Steve

I didn't see anything in the FAQ on this, but I might have missed it. 1) Can you use a mental power on yourself? 2) If you can use Telepathy on yourself, could you use it to recall memories that have been blocked or suppressed into the subconscious, like being under Mind Control or a Mental Illusion? Could you use Mind Control on yourself to reveal such things? Would you need to roll a higher effect number than the Mind Control that blocked the memory rolled? 3) If you have a psychic surgery type of Transform power, could you use it to rewrite your own memories?

Can a character set up fixed and floating locations for Extra-Dimensional Movement like can be done for Teleport?

1) I saw in the FAQ that Stretching can take the Megascale Advantage. If a character also has the Advantage "Does Not Cross Intervening Space" (by using 2D portals per the example on 5E page 142), and if this character had sufficient levels of enhanced senses to perceive a target at such a range with a targeting sense, could they hit them as a normal melee attack? 2) Since Stretching has an inherent Indirect Advantage to it, then it appears that Transdimensional could apply. Can Transdimensional be applied to Stretching?

A geriatric Mechanon would be an interesting sight, all right. As to Teleios, an argument could be made for other things that he is lacking on the Life Support front, like reduced need for sleep from having perfect brain chemistry, or enhanced breath holding ability due to hyper-efficient lungs.

Well, the special effect I was trying for was being able to move so fast that you can plow through enemies and they can't seem to touch you, so that was why I went with a couple of points of SPD and levels in DCV. I never played Max Payne myself, but what I heard about "bullet time" in the game was what inspired me to try this particular write-up.

Well, I have seen such a disease in the comics. Adam Warren's Dirty Pair, in the Biohazards graphic novel, were almost caught by some designer biowarfare agent called "hyper gangrene" that seemed to melt the flesh right off some guys they were fighting. This was the sort of thing I was thinking of. One could picture Teleios feverishly (pardon the pun) working up a cure in his lab for something he was infected with before it kills him. Hmm, could Teleios create a virus that not even he could cure? With Difficult to Dispel of a few levels, I bet he could.

Would this advantage be one way that you could do a type of limited invulnerability? Consider this power construct: Desolidification, Invisible to Touch (+1/4), Costs END only to activate (+1/4), Cannot Pass Through Objects (-1/2). 60 Active and 40 Real. Plus Affects Normal World (+2) on 10 STR. 20 Active and Real Points. The 10 STR is merely to show that the character can still pick up objects and affect the world normally, but they can't be hurt, even though an opponent could still reach out and touch them.

Has anyone ever tried a power construct like this? +2 SPD, Costs End (20 Active and 13 Real) +4 DCV, Linked to SPD Increase (20 Active and 13 Real) END Reserve (20 End, 2 REC) (4 Active and Real) I was trying to think of limited use SPD powers that could replicate the "bullet time" effect, and this was one notion I came up with. The DCV levels were to try and replicate the effect of being more difficult to hit while enhanced like this.

Apparently, I didn't phrase my question well. I apologize for that. Are both of these methods legal under 5th to buy DEX and SPD Only In Hero ID? If not, then which one is the legal one? 1) Buy +9 points of DEX OIHID (27 Active, 22 Real), and +1 SPD (10 Active, 8 Real). Total cost: 30. 2) Buy +9 points of DEX OIHID and No Figured Characteristics as an added (perhaps mandatory?) limitation (27 Active, 15 Real), and +1 SPD (10 Active, 8 Real). Total cost: 23

From the FAQ: Your reply to my earlier question on Partially Limited Characteristics makes an exception for SPD as the only figured characteristic that doesn't receive points derived from a primary characteristic, taking away the benefit mentioned in the FAQ quote above. Based on that reply, I can see two ways under 5th Edition to do such an increase for OIHID or through a Focus. This assumes a 10 DEX/2 SPD base character. 1) Buy +9 points of DEX OIHID (27 Active, 22 Real), and +1 SPD (10 Active, 8 Real). Total cost: 30. 2) Buy +9 points of DEX OIHID and No Figured Characteristics as an added (perhaps mandatory?) limitation (27 Active, 15 Real), and +1 SPD (10 Active, 8 Real). Total cost: 23 If I just bought the DEX and SPD straight up, I would only be paying 28 points, less than I would through a "limited" power construct under method #1. This seems an odd exception to HERO's method for dealing with limited characteristics. Is there a reason why SPD is the exception to the general way of doing things? It's also a bit harsh on the Captain Marvel and Iron Man clones, since SPD is the most expensive figured characteristic to raise a point. If method #2 is allowable, it would soften the blow at least and give a point cost similar to what it would if DEX reduced the cost of that first added point of SPD.

Well, if his VPP was 0-Phase, I'd agree with you on the Dispel issue. As it is written though, it takes time, likely a turn or more, for him to do anything with his pool, even with his skill roll. If he is hit with some disease-based attack that is fast-acting and deadly, it looks like he's toast. Your point on his CON raises an interesting notion. At what CON point do you get an effective immunity to such things as colds and ordinary illnesses without buying an equivalent level of Life Support? Does a high CON offer such protection as a minor side effect?

I was looking over Teleios today, and I noticed one power that he didn't have that surprised me by its absence: Life Support (Immunity to Disease). As a perfect human, shouldn't he have a perfect immune system? I know he has his VPP built around biochemical powers, but it looks like he could be hit by a disease-based power that was fast-acting and be downed before he could even think of shifting his points. It just struck me as an odd gap in his write-up.

Okay. I think I have this straight now, but I want to be sure. Based on your earlier reply, it looks like I should be able to pay the remaining points to "make up the difference" for an extra point of SPD, rather than pay a full 10 points, if both the extra DEX and SPD are bought through a limitation in common like a Focus or OIHID. That was how I always understood it to work. I now understand the rounding rule for things like CON and ED. What I was trying to do was create an 18DEX/4SPD normal form, and a 26DEX/6SPD super form. If I'm now understanding everything correctly, then I need to pay 36 active points for my normal form and 32 more active points for my superpowered form.

I'm trying to wrap my mind around something that I've been asking about in the Hero Designer forum, so I have a couple of rules questions. 1) If I have a character that has bought a portion of his characteristics usable Only In Hero ID, how are figured characteristics calculated? For example, I buy a 16 CON in my basic form, and then I buy +7 points of CON OIHID, is my OIHID base ED a 4 or a 5? I was under the impression that the OIHID form would pick up the benefit of the round-off at that point, since the OIHID CON is now 23. 2) If I buy 8 points of DEX OIHID, and I also want to buy a point of SPD (and there is no limitation applied of No Figured Characteristics), do I pay 2 points to have that point of SPD, or 10 points?

Well, male characters have passed out from the sight of naked female flesh (as seen in The Samurai and Ranma 1/2 sometimes, although Ryoga Hibiki is the only character I can recall doing that). I was just uncertain if a Susceptibility was the better way to go to replicate this effect, since it can sometimes knock a male character senseless, or if a Physical Limitation of some sort (Physical Limitation: Virgin maybe?) was more appropriate.

How would you best simulate this effect? I was thinking of using either a Susceptibility (to sight of female nudity) or a Physical Limitation. Anyone out there have any thoughts on this matter?

I would agree on the Shadow World setting. It has a rich feel to it, and a long history to mine for campaign ideas. If you like the notion of Urban Fantasy, there is an out of print (I believe) game called Cuttthroat. It was set in a sort of Thieves World type of fantasy city. For a more modern take on fantasy, try Bloodshadows. The notion of film noir mixed with fantasy elements inspired some good games. Picture a 1920s-era private eye going up against vampire-controlled syndicates and accompanied by a gorgeous "moll" type, and you start to get the idea.

Whole Cloth or Evolotionary Creation? I may be in the minority on this, but I tend to go through several iterations of a character as a campaign progresses, not with the goal of ever increasing point efficiency but more that my concept of the character refines as I play him. So I usually start out with a rather generic concept at the outset. As time goes on, the character evolves into a deeper construct and sometimes takes on rather surprising dimensions. I wonder, do most people create from whole cloth at the beginning or refine the concept over time like me? I've never been sure, since I have played with roughly equal numbers of both types of players.

One thing to also consider is the nature of the style itself. Would the style include such attacks as punches and kicks or would it use various types of raking attacks instead? If the latter, you could probably design the style without any concern for weapon elements for natural claws, or even use them as the default weapon, which would give it an interesting visual aspect. Just a thought.

Power levels One of the things that was really nice from Ninja Hero was establishing a spectrum of power level categories that a campaign could fall into, and suggestions for creating characters and even sample campaigns that used these power levels. Fantasy Hero could do the same thing, with cateogries ranging from Low Fantasy (with maybe as low as 50+50 or even 25+25 Heroes set in a low or non-magic setting, like Medieval Europe); Swords & Sorcery (Conan or Ladyhawk); all the way up to Epic (such as LOTR) or even Anime level (such as Slayers or Bastard). Just my two cents.