Need help with a power (new player)

[BubbleGum]

Hey all I'm new to TTRPG and decided to learn the HERO system, I'm trying to create my first character to get a better understanding of everything though I'm stumped at creating my first power as I decided to try something more complicated.

I'm trying to create a power for my first character though I'm not sure which framework to use, the power is able to create "puppets" out of the surrounding materials that will fight for you. like for example in a concrete parking lot the power would use the concrete in the ground to pop out concrete puppets and leave puppet-shaped holes in the ground, in a field it'll create dirt puppets or wood puppets when near trees and so on and so forth.

that's the most basic ability but I'm not sure how to make summon work for it

[Hugh Neilson]

There are a lot of ways this could be done (as simple as attack powers whose SFX are a puppet leaping out of the surroundings to attack the target, then sinking back into the ground).  I’m going to assume a power that creates one or more independent automatons, so Summon.  That’s a pretty complex build, and has issues in game play, so may not be the best choice.  I’d talk that out with your GM – no sense building a character whose concept that won’t be allowed in the game anyway.

 

So that starts with building the Summoned puppet as a separate character sheet.  The cost is 1/5 of its total points. Presumably, it’s a pretty basic high STR construct, likely with Automaton Powers like Takes No Stun.  Let’s assume you can build that for 300 points – it’s a 60 point power.  Now, you likely want more than one, so let’s say 4 – that’s 10 more points (5 for each doubling), so 70 points.  They are slavishly loyal, so a +1 Amicable advantage = 140 points.

 

They will vary depending on the available materials.  That could be done in a few ways.  One would be an advantage of Expanded Class – probably +1/4 as they will be pretty similar.  If you want more substantial variance, it could be more expensive, but it seems like these will be pretty similar.

 

A second approach would be building the most powerful puppet, which would be summoned from a strong material (say stone or concrete), with a Limitation that the puppets will be weaker if constructed from weaker materials.  The value of that limitation would depend on how often stronger materials are unavailable, and how much their power decreases.

 

There’s a lot of judgment calls, some specific to the campaign, required to establish the advantages and limitations, which will require working with the GM to scope out the power as you envision it.

[BubbleGum]

Thanks for the input!

[Christopher R Taylor]

Summoning does seem like the most direct and obvious answer to your idea.  You can start out like Hugh says, a good approach is to start out with the most expensive (toughest and most capable) as your top build.  Then you build each other type of material based on that simple construct.  I recommend looking into the Golem designs in the Hero Bestiary as a basis (obviously they're going to be way too expensive and powerful but they should give you ideas).

 

Another option is to look at the strengths and weaknesses of each kind of material.  Maybe the tree is not as tough but has stretching.  Maybe the dirt one is able to turn into a cloud (desolidification), etc.