Fedifensor

Followers with the disadvantage "Must constantly spout elitist-sounding philosophic babble that really doesn't mean anything, but sounds like it does"...

When you're talking about a single defense, I would agree. The example I gave though had multiple defenses involved, and an all-or-nothing defense was a better solution in that case (since LS: Radiation is an absolute defense, but not common enough to justify an NND all by itself). Now, it is possible to have multiple defenses to an AVLD or special attack, with an appropriate limitation. For example, Flashback agents in my world have a Mind Control based on a gun that emits sequenced pulses of light that cause the brain to temporarily shut down (one command: stand still and don't remember what happens). It has the -1/4 limitation "versus the greater of Mental Defense or Flash Defense (sight)" Anyway, I think we've gone well beyond the scope of the original question. To answer it...NND's are all-or-nothing. If the target has even 1 point worth of the power that's designated as the defense, nothing happens.

However, there is precedent for having a set amount of a power to be part of the NND defense. In "What Rough Beast" (Adventurer's Club #2), there's a monster with a radiation NND. The defense against the NND is Life Support (25 pts worth in old Champions, which would be LS: Radiation in 5th edition) or a Force Field with at least a 15 ED. Considering that Force Field is a sufficiently common defense all by itself, I have no problem with having either a LS or a FF of sufficient strength. It certainly stops the munchkins that buy 5 points of every defense power in the game...

"Umm, buy the suit as a vehicle with onboard computer? The onboard computer has such programs that will allow it to know if the pilot is ko'd and to take appropriate action?" Well, vehicles don't take STUN, and I'd like to use the STUN mechanic (it's much less abusive than taking something that only takes BODY into a fight). Besides, I've always thought of vehicles as (human-sized) battlesuits to be mega, ultra cheese...

Not really. The wearer being knocked out is nothing more than special effects. The character as a whole still has STUN, and is still conscious by the rules. It's simply that when STUN drops below a certain level, the character acts differently, and is affected by a different class of mental powers. For example, if the character has 25 STUN normally, and an extra 25 STUN bought in the suit, here's what happens. After the character drops to less than 25 STUN out of 50, the Physical Limitation kicks in, the character's mental category changes, and a different set of Psychological Limitations come into play. The character still has the same capabilities, unless some of them are bought with the limitation Not When Below 1/2 STUN. I like the idea of buying Instant Change on a trigger. I think that's a good solution to how the mental category can change...though the change may be more than cosmetic, depending on the GM. Another possibility is Shapeshift, mental only, 0 END Persistant. Unfortunately, it's horribly expensive for the point value. Maybe I'll take the question to Steve. When all else fails, ask the system guru.

Then, how do you take the computer part out? Computers don't have STUN, which means you're effectively getting all the Automaton powers for free (since you have to destroy the suit to stop it).

Part of the problem is that there is no game mechanic to switch character type for purposes of mental powers, without requiring an entirely new character sheet. Honestly, switching to machine for purposes of mental powers is neither Advantage or Disadvantage in most cases. Sure, you can't be affected by mental powers targeting humans...but the same thing would occur if your character was a sentient robot. The only other thing I can think of is allowing the character to be affected by both human and machine mental powers when conscious (a small Physical Limitation). This would signify the ability of machine-controlling powers to take over the Battlesuit. This does lead to a few odd situations though, such as when a robot-controlling power rolls high enough for "Does not remember actions". So, does anyone else have ideas for simulating this without going the Multiform (or Duplication) route? Those two powers are the biggest bookkeeping nightmares in the game, and require twice as much work in character creation (since you're making two characters).

Here's the main problem I have with the cost of DEX: +1 DCV = 5 points +3 DEX (minus the 3 figured points of SPD) = 6 points So, for 1 extra point, you get +1 OCV with everything and 3 points of Lightning Reflexes. That's not counting the possibility that it brought your DEX high enough to get an extra +1 with all your DEX-based skills. Sure, the whole package of DEX should cost less than the sum of the parts, but this is ridiculous. Either DCV levels should cost less, or DEX should cost more.

Lowering defenses has a dramatic effect on the way the game is played. The question is...do you want more fragile heroes? When your average super drops in two hits, that just doesn't seem very heroic. Lowering average DEF in a game does several things: * SPD and DEX are a lot more important...two characteristics that already were more effective than their cost suggests. If the average character drops in two shots, it's very important to get those two shots before your opponents. Especially if the first shot CON-stuns your opponent. * Likewise, special defenses suddenly become even more effective. Invisibility, Darkness (that the character can see through), and Desolidification will become much more common. * With faster combats, Flash attacks are increased in effectiveness, especially AoE Flashes. If you can blind your foes for a few segments, even a weak primary attack will finish them off before they recover. * NND's are less effective, as normal attacks will do about as damage even against high DEF characters. If the average brick has 25 DEF instead of 30, a 12d6 attack only does 4 less STUN than a 6d6 NND...and the 12d6 attack works against everything, does knockback, and can do BODY as well. Honestly, if I wanted that sort of game, I would increase the cost of DEX, SPD, and a few powers to compensate. But using the costs in FRED, I prefer to keep defenses at their 4th edition levels.

"Throught the Gadget Pool, buy Multi-Form, with the alternate form being an Automaton, with a Trigger to activate." I was going for the KISS (keep it simple, ...) approach, rather than something complex. Besides, I dislike using Multiform everytime something changes with a character - it's cumbersome, and requires a completely separate character sheet. Also, isn't Multiform disallowed in VPP's?

I saw an old Marvel comic that had an interesting addition to Iron Man's armor. He was fighting against a psychic that knocked him out with a psi-blast. At that point, the battlesuit's combat computer kicked in, played a prerecorded message saying that Iron Man had expected that, then the battlesuit proceeded to attack the psychic. Now I was wondering, how could I do this in Champions? I toyed with several options, before coming up with a method. I wanted to see if this fits within the rules. First, buy extra STUN, with the OIF Battlesuit limitation. Second, have a small (5-10 point) physical limitation that when the character takes enough STUN to be negative without the bonus STUN from the suit, the robotic personality takes over. This changes the character from human to machine for purposes of psychic attacks, and changes the Psychological Limitations of the character to an equal amount of machine-appropriate Psych Lims. The character may also have lower stats in robotic form (-1/2 Limitation - not when battlesuit wearer is unconscious). The battlesuit can still be rendered temporarily inactive - if it loses the remaining STUN, systems short out. For a creepier option, you could experiment with extra BODY with the OIF Battlesuit limitation, buy the automaton powers with the (-0?) limitation Only When Wearer Unconscious/Dead, and allow the suit to keep fighting even after the wearer's demise, until the heroes completely destroy the suit. The only problem is explaining why the PD and ED of the suit suddenly drop to 1/3rd their former level when the wearer goes unconscious.

DEX costs 5th edition HERO had one big failing. The sacred cows of characteristic costs weren't touched, which means DEX (and to a lesser extent, STR) is the most cost-effective buy in the game. Upping the cost to 4 (or even, dare I say it, 5) points per point of DEX would bring this monster under control, and encourage people to buy levels instead.

Other ways around Desolidification There are other ways to challenge a desolid character besides giving the bad guys the ability to hit him. Here's some scenarios that require the desolid character to do more than stay desolid and strike with an Affects Real World power: * The superheroes need to protect someone. Since Affects Real World is a +2 advantage, any attack by a desolid character (assuming active point limits) will do little to stop an attacker before they can reach the target. * The heroes need to save someone. The desolid character could certainly be useful in helping scout out the area, or in disabling the bad guys...but what happens when the villain threatens to kill the hostage unless the hero turns solid? * The heroes need to catch someone. If the villain is attemping to flee instead of fight, the desolid character needs to have the movement to keep up with them, or a ranged attack powerful enough to stop the villain before they get out of range. * If the desolid character has skills that require him to be solid (lockpicking, etc), insert situations that require the use of those skills. Of course, this only works if the character doesn't have Affects Real World on STR.

Hmm. Can you do a Tunneling Damage Shield?

Book contents I'd like to see several things: * Ways to make up a wide variety of powers, including things that have been traditionally hard to simulate in HERO. * Characteristic sets for character types - for example, a brick might have 60 STR, 20 DEX, 33 CON, 15 BODY, 8 INT, 11 EGO, 20 PRE, 10 COM, 20 PD, 20 ED, 4 SPD, 66 END, 60 STUN. * A detailed discussion of how to balance characters (the Rule of X), with multiple ways of determining X for game balance. The discussion in the Champions book was too brief. * I don't know if it fits with the general theme of the book, but I really want a comprehensive list of Psych Lims. It's often a pain to figure out how to word a specific psych lim, or figure out how many points it's worth.