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Greetings! I'm looking at starting a Star Hero campaign some time in the future and was wondering how you figure out crew size? Is it just an arbitrary number you pluck out of the ether? Do you try and judge what's right based on the ship size/function? As far as I can tell there are no rules that govern what a ship may need. Thanks in advance.

On the second point: Maybe something like the Player Guides that Pathfinder makes for their adventure paths? Offer advice specifically for this series, while also giving guidelines, etc. On the third point: I would recommend kickstarting/crowd sourcing so art and design can be paid for. Plenty of companies do such a thing just to fluff their art budget. As far as setting, it might be easier to revisit older books, like Millennium City, to give you the setting you would like. Or you could create a generic city that has just enough info to feed into the adventures, but enough open so groups can flavor and reskin it. Really, using the CU as the backdrop may provide you with some of the story backbeats.

I kind of enjoy the Critical Role take on Resurrections. At it's base, it's a ritual spell that requires those casting to "sacrifice" a few things to appease the gods. Maybe it's a feather, or a nice jacket, or even some coin. A variety of rolls are made based on the offerings by each participant (who also each offer something). If successful, the being is brought back. If the rolls aren't great, maybe they're brought back with a problem, or maybe a pact is made. If failed, the soul is laid to rest and cannot be resurrected in this manner again.

The Those Detectors thread got me thinking about mutants and their like. Has anyone created a template for "mutants" or some other human subspecies? Do mutants have common abilities in your campaign?

I always found averaging out the PCs CV and Defenses helps to keep a game balanced. If I know a group of six players have heroes with an average CV 6 and Defenses 15, I have a rough idea to give an opponent a similar CV (or higher if I want to challenge the PCs), and an appropriate damage roll (like a 5d6 vs. Def 15, or higher for a challenging encounter). As far as keeping the CV in line with the examples, I find them more like guidelines. I might bump it a bit higher as the PCs gain more Experience, or allow for specific Levels. Things like Martial Arts tend to balance themselves at times. Gaining a +X OCV sometimes has a -Y DCV. So while it might easier to hit a foe, it also leaves the hero open to another attack.

In my campaign, mutant detectors use a form of genetic detection that can not only identify the mutant gene, but can identify likely powers due to genetic tags. If a mutant has been cataloged, it's likely that they can be identified by the tags detected. While generally illegal in the current game, there are still rogue factions that use them to find/hunt mutants for their own ends. No recognized law enforcement uses such devices, nor do they use nullifiers outside of dampeners for superhuman criminals. In response to mutant detectors, a gene scrambler was developed by some mutant scientists to counter the detector. These devices often look like a pin or ring, and emit a frequency that scrambles detectors. While distributed on the black market, scramblers have since become used in espionage agencies to hide their mutant agents in potentially hostile missions.

Classic Enemies is my personal favorite. It kind of felt like a "trade paperback" of the old Enemies books with some added details.

Interested, but was hoping for a preview.

Weird that it's not in the store. It is on DrivethruRPG... https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/257014/Enemies-III-3rd-Edition

SHADOW Over Scotland is a 3rd ed book IIRC.

I've used a few basic ideas throughout various games, but I try to alter them a bit so they don't appear to be a carbon copy.

I was just starting a campaign that was kind of dealing with this. Most large cities have a taskforce dedicated to supervillains, whether at the street level or more. This specialized unit often employ a few superhumans to help offset the their odds a bit. In the campaign I've been working on, the city has been a bit overpowered by villains and gangs. So they sponsor a hero team that works exclusively with the police to help protect the city. Local police powers, access to the police database, and a crash course on law enforcement are the basics that everyone gets, and they answer to a special liaison officer that answers to the police commissioner. What kind of threats do they handle? Pretty much anything the city may throw at them. From villains akin to Spider-Man's rogues, to juiced up gangs, to Kingpins and gang wars, to the occasional Magneto attack. I agree that, in most cases, setting a street level tone would be my normal go-to for such a game. But I'm trying something different to see how it evolves.

Yup. Mentioned that in my original post, but was looking for other options.

I'm sure Bats would do just fine against Spidey's foes, but it also depends on who's writing him.

Early Spider-Man is definitely a teen hero IMHO, and a great example of progression from teen to regular hero over the years. In fact, when I had players complain about the 250pt heroes of yester-Champions, Spidey was my usual example of why they only had 250pts. As for his rogue's gallery, I've always been a fan. You get legendary bad guys like Green Goblin or Doctor Octopus, and then you get chumps like Grizzly or Kangaroo. Easily one of the best groups of villains in comics (and tied with Batman and Flash in my mind).

Excellent. Thanks for the help!

Howdy Dan... is there a way to make certain Complications cost 0 points? In the game I'm gearing up to run, Template/Package Complications don't add to the matching amount needed, and I'm trying to put that into HD. I know I could use Custom Complication, but is there another way? Thanks in advance.

Do you allow Power Stunts? An inventive player could reason out a quick KA if you do. "I'm going to focus my eye beam tight and see if I can blast through this double!"

Which may happen someday. Yeah, I'm not really sure why there's so much emphasis on PCs for an NPC-based thread. I think I'm leaning toward the Accidental Change, as it would work relatively well and simple. Thanks for the suggestion.

Some interesting ideas overall, folks. I agree with Doc about the paying points bit. All three of these solutions are pretty cool and have given me something to think about. Didn't even think about using Accidental Change.

Hola Herodom! I'm working on an NPC who shrinks. As a byproduct of his shrinking, if he becomes too small, he has a chance of falling into a micro-universe for Xd6 weeks. I was thinking maybe a weird susceptibility? Or would this be a Limit on the power itself?

I agree with Tech here. Wouldn't Hand to Hand Attack work just as well?

Yeah, I've used that in the past. I was looking at trying something ranked. Like maybe having a EVO Suit that's rated for certain levels of environment, or levels of gear that protect against certain parts of an environment (but maybe not extreme levels). LS always comes off as one-and-done, which is great in some games.

Well, if you're running a game where weather takes on major role, it could be useful to know. For example, a pulp game where a plane crashes into an arctic climate, or running a fantasy game where survival is part of the game. How would someone build something like this? EDIT: Another interesting example are the X-Men costumes, which had a rated weather resistance in the MSH RPG. They protected to an extent (as well as providing some armor, communications, etc.).

How do you handle winter clothing? Is it just a definition of clothing? Do you build it using Change Environment? Or just use Life Support's Safe Environments? Inquiring minds would like to know.