Mister E

You have some good advice there.  
 
If I was to add anything it would be to find ways for heroic actions to succeed.  If the players try to do something heroic and the dice don’t quite make it work then find a way to say that the action worked BUT...  and then come up with a downside.
 
For example, the hero wants to use his power to distract the villains long enough for a hostage to break clear.  The dice don’t work out, so instead of just saying it doesn’t work, you say it does work but the hero has not just distracted the villains, he has drawn their attention to him, along with several others.  He has saved the hostage but left himself in a perilous position...
 
Doc

There's tips and tricks for being a GM that apply to any game system, though here are some more specific for Hero Games.
 
1.  Don't get hung up on rolling every to-hit and damage for every single low-level mook NPC.  It will slow combat to a crawl.  If a hero is fighting a gang of relative normals, I like to group them together using some home-brewed Mass Combat rules.  So instead of eight gang members, each with 28 STUN and 6d6 HtH clubs, I turn them into one mass-opponent with 58 total STUN (+10 for each doubling of the number of individuals) and a single 9d6 HtH attack (+1d6 per doubling, representing multiple 6d6 attacks hitting the hero), then get creative with describing the combat.  As the STUN total drops, so do the number of remaining gang members and their mass-attack dice until the hero is facing down the last guy with his 6d6 club. 
 
2.  Non-Player Characters are (at least IMO) key to making a great game world.  That includes friends / family / coworkers / neighbors of the player characters.  To help populate my game world (and get more buy-in from the players) at the start of a campaign, I give the players 5 extra points if they supply me with 5 NPCs (names and simple descriptions of who they are), with the understanding that I won't use those NPCs as DNPC-like targets.  They can still play a role in adventure plots, just not as kidnap victims / hostages / etc. that the hero has to rescue.  So the PC's mom might have been at a bank that was robbed by the bad guy, but the hero hears about it afterward and she's completely fine (if a bit shaken up).  I find they're great for introducing various plot elements to the PCs, as they hear about, say, a new supervillain in town from a school classmate instead of the generic "nightly news."
 
3.  Since you're just starting out, drawing up some sample characters yourself and having the new players run through a simple combat might be a good way to get yourself and your players comfortable with the game.  Then the players can create their own characters to run for-real.  You can even have the sample characters put in an appearance later as NPC heroes (from another town, maybe).  If you're feeling really creative, you could make those sample characters be bad guys, and the heroes can later run into them.  Having run those characters once, the players might even have more fun than usual cleaning their clocks.

This is a non-sequitur.
 
A Killing Attack that does NOT have a possibility of killing shouldn't trip a Code vs Killing.
 
Lucius Alexander
 
The palindromedary asks what about a Code vs Munchkins?

Perhaps the question is - what Power, Advantage, or LImitation, can NOT be abused? Are there any?
 
Lucius Alexander
 
Inquiring palindromedaries want to know

Aid presently costs 6 points per 1d6, unmodified.  Let's say we buy 10d6 of Aid for 60 point, half of which goes to ED and half to the Aid itself.  What happens?
 
First phase, spend 6 END and roll 10d6 - let's say it comes up 36.
 
+18 ED (halved is +9), and +18 Aid, so now you have 13d6 Aid.
 
Second phase, spend 8 END and roll 13d6.  Assuming an average or above roll, you will add 42 to reach the 78 point maximum.
 
That's another +21 ED (halved is +10, so +19 in total) and another 21 to Aid (so now you have a total of 60 + 18 + 21 = 99  AP, or 16 1/2d6 of Aid, with a 99 point maximum)
 
Maybe you only use 10d6 on the third phase, so only 6 END - rolling 21 to max out at 99 should be pretty easy.
 
So another +10 ED (halved is +5, so +24 in total from 49 Aided AP) and +10 to Aid (now 109 AP, so 18d6, and a 108 maximum).
 
This will be our fourth phase using the Aid, and we reach our 108 maximum.
 
Half of that, 54 points, is enhancing ED (so +27 ED) and the other half boosts Aid (so +9d6 - now 19d6, and a 114 AP cap)
 
Eventually, rounding permitting, we should have reached 120 points Aided, 60 to ED (so we have +30 ED) and 60 to Aid (so we have 120 AP = 20d6 = 120 maximum points Aided).
 
It sure took a lot of attack actions, and a lot of END, to convert the 60 points spent on Aid to +30 ED, didn't it?  Maybe +30 ED, Usable by Others, would be more efficient.
 
I suppose if you directed 1/3 of the points to the ability you want to enhance, and 2/3 to the Aid, you might get even higher, but it really doesn't seem worthwhile.  You could make the Aid infinite, though - direct all the points to Aid, and now it is unlimited.  Purposeless, but unlimited.
 
Pre-6e, when you could add 2 to the limit for every 1 point spent, infinite Aid (or Absorption - I've used that) was possible.

Not to derail Steve's thread too far, but Dean Shomshak's book for Hero Fifth Edition, The Ultimate Mystic, includes a non-exhaustive but useful survey of the "mythology" of the Abrahamic religions for gaming purposes. Like the rest of the very diverse material in that book, the discussion of angels is scholarly but very accessible and entertaining to read. Two of Dean's books for Fourth Edition, The Ultimate Super Mage and The Super Mage Bestiary, even include stats for a small selection of traditional types of angels. All are available from the Hero Games website store for very reasonable prices.
 
As for devils, there are countless RPG examples, as gamers of whatever denomination have always enjoyed beating them up with no qualms. Maybe even as much as Nazis.

Thank you for saying that, and for your breakdown of the way such things are presented in modern TV (etc.). I agree with a lot of your points, especially re: not mentioning specific church denominations and not making God a character on the show.  Honestly, if I reeeaallllyyy wanted to do it, I'd include a chapter on Christian Mythology and just say the heck with any repercussions. After all, I'm covering a lot of other mythoi -- Chinese, Voodoo, Hindu... -- that are living faiths. (Not to mention the possibility of "paganist" revivals of old religions, such as Asatru.) But at this stage, I'm just as happy to save myself the colossal amount of work a chapter on Christian Mythology would entail. After Mythic Hero comes out, if there's a tremendous hue and cry for Christian Mythology, there's more than enough material out there for me to do an entire book on the subject.
 
Heck, maybe I could make that a Kickstarter stretch goal -- I already have an idea for the first stretch goal, but maybe this could be the second.

I don't have the 6th Edition of Champions.  As someone who started with the 1st Edition I found that the 5th Edition was the ultimate evolution of the system.
 

I would like to have 6ed random characters, and a Advantages/Limitations Calculator. Beyond that...it looks ok.

I am pleased to announce the launch of the HERO System Mobile app on both the Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store.  You can install the app by searching for it in your app store or by using the links provided.  The app is free to use, ad free, and respects your privacy.
 
Google Play - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.herogmtools App Store - https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hero-system-mobile/id1352750917?ls=1&mt=8 Amazon App Store - http://a.co/byom955  
This project is an extension of an export template I wrote a few months ago.  I had so much fun writing that template that I decided to develop a full app.
 
Features
Import characters from Hero Designer using this export template Characteristics and Skills may be long pressed and a check will be made Dice rolling tools (3d6, Hit, Damage, and Free Form)  The H.E.R.O. tool generates random 250 point 5e supers (shout out to Cassandra for allowing me to use her original idea) Track statistics about your die rolls, including average values, distribution, total stun etc.  
This is still very much a work in progress and I have plans to add more features as time goes on.  For now though I feel that it’s mature enough to release to the general public.
 
Feedback is always welcome either here or at phil.guinchard@gmail.com
 
Happy Hero-ing

APG1 has a new Stunning option for Change Environment you should check out.  I've posted more details on older threads of similar topic.
 
[Notes: From APG1 page 83 - The Stunned effect lasts as long as the Change Environment is maintained (1 Turn*). However, when affected the victim gets to make a CON Roll immediately (at -6*), and if the roll succeeds the attack has no effect on him. If the roll fails, he gets to make an additional CON Roll every Phase he's affected at a cumulative +1 (so +1 on his second roll, +2 on his third, and so on). As soon as any roll succeeds, the power immediately stops affecting him and he has his full Phase in which to act.]

MYTHIC HERO: What Do *You* Want To See? I want to see Mythic Hero! Obviously. 

And at 5 plus years, MH is becoming a unicorn as it is. 

Keep plugging away at it Steve. All is good. 

Thanx, folx! Have no fear, I am doing what I can.

Congratulations! But please take care of any health issues first and foremost. I want you around and writing for a long time. (The tragic loss of Balabanto has left me feeling rather protective of Hero writers.)

The suspense is killing me

A witch hunt *Rolls eyes* I hope he spills some water on himself now
 
Whataworldwhataworld

I'm calling it now: "Witch hunt, totally unfair. Paul is a good guy, cannot believe charges are true. Why won't investigators look into Crooked Hillary. Sad!" (Pardon by tweet, with actual pardon to follow)

In retrospect I think our politics would have been better had Nixon gone to prison and all of his misdeeds fully exposed to public scrutiny. It might have had a stronger deterrent effect upon subsequent administrations(including this one).  It annoys me to no end that the media treats impeachment as the end of the disciplinary process for presidents.  News flash: if a president commits "high crimes and misdemeanors", there's a very strong chance that some of those high crimes are also serious felonies.  It's not only "okay" for presidents, once removed or out of office, to be prosecuted, it's okay for them to be incarcerated too.  It sends the message that no one is above the law in our country.  

Random Superhero Group
 
Superhero 1
 
Superhero Type List Roll - 8 (List 8)
Roll for Superhero Type - 9 (Gadgeteer)
Gender Roll - 4 (Female)
Skill Set List Roll - 10 (List 10)
Skill Set Roll - 8 Investigator
 
 
Gadgeteer
 
Val Char Cost
15 STR 5
20 DEX 30
20 CON 20
10 BODY 0
13 INT 3
20 EGO 20
15 PRE 5
18 COM 4
5 PD 2
5 ED 1
4 SPD 10
7 REC 0
40 END 0
28 STUN 0
Total Characteristics Cost: 100 Points
 
Cost Skills
2 AK: [Campaign] City 11-
3 Bugging 12-
3 Conversation 12-
3 Criminology 12-
3 Deduction 12-
3 interrogation 12-
2 Navigation [Ground] 12-
3 Shadowing 12-
3 Streetwise 12-
Total Skills Cost: 25 Points
 
Cost Powers
10 Armor +5 rPD +5 rED, OIF (-1/2)
33 Multipower (50 Points) OIF (-1/2)
3 u) EGO Attack 5d6
3 u) EB 10d6
3 u) Entangle 5d6 DEF 5
3 u) FW 10 rPD 10 rED
3 u) Mind Control 10d6
3 u) Mental Illusion 10d6
3 u) Teleport 10", 4x Mass, 8x NCM, 1/2 END (+1/4)
21 ES: N-Ray Sight [Lead], Spatial Awareness, OIF (-1/2)
10 EC [Magic]-15 Points, OIF (-1/2)
10 1) Flight 10", 8x NCM
10 2) FF +10 rPD +10 rED, No END (+1/2)
10 3) STR +30
Total Powers Cost: 125 Points
 
Total Cost: 250 Points
 
150+ Disadvantages
10 DNPC: Loved One (Normal) 8-
10 Hunted: Super-Villain (As Powerful) 8-
10 Hunted: Super-Agency (More Powerful/NCI) 8-
20 Normal Characteristics Maxima
20 PsyL: Code Versus Killing (Common/Total)
20 PsyL: Protective Of Innocents (Very Common/Strong)
10 SocL: Secret Identity [Occasionally/Major)
Total Disadvantages Cost: 250 Points
 
 
Superhero 2
 
Superhero Type List Roll - 6 (List 6)
Superhero Type Roll - 5 (Patriot)
Gender Roll - 3 (Male)
Skill Set Type List Roll - 2 (List 2)
Skill Set Roll - 2 (Actor)
 
 
Patriot
 
Val Char Cost
20 STR 10
18 DEX 24
20 CON 20
12 BODY 4
18 INT 8
11 EGO 2
20 PRE 10
18 COM 4
8 PD 4
6 ED 2
4 SPD 12
8 REC 0
40 END 0
32 STUN 0
Total Characteristics Cost: 100 Points
 
Cost Skills
3 Acrobatics 13-
3 Acting 13-
3 Breakfall 13-
3 Climbing 13-
6 Combat Luck +3 rPD +3 rED
5 CSL: HTH Attack +1
3 Concealment 13-
3 Contortionist 13-
3 Conversation 13-
5 Defensive Strike
3 Disguise 13-
4 Martial Block
4 Martial Dodge
4 Martial Strike
3 Martial Throw
3 Mimicry 13-
2 Navigation [Ground] 13-
3 Persuasion 13-
2 PS: Actor 11-
3 Seduction 13-
3 Stealth 13-
1 Use Martial Arts With Weapon
Total Skills Cost: 75 Points
 
Cost Powers
10 Armor +5 rPD +5 rED, OIF (-1/2)
33 Multipower (50 Points) OIF (-1/2)
3 u) EB 10d6
1 u) HA +4d6, HTH Attack
2 u) Missile Deflection [All Ranged Attacks] +5
2 Running +1"
20 Running +5", 8x NCM, OIF (-1/2)
4 KB Resistance -3"
Total Powers Cost: 75 Points
 
Total Cost: 250 Points
 
150+ Disadvantages
10 DNPC: Loved One (Normal) 8-
10 Hunted: Super-Villain (As Powerful) 8-
10 Hunted: Super-Agency (More Powerful/NCI/Watch) 8-
20 Normal Characteristics Maxima
20 PsyL: Code Of The Hero (Very Common/Strong)
20 PsyL: Superpatriot (Common/Total)
10 SocL: Secret Identity (Occasionally/Major)
Total Disadvantages Cost: 250 Points
 
 
Superhero 3
 
Superhero Type List Roll - 10 (List 10)
Superhero Type Roll - 10 (Metamorph)
Metamorph Type Roll - (6) (Metamorph [stretching])
Gender Roll - 2 (Male)
Skill Set List Roll - 9 (List 9)
Skill Set Roll - 5 (Warrior)
 
Metamorph [stretching]
 
Val Char Cost
20 STR 10
18 DEX 24
20 CON 20
12 BODY 4
18 INT 8
11 EGO 2
15 PRE 5
18 COM 4
6 PD 2
4 ED 0
4 SPD 12
10 REC 4
50 END 5
32 STUN 0
Total Characteristics Cost: 100 Points
 
Cost Skills
3 Defense Maneuver I
3 Lightning Reflexes
3 Lightsleep 13-
2 Navigation [Air] 13-
3 Oratory 12-
3 Sleight of Hand 13-
2 Survival
3 Tactics 13-
3 Tracking 13-
Total Skills Cost: 25 Points
 
Cost Powers
45 Armor +15 rPD +15 rED
10 Clinging 50 STR
15 EC [stretching]-15 Points
10 1) Desolid, Cannot Pass Through Solid Objects (-1/2), Does Not Protect Against Damage (-1)
15 2) Flight 10", 8x NCM
15 3) STR +30
15 4) Stretching 4", No END (+1/2)
Total Powers Cost: 125 Points
 
Total Cost: 250 Points
 
150+ Disadvantages
10 DNPC: Loved One (Normal) 8-
10 Hunted: Super-Villain (As Powerful) 8-
10 Hunted: Super-Agency (More Powerful/NCI/Watch) 8-
20 Normal Characteristic Maxima
20 PsyL: Code Versus Killing (Common/Total)
20 PsyL: Protective Of Innocents (Very Common/Strong)
10 SocL: Secret Identity (Occasionally/Major)
Total Disadvantages Cost: 250 Points
 
 
Superhero 4
 
Superhero Type List Roll - 5 (List 5)
Superhero Type Roll - 6 (Patiot)
Gender Roll - 6 (Female)
Skill Set Type List Roll - 4 (List 4)
Skill Set Type Roll - 9 (Spy)
 
 
Patriot
 
Val Char Cost
15 STR 5
20 DEX 30
18 CON 16
11 BODY 2
18 INT 8
14 EGO 8
20 PRE 10
18 COM 4
7 PD 4
7 ED 3
4 SPD 10
7 REC 0
36 END 0
28 STUN 0
Total Characteristics Cost: 100 Points
 
Cost Skills
3 Acrobatics 13-
3 Acting 13-
3 Breakfall 13-
3 Climbing 13-
6 Combat Luck +3 rPD +3 rED
5 CSL: HTH Combat +1
3 Concealment 13-
3 Contortionist 13-
3 Conversation 13-
5 Defensive Strike
3 Disguise 13-
3 Lockpicking 13-
4 Martial Block
4 Martial Dodge
4 Martial Strike
3 Martial Throw
2 Navigation [Ground] 13-
2 PS: Spy 11-
3 Security Systems 13-
3 Seduction 13-
3 Stealth 13-
1 Use Martial Arts With Weapon
Total Skills Cost: 75 Points
 
Cost Powers
10 Armor +5 rPD +5 rED, OIF (-1/2)
33 Multipower (50 Points) OIF (-1/2)
3 u) EB 10d6
1 u) HA +4d6, HTH Attack (-1/2)
2 u) Missile Deflection [All Ranged Attacks] +5
2 Running +1"
20 Running +5", 8x NCM, No END (+1/2), OIF (-1/2)
4 KB Resistance -3"
Total Powers Cost: 75 Points
 
Total Cost: 250 Points
 
150+ Disadvantages
10 DNPC: Loved One (Normal) 8-
10 Hunted: Super-Villain (As Powerful) 8-
10 Hunted: Super-Agency (More Powerful/NCI/Watch) 8-
20 Normal Characteristics Maxima
20 PsyL: Code Of The Hero (Very Common/Strong)
20 PsyL: Superpatriot (Common/Total)
10 SocL: Secret Identity (Occasionally/Major)
Total Disadvantages Cost: 250 Points

Thanks to 60 minutes, I saw maybe half of this, tops.
 
Good (But not great)  things...
The Captain we start with is actually pretty cool. I can respect the hell out of her. However, this ends though, I suspect she won't be with us for the series. So... crap.
 
Some of the banter is good. Not great, but good.
 
kind of like Commander Saru. I'm okay with a 'new species' as long as it seems plausible (The galaxy is huge)
 
In between things
 
Michael Burnham...our protagonist. Mixed bag indeed,, Well acted. But the character hits all the components I equate with a Mary Sue fan ficiton attempt. Attached to popular character ...boom, Spock's adoptive sister Kinda sorta! Tragedy in Childhood. Boom. And named in away that catches attention for no particular reason except eyepatches and scars would be called on it. Mind you, I've been guilty of this myself, but it makes my hairs stand up warning wise. Still, well acted.
 
Terrible, just... terrible
 
Klingons
I'm sorry, this was a mistake. It does not 'make sense' it does not fit. You can argue all day about how it's just a visual change but frankly it's comparable to having CGI smurfs delivering the lines, it's just that jarring and takes me out of it. You want to make a group of religious fanatics for Klingons? Okay I guess since they don't mention gods (Which they killed ) but okaaay. Honor and conquest in its culture was enough before but fine. But that AND the 'hey we don't look like Klingons and you can't blame us for touching it up when we got some' . As a new species they might have worked (Though I wish then the time line was different). 
 
 
So, from what little I saw, more good than  bad, but nothing GREAT
 
 
If this had been a brand new Sci Fi Series, without Trek attatchment I think I would like it better. 
As a trek, it's maybe a 6 out of 10 and that's generous to compensate for biases and the fact I didn't see the whole pilot
 
But is it good enough for me to spend money on CBS all Access? 
 
Hell to the no. That's like an automatic -2 on any score so that 6 I gave it? Actually a four.
 
 
My suggestion? If you have Netflix in some part of the world where you can enjoy have at if you've got time to kill, go for it.
 
If you're in the USA... let this one go until next year and see if it's finally on Netflix by then. CBS shouldn't be rewarded for a cashgrab that doesn't really honor the canon despite it's protests that it is 'prime timeline' (And that term has as much legitimacy here as Corporations that promise you 'Real Cheese')

There is but one cover of Rocket Man. And it is this

This produces weird and non-transparent probabilities.
 
Alternatively, assuming you want each option to be equally likely, you could divide the 11 options into 2 groups - one of 6, one of 5. Choose a 6th option for the second group - even if it's just roll again.
 
So to choose an archetype, you roll to choose which table (group) to use. 1-3 the first group, 4-6 the second. Then you roll on the corresponding table.
 
So you get:
 
Superhero Type - Roll 1d6
 
1-3 Use Table 1
4-6 Use Table 2
 
Table 1 - Roll 1d6
1 Brick
2 Energy Projector
3 Gadgeteer
4 Martial Artist
5 Mentalist
6 Metamorph*
 
Table 2 - Roll 1d6
1 Mystic
2 Patriot
3 Powered Armor
4 Speedster
5 Weapons Master
6 Roll again for superhero type
 
---
 
For extra hand-holding, you might want to number all your tables to ensure references to them are unambiguous.

1d6 random tables are even odds but 2d6 tables have a bell curve.
 
e.g. rolling a 1-1 is the only way to get a Brick (2), but a 1-5 2-4 3-3 4-2 or 5-1 gives a Mentalist (6).
 
This makes Mentalists that much more common than Bricks.

Didn't James Bond climb up that place once?