Enhanced Power

[Snarf]

Does anyone think Hero System needs an advantage equivalent of limited power? In other words, officially recognized guidelines to construct new advantages? I suppose new advantages are more unpredictable and potentially unbalancing than new limitations, but sometimes it would be the simplest way to create a tricky power.

 

I was thinking of inverting the guidelines for limited power and offering them to my players as a guidelines for making new advantages. It would be something like this:

 

Enhanced Power

+0 Power becomes less than a fourth more effective

+1/4 Power becomes about a fourth more effective

+1/2 Power becomes about a third more effective

and so on.

 

It's not a huge deal, but I'd prefer if new advantages like Lingering from Fantasy Hero were made through some catch-all rule like this, rather than being additions to the core rules (similar to how new limitations like Window of Opportunity are a form of Limited Power).

 

So what do y'all think?

[Blue Jogger]

Re: Enhanced Power

 

I like the concept, but like Limited Power, it can be quite difficult to assign values.

[Vanguard00]

Re: Enhanced Power

 

Does anyone think Hero System needs an advantage equivalent of limited power? In other words' date=' officially recognized guidelines to construct new advantages? [/quote']

 

Not particularly, no. It's never occured to me that it was needed.

 

 

It's not a huge deal, but I'd prefer if new advantages like Lingering from Fantasy Hero were made through some catch-all rule like this, rather than being additions to the core rules (similar to how new limitations like Window of Opportunity are a form of Limited Power).

 

So what do y'all think?

 

Well, the one example you give already exists, and you can just move it over from Fantasy Hero. I'd need to see a serious need for it (in specific examples) before I'd even consider it as a house rule, and I seriously doubt it'd be needed as an official rule.

[Snarf]

Re: Enhanced Power

 

I like the concept' date=' but like Limited Power, it can be quite difficult to assign values.[/quote']

Yeah, it's way more difficult than limited power. I wouldn't use it unless I could work out some good examples.

 

Well, the one example you give already exists, and you can just move it over from Fantasy Hero. I'd need to see a serious need for it (in specific examples) before I'd even consider it as a house rule, and I seriously doubt it'd be needed as an official rule

It's come up in my group when people want a power advantage that works like something from another game, like GURPs for instance. It's also come up when I wanted to create a certain kind of Energy Blast, and I made a new STR Adds To Damage advantage. Usually, the problems that it solves go away when I'm less picky about exactly how a power is going to work and just concentrate on concept.

[Vanguard00]

Re: Enhanced Power

 

Usually, the problems that it solves go away when I'm less picky about exactly how a power is going to work and just concentrate on concept.

 

 

Sounds like you just answered your own question

[PhilFleischmann]

Re: Enhanced Power

 

Does anyone think Hero System needs an advantage equivalent of limited power?

Yes! If only to be consistant with Limited Power. LP essentially is there to acknowledge "There may be other ways to limit a power that we haven't thought of, or haven't bothered to list individually because they go into too minute detail, or would vary in value depending on the genre and setting; but you can still have these limitations on your powers." I have long wanted HERO to acknowledge the same thing for advantages, i.e., "There may be other possible advantages that we haven't thought of, but you can still have them under the general heading of 'Enhanced Power.'"

 

Granted, it doesn't come up too often, and many "EP" advantages can be built using existing rules such as buying additional points for the power with a limitation. For example, if you wanted the advantage, "Power works Twice as well in an Intense Magnetic Field," you would simply buy twice the power, but limit half the points with "Only Works in an Intense Magnetic Field."

 

However, occasionally ideas for advantages come up that aren't buildable with existing rules. One example I posted on the old boards some time ago was "Lock Sensing" for Mental Powers. With this advantage, you roll the dice and see what level you achieved first, and then decide what effect you're going for. There were a few different variations on this idea which IMO, ranged from +1/2 to +1 in advantage.

 

In other words, officially recognized guidelines to construct new advantages? I suppose new advantages are more unpredictable and potentially unbalancing than new limitations, but sometimes it would be the simplest way to create a tricky power.

 

I was thinking of inverting the guidelines for limited power and offering them to my players as a guidelines for making new advantages. It would be something like this:

 

Enhanced Power

+0 Power becomes less than a fourth more effective

+1/4 Power becomes about a fourth more effective

+1/2 Power becomes about a third more effective

and so on.

As you correctly point out, such guidelines are very difficult to pin down, except in the most vague way, as you've done above. It's fairly obvious that an advantage that makes a power twice as effective should be a +1 advantage, but it's a lot harder to guage exactly how much more effective the power becomes. My "lock sensing" advantage was a perfect example. People differed widely on the value of such an advantage.

 

This difficulty is probably one reason why "Enhanced Power" wasn't included. Another reason is that HERO does do a very good job of including ways to construct just about everything you can think of, as evidenced by the fact that there are so few new advantages that people have though of.

 

Hmmm... How many are there actually? Lingering, STR Adds Damage, Lock Sensing, what else? Is three enough to warrent inclusion? Especially since one was published already as an advantage in FH, and one can be bought in a different way.

[Dust Raven]

Re: Enhanced Power

 

I don't think it's necessary.

 

Limited Power is there primarily as a way to say "this Power doesn't have a specific quality it normally has" rather than "I'm sure you all will think of more than I have so have at it." An "Advantaged Power" Advantage seems a bit ridiculous to me. I'm sure others will disagree.

 

To help illustrate my point, I can think of a limitless number of possible Limited Power Limitations, but can only think of fewer Advantaged Power Advantages than I have fingers on one hand. In fact, some of those that I can think of were introduced in 5th Edition (or late 4th, such as No Turn Mode +1/4).

[Snarf]

Re: Enhanced Power

 

Hmmm... How many are there actually? Lingering, STR Adds Damage, Lock Sensing, what else? Is three enough to warrent inclusion? Especially since one was published already as an advantage in FH, and one can be bought in a different way.

There is some need for new advantages, or these new advantages wouldn't be getting haphhazardly created in various supplements. I don't like being forced to buy supplements to get new rules. One of the things I like about Hero System is how little it does that. If everything new was squeezed into 5'th Revised or some rules for making new advantages were established (hopefully better than the ones I was suggesting), that would make me a Haaappy Panda.

[Dust Raven]

Re: Enhanced Power

 

There is some need for new advantages' date=' or these new advantages wouldn't be getting haphhazardly created in various supplements. I don't like being forced to buy supplements to get new rules. One of the things I like about Hero System is how little it does that. If everything new was squeezed into 5'th Revised or some rules for making new advantages were established (hopefully better than the ones I was suggesting), that would make me a Haaappy Panda.[/quote']

There are rules specifically for creating new Advantages. There in 5E 355-56. The thing with creating a new Advantage is that it will have nothing in common with any other new Advantage. Each and every Limitation under the umbrella of Limited Power has the "can't do [this]" description, with [this] being something the Power normally could do. There is just no way to create a generic Advantaged Advantage and have it fit the current structure of the rules.

 

But there are rules for it, they just aren't printed with the rest of the Advantages.

[Snarf]

Re: Enhanced Power

 

There are rules specifically for creating new Advantages. There in 5E 355-56. The thing with creating a new Advantage is that it will have nothing in common with any other new Advantage. Each and every Limitation under the umbrella of Limited Power has the "can't do [this]" description' date=' with [this'] being something the Power normally could do. There is just no way to create a generic Advantaged Advantage and have it fit the current structure of the rules.

 

But there are rules for it, they just aren't printed with the rest of the Advantages.

Yeah, I've been using those rules for new powers and advantages so far, but I'd like something more well defined. I see your point though, there's just not common ground to compare advantages like there is with new limitations.