JeffreyWKramer

I would agree with the comments that having Levels to offset range penalty is a *lot* more sane than using the "No Range Penalty" Advantage with FW. Turning FW into a line of sight power is just too abusive, IMHO, and it is also rather contrary to the idea of having to take time to study the opponent and detect weak spots in his/her/its defenses.

My own 5E campaign differs from official continuity on a few points. In my campaign, both groups of Champions have existed, more or less. The original Champions were the bunch from the 4E books - Seeker, Solitaire, Ocelot, etc. In this timeline, they took part in the Battle of Detroit and were all killed - other than Defender, who was disabled and knocked far from the battle early on, in a fight with Grond. After falling out of the spotlight for a time, during which he mourned the death of his teammates/friends, he eventually moved to Millennium City and reformed a new team of Champions. Thus, in this campaign Defender is fairly experienced and has drawn the other 5E Champions - all relative neophytes - together into a team. This provides the Champions with a bit more history, acknowledges the former Champions and even sets up some plot possibilities - who knows, the son of Seeker could eventually show up.

This at least has carried over from the previous edition, as the 5E rules (in the section on computers) states that with non-AI computers, one computes mental power effects using the mentalist's EGO vs. the computer's INT.

See, this makes a bit more sense to me than the TK thing as a way of doing "mind control vs. machines." Actually, both powers have certain advantages. With TK (+fine manipulation, only vs. machines), one *could* turn on a toaster or run the vacuum cleaner long distance, but those functions make no sense with Mind Control. On the other hand, it seems to me that machines that control something else or have some sort of programming should be "controllable." Modern cars, which have lots of programming and computers, clearly fall into that category, as would things like alarm clocks, automatic security systems, etc. - within the parameters of what the device can do. One could thus make an alarm ring, or shut off, but could not make a coffee machine walk. Imagine, for example, a powered armor character has some powers like OCV levels with weapons systems, defined as computer targeting. It makes sense that a machine Mind Control could impact at least some systems of the power armor affected - the OCV levels and/or the weapon systems they're connected to. I suppose someone with Mental Illusions vs. machines could also interfere with the targeting system, making it target something that wasn't there (assuming the Mental Illusions affected whatever sense groups the targeting system was using).

I'm particularly looking for discussion with HERO system GMs, but all informed opinions are welcome. Steve says we're going to have to wait until ULTIMATE MENTALIST to get a real rundown of what one can accomplish using mental powers vs. machine minds. Meanwhile, what effects do you let such powers have in campaigns you run? I'm particularly interested in opinions about Mind Control vs. machines. Other than the obvious (Mind Control vs. robot characters, computers and AIs), what do you let it accomplish? Can such a character bypass/shut down electronic security systems? How about activating/shutting automatic doors? Turn the microwave on and off? Change TV channels w/o a remote? Take control of or shut down hi-tech foci? Inquiring minds, y'know?

The discussion of Automatons in the HERO System 5E book states that Automatons are immune to all Mental Powers. What about automatons defined as robots, vs. mental powers such as Telepathy purchased to affect the Machine class of minds? In the case of computers, such mental powers are effective, using INT in place of EGO in the case of non-AI computers. BTW, just what can mental powers against the Machine class of minds do? Can a person use such powers to shut down/bypass electronic security systems, activate garage door openers, run microwaves, or shut down/control mechanical or electronic Foci?

Per p. 207 of the HERO SYSTEM 5E core book, Multipowers in which each of the slots is represented by a different OAF get the -1 Limitation on the cost of the slots, but take only a -1/2 OIF focus for the Multipower reserve, reflecting the fact that one grab doesn't take away the entire multipower. However, the write-up for Black Harlequin on p. 123-125 of CONQUERERS, KILLERS AND CROOKS gives him a Multipower of different toys, defined as "Fiendish Toychest", in which each separate toy is an OAF - but he also gets a -1 OAF limitation on the MP reserve. So... which of these is true? 1) The "Fiendish Toybox" is more or less a box or basket or something BH carries all the toys in, and one can thus take away the entire MP by grabbing the box (in which case, what happens to toys he's already activated?); or 2) This is an error, and that particular Multipower reserve should have been given only a -1/2 limitation. This point, as applied to a specific character (in this case Black Harlequin) is fairly trivial - especially if the answer to my question is 2) - but as a general rule point it is important.

The street-level CHAMPIONS campaign I ran for about 3 years during the 90s featured some religion-themed characters, one a PC and the other two NPCs. It started with an NPC hero who was there to act as a potential rival, ally or balancing factor for the PCs, and to be sort of the opposite of the grim, dark characters who were so prevalent back then. Redeemer was a fundamentalist Christian who was essentially a very skilled athlete (gymnast, boxer and wrestler) who also had several dice of luck that only worked if he was certain of the righteousness of his cause, and which he considered "divine providence." He was openly Christian, even incorporating the cross into his costume, and was extremely law-abiding. The presence of this character prompted one of the players to make his character, The Reverend. Essentially a religious version of Stick (Daredevil's mentor, from the Marvel comic), with a couple of low-level psychic powers and a mind link to his follower (a seeing-eye/attack dog), The Reverend was a blind street preacher who took a bit more active role than most in fighting street-level crime. He was also less dogmatic than Redeemer, leading to some memorable PC/NPC interaction along the lines of theological and philosophical debates, particularly since the Reverend wasn't beyond breaking the law to serve the greater good. The third religion-themed character in the campaign was an NPC villain, Brother Night. He had a public persona as a minister and evangelist, the Reverend Thomas Knight, who spoke out against lawless vigilantes and other negative influences on society, but was also secretly the cult leader/vice kingpin Brother Night. In addition to being one of the Reverend's Hunteds, Reverend Knight/Brother Night served as a stand-in to corrupt, real-world religious figures who pose as moral watchdogs and stick their noses into others' business but aren't particularly moral themselves. Anyhow, the religious themes didn't cause any problems as handled in that campaign. The players were all mature, and having someone represent religious POVs served to deepen the campaign, in everyone's opinion.

Hey, Steve! This is a special effect/powerset question I've been trying to figure out how to work for a long time. Essentially, how can one duplicate the ability of the Atom (DC Comics) to travel virtually anywhere via making a phone call and traveling across the phone lines, or the villain 9-Jack-9 (Zot) to travel via from place to place instantly via the electric power grid? There are other characters who can do similar things via the Internet. This would obviously seem like a sort of Teleport (using Mega-Scale in most cases), but how does one get around not being able to see the destination point and also not having it established as a memorized location?