Power building help

[Tae Kwon Dan]

Alright, new guy here and I'm just brainstorming some abilities with one of my future players. I wanted to get your ideas on how to build the following powers.

 

1. The ability to make inanimate objects harder\tougher. e.g. turn someone's clothing into armor.

 

2. The ability to walk on air, but not without effort and only across short distances.

 

So here are my thoughts:

 

1. At first I had thought about using Aid to add to the DEF or Body of an object, but I'm thinking this is really a Transform ability. You turn someone's clothing into armor or you make a baseball bat effectively a lead pipe.

 

2. I'm thinking maybe Gliding with an activation roll limitation. Or Flight with a short distance and an activation roll might work as well. Would Increased Endurance be a good limitation as well?

 

Thoughts?

[bjbrown]

The first power you describe sounds like Armor or Force Field, Usable On Others.

 

As to the second power, I'm not sure by what you mean "without effort." If it's without effort, take Flight with Reduced END: Zero. To make it available for only short distances, add some sort of limitation. The one that comes to mind is Continuing Charges (more of a limitation on time of use rather than distance). But you could also make a custom limitation to limit the distances.

[Tae Kwon Dan]

I had thought about Armor or Force Field useable on others, but the power would be able to toughen really any substance including objects. Per my understanding a baseball bat, for example, doesn't have PD or ED so adding Armor doesn't really do anything, but I'm still learning the rules so maybe I'm confused there.

 

As for the walking on air ability. I meant that he had to concentrate on the power and it doesn't always work. Kind of like when Shadowcat was learning how to walk on air, that's the stage he would be at. So I'm thinking increased endurance instead of a distance or time limitation, because he could keep it up, but it's tiring.

 

Clear as mud or did I just make it worse?

[Killer Shrike]

Inanimate Objects have DEF

 

DEF= Armor with Equal PD + Equal ED for all intents and purposes. So a DEF 5 object has 5 resistant Defense vs PD and ED, just like someone with Armor 5/5

 

However, for what you are talking about there are several ways to do it.

 

Transform will work, but is permanent and generally takes longer to pull off unless youve got a good number of dice because you have to get double the BODY of the object.

 

Making weapons out of objects is basically just HA or HKA with OIF: Object of Opportunity.

 

 

You could also do this as a small VPP for objects changed into something else.

 

An Aid to DEF would probably work too, though Ive never actually seen that done on a character. Every three points of AID effect = 1 DEF.

[Tae Kwon Dan]

Hmm, so Armor or Force Field usable on others would probably work. Doesn't Transfrom have a fades over time limitation that I could add to it if I decide to got that route? Of course that would be more expensive most likely so I'm thinking the former is better.

[Vondy]

Originally posted by Tae Kwon Dan

Hmm, so Armor or Force Field usable on others would probably work. Doesn't Transfrom have a fades over time limitation that I could add to it if I decide to got that route? Of course that would be more expensive most likely so I'm thinking the former is better.

 

I think transforms have to be built with some mode of dispel, which has to be approved by the GM at design time (not always a period of time, though that could work). I don't have my FRED in the office so I can't say for certain.

 

An oddball route would be a summon where you summon the object in question (paying the points as base cost) with limitations that define the powers behavior. I don't know whether I like this idea or not (I'm brainstorming), but I'm throwing it out there as a cheap way to produce temporary equipment (summoned item replaces extant item for duration).

 

Armor and Force Field UAO works, but limits the effects to "hardening matter." What if you wanted to produce some other effect?

 

It seems like transform is the most true to definition and flexible option. If not the cheapness.

 

A VPP is a good way of handling matter manipulation, but some GMs are anti VPP, and players who aren't pros at running them can slow play.

[Tae Kwon Dan]

VPP is out right now since we're all new, but in the long run that might be best especially if I stick with my thought of letting everybody redesign their characters after a few months of play.

[Killer Shrike]

There is a digital hero article by Steve Long that is IIRC a custom power to Create Object or something similar.

 

However, for newbie players, I would recommend sticking to the basic rules.

 

 

Heres a good point to share a little piece of information however -- if you try too hard to model the "exact right way" to do something in the HERO System you'll surely go insane. Its a proven fact; several scientists in Helsinki are doing a study on it as we speak.

 

So, lest you abandon your sanity, I would suggest doing this:

 

For each character write down a list of broadstroked ideas of what that character should be able to do, in general. Dont get too specific at this point. Some people like to start with a picture first and then stat the picture, but the basic idea is the same.

 

Look for a common theme.

 

Pick out 1 or 2 abilities that should be the character's main focus.

 

Eyeball the list to see if any Power Frameworks seem suitable for given clumps of abilities.

 

Design a character to fit the wish list, starting from the focus 1st, and filling in the other abilities until you run out of points.

 

Twiddle points around until the character "works" for you.

 

When you hit a weird power like this one that doesnt fall nicely into one of the existing basic powers, allocate some points to it and move on, coming back to it later to fill in the details. I.e., ask yourself how many points is having that ability worth to your character, set them aside, and move on to the next ability.

 

Otherwise you might get hung up on 1 ability, spend too much time or points or both on it, and get frustrated with the character.

[dugfromthearth]

for walking on air:

 

use Requires Skill Roll or Activation limitations

 

RSR means you need a skill like meditate, acrobatics, etc to use a power. You buy a 3pt skill and can raise it with skill levels and such.

 

Activation is the simple way of doing it. You just define what you need to roll to make it work. You can say it is "meditating" or "how good they are with the power" but you don't buy a 3pt skill, you just use the roll. Much easier to use but lacks some of the flavor.

[Tae Kwon Dan]

Shrike, thus far you have been my savior on good advice. I saved a copy of your response and sent it to my future PC's.

[Doc Democracy]

Re: Power building help

 

Originally posted by Tae Kwon Dan

1. The ability to make inanimate objects harder\tougher. e.g. turn someone's clothing into armor.

 

So here are my thoughts:

 

1. At first I had thought about using Aid to add to the DEF or Body of an object, but I'm thinking this is really a Transform ability. You turn someone's clothing into armor or you make a baseball bat effectively a lead pipe.

 

I just thought I'd add something to what people have already said.

 

When you first come to Hero it can be difficult to get into the mindset of how the toolbox works. It is easy to get caught up in the names of the effects in the toolbox rather than their game effects.

 

You moved away from the aid to DEF because it didn't seem to fit the 'transformation' style of the power. But, the power as initially described was exactly that - increasing the DEF of inanimate objects. The transformation of a baseball bat to a lead pipe would be the special effect of the power - people would notice that a power had been used and the object would be tougher than it originally was.

 

I still have problems with this sometimes when the name of the effect in the book keeps me locked in with what I wanted. My biggest triumph with this was constructing a character whose powers were based on making duplicates of herself without ever using the duplication effect described in the book.