Point saving tricks?

[TheTemplar]

Oh, don't get me wrong. I totally agree that efficiency is very important. You have to be able to juggle the numbers of the Hero system to make a character "work." Characters that don't function well within the system can be terribly un-fun to RP.

 

I'm just that all too frequently forgotten voice in the back of people's heads screaming that this is a Role Playing Game.....not a number crunching game. That's all.

 

-T

[Rage]

Originally posted by Lord Liaden

If there was ever any doubt... Da Munchkin King is in da house!

 

told ya so

[Haerandir]

My philosophy on number-crunching vs. role-playing

 

I have found that doing the number crunching during character creation frees you up to concentrate on role-playing once the game actually starts. The most important thing is to design a character you will have fun playing. That means avoiding the pitfalls of both over-engineering AND under-engineering. I have found that it's a rare player who can actively enjoy being consistently outshone by the other PCs, and no one likes to roleplay being unconscious. So, while you lose something by ignoring the flavor of the character and trying to make the 'most effective' collection of stats and skills, you also lose something by ignoring point-breaks and efficient design.

 

-A lot of people have mentioned the wonders of 3 and 8. The formula in question really is 5x-2, where x is the amount you want to add to all your characteristic rolls. The formula for CVs is 3x-1, where x is the value you want your CV or ECV to be. You really want your DEX to be some value from the formula 15x-7, as that gives you the best of both worlds. This means: 8, 23 and 38 are more efficient than 13, 18, 28 and 33. I've never seen a character with a DEX of 53, and I hope I never do...

 

-Of course, if you're more interested in CV than DEX-based skills, there's a lot to be said for 11, 14, 17, 20 and so on. I.e. something from the 3x-1 progression. This rule holds true for EGO, too, as there are very few EGO skills. It depends on how important your EGO roll is to you.

 

-If you're going to buy up your secondary characteristics, check to make sure you can't get a better deal by raising your primaries instead. Strength is better than free. Constitution is very nearly free. Dexterity, as has been pointed out, is a very good deal when compared to a combination of SPD, Lightning Reflexes and flexible CSL's. If you're spending points on all of those things, consider increasing your DEX instead.

 

-Always buy your movement powers as an odd number, to get the round-up inch on your Half Moves.

 

-Armor Piercing is rarely worth the points it costs you, especially if you're working under an active point cap or damage class cap. You should generally never buy your primary attack as Armor Piercing, as you will usually be losing damage potential against most opponents. Find Weakness, on the other hand, can be a very effective alternative, if you're willing to spend the time to use it.

 

Those are the things that spring to mind. Most of my other suggestions have already been covered.

 

A final suggestion, which has less to do with 'point-shaving' and more to do with effective character design: decide what your character's combat tactics are going to be while you're creating the character. Figure out what you expect to see from opponents in terms of CV's, defenses, attacks, and so on, and decide how your character will deal with those things, both the average and the extremes. Do not go overboard with this, though. For one thing, you will not have the points to make your character able to deal with any situation that could possibly come up, and even if you did, you shouldn't. Half the fun of combat is coming up with cool improvised solutions to 'unbeatable' foes. On the other hand, you should have an idea of what to do about some of the more common opponents. Nothing is less heroic than standing around furiously trying to come up with a plan to defeat Ogre because you don't have any way of getting past hardened ED...

 

I also like to have some idea how I'm going to spend my first 50 experience points with any given character. I think of it as en extension of the character creation process. Of course, I almost never follow that plan, as I'm forever playing a character and discovering some flaw in his design that needs correcting, or a niche that the party needs someone to fill. But it's good to have a plan, just in case nothing unexpected comes up.... Like that would happen...

[Marchwarden]

Although AP is rarely efficient on its own (say, an 8D6 AP EB vs. a straight 12D6 EB), it can become so in conjunction with maneuvers and extra DCs. If you use the 8D6 AP EB with Fast Shot and 2 RDCs, you pay 72 points for a 12D6 AP EB, which works out to a +1/5 advantage with a +1 OCV tossed in as a tip. Almost always compares favorably to spending the same 72 points on a 14D6 EB and a +1 OCV w/single attack.