Mentor

Armor and Damage Resistance are commonly used non END using powers players often request in ECs. Ultimately buying a Force Field down to 0 END costs the same but the concept must be reasonable as must the special effect. Armor and Damage Resistance then become expensive but don't go down when the PC is stunned. Too useful to allow in an EC 90% of the time.

Pak Protectors are something I have toyed with but I have had a hard time making him particularly impressive in a world populated by Bricks and Energy Projectors, but who wants to let a player run a Pak in a 150pt Star Hero game where he really stands out? Definitely 250pts and maybe 350.

Michelob Ultra is desperation Atkins brew so I second the second.

Re: Re: Question I had forgotten about the first attack being a miss, but that's the great thing about having lots of phases to act in a turn. As tough a fight as any character of mine has ever been involved. Give major kudos to Blackjack for faking us out so smoothly as we thought we were going to clean up a lone villain and some agent types on the fishing trawler and Mentalla drains three points of Prodigy's Ego away. It went South from there when Scorpia, Durak, and Ultrasonique pop in. We just knew that we would be doing the "Escape From Fiacho's Death Trap" scenario until we won by the skin of our teeth.

Re: Question His martial artist character is also the team speedster with lots of running and a long inherent leap. Beleive it or not she did a move through. My mentalist PC, Prodigy had just finished mentally paralyzing Durak who had just KOd our teleporting demi brick. Our Energy Projector, Thunderbird, had just been Ego Blasted into nighty nite land by Mentalla, and the Olympic medalist (even before she was super) acrobatics martial speedster Z'lf did a move through two "inches" in the air over the cargo hold of the ship and lands with her hands in the air looking for the judges' scores. It was incredible to behold.

Re: Tre That's the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., Christian minister.

Agreed. It far easier to GM after you played in a few (hopefully well run) games. You learn what works and what doesn't as well as expanding your list of possible players.

Re: Talk to him? Yeah, let them face the real world consequences.

How about replacing with new Disad the old Disad the player refuses to adhere to. If he ignores Code vs. Killing, the he picks up Psych. Lim: Hesitates to Attack or Psych Lim: Berserk and you the GM roll the dice and enforce the result. A few game of getting cold cocked because he lost an attack phase or beating up the bystander, and the recalcitrant player might elect to play the Code vs Killing properly. Our games players are excellent roleplayers and so self policing when it comes to adherence to character concept that we never seem to run into these kinds of abuses. Our game is an "invitational", so the rogues we have gamed with previously don't get invited to the Europa 2000 campaign.

Sounds like you're on the right track. Real Armor is a limitation, so it is reasonable for that limitation to be a reduction or elimination from the effects of falling damage. I always try to remember the special effect, as well. As D Man posts, the SFX of padded or leather armor should mitigate the result without needing a rule change or an arguement. You are just using common sense.

Great effect. I think you have the cost about right. I intend to try it out at any rate. You really are a Game Guru.

What about a non super with multiple personalities. The team mentalist would never be able to focus in on a specific mystery buster so real detective work and role playing are the only way to catch this guy. I like occasional scenarios where the team Brick can't bash the city down to find the perp or EP can't zap his way to the solution.

Re: Obnoxious Player Moves I would have just told the player "No". There are PD values on the villain costumes nor UNTIL write ups of "characteristics" Tell 'em what they perceive and go from there.

So what? We are gamers after all.

D-Man, you have in my opinion hit the heart of the debate. I want to be as consistent as possible to the rules and capability progressions as anybody, but when the intangibles like special effect or rubber science come in to play, I am OK with the fact that it is not possible to perfectly quantify. Our campaign is able to excel in fun, playability, and balance using the rules as written. FAQs and addenda are use at our discretion as applicable to concept. To those who demand the "absolute authority" concept, no "Stop sign powers" or "GM discretion powers" would be used by anyone. How boring. This discussion is more controversial thatn political forums.

Exactly. Are we going to get rid of the game because Steve Long can't give you the physics model on the electromagnetic properties of a force field? The physical damage to a character with Speed 6 flying 20" a phase noncombat? We are on this forum in the first place because Hero System has given as much versatility in power design as any system devised. I have tried most of the others. To be "official", the common sense rule to offset mathematical inconsistencies in what is already a totally fictional genre is part of FRED's "official" language, too. Give the designers some credit for knowing that they are not perfect. Trebuchet has this one right.

Concept, concept, concept. The PC has to have an overriding conceptual reason to allow his 10 klick leaps other than "its in the rules". Is there anything in his origins or power origin that would make this ability reasonable?

Re: Check this out Ben, I just lost a half hour zooming back and forth. Great site. Thanks.

Stupid double post!

Yah. World saving is tough enough for Superheroes without making it fragile.

I agree. Those were some really off the wall omissions of both heroes and Artists/writers. No Phoenix or Byrne seems incredible.

Character concept cannot be forgotten. I have one PC who is a Power Armor/billionair/Air Force type. He had already "killed" 4 enemy fighters and presumably their pilots before his hero creer started. In Power Armor, some times the force is deadly on both sides. His only kill in his super career days was throwing a homicidal Wizard into the Nexus to Hell he had openned, destroying both the Wizard and the spell. My Psychic character is an 880 year old former founder of the Knights Templar who after three or four Crusades, completely renounced killing under any and all circumstances. He will do things to the minds of villains that might send shivers up Dr D's spine, but he will not use deadly force deliberately. As other posters have written, it just depends.

Re: Graduated Figured Characteristics I guess I fall into the never had a problem with the figured CHA category. On the other hand, your formula has those who want every CHA point to a a fair and even value covered. In our campaign, we have plenty of conventions that precede and/or are a tad different from the FRED strictures so I'm no system purist. I would have no trouble with a PC designed to your system. I don't mean to sound apathetic, but we handpicked the players in our campaign for roleplaying ability and maturity. The average age of the players is Mid 30s (including my 13 year old son) so you get the idea.

I agree. It is a good GMs job to challenge the desolid character without hosing him. Use of the special effect that affects the individual desolid character should happen occasionally, not every game. Same with mentalists, etc. Likewise, no munchkin PC abilities. It all comes back to trust on the part of both the GM and player that neither will design a PC/NPC just to screw the game over.

Given that most mental powers are invisible, how does that happen? Do the mentalists all have a big M on their costume. My mentalist is not that easy to pick out and if you spot him, there is a good cahnce that its because you are obeying a telepathic command:D Seriously, tactics should dictate how a mentalist keeps from being an obvious first target every time.