rjd59

FWIW, though I've converted a number of characters from 5ED to 6ED since the books came out, I've only recently started actually running in 6ED (like, last month).  My players had equated meters with inches when drawing up their characters, whereas I had created the villains with the distance difference in mind.  And the villains were practically running rings around the PCs, movement-wise.  I've used a 1" (2m) hex map for decades, and figured to just halve all the distances for movement and range mods.  When a later battle was in a smaller space and I drew the map at 1m hexes, it went better.  However, I don't see any outdoor battle map working well with 1m hexes.  Not sure how I'm going to resove it all. 
 
I hope you're not irritated with the rest of my feedback.  My intention is to be constructive, not nitpicky.

As far as the writeups are concerned, some constructive feedback. 
 
First, a few general notes:  I've noticed that a lot of 6ED conversions keep the original DEX, OCV, and DCV in their original lock-step.  Also, a fair number of 4ED and 5ED characters had higher-than-necessary DEX's, most likely simply because it was more cost-effective.  I'd take advantage of 6ED's greater granularity and break them out a bit. 
 
For example, Death Commando originally had DEX 23, OCV 8, DCV 8.  I'd have made him 18 DEX (for -12 points), then add +1 with Breakfall, Climbing, and Stealth (+3 points), Lightning Reflexes +5 DEX with All Actions (+5 points).  Put the 4 points saved into +1 DC with his Commando Training.
 
Also, it seems like your conversions equate Movement meters with the former "inches" (where 1" = 2m).  If the original character had +10" Running, to remain the same the 6ED character would need +20m Running.
 
Now, on with specific character feedback.
 
Death Commando - note that the 4th edition character is 393 points, which for 6th edition would probably translate into about 450 points, so I realize a 400-point version would need considerable power reduction.  Personally, since DC was much more powerful than his teammates, I'd have bitten the bullet and made him 450 points.  Which would mean boosting his Running, Flight, armor, and other things.
If extra PRE is defense only, his PRE attack should still be 2d6.  But honestly, I'd have dropped the limitation and made him a straight 20 PRE, for both attack and defense purposes.  His background and personality would justify a higher PRE. I don't see why you have Reduced by Range on his SMG, except to shave off a few points. I'd have added Range Limited by STR limitation to the smoke grenades. UNTIL and VIPER Hunteds should include NCI.  I'd use the extra points to ditch the DNPC sister (getting the other 5 points from another d6 of Unluck).  She's never mentioned in any of the character writeup, and seems to me to be one of those "oh, crap, we need 15 more points" kind of Disads. Shockwave
I'd have made his Shockwave attack an Area of Effect 50m Radius Explosion (+3/4), Personal Immunity (+1/4) on up to 40 STR, Only vs. Targets on the Ground (-1/4).  If I'm correct, that should drop by 1d6 per 6m, and only cost 32 points.  If you want to boost it to 9d6 in the center area, that would be a 56m Radius Explosion (still +3/4) on up to 45 STR, and cost 36 points. The original character had 28 PD (of which 15 was Resistant), 24 ED (of which 15 was Resistant).  The 6ED conversion has Always On (is that really a limitation on defenses?) and Only Works on Common Attacks (???), and boosted the total defenses considerably beyond the original 28 PD, 24 ED.  Better IMO to just buy Resistant (+1/2) on 15 PD, 15 ED of his original PD/ED.  Or Resistant (+1/2) and Hardened (+1/4) on 10 PD, 10 ED.  Saves points, and is more in line with the original character's defenses. I like that you gave him actual skills, but he should still have KS: Organized Crime. All Mental Powers would be a group of Uncommon attacks, so that Vulnerability should be 20 points.  I'd keep that, and drop the Watched and the Unluck. Stinger
I think you read the 4ED version's 70 STR Clinging as +70 STR.  It should only be 70 STR, not 110 STR, saving 11 points. Use those points to restore his Gliding, which is notably absent from the 6ED version. The 4ED version's HKA was from hard, bony fingers, not poison.  I'd drop his HKA to a more appropriate level (say 2d6+1, or 4.5d6 w/ STR), and turn his Blast into a smaller, Constant, Uncontrolled NND poison (defense is HKA does no BODY or has appropriate LS vs. insect poisons). Vulnerability -- 2x STUN from Common attack = 20 points, 1 1/2xBODY from Common = 10 points.  However, I'd say poisons and chemical attacks are Uncommon, so these should total out to 15 points (10 + 5).  To make up the 5 lost points, I'd increase the Enraged to 11-. Scatterbrain
The 4ED version had 26 EGO, which seems done mainly to get the 9 ECV.  No real benefit for that over, say, 23 EGO.  I'd drop EGO to 23 and increase OMCV by 1. +4 with Mind Control would cost 8 points, not 4, so that should probably be +2 w/ Mind Control.  I'd drop both CSLs and put the points toward OMCV. Again, not seeing how Always On is a valid limitation on Mental Defense.  If she was on a team of mentalists, I'd maybe allow a -1/4 limitation on it, but even that's doubtful.  The original character didn't have any Mental Defense, but I like the idea of "scatterbrain" being more than just her name; perhaps her mind scatters mental attacks against her, so I approve of adding some sort of mental defenses.  That said, I'd drop Mental Defense from the writeup entirely, and add Damage Reduction (50% Mental) as her actual "mental defense".  With a 23 (or 26) EGO, that should keep most Mental Illusions, Mind Controls, and Mind Scans from having appreciable effect on her, and take the bite off most Mental Blasts. The 4ED version's Force Field cost END (actually, it cost 4x END!), so it would be appropriate to have this one's Force Field cost at least normal END.  Put the points saved into boosting her DCV, OMCV, and DMCV. If you're going with Very Common for Punches (I happen to agree), then 1 1/2 x STUN and BODY Vulnerability would be 30 points, not 15.  I'd ditch the Hunted by mom, Unluck, and Vain.

Hello All,
Been really busy lately with life stuff, but figured I'd post these seeing I've had them done for awhile now. Here's Freedom Squad from "Champions Universe 4th, updated in my fashion to 6th.  Hope you enjoy!
 
American Eagle
Steve Hall
 
VAL    CHA   Cost    Roll     Notes
20        STR    10        13-      HTH Damage 4d6  END [2]
24        DEX    28        14-
28        CON   18        15-
13        INT      3          12-      PER Roll 12-
14        EGO   4          12-
20        PRE    10        13-      PRE Attack: 4d6
8          OCV   25
8          DCV   25
5          OMCV            6
5          DMCV            6
5          SPD    30        Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
8          PD      6          8/14 PD (0/6 rPD)
5          ED      3          5/11 ED (0/6 rED)
12        REC   8
56        END   8
13        BODY 3         
43        STUN 12
 
Movement     Cost    Meters            Notes
RUNNING     0          12m/24m        END [1]
SWIMMING   0          4m/8m            END [1]
LEAPING       0          4m       4m forward, 2m upward
FLIGHT                      98m/196m
 
 
 
 
Characteristics Total: 204
 
Cost    Powers
8          BATON:  +4d6 (20 Active Points); OAF (-1), Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2) - END=2
32        WINGS: Multipower, 64-point reserve,  (64 Active Points); OAF (-1) - END=
4f         1)  FLYING: Flight  (not in a vacuum) 34m, Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (42 Active Points) - END=1
3f         2)  GLIDING: Flight 64m (64 Active Points); Gliding (-1) - END=0
2f         3)  DEFLECTION: Missile Deflection (20 Active Points) [Notes: vs. All ranged Attacks] - END=2
              - END=
12        Bulletproof Spandex: Resistant Protection (6 PD/6 ED) (18 Active Points); OIF (-1/2) - END=0
3          MASK: Sight Group Flash Defense (5 points) (5 Active Points); OIF (-1/2) - END=0
 
Powers Total: 64
 
Cost    Martial Arts
20        Commando Training, usable barehanded, Private Adder
3          1)  Akido Throw:  1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +1 DCV, 6d6 +v/5, Target Falls
4          2)  Boxing Cross:  1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +2 DCV, 8d6 Strike
4          3)  Choke:  1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, +0 DCV, Grab One Limb; 3d6 NND
4          4)  Judo Disarm:  1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, +1 DCV, Disarm; 40 STR to Disarm
5          5)  Karate Kick:  1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, +1 DCV, 10d6 Strike
4          6)  Kung Fu Block:  1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +2 DCV, Block, Abort
1          7)  Weapon Element:  Clubs
             
8          +2 HTH Damage Class(es) with Martial Arts
 
Martial Arts Total: 53
 
Cost    Skills
24        +2 Overall
8          +4 with Baton
4          +2 with any use of Wings
             
3          Acrobatics 14-
3          Breakfall 14-
5          CK: Chicago 14-
3          Electronics 12-
3          Mechanics 12-
3          Paramedics 12-
5          Tactics 13-
 
Skills Total: 61
 
Cost    Perks
10        Vehicles & Bases
2          Fringe Benefit:  Local Police Powers
 
Perks Total: 12
 
Cost    Talents
6          Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)
 
Talents Total: 6
 
Value Complications
5          Vulnerability:  1 1/2 x STUN from gas attacks (Uncommon)
15        Psychological Limitation:  Code vs Killing (Common; Strong)
15        Psychological Limitation:  Patriotic (Common; Strong)
10        Reputation:  Patriotic Hero, 11-
15        Hunted:  by VOICE 8- (Mo Pow; NCI; Limited Geographical Area; Harshly Punish)
15        Hunted:  by La Maistre Infrequently (As Pow; NCI; Harshly Punish)
0          Social Complication:  Secret ID: Steve Hall Infrequently, Minor, Not Limiting In Some Cultures
 
Complications Points: 75
 
Base Points: 400
Experience: 0
Experience Unspent: 0
Total Character Cost: 400
 
 
Background: In 1943, Steve Hall was just another kid with stars in his eyes. He supported his country's war effort wholeheartedly, cheered for the American troops, and idolized Chicago's own masked mystery man, the American Eagle. The Eagle got around using an armored glider cape, and Steve figured he could duplicate it. He climbed to the top of the orphanage where he lived and jumped off. Fortunately for Steve, the American Eagle just happened to be passing by on patrol, and saved the lad from certain death. Impressed with Steve's foolhardiness, and because it was what superheroes did back then, the Eagle took him home. After some quick training, and some fast legal work,
 Steve became the Eagle's sidekick Winger. Their relationship had its ups and downs, and Steve
abandoned his identity as Winger in the late 1950's. When his mentor was crippled testing his new invention, actual powered wings, Steve took up the mantle and became the new American Eagle with the perfected wings. he did quite well for the next couple of decades, briefly joining the hero group called the Minutemen. Returning to his home town of Chicago, he met up with the Black Phantom and formed the Freedom Squad.
After the death of Hardhat and Dimension Man, American Eagle stepped down from his long stint as the group's leader. He became more and more withdrawn, blaming
himself for his friends' deaths. After Black Holes' resignation from the team, he received word that his mentor, the original Eagle, had died of a stroke. Suddenly American Eagle felt very old, and agreed with the others to dissolve the team. Currently, Steve is in semi-retirement, concentrating on his historical illustration work, and wondering if he should turn the wings over to a younger man-in 1992 he turned 62, making him one of the oldest active superheroes left.
 
Quote: "E Pluribus Unum. Out of many, one. It doesn't make the many less valid, or the one less important."
 
Personality: Steve is a firm believer in truth, justice and the American way, particularly the American way. On the other hand, he has never allowed himself to become a blind bigot or arrogant in his beliefs. He was heavily influenced by is mentor, who always insisted that you could tell heroes from
criminals by their methods. After the deaths of his fellow Squad members, he has lost much of his self-confidence, and since the death of the original Eagle, he has been cruelly reminded of his own mortality.
 
Powers/Tactics: American Eagle's primary powers come from his wings, which can be used for powered or non- powered flight, and to dodge missile fire by fluttering unpredictably. He also has a baton and armored costume, as well as years of training and experience in combat. While he's in better shape than most men half his age, his lungs are too quick to assimilate gasses.
The Eagle realized early on that knowing your opponent's capabilities and weaknesses is half the battle, so he keeps tabs on all the super-being information that he can get his hands on. He'll than really on his knowledge to arrange battles to his benefit. He likes to move in close to opponents
and give them no chance to get back on balance.
 
Appearance: Steve Hall is a trim man in his early sixties, just under six feet tall. He has powder-blue eyes and white hair in a crew-cut, and plenty of character lines on his face. American Eagle's costume is a blue bodysuit, half-face mask and gloves, with white belt, cuffs and chest emblem in the shape of stylized wings, and red sleeves and boots. his wings are white with light blue highlights and a span of about twelve feet. American Eagle's eyes are covered by one-way white lenses.
 


American Eagle.hdc

I actually run HD6 on both of my machines, a Windows 11 laptop and a MacBook Pro. I never worried about font size on the Mac, since I can read everything fine with the defaults, but it occurred to me this morning that I didn't know if creating a shortcut on the Mac was even possible. It is, so I thought I would share the process in case it is helpful to anyone else.

Press ⌘-{SPACE} to bring up the Spotlight search, find Shortcuts.app, and launch it.
Click Shortcuts->Settings in the Menu bar, select the Advanced tab, check "Allow Running Scripts," then close Settings.
Click the + icon at the top center of the Shortcuts app window to create a new shortcut.
At the top of the new window, type a name for the shortcut, such as "HERO Designer."
In the search box at the top left of the window, type "Run Shell Script," then select it from the list of matches.
Replace the 
echo "Hello World" with
cd ~/HERODesigner java -jar HD6.jar 18 replacing the "~/HERODesigner" with the path to the folder where Hero Designer is stored and the "18" with the desired font size.
The default choices should be fine for the remainder of the options. Close the new shortcut window.
If you wish, you can right click the new shortcut in the main Shortcuts window and change its icon and/or add the shortcut to the dock.
To run the shortcut, click on it in the dock or right click it in the Shortcuts.app and choose Run.

Just like above, it the shortcut doesn't work, the most likely causes are a broken JRE installation or an incorrect folder path.

Thank you Hermit!

It should be noted that Hero wasn't the first point buy system. That would be Steve Jackson's The Fantasy Trip, which eventually morphed into GURPS. So they might still be point buy character creation systems if Champions didn't exist. 
 
But it would be a bland world without Marksman and the other Guardians, and Defender, Seeker, Doctor Silverback, etc. 

I think I work for these guys. 😂

If I can finish up Island of Dr Destroyer and see positive results from that I will do Deathstroke, then we'll see based on what people seem to want here

Got it. I just replied to your message. Consider this lot CLAIMED!!! 😀

☹️ Sorry to say, I won't be releasing the update this week (7/9/2021).  While I was testing I found another error that occurs after a character tries to break free of an Entangle.  I was ready to try and debug it last night when we got a call from one of our adult children asking "Dad could you help us out?"  In any case I hope to have this wrapped up quickly in the next couple of days.

I just thought of the casting of a slender young woman with long brown hair who plays the bratty, younger sister of the hero who also had a problem with kleptomania .....Michelle Trachtenberg of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Enjoyable read so far!

Hey!! I feel like a prodigal daughter! ❤️
 
Also, you guys are making me look cool in front of my teenager and for that you all rock! 😂
 
-SCM

You GUYS! Thanks, this made my day (and thanks @Sketchpadfor letting me know about the thread). If there is a thing you're looking for specifically, let me know and I can go through backups. (I'd intended to take down everything except for Red October but couldn't bring myself to do it.)
 
-SCM

Now you need a hero with sonic powers...the Howling Commando!

Very envious, wish I was a part of that! Congrats to you and your players! Here's to the next 40!

Very envious, wish I was a part of that! Congrats to you and your players! Here's to the next 40!

I'm trying to look at the difference in Cap but my eyes keep Wandaring.  

I'd like to thank Jason for his speedy resolution to my problem! All is good, and I've downloaded my hdc files! Thanks again Jason!

The Accordion!
 
 

I've just purchased this and downloaded the pdf. However I see nothing for downloading the standups or the hdc files. Did I miss something? BTW, bought it thru here, not RPGnow.

Purchased this yesterday. After reading through the content, I must say very nice job Mr. Taylor! 

NOW
 

This is my first hero image using the Factory of Heroes app for Android. Naturally, it's my old standby, Morningstar.
 

Shameless plug:  Hero Combat Manager which I wrote and you can purchase here.
 
I think there is a export (on the site) that lets you use a Hero Designer export to create a simple spreadsheet.