HERO System 6th Edition Rules Questions

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1. Drains And Negative Values

   According to the rulesbook on page 100, characters may use Drains repeatedly on the same target provided that the target still has points left to Drain in the Power or Characteristic. That sounds as if it is not possible to Drain somebody below 0 (no negative Characteristics). However, just below that line there is a rule for what happens to characters whose BODY is Drained to negative his starting BODY. This is, in my opinion, a contradiction. What is correct?

   Asked by Brick, May 1, 2003

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2. Bestiary Page 143

   The Cat, Domestic is listed as having Limited Manipulation. This makes it the only member of the cat family in the bestiary to not have Very Limited Manipulation. Is this errata or should I start observing my cat to see if he is sneaking into the cupboard?

   Asked by Super Squirrel, May 1, 2003

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3. CSL's

   Bruno has two 3-point CSL's with blades. He is using a sword in HTH combat against a club-wielding enemy. If Bruno dodges, can he use these two CSL's to add to his DCV (for a total of +5 DCV, including the +3 for dodge)? Why or Why not?

   Asked by Just Joe, May 1, 2003

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4. -30 INT and EGO

   What would happen if a character reduced an enemy's INT and EGO (i.e. via Drain or Transfer) both to -30? Would the target be unable to do anything at all short of being Mind Controlled to do it?

   Asked by Wormhole, April 30, 2003

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5. Summoning Followers

   Wizard related question. Followers who can be summoned (like Elementals that can be teleported in/created at will). Should the character pay for both Followers and Summoning to assume total control of the created creature?

   Asked by Colossus, April 30, 2003

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6. Multiple Hardened defenses

   Bonjour, Can a character have multiple hardened defenses : Let say : A shield defined as Armor Hardened x2 fro 6 PD An armor defined as Armor Hardened x1 for 14 PD A natural resilience defined as standard PD for 5 ? Thanks

   Asked by Cyz, April 30, 2003

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7. Protects Carried Items Followup 2

   OK, perhaps a clarificative point might help: what are the mechanical differences between being carried and being grabbed. If 1 character is holding another and the held character is not resisting, are you saying thats not a Grab, and by extention neither the holder nor the held character suffer the normal OCV or DCV penalties for being in a Grab? So a very strong character with extra limbs with stretching and in this case a FF with Protects Carried Items could reach out and "carry" his teammates, extending his FF to them in the process, and none of the characters involved would suffer any penalties because they are not actually Grabbed, only "carrie…

   Asked by Killer Shrike, April 30, 2003

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8. Casual STR & Grab (2)

   Bonjour, According your previous answer, does this suppose you can grab a car with casual STR as a zero phase, then throw it to the range limit determined by casual STR ? So, you can't grab as a 0 phase action with casual strength, then throw it with your full Strength. More generally, does this imply that you can't switch STR between casual & full STR during the same phase ? Thanks

   Asked by Cyz, April 30, 2003

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9. Ablative vs. Red. Penetration

   If you have the optional -1 Ablative limitation applied to a defense, how is Reduced Penetration applied for purposes of determining if the defense is reduced 5 active points? Do you take half the maximum damage possible? Aroooo

   Asked by Aroooo, April 30, 2003

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10. Linked Powers Question

    I don't have any specific hero concept in mind right now I'd want to use this for, but a question occurred to me when I was reading about Linked powers in the Hero 5E book. The rules state give two main options for the Link: either the lesser Power is Linked to the greater Power, so the greater Power can be used without the lesser but not vice-versa (-1/2 Limitation); or the the greater Power is linked the lesser Power, so that the reverse is the case (-1/4 Limitation). Would it be possible to take both the -1/2 Limitation to the lesser Power and the -1/4 Limitation to the greater Power, so that neither Power is usable without the other? Or is there some other way to m…

    Asked by Smeazel, April 30, 2003

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11. Protects Carried Items Followup

    So let me get this strait. If FF Boy has picked up a teammate, and an opponent attacks that teammate, the teammate DOES get the benefit of the FF. If an opponent Mind Controls that teammate, and the mindcontrolled teammate is now hostile and attacks the party, if a PC tries to attack the carried mind controlled teammate (ostensibly to knock them out), the FF would suddenly not apply because the mind controlled teammate is now techincally an opponent? What if FF Boy is trying to subdue an opponent, while another PC is trying to harm an opponent. FF Boy grabs the opponent and chokes him out. The other PC winds up for a Haymaker and lays into the helpless immo…

    Asked by Killer Shrike, April 30, 2003

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12. Protects Carried Items and Grab

    Hi Steve. Quick ? relating to the Protects Carried Items option of FF. Im sort of confused by the ability as it seems like a cheap way to get a limited UBO, but if it is used Im confused as to when another person is 'carried' and when they are not 'carried' for purposes of figuring if the FF protects them. Q: If a character has FF w/ Protects Carried Items and Grabs another person, is that person protected by the FF vs the Grabbers own attacks? Example, say ForceField Boy, who has the Protects Carried ability, grabs an opponent and squeezes an opponent. Does the FF apply vs his own grab? Q: What if FF Boy has Extra Limbs too, and basically gr…

    Asked by Killer Shrike, April 30, 2003

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13. Negative EGO

    Two questions If a character is drained to negative EGO and then attacked by a mental power is the level of effect taken fron the current EGO or from 0? Does the effect of a mental power override the basic rule that a character with negative EGO obeys any given command?

    Asked by Grailknight, April 30, 2003

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14. Force Field Question

    If a mount has a force field, am I right in assuming that the rider ISN"T covered buy the field or would this be a limitation on the FF?

    Asked by tiger, April 29, 2003

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15. Question 4: Desolid

    Can a character take desolid (with appropriate limitations) define it as Invulnerability, thus attacks would stop at them? Example would be Superman sitting there with his hands on his hips bouncing bullets all day long (Note he rarely does anything besides move in these situations)

    Asked by JmOz, April 29, 2003

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16. Question 3: Duplication power example

    The Astral form power in 5th edition (Ex power for dplication): Could the characters true self still talk and communicate with those around it, can it still perceive the world around it? If not could the same effect be created by making a Multiform with a limitation of leaving body behind? if so how much would the limit be worth (my instinct says to use the old desolid -1 limit value)

    Asked by JmOz, April 29, 2003

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17. Question 2: Duplication

    More on this from Duplication can a character take Regen on the duplications, only while recombind to represent them healing faster? On the ranged advantage to recombing, can a character take Metarange to allow for longer range recombines?

    Asked by JmOz, April 29, 2003

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18. Question 1: Multiform option (Darkhawk build)

    according to the FAQ for duplication Can you use the same -0 lim for Multiform? An example of what I am thinking of is the Marvel Comics character Darkhawk who could become a superpowered form, the F/X was his contiousness was transfered to a robot type thing from another dimension and his body would go to where the robot was kept and put in stasis, when he changed back his normal form he would be uninjured and his robot self would be repaired while in the other dimension (A Regen only while not in use, 1 body every hour seems right for this part)

    Asked by JmOz, April 29, 2003

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19. Universal Linguist

    Hello Steve; Q: If one were to reverse engineer Universal Translator and buy Detect Speech and Detect Text and apply Transmit to both for 2pts each, would the possessor of these detects be able to speak/write any language in more than a 'crude fashion'? If so, would they be fluent and would they have an accent? Q: If they applied Sense to both Detects, would they need to make any roll to do this? Q: Would they have to apply Discriminatory to both Detects to know things like what language they were speaking? If yes, what other benefits would Discriminatory (and by extention Analyze) provide? Q: Am I correct in assuming that these Detects would use the S…

    Asked by Killer Shrike, April 29, 2003

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20. Casual STR & Grabs

    Bonjour, If a brick uses his casual strenght to grab a car and then decides to throw it, what is the strenght used to determine range of the throw ? If he grabs someone, what is the STR used in the STR vs STR roll ? Can he still use his full strenght to hold his grab ? Thanks.

    Asked by Cyz, April 29, 2003

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21. Question on a disadvantage

    what kind of disadvantage would be placed on "flight, no vertical, must be within 6" of a horizontal surface"

    Asked by mildmildwest, April 29, 2003

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22. Plasma weapons followup

    If it's some sort of special energy in a clip/battery, can enterprising PCs hook up the ship's power system to recharge it?

    Asked by Talon, April 28, 2003

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23. Limitation on Advantage

    I could have sworn I had seen this idea addressed before, but now I can not find it. Honest, I did check the FAQ and did a search. Please don't beat me if this is listed somewhere else. Can you put a Limitation on an Advantage? Can I create a sword that is Armor Piercing but has an Activation roll on just the Armor Piercing?

    Asked by CourtFool, April 29, 2003

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24. Mechanon's Self-Destruct: A Follow-Up

    What was the reasoning behind defining Mechanon's "body self-destructs while the head rockets away" gimmick as Duplication plus an NND RKA? If the "original" Mechanon (i.e.; the full body with head) is destroyed the head can never "re-merge" with it, so it would never be able to have a full humanoid body again. Even if Mechanon had an extra 5 XP's to purchase "x2 Duplicates" on the power, they would just be duplicates of the lower-cost head version, not a new body. By my understanding of the rules, Mechanon's head would be stuck that way and have to keep "adventuring" as a disembodied head until it could save up the extra 483 XP's it would need to buy back all of the p…

    Asked by Guest innominatus, April 28, 2003

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25. Spatial Awareness Definition

    Bonjour, Why Spatial Awareness is not defined with the Range Adder ? Does this mean it's based on Sight ? Thanks

    Asked by Cyz, April 28, 2003

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    1 answer