advantage (or limitation?) impacting DC gets divided down fro spreading purposes. The latter assumes 1 DC of the base power, Energy Blast, is used, and that's 1d6 no matter how many advantages it has. Either approach seems arguable, so I'm surprised it never came up before (I probably mised something somewhere). Thanks Hugh

    Asked by Hugh Neilson, January 3, 2004

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24. Still Megascale

    Now I'm falling prey to Must Continue Rules Analyses to the Ultimate Extreme Comparable to a naked advantage on Sight, can a character buy a naked Megascale on Running (just his base 6") and use Megascale at his discretion? Another question, this one on megascaled senses. Assume a character has a Detect bought Megascale. The item he wishes to detect is located 10 feet away, but he has 1" = 1km. Does he: (a) Fail to perceive it - it needs to be at least 1 km away ( Perceive that there is something within 1" (ie 1km) of his present location, but not know where within the 1 km? ( makes the most sense to me. [Actually, putting your MegaPow…

    Asked by Hugh Neilson, January 2, 2004

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25. TUV Powersuit limbs

    I was just wondering if the powersuit in the TUV (p.83) should have had to buy "limbs", concidering that most vehicle can't manipulate anything without some "extra limbs". Just to check, I looked up in the Mecha section and Mecha have to buy limbs. Would you concider a powersuit a very small "Mecha"?

    Asked by SirViss, January 2, 2004

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