Mister E

Are you talking about Peter Parkour?  I'd think the spider powers would handle everything well enough...

Isn't Parkour a combination of running on narrow surfaces with poor footing in a cluttered, and cramped area interspersed with climbing and leaping? An acrobatics roll usually eliminates penalties for cluttered and cramped areas or narrow surfaces; a breakfall roll usually covers poor footing; a climbing roll eliminates penalties associated with climbing.
So Parkour could be bought as acrobatics, breakfall, and climbing along with a number of three point skill levels covering those three skills.
Or it could be bought as a low STR clinging requiring a roll with the special effect of 'parkour'.
Or it could be bought as Flight, only along a surface requiring a roll with the special effect of 'parkour'.
Or it could be bought as extra leaping with some Environmental Movement talents:
Supreme Balance (no penalties on narrow surfaces): 4 Character Points  Sure-footed (no penalties on slippery surfaces): 2 Character Points  Crawlspace Ace (no OCV or DCV penalties in cluttered or cramped areas): 4 Character Points  Master Climber (counters up to -2 worth of DCV penalties while climbing): 4 Character Points Each of these would be different in play, but could all be considered to represent parkour.

I built two separate powers (she has a VPP):
 
Slippery/Sweaty Hands:  Change Environment (-4 to DEX Rolls to hold onto current accessible focus), AoE (2m Radius Accurate; +½), Uncontrolled (stops when target takes a Phase to wipe hands off; +½), Half END (+¼).  AP = 27, END = 1.
 
Weak Buckles / Clips:  Change Environment (-4 to DEX Rolls to catch falling OAFs), AoE (2m Radius Accurate; +½), Autofire (5shots; +1½), 0 END (+1).  AP = 48, END = 0.
 
With the first, she can target the individual and lasts for however many Phases she put END into it. 
 
With the second, she targets his foci.  I'd say that she'd need to re-attack for it to affect different foci in future Phases.
 
Thanks again, all!

I was starting a response on TK UAA< and how I would likely allow a penalty to the DEX roll so success would be about as common as a typical NND defense, but...
 
What about Change Environment to force a DEX roll to hold on to foci?  You get to set the penalty to the DEX roll.  Maybe some of the penalty is "only for accesible foci".  Maybe he gets a roll for each focus, so he may hold on to some and lose others.  It's his quick reactions that allow him to recover from the unlucky event causing his foci to slip. 
 
Maybe you have to use Autofire or Multiple Attack to target more than one Focus in a single use, but maintaining the field would cause different foci to be targeted phase after phase.
 
I think that could be a better model for the effect you are trying to achieve.

I had a Scarecrow character, similar to Lord Liaden's suggestion, adding an Absorption from Body to Presence - the more battered he got, the more demonically frightening he became.

Since humans are tainted by Elder Worm DNA in the CU, would that be considered an imperfection to be purged away?
 
Come to think of it, could Elder Worm DNA be one of the contributors to superhuman empowerment in humans?

If you go by the official lore of Malva, "sacredness" is where the potential complication lies. Per Champions Beyond pp. 99 and 108, the Furnace of the First Ones is the focus of the ancient Malvan religion of Rathuliorn, "a monotheistic religion with messianic and fire-worship elements that considers Firewing a divine being." Most modern Malvans consider religion a quaint superstition, but a small sect of Rathuliorns still exist on Malva, worshiping at the Grand Temple, where an order of Malvan priests conduct elaborate ceremonies and tend the Furnace.
 
From what we know of Malva, I doubt most Malvans would care if a human walked through the Furnace of the First Ones. But the reaction of the Rathuliorns is hard to predict. It's almost certain they would never allow a human even within the Great Temple if they had any say in it. But if a human actually entered the Furnace, and not only survived but was empowered, would that be viewed as blasphemous, or a sign of divine favor? That's uncharted territory, so I'd say you should choose whichever works best for your story.
 
A few things to keep in mind: Per Firewing's origin (most recently in CV Vol. 3) the legends of the Furnace state that it "burns away" weakness and imperfection. Per the statement of the Wisdom Stones, all others who tried to fulfill the prophecy of the Firewing perished. Ariax Thone experienced great pain when he entered the Furnace. However, he possessed "minor fire powers" even before then, which may have helped protect him; and that similarity may be why the Furnace granted him the powers it did.
 
Also, p. 102 of Champions Beyond, describing the Malvan/Elder Worm war, notes that the Malvans fielded a cadre of elite warriors called the Golden Hunters, granted super-powers through Malvan science. Yet "the most powerful of all were the Starwings, who'd walked into the Furnace of the First Ones and been granted superpowers even greater than those given to other Hunters through Malvan ultra-science." Implicitly, being empowered by the Furnace isn't a once-in-an-eon event, although it's likely that only a fraction of volunteers who walked into the Furnace survived. The precise powers of the Starwings aren't described, but the similarity of their name to Firewing's suggest thematic similarities. Also implicitly, the prophecy of the Firewing post-dates the Elder Worm war.

Unless noted otherwise by a more specific rule, when a character dies, all his powers stop functioning at the end of that Segment. (Regeneration with Resurrection is an obvious exception; by definition it has to work after the character is dead, or it would be useless.) As always, the GM should apply common sense when considering matters like this. For example, an Inherent Extra Limb (such as a tail) ceases functioning after death, but it doesn’t disappear — it’s a part of the character’s body and remains in (nonfunctioning) existence. The same would apply to, for example, an HKA defined as claws or fangs (which unlike an Extra Limb wouldn’t be bought as Inherent).

I’ll consider the issue of “powers that linger beyond death” for inclusion in APG3.

In both cases the answer is no. The loss of STUN due to the fading of an Adjustment Power isn't the same thing as inflicting STUN damage, and cannot Stun the target.

When characters exposed to high or low Temperature Levels lose REC as discussed on 6E2 145. Treat the REC as being “permanently” lost until the character spends time in an area that’s at the Comfort Zone — every 20 minutes spent at the Comfort Zone allows him to regain one lost increment of REC.
 
For example, suppose that a character spends 40 minutes in Temperature Level -3 conditions. That means he’s lost -6 REC (and -6 END, though that doesn’t matter for purposes of this question). Fortunately, he finds shelter that maintains Comfort Zone temperatures. After 20 minutes in this shelter he regains 3 REC; after 40 minutes he regains the remaining -3 and is now at full REC.

He looks like Bruce Boxleitner.

Last time I did a sci-fi campaign, we created a rather alien race.  They were plants, specifically shrubs, psionic shrubs.  In Roger Zelazny's Doorways in the Sand near the end of the book the (friendly) aliens bring in a telepathic analyst; its name was Dr. Mrm'mmlrr or something like that, and that is probably the initial germ of the idea.  We postulated the shrubs had initially evolved to broadcast a faint aura of psionic fear around themselves to repel animals like deer, and their intelligence and psionic toolkit got better as the species evolved.  Their thinking and psionic tissues were in the roots.  They had multiple semi-intelligent client species, the most important to the game being evolved from weasels; these weasels had functional hands, a spoken language, and were the shrubs' manipulators and muscles.  (For the native-form shrubs, the most important clients were a species of ants, whose purpose was to prevent infestations of root nematodes and parasites below ground; the tissue-tank individuals -- see below -- didn't need those.)  While the weasels had metalworking tech, the shrubs preferred biotech: they had a couple of species of fungus and trees whose growth habit they controlled, and they'd developed a strain of fungus that could survive continuous contact with the deep space environment (so their spaceships' hulls were literally wood and tough fungus, grown to desired configuration).
 
Shrubs are not motile, of course, but they had some individuals who could be moved as they were in pots, and they had achieved a tech where fully functional individuals lived in tanks of nutrient fluid which looked pretty much like refrigerators.  As a species they had a real horror of fire.  While they had evolved both themselves and their clients that they could, at need, override a client's mind completely and take full control, doing that was rarely done because it was so difficult; the shrubs could get very little more and the barest, coarsest emotion read on humans.
 
Interstellar and interplanetary drives could be done with a psionic element that some of the shrubs had.  Their distance communications used some handwavium thing that modulated broadband infrared (wavelength out near 10 to 100 microns) well enough to be comprehensible in their psionic sensorium.

Ok.
 
Takes no STUN:  (Total: 70 Active Cost, 28 Real Cost) Desolidification , Persistent (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (70 Active Points); Cannot Pass Through Solid Objects (-1/2), Always On (-1/2), Limited Power Only protects against STUN damage (still takes BODy) (-1/2) (Real Cost: 28)
 
Lucius Alexander
 
Even if it's not visible, it's here by implication. You're thinking about it aren't you?

This is the core of it all... is the power of Density Increase really a -1 Limitation?   That is essentially what this comes down to... a pre-built limitation for a specific set of powers.
 
Is getting your powers from DI as limiting as have them through an OAF? Will you not be able to use your DI limited powers half the time you want to?
 
I'd say most of the time, no... you are getting a price break without really suffering a penalty for it.

I’m moving this out from another thread, to avoid watering that one down, and also because  some may be interested in this topic rather than that thread.


 
The question  which arose is the price point for Density Increase in 6e, where the price  has declined from 5 points per level to 4 points per level.  Each level provides +5 STR, +1 PD, +1 ED, -2m Knockback and double mass.


 
That’s 9 AP worth of powers, effectively at about half END as the DI itself is costed lower than the total of the abilities it grants, all of which would normally also be Persistent.  Although it’s only half END, let’s assign the full -1/2.  After all, losing Persistence on defenses especially can be pretty painful.


 
That should drop us to 6 points per level.  How do we get down to 4?


 
Well, it’s also Perceptible, since DI costs END, but that comes with Costs END, and we allowed the full -1/2 for that.  No extra limitation there.


 
There is that mass enhancement.  That tends  not to have significant or frequent drawbacks, so it feels like -1/4.  That would equate to a Minor Side Effect (minor effect) that occurs automatically (x2) and only affects the environment (reduce by 1/4) for a -1/4 limitation.


 
The abilities are also all Linked.  STR is the greater power, and they are Jointly Linked.  RAW is hazy on this point, suggesting Jointly Linked is a -0 added limitation, so only the lesser power gets the limitation, but if the lesser power costs a lot of END or is otherwise very inconvenient, maybe tack on an extra -1/4.  Alternatively, give the greater power -1/4 and the lesser the usual -1/2. 


 
The latter feels right to me as a baseline.  They are proportional.  However, where the (Greater) constant power is in use most or all of the time, the limitation is reduced by -1/4.  Arguably, that applies here – how often would a DI using character shut off his DI in combat – but he could be ambushed out of combat, run out of END, etc.  Let’s be charitable and allow the maximum – 1/4 to the STR and -1/2 to the lesser powers.


 
So 6 levels of DI is:


 
+30 STR, costs END (-1/2), Side Effect, always occurs, minor, environment only (-1/4), Linked (-1/4), so 30 AP, 15 RP; plus


 
+6 PD, +6 ED, -12m KB Resistance, costs END (-1/2), Side Effect, always occurs, minor, environment only (-1/4), Linked (-1/2), so 24 AP, 11 RP


 
Total – 26 RP/6 levels is a bit over 4 points per level, even with a generous interpretation for Linked.


 
Thoughts?  Is 4 points a discount?  Maybe it should be 5 points?  DI is a much better deal in 6e since there are no longer Figured Characteristics sacrificed.


 
Maybe the environmental Side Effect should be Major, rather than Minor, and played up more?  Some games make this a bigger deal than others, but I find the source material (mainly Supers) typically does not male too big a deal of this.

Here's where I write up some stuff on Hero system tricks, build philosophy, show sample characters, and so on.

Make all PCs have the same Speed. It's just easier that way. YMMV 

Make all PCs have the same Speed. It's just easier that way. YMMV 

Reward players' cool ideas.  If they voice ideas that are cooler than your planned adventure ... go there.

If the players are not following genre tropes you want them to follow, this is often because you are penalizing, rather than rewarding, them.  Design the game around how you want it to play out.
 
Examples: 
 
"My players always try to kill the villains". When they don't, the villains escape and make their lives miserable.
 
"My players distrust everything to the point of paranoia."  Everyone they trusted has betrayed them.
 
"My players never show restraint."  If they do, the villains take the opportunity to crush them into the dirt.
 
Ensuring you and the players are on the same page about the game is important in any game, but even more in Hero where the game can be varied so markedly.

This is gold for long campaigns.  If the players are reliable then you can, at the time of the pointless death, have the player make a roll.  It is meaningless but it allows you the opportunity to pass a note. Tell the player that they are, by the dice, dead.  They can decide to die right here, ignominiously, and roll up/design another character, or they can use that roll to spot a magical mushroom that heals them, on the agreement that there will be a dramatic moment in this or the next session where they will achieve something huge but die in the achievement.  That moment will be down to the GM but the player can, if they spot an opportunity, suggest a heroic action to the GM, knowing that this will be their last moment in the campaign.
 
Eventually your players will know this is something you do and there will be no need for subterfuge, but this allows a few WOW moments before it becomes a feature of the campaign.
 
Doc

Most of the suggestions I'd have are going to be general to GMing any game.
Remember everyone is there to have fun and its a game, not a competition between the GM and the players. Remember the rule of cool: if its fun, cool, and entertaining, its probably right, even if not technically according to the rules. Never give exact, specific details until people have completely investigated something or need a hard nudge.  Use ambiguous terms like "seems" and "appears" Never roll the dice in front of the players, that way if you have to you can fudge them and hide results they can't know yet (did that perception roll work?) Go overboard on descriptions and NPC interactions.  Ham it up, don't be afraid of looking stupid.  Be entertaining and broad, like you're on stage. Remember what the players guess, their paranoid fears and predictions are often more creative and better than what you had planned. Take note of NPCs (especially mooks like a Viper agent or a goblin) who stand out and are memorable.  Give them a name and have them return. Use the simple system of combat for non-important mooks: assign them a number of hits, no matter how solid, and have them go down when they reach that number.  1-3 is enough. When non-'Boss' enemies are knocked out or downed, they stay down for the duration, they don't recover and get back up again. Use a combat program such as the very old GSPC or the new and more compatible Hero Combat Manager If you aren't sure on a rule, guess based on common sense and experience with the system, and look it up later Allow players to adjust characters slightly after the first session, a build not be what they had intended or have a hole they didn't plan on. Treat the rules as a guideline to handle specific situations rather than controlling you.  Break or bend them if it makes for a better game. Mix up your scenarios: funny, scary, serious, dramatic, romantic, surprising twist ending, etc.  If you've just run a long series of comedic adventures, do something different, like a mystery. Try to give each player a chance to shine each scenario (if not their character) so they feel they've been a useful part of the game Look at and identify each player's "style" (murder hobo, romantic, puzzle solving, etc) and try to find ways to give them what they are looking for Try to end each session with some tangible goal met and something important accomplished, so it doesn't feel aimless or like they aren't getting anywhere. Try to challenge the player characters as much as you can, without being frustrating or humiliating to the players. Only require a skill or characteristic roll if drama or the difficulty of a situation demands it.  If someone tries to do something very elementary for a skill (like stand on one leg with an acrobatics skill) then they succeed without needing a roll. Overall: read and study Strike Force for how to run a good long term campaign.

It will be helpful if you make sure that your players understand the kind of adventures you want to create. If they have read or viewed the same sources you have and clearly indicate that they want to be play in that kind of world, you're off to a good start. On the other hand if they know nothing about "A Certain Magical Index" you might find yourself disappointed as you put the characters in this or that situation and they respond in ways that break the genre or setting.
 
Lucius Alexander
 
For example, if you have determined palindromedaries are a common element of the setting and one player's response to meeting a palindromedary is to say the character just doesn't believe it exists and tries to treat it as a hallucination, you might have an issue. So might the palindromedary.

1. No, not really
2. I have 3-5 people willing to play Hero
3. I have...
HERO System Sixth Edition Volume 1: Character Creation
HERO System Sixth Edition Volume 2: Combat & Adventuring
HERO System Martial Arts
Gun Fu
Hero System Equipment Guide
The Ultimate Base
The HERO System Bestiary
Hero System Skills
The HERO System Grimoire
HERO System Advanced Player's Guide
HERO System Advanced Player's Guide II
4. I was gonna run it as a Heroic Campaign 275CP
 
I'll try to build some of the characters "I'm going to change the campaign to be more like "A Certain Magical Index" instead, but it's still kinda like My Hero Academia

Here are some question I have for you:
Have you been a GM with any other game system? Do you have a group of people who are ready to game with you and are willing to try out Hero? What Hero products do you own? Are you going to run this as Heroic or Superhero level campaign?  I am providing some generalizations about how each of these approaches could 'flavor' a campaign. Heroic campaign - characters don't have to use character points to get things like guns or cars or any other normal item that someone with $s could buy.  Also characters tend to be very fit human beings but they don't have any super powers.  Adventures tend to build more around skills, role-playing, narrative, and plot and less on violent encounters.  In a fantasy game someone like Conan (see books or the 1st Arnold Schwarzenegger movie) would be an example of a character in a Heroic campaign that has essentially 'peaked' physically.  A character like Batman could exist in a Heroic campaign.  After all Batman doesn't have any super powers, he is just rich and smart and determined. Superhero level campaign - characters have to use character points to get everything - cellphones, cars, guns, etc.  Characters tend to have powers (see superhero movies) and tend to be able to do things normal people can't do at all.  Adventures tend to involve using powers and combat does take a bigger stage in these kinds of games.  If you  spend 50% of your points in powers you want to use them and most of those powers tend to be combat oriented.  And Batman can clearly exist in a Superhero campaign as well.  Most likely he would have a monster sized gadget pool and really large #of points put into Perks (especially wealth, contacts and favors). Some specifics:
Build some characters from the My Hero Academia the anime and then post them here for us to look at and don't worry about the point totals just try and make the character match the show.  So for instance if one of the characters is really strong and is shown lifting up a bus and throwing it a city block, you can calculate the strength needed to lift up a bus (see the Hero books there are tables for that) and then figure out how much extra strength the character would need to throw the bus that far.  Also how easy is it for the character to be hurt will help decide on things like physical and Try building characters from the source material at say 200 (5e) or 300 (6e) points, since these are suppose to be children and are growing into their powers