Snarf

Single Command is more commonly called Set Effect. As Ndreare suggested, this would normally be worth -1, as the -1/2 level would allow you to inflict a whole class of effects. So, you can save a few points there. I think I understand enough to attempt a write up now. Here's a couple ways you could lower the cost. I don't think the AVLD is necessary. The level you bought is for making a normal attack like EB, RKA, or whatever apply against a less common defense, like mental defense or flash defense. Mind Control is already only resisted by mental defense and unusual stuff, so you might want No Normal Defense or nothing at all instead. AOE radius is pretty expensive. I would drop it if you think the sleep spell is getting too powerful. I don't think you need trigger, if you have to cast a spell. It would normally mean that the ability takes effect when the trigger condition occurs, without you needing to do anything at all, but you have to stop and cast a spell. The fact that they have to go sleep for the power to affect them could be some sort of limitation instead. I think I would do it by increasing the limitation of the set effect from only "go to sleep" at -1 to only "stay asleep" for -2 or maybe as some kind of delayed onset effect. If you want to lower the cost even more, it's common to have some sort of required skill roll like RSR: Magic Skill, but that would depend on the campaign. I think you need to drastically increase the base power of the ability to achieve an effect like sleep. With 3d6 average effect roll would be around nine or ten, but you would probably need to roll their EGO + 30 to achieve an incapacitating effect like sleep. Maybe it could be less, since you're only trying to make them continue sleeping, which would be more like something they were already inclined to do. Also, I think you're probably looking for the advantage Continuous instead of Continuing Charges. Check out 5'th edition p. 81 for how Continuous affects mental powers. This still needs some work but it might give you some ideas... Deep Sleep: Mind Control 12d6, (AP 60); Extra Time: Full Phase (-1/2), Gestures (-1/4), Incantation (-1/4), Set Effect: Stay Asleep (-2), (RC 15) Edit: Here's some other versions: Deep Sleep: Mind Control 12d6, Continuous (+1) (AP 120); Extra Time: Full Phase (-1/2), Gestures (-1/4), Incantation (-1/4), Set Effect: Stay Asleep (-2), Mandatory Effect: EGO +30 (-3/4), (RC 25) If you think that the sleep effect only requires EGO + 20 to work: Deep Sleep: Mind Control 10d6, Continuous (+1) (AP 100); Extra Time: Full Phase (-1/2), Gestures (-1/4), Incantation (-1/4), Set Effect: Stay Asleep (-2), Mandatory Effect: EGO + 20 (-1/2), (RC 27)

Make the reversal condition be the passage of one week. Would that be major transform?

Re: Sleep Spell I did a sleep power as mind control with a -1 set effect. If you want the power to be reliable, mind control isn't so great, unless you build it so powerful that almost nobody can make their breakout roll.

In Toon, the sample plots were pretty elaborate. I suppose, even more involved than most cartoon shorts. I can recall one about a haunted house and another about being in the toon olympics. I don't know about playing a whole cartoony game, but you could use hero to simulate cartoony things for other genres. Like a super hero that had cartoon like powers or something.

Check out the book Firestarter for some great examples of that. When you feel your shoes heating up, run!

I hadn't really thought about it much before, but I suppose things that only have focus and not real weapon have implied bonuses. You never have to maintain them and so on.

Gah, you're right. Uncontrolled Activation would just mean you have no control at all. Okay, halve the value of Uncontrolled Activation for Unpredictable Activation. Sometimes you control it, sometimes you don't. There we go, -1/2! ehh nevermind, I guess I have nothing useful to say about price. I was going to make it work just like how it does in GURPS: during moments of stress, such as dangerous combat or if something triggers a phobia, the power will activate unless the player makes an EGO roll with appropriate penalties. Exactly what happens would be determined by the situation and what caused the stress. BTW, the disadvantage was worth -30% in GURPS. I'm not too sure how that would translate.

I've been thinking about doing something like this. There's a disadvantage called uncontrolled in GURPS that's exactly like what you're describing. I used it a lot in a campaign I want to port over to Hero. I think this is close enough to No Conscious Control where you can derive an estimate of the cost. For -2, you have the full No Conscious Control, where you cannot control the power's activation or effect. For -1, you can control the power's activation but not it's effect. There was no name for this but I'd call it Uncontrolled Effect. So, here's where the house rules begin. Take the difference, and for -1 you could control a power's effect but not it's activation. I'll call this Uncontrolled Activation.

Real weapon means the weapon can't do things that it has the power to do but wouldn't make logical sense. For example, a real knife couldn't break down a brick wall, no matter how sharp it is.

Maybe it's now supposed to simulate adventure fiction instead of reality. It's common to see some movie where a dozen machine guns are unloaded without effect. Machine guns end up being about as accurate as pistols, except when it comes to wiping out a horde of nameless stuntmen.

I agree that the real armor limitation handles the problem. Usually, I lump all considerations of realism, including those not specifically mentioned in the rules, into the real weapon and real armor limitations. If it's not real, it works exactly how the rules read, but if it is, it behaves as you would expect from using common sense. I consider barehanded attacks and defenses "real" in most campaign worlds.

He's a bit old, but if those 40 somethings on Beverly Hills 90210 could play teenagers, so can he. New techniques from episode 18! The unzipping the pants thing is called the Melancholy of Elise. And the secret defense against the Sexy Commando is closing your eyes, but you'll probably lose the fight anyway, since you're blind.

That's what I would normally do, but the ability isn't inherent to the characters and it's possible not everyone may have it, so I'll have to do it the hard way. I'm willing to create a house rules, but the ability has to somehow be priced fairly. I'm considering just charging 20 points for it, like those other universal type abilities on global guardians. That sounds like a significant investment. I guess if I had to build it, it would be something like detect: how to use weapon.

Weapon element is required for using weapons with martial maneuvers, unless it is the default for the style. In heroic campaigns, a character can only buy weapon elements for weapons he has a familiarity with. So the 9 point ability is crippled in heroic campaigns, if that character wants to use weapon elements. To me, it seems fair that it's a rather limited ability, since it's awfully cheap. This doesn't affect my campaign at first, since everyone will be using kung-fu or plain weapon strikes. But it may eventually cause a problem if players decide to start improving their martial arts abilities. I'll need some sort of backup if that happens. I like this multipower, but I want an ability that would let them use absolutely any weapon, like machine guns, ray guns, nets, boomerangs, paste blasters, baldness bombs, or whatever. Maybe it should be a VPP.

That's what Hermione would have.

The way it works in the show, the presence effect is actually instantly there and gone, always set at overpowering no matter what is done, and only usable in certain ways anyway, so it's inadvertently appropriate to represent it with limitations on presence. Don't worry about realism, simplicity and zaniness is enough for this campaign. I like your idea about turning the "non-standard" effect roll, but it involves more subjectivity as to what I think is wierd or funny than the On or Off style limitation I originally had in mind. I'll talk to the players and see how they feel about it. I'll probably offer it as a (+0) type optional power modifier. You, sir, are a true master of the Sexy Commando. Please do not use this awesome power for evil!

Say what? Uh oh... Could you point out the page and paragraph number where these rules are?

I know it's cheesy but sometimes it's useful anyway if you want to allow a powerful ability that fits a character concept. For example, I offered a similar ability to a robot character to represent his ability to download and store a certain amount of knowledge skills. Allowing stuff like this changes a campaign but sometimes you'll want it to change in certain ways.

I want the characters in this campaign to be able to pick up and use anything, including guns, since I've got MATRIX FEVER. The main reason I chose penalty skill levels is because it feels simplest and closest to the correct SFX to me. What I want to do is cancel out a specific penalty. Also, forget about universal weapon elements, I think I'd rather have everyone buy weapon elements the normal way. I feel like VPPs are a last resort, and avoidible this time. I would use the VPP method in a future game where I need more flexibility, but I would probably require a minimum investment of at least 15 or 20 points.

Ah, just buy it the other, cheaper way then. Mutant Healing Factor or Whatever!: 3d6 Healing (regeneration, 3 BODY per turn), (AP 30). plus 3 REC, (AP 6), Linked (-1/2), (RC 4). Total Cost: 34

I think Daryl's suggestion of mixing vehicle/automaton and summon rules together to have them split the cost could work. First, create the base summon with a vehicle style point cost, 1 point for each character point in the summon, if it's value exceeds that of the highest number of character points possessed by any of the characters (it sounds like it does). Then, apply whatever advantages and limitations it needs for loyalty level and procedures for creation. Then, give everyone a multipower with all their powers in one slot and their portion of the summon in another. You have to bend the rules a couple dozen times but it functions simply and seems balanced to me.

I don't think anyone would even consider buying a weapon familiarity for the normal 2 or 3 point cost if they could get all of them plus weapon elements for 5 points. But really, if anything, you haven't gone far enough: Do Pretty Much Anything: 13 pt. VPP, 6 pt. Control Cost, Cosmic (+2), (AP 31); Only For Skills (-1/4), (RC 25). Bump the reserve up to 23, if you want to do hard stuff.

I was asking a friend about this a few weeks ago. He thought the only balanced way to do a merge would be to have one guy buy the ability at full power and then heavily limit it so others had to contribute their powers and make a teamwork roll to get the full effect. This may not work for you since it looks like there is no clear leader in the summoning.

Well the FReD describes regeneration as being priced in the following way. First, apply the standard effect rule to healing body. Second, the advantages Reduced END (0 END, +1/2), Persistent (+1/2). Third, use the limitations Self Only (-1/2), and Extra Time (1 Turn, -1). You can keep almost all of that but and have the power function identically to regeneration, except apply the standard effect to stun healing. I think the result of all this is that power would be legal and always heal 3 Stun a turn. If you want to heal less than 3 stun a turn or some other amount not divisible by 3, then you could buy 1/3 of a die for 3 char points (1 stun per turn w/ standard effect) or 2/3 for 7 char points. Buying up linked recovery is way cheaper though ...

Reminds me of Nobilis. You could even try being really precise in the number of luck points you award. Perhaps there could even be a table like this: -1/4 or 5 pt disadv: 1/2 Luck Point -1/2 or 10 pt disadv: 1 Luck Point etc. But it sounds like you're not basing the point awards on the disadvantage values, so much as the actual difficulty the character experienced in that particular scene, so maybe something like this would be good: Power loses about 1/3 of it's effectiveness or Limitation impairs slightly: 1 point Power loses about 1/2 of it's effectiveness or Limitation impairs greatly: 2 point Power loses almost all of it's effectivenss or Limitation impairs fully: 3 point