revanick

a gimick fix on the 75 arrows Since this is high tech, declare you have 24-36 SHAFTS, and the way you remove the shaft from the quiver determines what arrow head gets attached. I could see a three position auto feed since you have autofire. Straight out give you broad head, clockwise spin give you explosive, counterclockwise gives you gas, tug left gives you... etc. This allows you to have a fixed number of charges for a given type of attack with 24-36 total shafts. You could also then use the arrow heads themselves for things if you didn't want to waste the shaft, such as doing a lob, hand granade style, with the explosive arrow head. Another thought that wouldn't be as pretty would be extending arrows. Have them only 8 inches long in compact form in smaller pouches around the body. The drawing of the bow after they have been nocked on your special bow extends the shaft to full lengh and releases the safety on the specialty arrows.

To clerify the EC vs the MP: The GM suggested (and it was a suggestion) that the MP might fit into an EC instead. Since we are all new with the system, the characters are not currently locked in stone. This adventure is the second in a series to try to get a better feeling for how the system works. With that in mind, the question was not so much one of hen would you LET a character change from MP to EC but rather when would you ENCOURAGE a new character to be rewritten as with an EC instead of a MP? And with respect to the search with clairsentience, lets say it was a college science building with 8 class rooms and 8 lab rooms plus a few offices. Would the character in question be able to seach an office, a classroom or just one square of the hallway as he uses his touch group based clairsentience? The idea of putting a flight add for moving the point of perception is something that wouldn't have occurred to me. Thank you.

Lead off here is that the GM is a novice GM, and all of us playing the game are novice in the HERO system. The scenario is a burning building, apparently started by an explosion of some type. Once character in question has Clairsentience, touch group, x1000. How do you handle using him to search the burning building for casualties? The book says you have “perception pointâ€. However, if it’s x1000 rapid, how many rooms could he cover per phase? Second in this point, should he take any kind of damage while checking through burning areas of the building using this power? If so, what kind? What add would you have the player take if he really wanted to avoid damage? In a similar vane, if a player is using TK to move objects that are damaging to the touch, i.e. a radioactive container, burning timber, etc, what conditions would allow him to move the objects safely and when would he take damage? Multipower vs Elemental Control A character has a set of multipowers, most of which could be combined into a EC with a couple strays that wouldn’t fit. The player understands that if he wants to use the MPs a the same time he will have to reduce the strength of the powers. When would you push to have the portions that mostly go together to be broken out into an EC? Thanks for the assistance.

I'm trying to build out a martial artist/bodyguard. Is there a way to raise perception rolls specifically against standard assasination type attacks? Oh, and this is a 75/75 campain. Thanks in advance.

Normals Unbound has now been ordered. Thank you.

I'm looking for some character examples for 75/75 normals. I've been told to check out the movies "Sneakers", "Hackers", and "Ronin" for examples. Does anyone have any links to appropriate sites? Much appriciated

"Generally, defensive devices are best purchased as some form of defense other than force field, such as armor. That covers off the issues of "persistent" and "0 END"." A trench coat for a midget with magical reinforcements, maybe? "In my opinion, the EC is outside the rules. There's no real link other than "They're all defenses". Since all the powers are OIF, however, if you could talk me into the EC, I'd be inclined to give the OIF limit on the base cost as well." The link was mainly "magical enchantments", set and forget. I think technically they should go into a VPP, but the book also warns that this can be subject to abuse and some GMs might not allow them. The idea was he would wear the gear to keep from getting hurt while experementing, and being blown into a wall seemed like it would be a good thing to defend against. The fact that it will also work if he falls off his skateboard at high speed was a benifit. "I'd buy the vest as Armor (15/15 with OIF is 30 points, but still works if you're stunned, costs no END and need not be switched on and off. If the armor isn't available (and it should be unavailable at times as it is a focus), you have virtually no defenses. You could reduce the armor (and maybe add an activation roll), and use the extra points to buy up base PD and ED." Sounds good. Maybe change it to a magically reinforced trench coat? "The teleport is, of course, illegal (under the power minimum), but the effect is reasonable. I'd probably waive the minimum cost if it were me, but I doubt I'd cut it down below 5". This power will probably have more impact than you think, as it would be triggered by knockback into a wall, say." The knock back aspect is exactly what it is intended to defend against. I don't actually want to use it for for teleporting at all. In fact, if I could buy it as a 0" teleport it would be perfect. I just want to come to a complete stop relative to walls, ground, mountainsides, etc. "I'd limit it further with "not to escape entangles/grabs" (say -1/2) and "cannot move out of current hex or through barriers" (that's got to be at least -1), and it costs 6 points." I like this one too. "Why aren't the sunglasses a focus as well? OIF or even OAF is reasonable on these." They aren't because the program keeps telling me Flash defense should not be a focus item. /shrug "I'd suggest a gadget pool rather than your multi's, but the point cost could get quite steep (no limits on the base cost), and these can be tough to run anyway. If you're fairly confident with the rules you might try forcing your existing gizmos into a gadget pool, but I don't think they would all fit." "Hmmm...you've got 119 points in these now. Assuming a standard pool changed by, say, Inventor skill, and all powers requiring an OIF (or higher focus limitation), you could make an 80 point gadget pooi for 107 points (80 for the pool plus 27 for the control cost). Slap on "maximum 40 active poiints for any one power" (-1/2) and you're down to 100 points. But you still only have 80 "real points" of gadgets, which could force you to cut some powers out (or put more limitations on them)." I took a look at someone's write up for Green Lantern with a No Mental Powers at -1. Would you let that fly? "Can you put which attaxk your levels effect [why I hate computer SW character sheets...]? I'd be inclined to take 3 point levels with the Multi, as you'll likely want to use the Flash, EB and TK with reasonable odds of hitting." That is what my attack levels were intended to be for, but I had actually limited them to the EB/Flash, seeing as both of them came from focus items, while TK wasn't. Can I link that in as well, or should I take it as Three Manuever thing? "The martial arts are under the 10 point minimum, so a GM could call you on that. Not sure how much use the Strike (at 8 STR) or homemade weapons (you don't have any anyway that add to HTH) will be. Maybe you could get by with "+4 DCV; only when making a full move" - that should be a +1 limitation since it costs you your attack for the phase, so 10 points." My thought here was to use the TK to boost the strengh and to use my prybar for the home made weapon. What kind of thing would I have to do to make that work? Concentrate is already required on TK. "I assume normal characteristic maxima is automatic in the campaign, as your stats qualify and you haven't taken the disadvantage. You've got 15 "extra" disad points, haven't you? Probably prudent - that gives you some leeway if your GM doesn't like the values." That was questionable. He is a gnome, not a human, so should he be able to take the "Normal Characteristic Maxima"?

The story on the formatting is simple: I don't know what I'm doing. (LOL. I am going to have to review the help, because I can't even put a smilie face in at this point. Oh, well). Here is the modified character. Part of my problem is that I wanted the defensive devices, such as the crash helmet and the force field, to always be on, and tried to trim a few points by keeping them in an elemental control. The idea was that these are safety devices and should work whether or not I'm consious. It didn't make sense to me to have a crash helmet to protect me from smashing into a mountain not work if I don't see the mountain, or if I get knocked unconsious by flying into a seagull at high speed. On the other hand I wanted to be able to fly the skateboard while doing while doing the energy blasting with the prybar, which requires gestures. It didn't seem appropriate to be gesturing to fly the board and gesturing to use the energy blasts at the same time. I think the answer may be to make the force field and crash helmet not cost endurance and to ditch the sun glasses. I might also trim some points out of both of the multipowers. What I'm shooting for at this point is a decent character that is within the spirit of the rules and not just the letter of it. Player: Val Char Cost 8 STR -2 20 DEX 30 17 CON 14 10 BODY 0 20 INT 10 20 EGO 20 13 PRE 3 10 COM 0 2/17 PD 0 3/18 ED 0 4 SPD 10 11 REC 12 34 END 0 23 STUN 0 6" RUN02" SWIM031 1/2" LEAP0Characteristics Cost: 97 Cost Power END 7 Enchantments: Elemental Control, 14-point powers 15 1) Vest: Force Field (15 PD/15 ED) (30 Active Points); OIF (Focus-Vest; -1/2) 3 5 2) Crash helmet, safety port. Instant stop when about to crash for higher than 1d6 damage: Teleportation 1", No Relative Velocity, Trigger- about to crash into a hard surface (+1/4) (15 Active Points); OIF (-1/2) 1 6 Sun Glasses: Flash Defense (6 points) (Sight Group) 40 Physical Magic Manipulation: Multipower, 40-point reserve 2u 1) Flying skate board: Flight 16", Combat Acceleration/Deceleration (+1/4) (40 Active Points); OAF (-1) 4 4u 2) Leaping +30" (31 1/2" forward, 15 1/2" upward) (Accurate, Position Shift) (40 Active Points) 4 3u 3) Telekinesis (26 STR) (39 Active Points); Affects Whole Object (-1/4), Concentration 1/2 DCV (-1/4) 4 32 Magic Energy: Multipower, 40-point reserve, all slots: (40 Active Points); Gestures (-1/4) 2u 1) Flash 8d6 (Sight Group) (40 Active Points); OAF (-1) 4 1u 2) Healing 3 1/2d6 (max. Healed Points: 21) (Can Heal Limbs) (40 Active Points); Extra Time 1 Turn (Post-Segment 12) (-1 1/4), Character May Take No Other Actions (-1/4), OAF (Focus - Necklace of Hypocraties; -1), Increased Endurance Cost 3x END (-1) 12 2u 3) Energy Blast 8d6 (vs. ED) (40 Active Points); OAF Unbreakable (Focus- prybar; -1), No Knockback (-1/4) 4 Powers Cost: 119 Cost Martial Arts Maneuver 5 Flying Dodge: 1/2 Phase, -- OCV, +4 DCV, Dodge All Attacks, Abort; FMove 3 Basic Strike: 1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, +0 DCV, STR +2d6 Strike 1 Weapon Element: Homemade Weapons Martial Arts Cost: 9 Cost Skill 4 +2 with any single attack 5 Inventor 14- 7 Deduction 15- 7 Mechanics 15- 2 Language: English (basic conversation; literate) Skills Cost: 25 Total Character Cost: 250 Val Disadvantages 15 Physical Limitation-3 ft tall: (All the Time; Slightly Impairing) 15 Psychological Limitation - Honor's contracts, whether written of verbal: (Common; Strong) 15 Psychological Limitation - Protects the innocent: (Common; Strong) 10 Psychological Limitation-always tries to figure out how things work.: (Common; Moderate) 15 Distinctive Features-3 ft tall: (Not Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) 15 Hunted-watched by the INS as an illegal imagrant: INS 8- (Mo Pow; Watching; Extensive Non-Combat Influence; PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find) 15 Hunted - non certified magic user: United Magic Users Union: 8- (Mo Pow; Watching; PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find; Extensive Non-Combat Influence) 15 Dependent NPC- "Batty" Bert, the junkyard man: 8- (Incompetent) Disadvantage Points: 115 Base Points: 150 Experience Required: 0 Total Experience Available: 0 Experience Unspent: 0

I'm still waiting to play the game, but I decided my martial artist was just too serious of a character. "Con" here seems like a lot more fun to play. There are extra dis-ads for the GM selection. Anything here you wouldn't let fly as a GM, or things you can suggest doing differently? Also, can someone come up with a healing focus more in character? ------------------------------------------------------ Background Constantine "Con" VorSmyth was a typical gnomish wizard/tinkerer. He is very good at making magical artifacts to do specific things. His culture is up to steam powered, but they combine machanical and magical to do some interesting stuff. He lands in the junk yard of Bert "Batty" Bertrand. Batty is always trying to fix the junk in his yard, or combine parts to make something new. After some communication issues, Bert and Con end up friends. Bert gets a machanical wizard out of the deal, and Con gets a place to stay and lots of new things to figure out how to work and how to modify. Knowing safety is important, Con settles in to making his own safety gear. He has somewhat modified a leather vest for a bit of extra damage protection and some enchanted sunglasses to help protect his eyes. Realising he is in the land of giants, he also enchants a titanium prybar for a bit of extra protection, and a mag light for when you just want to get away without doing too much damage. He also has a bit of a problem keeping up with Bert's long legs until he enchants a skateboard, and modifies a skateboard helmet for when he falls off the board from altitude. (Note: The teleport effect on his helmet is for designed for crashing into the ground, sides of mountains, sides of buildings. It won't help against someone trying to hit him unless they are swinging a table his way.) Con realises he should be getting back home, but he has always been a curious type, and he has a whole new world full of movies, rollercoasters, and windsurfing (over water without fish big enough to swollow you whole) to explore. Besides, he never was much good at multi-dimentinal math. Besides, NASCAR looks like a lot fun. Con loves to take things apart and put them back together again, although he likes to "improve" them as he does so. He plans on learning about all the new technology around him (electricity and the internal combustion engine are where he plans on starting), but first he had to learn to speak, read and write English. Powers/Tactics Keep out of harms way as much as possible flying on his skateboard, keep the range open, and use his flash light to stun and his prybar blasts to damage his oponents. If it gets up close and personal, he can augment his strength with his TK abilities to give his prybar a bit more umph. Val Char Cost Roll Notes 8 STR -2 11- Lift 75.8kg; 1 1/2d6 HTH damage 20 DEX 30 13- OCV: 7/DCV: 7 20 CON 20 13- 10 BODY 0 11- 20 INT 10 13- PER Roll 13- 20 EGO 20 13- ECV: 7 13 PRE 3 12- PRE Attack: 2 1/2d6 10 COM 0 11- 2 PD 0 Total: 2/12 PD (0/10 rPD) 4 ED 0 Total: 4/14 ED (0/10 rED) 4 SPD 10 Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12 12 REC 12 40 END 0 24 STUN 0 Total Characteristics Cost: 103 Movement: Run: 6"/NC" Swim: 2"/NC" Cost Powers END 12 Magic: Elemental Control, 36-point powers, all slots: (18 Active Points); Stops Working If Mentalist Is Stunned (-1/2) 5 1) Healing 4d6 (max. Healed Points: 24) (Can Heal Limbs) (45 Active Points); Extra Time 1 Turn (Post-Segment 12) (-1 1/4), Character May Take No Other Actions (-1/4), OAF (Focus - Necklace of Hypocraties; -1), Increased Endurance Cost 3x END (-1) 12 6 2) Flash 6d6 (Sight Group) (30 Active Points); OAF (-1), No Knockback (-1/4) 3 6 3) Energy Blast 6d6 (vs. ED) (30 Active Points); OAF Unbreakable (Focus- prybar; -1), No Knockback (-1/4) 3 27 Vest: Force Field (10 PD/10 ED/12 Power Defense), Hardened (+1/4) (40 Active Points); OIF (-1/2) 4 10 Crash helmet, safety port. Instant stop when about to crash: Teleportation 1", No Relative Velocity, Trigger- about to crash into a hard surface (+1/4) (15 Active Points); OIF (-1/2) 1 3 Sunglasses: Flash Defense (7 points) (Sight Group) (7 Active Points); OAF Unbreakable (-1) 30 TK/flight: Multipower, 45-point reserve, all slots: (45 Active Points); Stops Working If Mentalist Is Stunned (-1/2) 3u 1) Leaping +35" (36 1/2" forward, 18" upward) (Accurate, Position Shift) (45 Active Points) 4 2u 2) Flying skate board: Flight 18", Combat Acceleration/Deceleration (+1/4) (45 Active Points); OAF (-1) 4 2u 3) Telekinesis (23 STR), Fine Manipulation (45 Active Points); Affects Whole Object (-1/4) 4 Martial Arts: MA NAME Maneuver OCV DCV Notes 5 Flying Dodge -- +4 Dodge All Attacks, Abort; FMove 3 Basic Strike +1 +0 STR +2d6 Strike Skills 6 +3 with any single attack 5 Inventor 14- 7 Deduction 15- 11 Mechanics 17- 2 Language: English (basic conversation; literate) Total Powers & Skills Cost: 146 Total Cost: 249 150+ Disadvantages 15 Physical Limitation-3 ft tall: (All the Time; Slightly Impairing) 15 Psychological Limitation - Honor's contracts, whether written of verbal: (Common; Strong) 15 Psychological Limitation - Protects the innocent: (Common; Strong) 10 Psychological Limitation-always tries to figure out how things work.: (Common; Moderate) 15 Distinctive Features-3 ft tall: (Not Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) 15 Hunted-watched by the INS as an illegal imagrant: INS 8- (Mo Pow; Watching; Extensive Non-Combat Influence; PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find) 15 Hunted - non certified magic user: United Magic Users Union: 8- (Mo Pow; Watching; PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find; Extensive Non-Combat Influence) 15 Dependent NPC- "Batty" Bert, the junkyard man: 8- (Incompetent) Total Disadvantage Points: 249

Hmm... How about going diving with Scuba gear and meeting a shark? Going walkabout with a space suit on and being attacked by vermisous kanids? In both cases you've taken the precaution of ensuring survival but the character cannot use his powers.

I have to admit I just scanned the highlights of the manual. At the moment, a friend has my copy of the book, so yes, I am mainly relying on HeroDesigner. Said friend just had major work done on his house and is more than a little short on cash. I don't know the average SPD or CV. I'm totally new to this system, and relatively new to any RPGs. I've played a couple sessions of a novice run GURPS fantasy, and an old RPG called Bushido. With this system, I don't even know what questions to ask. Before posting on this board the only advice I had was from someone who played a previous edition (and whose chief memory was looking stuff up in many tables to see what happened when someone threw a punch), and that advice was to make sure I had a good speed. Pattern, you say you hate RTFM type replies, and I can understand that after having looked through a bunch of character posts to try to figure out what things where critical. I tried to put the key points of the changes made in the text above and added the RTFM stuff just to let everyone see the changes that I might have forgotten to mention. If you have a method of posting the changes in a better format (which I admit shouldn't be hard since that format is about as interesting as reading an index at the back of a physics book) I'll be happily to go along with your suggestions. I posted for suggestions, got them, and modified the character. I appriciate the feedback. I'll try to take the advice of not trying to build the perfect character on the first shot. The main thing I'm concerned about with these characters is being viable, GM friendly, and no glaring weakness' that will turn it into an unplayable character (no Terrified of Rain and have the locale being Seattle in the winter). Thanks again for the advace, folks.

Missing it Using HeroDesigner, and looking at the Martial Strike, it gives me the option of HtH or Weapons. I to me that implied that I had to buy one Martial Strike for HtH and a seperate one for Weapon. Did buying Weapon's Familiarity get me that without having to buy it as a seperate catagory? So far, I've eliminated FW, changed Combat Skill Levels to "with any three maneuvers or a tight group of attacks", down from All Attacks, bought PRE up to 16, speed down to 6. There are also a few other changes as seen below. I'll reread you post again and see if I can fine tune it a bit more. Kudo Player: Roger Val Char Cost 20 STR 10 30 DEX 60 20 CON 20 10 BODY 0 10 INT 0 10 EGO 0 15 PRE 5 10 COM 0 16 PD 0 16 ED 0 6 SPD 20 14 REC 12 40 END 0 30 STUN 0 12" RUN 12 2" SWIM 0 6" LEAP 2 Characteristics Cost: 141 Cost Martial Arts Maneuver 4 Martial Dodge: 1/2 Phase, -- OCV, +5 DCV, Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort 4 Martial Strike: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +2 DCV, STR +8d6 Strike 4 Martial Strike: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +2 DCV, Weapon +8 DC Strike 3 Martial Throw: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +1 DCV, STR +6d6 +v/5, Target Falls 4 Nerve Strike: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, +1 DCV, 5d6 NND 4 Nerve Strike: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, +1 DCV, 5d6 NND 5 Passing Strike: 1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, +0 DCV, STR +6d6 +v/5; FMove 4 Weapon Bind: 1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, +0 DCV, Bind, +40 STR 4 Basic Shot: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +0 DCV, Range +2, Strike, +2 DC 24 +6 HTH Damage Class(es) Martial Arts Cost: 60 Cost Skill 7 WF: Common Martial Arts Melee Weapons, Common Melee Weapons, Common Missile Weapons, Thrown Chain & Rope Weapons 18 +6 with any three maneuvers or a tight group of attacks Skills Cost: 25 Cost Talent 24 Combat Luck (12 PD/12 ED) Talents Cost: 24 Total Character Cost: 250 Val Disadvantages 25 Psychological Limitation: Cannot leave a fight in progress (Very Common; Total) 15 Distinctive Features: Fox like features, 3 tails (Not Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) 15 Hunted: Other Japanese dieties. He is not supposed to be in the open. 8- (Mo Pow; Harshly Punish) 20 Custom Disadvantage-doesn't understand English. 10 Psychological Limitation: Will stop in the middle of a fight to drink, loves Sake (Uncommon; Strong) 15 Custom Disadvantage - Cannot use modern weapons Disadvantage Points: 100 Base Points: 150 Experience Required: 0 Total Experience Available: 0 Experience Unspent: 0

question concerning martial strikes If I buy Martial Strike with HtH, don't I also have to buy it seperately for weapon use? Or is a melee weapon considered HtH? Also, if I do Accidental Change, how should it be listed in HeroDesigner? Frequent, common? I I'm considering it for Harold if his oponent outclasses him, and for Kudo if he gets knocked unconsious. I can see where being picked on by a some big beefy guy being a time when Kudo really wants to pop out, but having that happen in a bar would be a really, really bad idea.

Electronic devices -if someone has a device that has electronic controls, how about draining the battering, activating switches to forcing uncontrolled fire, or forcing overload in control circuits - causing solinoids to activate/deactivate to getting through doors and time locks. -Being able to shut down standard vehicles by stopping the ignition process or causing the alternator and battery to just not work. -turning off/on lights/camera's in an area by stopping or starting the flow of electricity to the component. - frying computer storage devices - generating interferance for radio communication (jamming) - perception: generate a magnetic field and check the variations to see what is through a wall, along the lines of a metal detector. Since most things will change the lines of a magnetic field, you could just about have x-ray vision, with conductive objects being more percievable than non conductive things. Oh, and people generate magnetic fields, so you might not be able to see a wooden table in a room, but you could see that four people were sitting around it - arc welding - changing street lights in your favor - stealing from ATMs by activating the dispensing mechanisims - electro plating? -frying ANY electronic device with an EMP -I also have vague memories of it being possible to place a floresent bulb in a magnetic field and having it give off light. -For the ultimate peice of trivia, Nicholi Tesla could cause people to lose control of their bowels with electricity. Talk about an ego attack.

revision Oh, well. I just talked to one of the GMs. He wants see Kudo as at 150/100. I'm thinking of dropping all weapons and just making him HtH. I'll post an update when they are done again.

I have yet to play the game, and this is the first characters I've finalised. Any recommendations? For you GMs out there, would you let this Multiform fly in a 150/100 game? Thanks in advance. Harold Farnsworth History Harold is a genuinely nice guy. He'll take you to the airport, pick you up when you're too drunk to drive, help you move, baby-sit your four year old so you can have a night out with your S.O. He has one vise. He is.. well... curious. Harold has always had a love of seeing what's behind door number three. As a child, he would sneak into places where he wasn't supposed to be, from the neighbor's houses to the warehouse's in the middle of the night. He wasn't interested in taking things, just seeing what was there. His older brother is a member of the FBI. Phil tried to keep an eye on little brother growing up without much success. When Phil started working for the FBI, he made the mistake of talking of a case he was assigned but was totally stumped. That night, Harold broke into the feild office of a crooked corperation, hacked the computer system, and came away with records without leaving a trace. When he presented the info to Phil, Phil was outraged, but ended up using the information to crack the case. And when things get bad on cases, Harold turns out to frequently be a good "reliable source". Everything is going with with his life until he is on vacation in Japan. After doing the usual touristy type stuff, he becomes interested in a well known family of the area, and hears the rumor that they are shugensa, or magic users. Being his usual self, he sets out to look around their home while they aren't there. He had just found an interesting amulet and had just reached for it when he was discovered and attacked with a magic spell. He manages to get away, but the result is his being bound with Kudo, a kami of martial arts. Motivation He loves finding out secrets and what is behind closed doors. He has no desire to do anything with what he finds out, just knowing is enough. The exception is when innocent people are being threatened, then he will do what he can to end the threat, usually by passing an annonomous tip to the appropriate law enforcement agency. He has no interest in fighting. His objective in a fight is to just get away. His biggest weakness is a damsel in distress. Where normally he would try to just get out of a fight, or get away when it starts, for a woman (or a girl, or an old lady), he will stick it out and try to make the guy too tired from punching and in too much pain (from buised fists) to bother the lady any more. Powers: Breaking and entering, either buildings or security systems. Tactics: Don't get caught. If caught, try not to get hit. Val Char Cost Roll Notes 10 STR 0 11- Lift 100.0kg; 2d6 HTH damage 17 DEX 21 12- OCV: 6/DCV: 6 10 CON 0 11- 10 BODY 0 11- 18 INT 8 13- PER Roll 13- 10 EGO 0 11- ECV: 3 10 PRE 0 11- PRE Attack: 2d6 10 COM 0 11- 2 PD 0 Total: 2 PD (0 rPD) 2 ED 0 Total: 2 ED (0 rED) 2 SPD 0 Phases: 6, 12 4 REC 0 20 END 0 20 STUN 0 Total Characteristics Cost: 31 Movement: Run: 7"/NC" Swim: 2"/NC" Cost Powers END 50 Kudo-: Multiform (250 Character Points in the most expensive form) 0 0" Running (7" total) Martial Arts: MA NAME Maneuver OCV DCV Notes 4 Martial Dodge -- +5 Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort Perks 5 Computer Link 9 Contact (Contact has significant Contacts of his own, Contact has: useful Skills or resources), Organization Contact (+2) (9 Active Points) 8- Skills 11 Acrobatics 16- 9 Acting 14- 11 Bugging 17- 11 Climbing 16- 13 Computer Programming 18- 7 Concealment 15- 9 Cryptography 16- 7 Deduction 15- 9 Disguise 16- 7 Electronics 15- 11 Lockpicking 16- 11 Persuasion 15- 9 Security Systems 16- 7 Shadowing 15- 7 PS 16- 12 TF: Common Motorized Ground Vehicles, Hanggliding, Helicopters, Large Motorized Boats, Large Wind-Powered Boats, SCUBA, Small Motorized Boats, Small Planes, Small Rowed Boats, Snowmobiles, Two-Wheeled Motorized Ground Vehicles Total Powers & Skills Cost: 219 Total Cost: 250 150+ Disadvantages 20 Hunted: Organised crime 8-, Organised crime, Harshly Punish, Extensive Non-Combat Influence 15 Psychological Limitation: Hates fighting (Common; Strong) 10 Dependent NPC: Brother, FBI agent 11- (Normal; Useful noncombat position or skills) 20 Physical Limitation: Normal Human Stats (All the Time; Greatly Impairing) 10 Psychological Limitation: Compulsive rescuer of women in distress (Common; Moderate) 10 Psychological Limitation: Nice Guy syndrom. (Common; Moderate) 15 Hunted: Super Villians 8- (Mo Pow; Harshly Punish) Total Disadvantage Points: 250 Kudo History In Japanese Mytho's, Kami's are a bit lower then demi-gods but above mortals. The can be kami's of the home, the farms, boats or woods. Kudo is one of martial arts. A few hundred years ago Kudo was bound to an amulet. Harold Farnsworth accidentally managed to partially free Kudo. Rather than being bound to an amulet that gives the wearer remarkable skills in martial arts, he is now bound to Harold. Most of the time he spends in the spirit world, but if Harold gets into a fight, Kudo swaps places with him in the physical world and takes over the fight. Once he is called, Kudo stays around until the fighting is done, even if Harold's talents are more appropriate to the situation. Oh, and Kudo only understands Japanese. He knows who Harold's friends are, he just can't understand a word they say. Personality Kudo is a spirit of martial arts. He loves to fight, even when he is out matched. About the only thing that comes close to matching his love of fighting is his love of drinking, and a good bottle of sake is one of the few things that will slow him down in a good free for all. His biggest disapointment is when a foe surrenders. Tactics Kudo never shows up with a weapon. He loves to take weapons away from others and then use them against people who are still attacking. Val Char Cost Roll Notes 20 STR 10 13- Lift 400.0kg; 4d6 HTH damage 30 DEX 60 15- OCV: 10/DCV: 10 10 CON 0 11- 10 BODY 0 11- 10 INT 0 11- PER Roll 11- 10 EGO 0 11- ECV: 3 10 PRE 0 11- PRE Attack: 2d6 10 COM 0 11- 4 PD 0 Total: 16 PD (12 rPD) 2 ED 0 Total: 14 ED (12 rED) 7 SPD 30 Phases: 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12 15 REC 18 27 END 4 39 STUN 14 Total Characteristics Cost: 150 Movement: Run: 12"/NC" Swim: 2"/NC" Cost Powers END 45 Find Weakness 14- (All Attacks) Martial Arts: MA NAME Maneuver OCV DCV Notes 4 Martial Dodge -- +5 Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort 4 Martial Strike +0 +2 STR +10d6 Strike HtH 4 Martial Strike +0 +2 STR +10d6 Strike Weapon 3 Martial Throw +0 +1 STR +8d6 +v/5, Target Falls 4 Nerve Strike -1 +1 6d6 NND HtH 4 Nerve Strike -1 +1 6d6 NND Weapon 5 Passing Strike +1 +0 STR +8d6 +v/5; FMove 4 Weapon Bind +1 +0 Bind, +50 STR 4 Basic Shot +0 +0 Strike, +2 DC Talents 24 Combat Luck (12 PD/12 ED) Skills 7 WF: Common Martial Arts Melee Weapons, Common Melee Weapons, Common Missile Weapons, Thrown Chain & Rope Weapons 56 +7 with All Combat Total Powers & Skills Cost: 201 Total Cost: 350 250+ Disadvantages 25 Psychological Limitation: Cannot leave a fight in progress (Very Common; Total) 15 Distinctive Features: Fox like features, 3 tails (Not Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) 15 Hunted: Other Japanese dieties. He is not supposed to be in the open. 8- (Mo Pow; Harshly Punish) 20 Custom Disadvantage-doesn't understand English. 10 Psychological Limitation: Will stop in the middle of a fight to drink, loves Sake (Uncommon; Strong) 15 Custom Disadvantage - Cannot use modern weapons Total Disadvantage Points: 350

Are there any MA skills/maneuver's that are things that scream "Don't leave the drawing board without me?" I should mention that part of the reason I picked Tadeka instead of Ueshiba is that Ueshiba was someone who would always take the least violent way possible to win. Nothing I read about Tadeka implied he was adverse to doing damage to an oponent. I wanted a character who would be willing to put a bad guy down hard if it was necessary, or even just to intimidate others. As to the knowledge of the character, specifically Tadeka, I have to admit much of it came after a 5 minute seach on Aikido on Google.com

Or...... where the heck do I put points? To start with, I'm new to the Hero system and don't have that much experience with RPGs. I'm still in the stage where I have to struggle to actually roll play as opposed to being a rules lawyer/technician. (Hey, on the plus side, I DO point out where the rules are against me, so I'm not ALL bad). I'm trying to develop a character and I'm really uncertain how to distribute the points appropriately. My previous experience was about 3 game sessions of GUPRS fantasy, and an old Japanese RPG called Bushido. 100 pt characters with 100 pts of disads. Jake Shannon's only unusual ability was the ability to find the history of an object by physical contact. He makes a living as an antique appraiser, being called in occasionally to authenticate items, or very quietly by police to find out what happened in some investigations where they get stumped. He keeps a low profile. He is in the habit of keeping much of his body covered, particularly his hands, to avoid getting readings from objects he comes in casual contact with. (Btw, can anyone think of a decent way to "clean" the psychic history from objects? I would like to give him a way to be able to be able to buy a sofa without having the impressions left of those who sat down in it to test it on the show room floor.) Jake's world comes in for a radical change the day he is asked to date a Japanese sword. Rather than just getting the history, he gets actual previous owner's spirit enters his mind and takes up permanent residence. The warrior's name is Tadeka Sokaku. A bit of background here. Tadeka Sokaku is an actual character from Japanese history. Most of you are familiar with the art of Aikido. The founder of Aikido was Morihei Ueshiba. One of Morihei's most influential teachers was Tadeka Sokaku, grandmaster of Daito-ryu Aiki Jutsu. One site I found states "His sword skills were unparalleled and he was feared as 'the Little Tengu of Aizu' (a tengu is a type of long-nosed demon;they are renowned for their martial arts skills)." He was also a master of staff (bo) half-bow (hankyu) short-staff (jo) and throwing darts (shuriken). He was also licensed in the spear. Last but not least, he was trained in oshikiiuchi, which translates as "honorable ceremony inside," and the term came to be equated with gotenjutsu, literally "self-defense techniques for use within the palace." More of his description reads: "Sokaku was not a large man--he stood no more than 150 centimeters tall--but his eyes were piercing and his techniques were of an almost supernatural level. He is said to have been able to sense a person's past, present, and future even before being introduced." A few other tidbits of information: Tadeka didn't die until 1943. Second, at the time Morihei Ueshiba met Tadeka, Tadeka was doing a job that might be comparable to a Texas Ranger or US Marshall. If there was an unusual amount of trouble, either from the criminal elements or from political factions, he was occasionally sent in to restore peace. He could also turn almost anything into a weapon. At one point he was attacked in a bath house. He knocked one of his attackers down by snapping him with a towel. The way I would like Jake to grow is fairly straight forward. Tadeka has taken up residence in Jake. Most of the time Jake is in full control with Tadeka more of a guiding presence. However, Tadeka was a warrior and a master martial artist. Jake is not exactly out of shape, but hardly in fighting trim. Tadeka sets out to change this. By shaping Jake's dreams, Jake is basically subject to nightmares where he or those around him die because he isn't all what he could be. To avoid the nightmares, all Jake has to do is work out, as is fitting of a warrior. Tadeka can also take over Jake's body to demonstrate proper technique. (I'm tempted to have him take over in high stress situations where Grand Master combat is needed, but that's just a possibility, maybe a disadvantage. Maybe when the smart thing to do would be to run, but the Code of the Bushido would say stay and fight?) Tadeka can also use Jake's dreams as a training too, giving him life or death combat situations, multiple opponents, etc. The flexibility that I see is I can distribute the points as if Jake and Tadeka have been together for two weeks, two months, or two years or ten years. He doesn't HAVE to be a swordsman to begin with (or even at all) since the Aiki Jutsu would be much more appropriate to a modern day fighter. He might start out with little ability to resist a mind attack due to his sensitivity, but later he might develop a very strong defense since Tadeka was trained in oshikiiuchi and would teach Jake after seeing the weakness. Another possibility is that, being old school, Tadeka would frown on using firearms. On the other hand, Tadeka mastered the warrior weapons of his day, and might encourage Jake to do the same. So, at this point, I'm looking for comments, suggestions, and answers as to where the heck to I put the points? What are the obvious pitfalls I should try to avoid?