I'm find myself running a Hero Game/Champions

[Heimdallsgothi]

I'm a fantasy guy, I run the occasional Star Wars, Traveller or even Shadowrun. But Fantasy is my Genre. I haven't run supers since Faserip in Jr. High.

To make things even better,  I have less than 2 weeks to pull it off.

 

So I settle on Near Earth, current era, mixing in Post-Apoc elements with my story line. It's based on the Inhumans. Aliens mess with the human DNA, mixing in alien elements and poof, The Altered are born.

 

This is what the players know

 

"In January, a large comet was sighted and tracked as it headed towards the sun.. Initial estimates placed the path well away from earth, but next few months showed the trajectory was erratic, and the path was recalculated several times. The comet was large enough to be an extinction level event, and would cross close to the earth orbit on its way to the sun, where it was expected to impact. 

 

On December 18th, the comet appeared to start breaking up, with several smaller pieces became visible

 

On December 19th, as the comet was passing the earth orbit it detonated. A piercing white light, brighter than the moon, and easily visible to the naked eye at noon was visible for several hours before it dissipated.

 

On December 21st, Earth passed through the debris field of the comet, the meteor showers lasted for 2 days.

 

People began falling ill that morning.

 

Things got strange after that. "

 

 

Im sticking with the 400/60 standard supers guidelines, "natural powers only for now", meaning no super science/power suits etc.

60pt active cost limit.

 

Players will be Starting a few months after the events...

[Durzan Malakim]

Sounds like a promising game. If you're still looking for plot inspiration, here are several stories where powers come from an alien-origin.

• Raising Stars:
  A comet grants 113 people powers to uplift their world and eventually continue the cycle on another world. Whenever someone with powers dies, that power goes to the nearest person with powers.

• The Second Ship (The Rho Agenda):
  Two alien ships crash on earth and their tech transforms people giving them powers. Each faction has its own technology, power set, and agenda.

• The Reckoners:
  An alien grants people powers that corrupts them and makes them villains. Only by facing their fears/nightmares can they resist the corruption.

[Tasha]

oh 400 pt characters. 60pt maxima. The averages should be then DC10, Def 20 (10rDef). DC 10 allows for +1/4 Advantage on a power (62active). 

What are the campaign averages for Dex, Combat Value (OCV/DCV), and SPD.

IMHO setting Campaign Averages gives players a better idea about powerlevels than maximums. 

[eepjr24]

Also take a look at Wildcards. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Cards

[TheQuestionMan]

Marvel's New Universe "the White Event"

 

Post-Apocalypse? - What elements? Any Comic Book references the PC's(We) should read?

 

Meta-Plot? - Was the Comet Intentional or an accident? Did any of the "Altered" become "Avatars" of the Alien DNA? What does Science and Technology know?

 

Comet fragments act like Kryptonite on the Altered?

 

The Next Wave? Another Comet?

[Doc Democracy]

check out the UK TV series Misfits, much lower power level but a great view on normal folk suddenly granted random powers...

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/misfits

[Tasha]

Marvel's New Universe "the White Event"

 

Post-Apocalypse? - What elements? Any Comic Book references the PC's(We) should read?

 

Meta-Plot? - Was the Comet Intentional or an accident? Did any of the "Altered" become "Avatars" of the Alien DNA? What does Science and Technology know?

 

Comet fragments act like Kryptonite on the Altered?

 

The Next Wave? Another Comet?

 

Heck,remember that the earth will pass though the debris field of a comet's tail annually. So for a week each year, there could be more power breakouts as earth passes though the comets debris/tail.

[eepjr24]

Heck,remember that the earth will pass though the debris field of a comet's tail annually. So for a week each year, there could be more power breakouts as earth passes though the comets debris/tail.

Plus even if you don't get new ones I am betting there will be widespread panic at least on the first anniversary. Awesome time for those with ill intentions to be making mischief.

 

- E

[Heimdallsgothi]

oh 400 pt characters. 60pt maxima. The averages should be then DC10, Def 20 (10rDef). DC 10 allows for +1/4 Advantage on a power (62active). 

 

What are the campaign averages for Dex, Combat Value (OCV/DCV), and SPD.

 

IMHO setting Campaign Averages gives players a better idea about powerlevels than maximums. 

While I have owned Hero for several years, I've never actually managed to run the game. I've always liked the idea of a universal system I could use for everthing, the sheer amount of information and material can be daunting. 

400/60 active was from the book, I couldnt tell you what the difference between a 40pt active cap and a 60 is. All the averages and what not are mentioned but if it's ever clearly defined somewhere I have yet to find it. We plan on making characters in early june

[Heimdallsgothi]

Also take a look at Wildcards. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Cards

neat, I'll have to see if i can pick up some books

 

My general concept is it wasn't a comet, but an ancient device which triggers life explosions after extenction events on earth, it was expecting one to have occured, but didn't. The device had been interefered with, the event was set to alter the human dna.

 

The first general ideas are the blending of human/animal dna making way for werewolf types, as well as enhanced/animal senses, speed of the cheetah etc, atavistic powers. If you take animalistic powers, you also end up looking partially animalistic?

 

Toss in some of the Altered which gain mental powers such as telepathy, telekenisis etc, but still look normal

 

Im still considering options

[Midnightninja]

Are you seeking advice on game mechanics, plot/setting ideas, or both? Which books are you using? How familiar with the system are your players?

 

Tasha has posted a topic about how she makes her characters (Found here: http://www.herogames.com/forums/topic/76564-my-character-building-technique-how-to-build-hero-system-characters/), which helped me understand the system as a whole, and how to make balanced fun characters in particular.

 

There's also a topic with a long list of useful links (found here:http://www.herogames.com/forums/topic/89826-the-big-thread-of-helpful-howtos/?hl=%2Bhelpful+%2Blinks) that might have some useful information.

 

I'm new to the forums- which I why I can't search the forums for those links I mentioned - so this post might be redundant once it gets through moderation, but I'll see if I can help you understand active points.

 

Active points are a rough guideline for how effective a given power is. Active points are determined by the base cost of a power and the advantages a power has. Active point cost = Base cost x (1 + total value of all advantages)

 

Let's look at a normal blast, a 4m AoE blast, and a blast that does double knockback 

 

Blast I 12d6 (60 Active Points) The base cost for 1d6 of Blast is 5 points. Your active point limit is set at 60, so a 12d6 (5 x 12 = 60) blast with no advantages is the maximum blast one of you players could have for their character. 

 

These next 2 are over the active point limit because they took the base cost of the original unmodified blast and added an advantage to it.

 

Blast II 12d6, Area Of Effect (4m Radius; +1/4) (75 Active Points) 

 

Blast III 12d6, Double Knockback (+1/2) (90 Active Points)

 

Remember, Active point cost = Base cost x (1 + total value of all advantages). 

 

Active points of Blast II = Base cost (60) x (1 + 1/4 (The value of the "4m radius AoE" advantage)) 60 x (1.25) = 75

 

Active Points of Blast III = Base cost (60) x (1 + 1/2 (The value of the "Double Knockback" advantage)) 60 x (1.5) = 90

 

Let's say your player still wants and an AoE and a Double Knockback Blast. Being the awesome GM that you are you say, "Sure, but you'll need to tone down the damage they do."

 

Starting with Blast II, you lower the base cost to 50 Points (A 10d6 Blast). Without changing the AoE advantage the power's active points are now =  Base cost (50) x (1 + 1/4 (The value of the "4m radius AoE" advantage)) 50 x (1.25) = 62.5 Active Points (rounded to 62). 

 

This is an example of what Tasha was saying here:

 

snip... 60pt maxima. The averages should be then DC10.... DC 10 allows for +1/4 Advantage on a power (62 active). 

Snip 

 

Your player says, "But that's above the Active point cap!" You say, "I'm an awesome GM, 2.5 points isn't a big deal. But don't expect me to be this lenient with everything."

 

Now let's modify Blast III

 

You lower the base cost of Blast III to 40 points (an 8d6 blast). The power's active points are now =  Base cost (40) x (1 + 1/2 (The value of the "Dobule Knockback" advantage)) 40 x (1.5) = 60 Active Points.

 

The AoE advantage allows a character to attack more than one enemy simultaneously while targeting a much lower DCV. Basically, 10d6 hitting more consistently is valued similarly to 12d6 aimed at a single target.

 

The Double Knockback advantage has a higher chance of causing an enemy to get knocked back, which can cause the enemy to collide with other enemies or into walls, and also may leave the enemy prone, making them an easier target for allies or causing that enemy to use a half phase action one their next phase. Because of that, 8d6 potentially causing mayhem among your enemies' ranks is valued similiarly (in this case, exactly) to 12d6 aimed at a single target

 

I hope all this rambling helped. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask. I've found this forum to be very friendly most of the time.

Edited May 28, 2016 by Midnightninja

[Heimdallsgothi]

Well we are getting closer to the character creation

But really knowing how active cap fits with defenses/damage levels etc is still fairly vague
Im hoping the game in actual play works out the kinks

hopes are high at this point to see how the game works in actual play

[Netzilla]

Active Points, Damage Class and Defense levels are three different things.

 

Active Points applies to all powers.

Damage Class only applies to attacks.

Defense levels only apply to defenses.

 

Your build would be limited by whichever applies.  So, if your Damage Class limit is 12 DC but your Active Point limit is 75 points, you would look at both when building an attack.  A 15d6 Blast is 75 AP, so fits under the AP cap.  Unfortunately, it's also 15 DCs, so it violates the DC limit. 

 

The reason they are considered separately is because while all Advantages count towards AP limits, they don't count towards DC.  For example, a 12d6 Blast with Half Endurance (+1/4) comes in at 75 Active Points, but is still only 12 DCs.  On the other hand, a 12d6 Blast with Autofire 3 (+1/4) would be both 75 Active Points and 15 DCs.

[Heimdallsgothi]

we survived character creation!

 

I'll be posting the pdf's so perhaps we can get these new players characters cleaned up a bit later today