My character building technique (How to build Hero System Characters)

[Tasha]

Creating Hero System Characters 101

I am tired of posting pieces of this in other threads. This is the process I go through when I create a character. It includes the "campaign reality check" stuff to check your stats, defenses and other stuff to make sure that you aren't a total wimp or too powerful

http://tashasbraindump.blogspot.com/2010/09/creating-hero-system-characters-101.html Where I posted this first.

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Creating Hero System Characters 101
It is pretty common for someone to look at the Hero System rule book and be totally overwhelmed by the options inside. Usually first characters are a mish mash of powers of wildly varying powerlevels and are not really suited for play. After seeing this come up time and time again on the Hero Games forums I thought that it was time for me to try and answer this question once and for all. So I created this little tutorial and guide.


1) Learn everything possible about the campaign.
ie What Genre, What kind of adventures will be run (ie Action, Political, soap opera etc). Does it take place in one spot (ie one city) or will there be travel? How often will characters be engaging in combat? How serious is the game (is it comedy, Tragedy, high drama or something in-between?)These questions give you a direction for the design of your character. It will allow you to make a character that will fit within the GM's campaign.

2) Come up with a basic idea of what the character is beyond adventuring.
ie Marine Corps Sniper, High Society Socialite, College Professor, News Reporter etc. This gives your character a life outside of adventuring and gives greater depth to their background. This step also can give you ideas for people who may be attached to the character both for good or bad (ie a Dependent or a person Hunting the PC) Write these ideas down.

3) Now work on the character's Adventuring side.
Wizard, Healing Priest, Person turned into metal, Thief/Rogue, Person who can create fire effects, Warrior. Be general at this point, specifics come next. Also think about quirks that will make this character different from any other character of your type(s)

4) Take those generalities and be more specific.
Write out what the character can do in plain english (don't even worry about opening a rule book yet). This step is VERY important for Super Heroes and for Spell Casters. Done right this will both help with writing up powers and will suggest weaknesses.Make sure that this list shows what you want your powers to DO. Fiery Body from being possessed by flame elemental is a good start, but you need to write down specifics of what the Character does with that Fiery body. The more specific and detailed the writeup the easier it will come to write up powers.
ie Fireperson the flaming superhero
a. Can project bolts of fire
b. Body's fiery aura can vaporize bullets and is resistant to heat effects
c. Being made of fire makes character lighter than air and allows her to fly
d. can see heat (ie Infrared Vision)
5) Discover the power level of the campaign.
You need the Point levels of the campaign (ie 350pt supers, 150pt Heroic normals).
Find how powerful should your attacks be (ie 10d6, AKA DC10, AKA 50pt attacks) and also the average and maximum Active Point values allowed for any power. Then find what the Dex and SPD range is and what the average number for both of those are. Average and maximum OCV, DCV, OMCV, and DMCV (for 5e players the last two are Mental combat values). Maximum and average PD and ED also maximums for unusual defenses (ie Power def, Mental def, Flash Def). The average is important as it tells you what most PCs should have for that ability, so you can decide whether your character should be above or below that value.


6) Start writing the character up using the rules.
This is where you open your Rule books and Genre books. I recommend starting with skills. See if you can find a writeup of your profession in the genre book. Most of the professions have some sort of package that lists out skills (and complications) that are appropriate for that profession. You may think of more. Next work on Perks (things like favors, contacts and licences), Go onto Talents, then Powers. When you start to write up powers go back to your list of what your powers should do, then find the power in the book that best fits that writeup. Start with the abilities that translate easy. (ie Can project bolts of fire; sounds like either a Blast or a Killing Attack Ranged or it can be both if you like).
b. This is also a good time to buy Int and Presence. Keep in mind that 3s and 8s are breakpoints and will save you points.

7) Now balance the character so they fall within the points budget.
This is a great time to see if some of the powers can be purchased in a Multipower. Also think of limitations on your powers. ie"Power requires a Roll" is a good limit for beginning heroes. Also think of weakness in those powers. ie Fire powers probably don't work under water or in Vacuum. This a good time to lower stats that you were kind of wishing for but don't break the character's concept to lower (ie Presence can be a good stat to lower). If you cant come under budget, then go onto the next step. You might find ways to save more points in the proofing stage

8) Proof the character vs campaign limits and power levels.
These question are to reality check the character so they aren't a total wimp or over-powered.

a. Do I have at least 1 attack power that is straight up dice of damage? (ie Strength, Energy Blast or Ego Attack). This means one attack power that has no advantages like NND, Armor Piercing, Penetrating etc. If your powers all have gimmicks you can find yourself in situations where the character cannot damage their opponent(s) at all, which can make for a frustrating gaming experience.

b. Are my defenses = 2x to 2.5x the average damage dice (AKA Damage Class) being thrown in the game? (ie if the campaign is based on 50pt (10d6 powers), then I should have from 20-30 Defenses.

c. Can the PC take one attack at campaign average Damage Class with an average damage roll and not be stunned? (ie have my Con Score exceeded by damage taken after defenses) 1d6 does 3.5 average stun. so 3.5 x 10d6 = 35 stun on average - PD or ED (lets go with 20) and you take 15 stun which means that you need 16 Con to not be stunned by an average hit (round to 18 to take advantage of figured chars).

d. Do I have enough STUN to take 2 - 3 average attacks? ie using the numbers above the character takes 15 STUN per hit and should have 30 STUN to 45 STUN

e. Do I have enough End to use my most common attack + end using defenses + movement for one full turn? ie ((Sum Attack End Cost + Defense End Cost + Movement End cost/2)* SPD). Your movement end is halved is because you take half moves during any phase you attack.

f. Do I have a movement power that is faster than 12m/phase? or is moving slowly ok for the character concept. There is nothing more annoying in a Champions game than being the only character that is moving base movement. In a Heroic level game even moving a couple of meters more than base can be a huge advantage.

g. If your character has ego powers remember to have Mental Defense at 2x to 2.5x the dice of Mental Attack (not the dice of Telepathy or the other mental powers). The character should have around 20-30 Ego and OMCV and DMCV around 5-7. Most people never buy their DMCV above the base of 3 or their ego above 10. You can bank on this being true in all campaigns with the exception of ones that are all mentalist based. So take advantage of that fact to save points. For Telepathy, Mind Scan, Mental Illusions, and Mind control, you can reality check these by using the formula 3.5 x dice rolled -10 (avg ego). On a 10d6 attack you roll a 35 on average, subtract 10 for avg ego and get 25 which means that you get +20 effect on most rolls (with a -1 on breakout rolls on +20 effects to boot). 6d6 averages 21 which gets +10 vs most targets

h. Your CV scores should be at least campaign average. OCV should be at campaign average or average +1

i. This is a good time to buy any other Characteristics that I haven't talked about above.

9) Does the character still fit the points budget?
If you are under budget go onto Complications/Disadvantages the next step. If not, then really look hard at all of your powers and skills and see if there is something that can be cut (and purchased later when you get exp). Also, see if there is some other limitation you can place on your powers to help lower points.

10) Start putting together your Character's Complications (AKA Disadvantages).
Go back through your notes and see if any complications jump out at you. If the PC was a crusading lawyer or reporter perhaps some criminal is hunting the character. Perhaps you know that the character is curious, and/or has strong convictions against killing. Perhaps that body of flame has a weakness against cold attacks. Complications are good for the character. They give the GM something to grasp onto to help write adventures that involve the character beyond just being there. Don't be afraid to have that weakness to alien glowing rocks, or Ice attacks, have a sweet curious Aunt May, or a Wife/Husband,Girlfriend/Boyfriend. These things make your character interesting, not your powers and skills. If you are really hurting for ideas go to this site, it's a real nice resource for Physical, and Psychological Complications along with Social Complications Masterlist of Limitations
http://www.cellularsmoke.net/rpgs/masterlistdisads.php
or
http://masterlistsofcomplications.wikia.com/wiki/The_Master_List_of_Complications_Wiki

    a)Write your Compications all down in plain English just like you did for your powers. Open the book to the Complications Section (or Disadvantages if playing 5eR or earlier).
    Use the things you wrote down and see what Complications from the book fit best.

11) Transcribe the Character onto a character sheet Make one copy for you and one for your GM. If you use a program like Hero Designer it can make the whole process easier by taking the math out of the equation for you. Check it out on the Hero Games Web store. It’s inexpensive and makes character generation very easy. It also works for making both 5^th Edition and 6^th Edition characters.

12) Go through your notes and write down your character’s background.
ie Job, what the character did before they started adventuring. It can be anything from a bullet pointed list of events to a short story. Make sure the GM recieves that background along with the Hero system character sheet. You are done and if you have followed all of the steps you should have a well-rounded character that isn't a total wimp. Who can contribute inside and outside of combat, and has a background that the GM can use to write better adventures

Congratulations you have finished your character!

[Peregrine]

Re: My character building technique (How to build Hero System Characters)

 

I like this. A lot. Comments below.

 

I am sick of posting pieces of this in other threads. This is the process I go through when I create a character. It includes the "campaign reality check" stuff to check your stats, defenses and other stuff to make sure that you aren't a total wimp.

 

http://tashasbraindump.blogspot.com/2010/09/creating-hero-system-characters-101.html Is where I posted this to first.

 

---

It's pretty common for someone to look at the Hero System rule book and be totally overwhelmed by the options inside. Usually first characters are a mish mash of powers of wildly varying powerlevels and are not really suited for play. After seeing this come up time and time again on the Hero Games forums I thought that it was time for me to try and answer this once and for all.

 

 

1) Learn everything possible about the campaign. ie What Genre, What kind of adventures will be run (ie Action, Political, soapopera etc). Does it take place in one spot (ie one city) or does it travel? How often will characters be engage in combat? How serious is the game (is it comedy, Tragedy, high drama or something inbetween?)These questions gives you a direction for your character and it allows you to make a character that fits the GM's campaign.

 

2) Know the powerlevel of the campaign. Know what the Dex and SPD range is and what the Average stat for both of those is. You also need the Point levels of the campaign (ie 350pt supers, 150pt Heroic normals). How powerful should your attacks be (ie 10d6, AKA DC10, AKA 50pt attacks). Average and maximum OCV, DCV, OMCV, and DMCV (for 5e players the last two are Mental combat values). Maximum and Average PD and ED also maxes for unusual Defenses (ie Power def, Mental def, Flash Def). Average is important as it tells you what most PCs should have for that ability, so you can decide whether your character should be above or below that value.

 

IF (and that's a big IF) the GM is A. willing to provide the above information (beyond point levels - that's always given) and B. not planning a bait-and-switch campaign.

 

3) Come up with a basic idea of what the character is beyond adventuring. ie Marine Corps Sniper, High Society Socialite, College Professor, News Reporter etc. This gives your character a life outside of adventuring and gives greater depth to their background. This step also can give you ideas for people who may be attached to the character both for good or bad (ie a Dependent or a person Hunting the PC) Write these ideas down.

 

4) Now work on their Adventuring side. Wizard, Healing Priest, Person turned into metal, Thief/Rogue, Person who can create fire effects. Be general at this point, specifics come next

 

5) Take those generalities and be more specific. Write out what they can do in plain english (don't even worry about opening a rule book yet). This step is VERY important for Super Heroes and for Spell Casters. Done right this will both help with writing up powers and will suggest weaknesses.Make sure that this list shows what you want your powers to DO. Fiery Body from being possessed by flame elemental is a good start, but you need to write down specifics of what the Character does with that Fiery body. The more specific and detailed the writeup the easier it will come to write up powers.

ie Fireperson

a. Can project bolts of fire

b. Body's fiery aura can vaporize bullets and is resistant to heat effects

c. Being made of fire makes character lighter than air and allows her to fly

d. can see heat (ie Infrared Vision)

 

5) Start writing the character up. This is where you open your Rule books and Genre books. I recommend starting with skills. See if you can find a writeup of your profession in the genre book. Most of the professions have some sort of package that lists out skills (and complications) that are appropriate for that profession. You may think of more. Next work on Perks (things like favors, contacts and licences), Go onto Talents, then Powers. When you start to write up powers go back to your list of what your powers should do, then find the power in the book that best fits that writeup. Start with the abilities that translate easy. (ie Can project bolts of fire; sounds like either a Blast or a Killing Attack Ranged or it can be both if you like)

 

6) Now balance the character so they fall within the points budget. This is a great time to see if some of the powers can be purchased in a Multipower. Also think of limitations on your powers (Power requires a Roll is a good limit for beginning heroes, also think of weakness in powers ie Fire powers probably don't work under water or in Vacuum. Also this a good time to lower stats that you were kind of wishing for but don't break the concept to lower (ie Presence is a good one to lower). If you cant come under budget go onto the next step because you might find ways to save points in the proofing stage

 

7) Proof the character vs campaign limits. These question are to reality check the character so they aren't a total wimp or totally Over powered.

 

a. Do I have at least 1 attack power that is straight up dice of damage (ie Strength, Energy Blast or Ego Attack). This means one attack power that has no advantages like NND, Armor Piercing, Penetrating etc. If your powers all have gimmicks you can find yourself in situations where the character cannot damage the badguys at all, which can make for a frustrating experience.

 

b. Are my defenses = 2x to 2.5x the dice being thrown in the game (ie if the campaign is based on 50pt (10d6 powers), then I should have from 20-30 Defenses.

 

c. Can I take one attack at campaign average with an average roll and not be stunned (ie have my Con Score exceeded by damage taken after defenses) 1d6 does 3.5 average stun. so 3.5 x 10d6 = 35 stun on average - PD or ED (lets go with 20) and you take 15 stun which means that you need 16 Con to not be stunned by an average hit (round to 18 to take advantage of figured chars).

 

d. Do I have enough stun to take 3-5 average attacks?

 

e. Do I have enough End to use my most common attack + run end using defenses + movement for one full turn? ie (Sum Attack End Cost + Defense End Cost + Movement End cost/2)* SPD gets that number Move/2 is because you take half moves during any phase you attack.

 

f. Do I have some movement power so I can move faster than the average person who moves 6"/phase or is moving slowly ok for the character concept.

 

All good stuff. no comments.

 

 

8) Does the character still fit the points budget? If you are under budget go onto Complications/Disadvantages the next step. If not, then really look hard at all of your powers and skills and see if there is something that can be cut (and purchased later when you get exp). Also, see if there is some other limitation you can place on your powers to help lower points.

 

As per the emphasis I added above, too many GMs get hung up on "you didn't have an in-game opportunity to learn that" ("because I didn't give you any opportunity to do so" being both unsaid and avoided by said GMs).

 

 

9) Go back through your notes and see if any complications jump out at you. If you were the crusading lawyer or reporter perhaps some criminal is hunting the character. Perhaps you know that the character is curious, has strong convictions against killing. Perhaps that body of flame has a weakness against cold attacks. Write it all down and come up with your complications. BTW Complications are good for the character. They give the GM something to grasp onto to help write adventures that involve the character beyond just being there. Don't be afraid to have that weakness to alien glowing rocks, or Ice attacks, have a sweet curious Aunt May, or a Wife/Husband,Girlfriend/Boyfriend. These things make your character interesting, not your powers and skills. If you are really hurting for ideas go to this site, it's a real nice resource for Physical, and Psychological Complications along with Social Complications Masterlist of Limitations

 

Addendum - pick Complications that you want in your character's story, not "what this character's minute-by-minute life would look like", because a good game will focus on the significant events, not the mundane ones. (The latter may come on-screen on occasion, but the emphasis should be on the former.)

 

 

10) Go though your notes and write down your characer's background. ie Job, what the character did before they started adventuring. It can be anything from a bullet pointed list of events to a short story. Make sure the GM gets that background along with the Hero system writeup. You are done and if you have followed all of the steps you should have a well rounded character that isn't a total wimp, that can contribute inside and outside of combat, and has a background that the GM can use to write adventures

 

Congratulations you have finished your character!

 

Amen!

[Tasha]

Re: My character building technique (How to build Hero System Characters)

 

I like this. A lot. Comments below.

Thanks for the comments

 

IF (and that's a big IF) the GM is A. willing to provide the above information (beyond point levels - that's always given) and B. not planning a bait-and-switch campaign.

Also some GM's don't even realize the style of Campaign they run. I have learned to do my best to pester GMs for any/all info that I can get about the campaign. Bait and switch Campaigns just suck rocks. You get a bunch of characters that are usually fairly ill-suited for play in the new environment. Which makes for player unhappyness and a short campaign.

 

As per the emphasis I added above' date=' too many GMs get hung up on "you didn't have an in-game opportunity to learn that" ("because I didn't give you any opportunity to do so" being both unsaid and avoided by said GMs).[/quote']

One way around this is, instead of not buying said skill. One could buy it as a Familiarity, most GM's will allow PC's to buy a skill that started a familiarity up to a regular roll. Powers could also be purchased with extra end, concentration and lower activation rolls. It's hard to get GM's out of this mindset. Heck, I even have run into it with fellow players. Players who are disturbed if you suddenly have a skill and haven't spent time IG or RPed it out of game to justify the purchase. I only worry about my character's XP purchases and just assume that "new" skills are ones that the PC hadn't yet shared with the party or had been rekindled by proximity to whatever requires said skill.

 

Addendum - pick Complications that you want in your character's story' date=' not "what this character's minute-by-minute life would look like", because a good game will focus on the [i']significant[/i] events, not the mundane ones. (The latter may come on-screen on occasion, but the emphasis should be on the former.)

This isn't an issue that I have run into with people choosing complications. I should probably think about and post an expansion on choosing Complications/Disadvantages. This is a great comment BTW, I just need time to filter it though my consciousness so I can add it to the OP in my own words.

 

 

 

 

Amen!

Thanks again ;D

[Darbor]

Re: My character building technique (How to build Hero System Characters)

 

Excellent post Tasha. I could really have used this when I started Hero and I can still use it now. I've played hero for several years now but I have been fortunate enough to be in two long running campaigns, hence, outside of Cons, I have only created two characters.

 

(Added: Oops, forgot about one other rather short campaign, so that would be three characters created.)

 

The biggest difficulty for me when I started was understanding the concept of figuring powers by effect, or as you say by what you want them to DO. It took a little while for that to sink in and for me to think in those terms. I still think it is harder up front to do it that way than just picking from a list or saying, "I'm a wizard with the usual wizardy spells." But like all things, the effort you put in up front is rewarded later.

[Utech]

Re: My character building technique (How to build Hero System Characters)

 

All good and many thanks for the post!

 

A note on number 7: I think these guidelines are good for most games -- a default "we all have fun and get to play" level. It might be worth pointing out, though, that some games will need different guidelines because you're going for a different feel (especially lethal, everybody has an Achilles heel that must be found, long combats, short combats, especially mobile, especially immobile, etc.)

[Tasha]

Re: My character building technique (How to build Hero System Characters)

 

All good and many thanks for the post!

 

A note on number 7: I think these guidelines are good for most games -- a default "we all have fun and get to play" level. It might be worth pointing out, though, that some games will need different guidelines because you're going for a different feel (especially lethal, everybody has an Achilles heel that must be found, long combats, short combats, especially mobile, especially immobile, etc.)

 

The guidelines tend to work for most games even ones that are lethal. Most Heroic games are using DC 4-7 Killing attacks (average 6), So def 8-14 should be the range including armor which isn't that hard to get with normal body armor and/or Combat luck. To keep a game lethal stick with Hit Locations and keep the rDef low. Also, the guidelines are focused more on Superheroic games, but tend to work with heroic games as well. As a GM it may seem like a good thing to run a game with Short combats and high lethality, but those kind of games can also run toward characters who can't really add much to the combats. I mean who wants to play the character that gets stunned everytime they are hit. It's just seems like an exercise in masochism.

 

I think that the important thing to remember about step 7 is that it makes a competent character in combat. If the GM wants combats that are different, then they can look at the solid character and ask for changes. Though, lowering defenses will probably lead to PC's having higher Con scores to avoid being stunned and higher STUN scores to prevent unconsciousness.

 

Oh and I realize that I forgot some thing in one of my formulas.

 

"e. Do I have enough End to use my most common attack + run end using defenses + movement for one full turn? ie (Sum Attack End Cost + Defense End Cost + Movement End cost/2)* SPD gets that number Move/2 is because you take half moves during any phase you attack."

 

e. Do I have enough End to use my most common attack + run end using defenses + movement-Recovery for one full turn? ie (Sum Attack End Cost + Defense End Cost + Movement End cost/2 - Recovery)* SPD gets that number Move/2 is because you take half moves during any phase you attack.

[Bobby Walker]

Re: My character building technique (How to build Hero System Characters)

 

Tasha,

 

This was a great read. I liked it so much, that I converted into a file that people can take with them and use. If you like it, then let me know, if not then I'll pull it.

 

Thanks again!

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]37145[/ATTACH]

[The Main Man]

Re: My character building technique (How to build Hero System Characters)

 

Reminds me of when Susano posted his methods. I'll be saving this info too. Thanks for sharing, Tasha.

[Mickael]

Re: My character building technique (How to build Hero System Characters)

 

Great guidelines, Tasha, thank you!

I have just one question, on point 5 (character write-up): When is it the best time to buy characteristics ?

[Tasha]

Re: My character building technique (How to build Hero System Characters)

 

Great guidelines, Tasha, thank you!

I have just one question, on point 5 (character write-up): When is it the best time to buy characteristics ?

 

step 7 is a great time to buy your combat related Characteristics, seeing as many of the formula that I give in those substeps will give you the right number. (I need to add in a slight subsection here)

[Tasha]

Re: My character building technique (How to build Hero System Characters)

 

Tasha,

 

This was a great read. I liked it so much, that I converted into a file that people can take with them and use. If you like it, then let me know, if not then I'll pull it.

 

Thanks again!

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]37145[/ATTACH]

 

It's pretty cool. I would have used different fonts, but other than that it looks fine (Even your editing my atrocious sentence structure is ok )

[Tasha]

Re: My character building technique (How to build Hero System Characters)

 

edited my OP with some new ideas.

 

I may also talk about some basic rule of X ideas. I'll add it as a new post in this thread. I know that people don't like rules of x (and some who don't know even what it is), but it can be a powerful tool for character balance and making characters under budget. It's too late for me to get the words flowing for this section. So later.

 

Thanks again to everyone who has contributed to this thread and to those who have given me rep I appreciate it!

[torchwolf]

Re: My character building technique (How to build Hero System Characters)

 

Awesome. I'd say this deserves a sticky.

[The Main Man]

Re: My character building technique (How to build Hero System Characters)

 

edited my OP with some new ideas.

 

I may also talk about some basic rule of X ideas. I'll add it as a new post in this thread. I know that people don't like rules of x (and some who don't know even what it is), but it can be a powerful tool for character balance and making characters under budget. It's too late for me to get the words flowing for this section. So later.

 

Thanks again to everyone who has contributed to this thread and to those who have given me rep I appreciate it!

My cell phone's browser doesn't let me rep, but know that there's more coming.

[Bobby Walker]

Re: My character building technique (How to build Hero System Characters)

 

It's pretty cool. I would have used different fonts' date=' but other than that it looks fine (Even your editing my atrocious sentence structure is ok )[/quote']

 

Well, fonts aren't that big a thing. Throw me some ideas and I'll revise.

[SDarkshine]

Re: My character building technique (How to build Hero System Characters)

 

A lot of work has been put into this guide; hats off to you, Tasha ! This calls for a rep'!

 

My post that you have found two days ago is one of the places where you placed pieces of your guide and is making you 'sick'. I'm really sorry about that . But thank you for your response and help!

[The Main Man]

Re: My character building technique (How to build Hero System Characters)

 

My cell phone's browser doesn't let me rep' date=' but know that there's more coming. [/quote']

 

"You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Tasha again."

 

Well darn. Can someone help me out here?

[Tasha]

Re: My character building technique (How to build Hero System Characters)

 

A lot of work has been put into this guide; hats off to you, Tasha ! This calls for a rep'!

 

My post that you have found two days ago is one of the places where you placed pieces of your guide and is making you 'sick'. I'm really sorry about that . But thank you for your response and help!

 

I am always happy to help new players. I was just getting tired of repeating myself again and again. Also Welcome to the Boards!

[Bobby Walker]

Re: My character building technique (How to build Hero System Characters)

 

Revised, with fonts changed and I think the content is now current. Thanks again Tasha!

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]37153[/ATTACH]

[Matt Holck]

Re: My character building technique (How to build Hero System Characters)

 

one of my more remembered games was fighting a robot war bird

sniper style through the city

having to scramble for resources

my character was not equipped for the fight on hand

 

I mean

power caps result in all characters doing the same damage

[Tasha]

Re: My character building technique (How to build Hero System Characters)

 

one of my more remembered games was fighting a robot war bird

sniper style through the city

having to scramble for resources

my character was not equipped for the fight on hand

 

I mean

power caps result in all characters doing the same damage

 

My goal with this and my planned post on customization of the basic character is not power caps (though most GMs do impose them to keep everyone within a range of power). The goal of the post is to give new (and experienced) players some tools to look hard at the effectiveness of their characters. Some players know the ranges of stats, not knowing why they work. Some players facing a game that is more or less powerful than they are used to are unsure how to adapt to the new power level. The OP gives them the tools to do just that. Once a player has a basic character, they can decide if they want to be less or more powerful than their base. It's all part of customization.

 

I do and will get more into the customization parts of this. It's actually more complicated than the basic build and I don't really have the brain bandwith to deal with it early in the week. I am currently taking a beginning C++ programing course on Mon and Wed and that takes most of my brain bandwith for the first half of the week. I will get to it, promise

 

I used the phrase "rule of X" knowing that many people hate this concept. To new players the concept of trading off DCV for Damage and vice versa and also Damage for Speed is something they might not have considered. Also, it's pretty easy to want to make Speed 8 person who wants to do campaign maximum damage. There are reasons that GM's usually will not allow the SPD 8 speedster to do the same dice of damage as the speed 4 Brick. I can take the time to show that a lower damage speedster can do equivalent or better damage than the spd 4 brick that throws campaign maximum DC. There is a way to explain it that doesn't require a spreadsheet. really.

 

IMHO from seg 1-12 all characters should be throwing the same amount of damage, not in dice, but in average stun after average defenses.

ie Rock the 4 speed Brick may throw 14d6 damage and Speedy the 8speed Speedster throws 8d6 dmg, but assuming the math is right both should be just as effective in stun blowthrough per turn. (I haven't done any real math and I pulled the DC values out of the sky, so don't use those to show me I am wrong, please wait for the followup post).

[Peregrine]

Re: My character building technique (How to build Hero System Characters)

 

IMHO from seg 1-12 all characters should be throwing the same amount of damage, not in dice, but in average stun after average defenses.

 

Emphasis added to what I think is the money quote. It's not raw DC per turn, but damage after defenses per turn. Brava!

[Tasha]

Re: My character building technique (How to build Hero System Characters)

 

Currently working on a spread sheet that shows how much damage per Turn that average attacks from dc 6-16 vs defenses 20-40 (in increments of 5 def). This is with an eye to figure out how many dice should someone drop for each point of speed added. Just from doing some quick approximations it seems like .75 dc should be lost for each point of speed added (or added if the character goes below campaign average spd). So getting the numbers right is proving to take longer, esp since I have to keep up with my C++ programing class.

[Cardinal]

Re: My character building technique (How to build Hero System Characters)

 

I absolutely agree with this approach. However, to get the proper expected value of stun per turn, you need to add one more factor, the relationship between OCV and campaign average DCV.

 

The formula is EV-STUN = P(Hit)*(Averge Stun - Def). For example, if your OCV is 2 over the average DCV, on average you have a 83% chance of hitting. By contrast, if you have an OCV that is 2 below the average DCV, you have only a 37% chance of hitting. That difference creates a huge difference on the amount you can expect to dish out each phase.

 

Also, if you are going to do a full rule of X, you also need to consider the relationship between your Def and your DCV. The spreadsheet helps show that.

 

I put together a spreadsheet that you can use to calculate both factors, but unfortunately, the website is telling me that .xls is an invalid file. If someone can tell me what I need to do, I will post it.

 

Regards,

 

Cardinal

[Tasha]

Re: My character building technique (How to build Hero System Characters)

 

I absolutely agree with this approach. However, to get the proper expected value of stun per turn, you need to add one more factor, the relationship between OCV and campaign average DCV.

 

The formula is EV-STUN = P(Hit)*(Averge Stun - Def). For example, if your OCV is 2 over the average DCV, on average you have a 83% chance of hitting. By contrast, if you have an OCV that is 2 below the average DCV, you have only a 37% chance of hitting. That difference creates a huge difference on the amount you can expect to dish out each phase.

 

Also, if you are going to do a full rule of X, you also need to consider the relationship between your Def and your DCV. The spreadsheet helps show that.

 

I put together a spreadsheet that you can use to calculate both factors, but unfortunately, the website is telling me that .xls is an invalid file. If someone can tell me what I need to do, I will post it.

 

Regards,

 

Cardinal

 

Yeah, I have been glossing over CV's effects on combat. Though in my experience the high SPD folk almost always have the monster CV's. I also my spreasheet does not and cannot take into account the ability of high SPD characters to Abort/take delays to defensive actions.

 

I would love to see your spreadsheet.

 

Tasha

 

PS you CAN upload .zip files here. So compress your spreadsheet using 7zip or your fave Zip program (heck Vista and Win 7 have one built in) and go ahead and upload.