Steve

The plan appeared to be OGL 1.1, then ditching their print business to save costs like warehousing, followed by a transition to the VTT and micro transactions to get the cash flowing.
 
Things didn’t go as planned. I heard they are down something like 30% in sales over the past year or two.
 
Now Warhammer seems to be following the siren song of self-destruction, but that is another story.

I like the idea of it affecting the Concentration Limitation or adding a roll to an existing ability to use it.
 
I suppose it could also act as a bonus to the Interrogation skill. I think the Cruciatus Curse from Harry Potter got used that way in the books, but I can’t remember for sure.

I figure it this way
 
A player book would have the breakdown on how to build a character in Hero, using a few prebuilds as examples, info on role playing a superhero as opposed to a marauding adventurer that kills and loots, keeping the tone and feel of the comic book origins consistent (although these days, what does that even mean?), how to create a character story and background that fits the game and builds a character, etc.
 
The GM Book would be the adventure breakdowns and tips on running superheroic games, maintaining tone, enforcing genre, encouraging role playing as superheroes, etc.  There would be the full story arc, drop-in short adventures that could be used for a variety of character stories (DNPCs, hunteds, etc), and the way to mix in other adventures in between so its not just the main story, if the GM so desires.
 
Then we need a character book with the NPCs necessary to fill in between the main adventures and to act as a supporting cast (the butler, or whatever).  Most of the NPCs would be either detailed in the adventures or pointed to in the villain books.
 
Individual adventures built up and sold separately would be pretty easy to do, shouldn't be more than 25 pages per.  Put out like 10 or 15 of them and you have a nice solid support base for Champions as well as ones to draw from for runs like this.  But they aren't Adventure Paths they should be like, Limited Series or something comics-related.

Well it comes down to how you write up the rules and the system.  Anything that covers giant monkeys would necessarily cover giant robots and just plain giant people.  The rules necessarily cross over to different concepts and platforms that are similar, and it would be simple to add those in, and silly not to.  What makes a game that runs Godzilla also runs Big O.  So you show how to do that in the same book, to make it as broad an appeal as possible and cover what else is reasonable.

If all of my suggestions above were to be included in similar capacities, the book would pretty much become Tokusatsu Hero. Tokusatsu is the technique-cum-genre encompassing live action movies/series featuring kaiju, mecha and Japan's unique brand of superheroes. All three can overlap in a given tokusatsu show. Outside of Japan, tokusatsu's super robots (as opposed to real robots) and superheroes have much less prominence than kaiju, which have experienced a modest rise in popularity in recent years. There's probably a decent amount of interest in "realistic" mechs, too. Given that this is the case, I would suggest:
1) Writing a good deal of material for kaiju, a moderate amount for realistic mechs (since this could be a book of its own) and maybe throw in a small segment for super robots and tokusatsu superheroes.
2) Designing the setting for kaiju-centric campaigns while including suggestions for modifying this setting to accommodate the inclusion of the other stuff, to varying degrees and combinations.
Super robots and tokusatsu heroes could probably be excluded entirely without losing much, if any, potential interest. Most HS players would probably prefer to use Champions-style supers anyway and already have enough material to transplant. Still, there's the chance that a not-insignificant portion of HS players are fond of super robots like Voltron and Transformers and/or flashy heroes like the Power Rangers, so the inclusion of such material might get some appreciation. In a small capacity, it certainly wouldn't hurt either.

Even simpler, an Entangle as a Damage Shield that only works when used as an attack. You can add Cumulative to it to reflect the idea that it seems to be harder to escape after the initial entanglement.

maybe link a STN suppress as well

Speaking as a comic book reader, capes and their like are often used to take advantage of a situation. It has happened to Superman, Batman, and countless others. In game terms, I just treat it a bit like a limb when it comes to grabbing it. 

The daikaiju genre does seem to be particularly hot right now, in multiple media. If a book could be finished within a year, that wave might be ride-able.
 
 
If possible, a Pacific Rim-like tie-in would be ideal.

If I were to make some character get any illness,  I would ignore their ability scores and declare that they have the problem. Effects would be along lines of temporary drain that last until I say otherwise. Abilities affected would include CON, SPD, INT, STR, effective all (include powers). This drain will be strong,  like reducing to half start levels. This might sound overkill,  but consider how you respond to similar IRL diseases. Those that exist in a superverse should have a more powerful effect on those they infect. 

Armor and Concealment
 
Corsets made of whale bone (actually baleen) would provide resistant defenses. Maybe similar to the Armored Undershirt on page 133.
And skirts made of layers of stiffened wool or starched cotton might be similar to leather armor.
 
According to the Victoria and Albert Museum, there was a movement toward more practical and comfortable women’s clothing. Even “divided skirts”, essentially trousers, were available.
 
It would also be easy to hide items in a large skirt, bustle, or petticoat. And it’s pretty easy to go to a CosPlay convention and find a woman wearing a corset with a concealed knife or other item.
 
Victoria and Albert Museum - Victorian Underwear
https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/corsets-crinolines-and-bustles-fashionable-victorian-underwear
 
 

I do like the Mechanon option, and I was looking at Unearthed Mechana as one of the adventures to use already.  It would be different than Dr Destroyer,  and maybe give the players something that feels both familiar and slightly fresh instead of yet another big tough guy who wants to rule the world.

I’m wondering if this is something that could be a subset of Unluck. That would explain why Spider-Man gets sick, but other superheroes don’t seem to get the flu.

One introductory scenario I wanted to use for Champions Begins, but ended up setting aside, was suggested by a member of the boards here whose name eludes me.  I apologize, again for having a poor memory.   It was an apartment fire, with the Heroes getting involved and meeting up by fighting the fire, saving people, etc.  I had it worked up partly, with there being various things happening in the apartments, such as a drug deal, an off the books daycare, and several elderly people who could not get out on their own.  At least one hero could easily be living in the apartment, someone might work nearby, etc.  Its a good way for a wide variety of things to take place, lots of heroism to be done, and danger while being contained and a simple event.
 
I think that would work well for a starter.  I like the idea of the bank robbery but its tough to come up with a fresh, engaging way to present a robbery that hasn't been done so much already.  I recently read a Donald Westlake book in which the main characters rob a bank by literally hauling it away: it was a bank in a trailer, while the real bank was being built.  This was the 70s so that kind of thing would happen.  They hooked the trailer up to a semi, sealed the night guards in, cut all the lines, and drove it away.  That has promise as a concept at least: what if the bad guys literally rob the bank -- the entire building?

Honestly, I have difficulty believing that any superhero who engages in hand-to-hand or flies through obstacle-laden environments on a regular basis wouldn't design their cape to tear away easily. Or not wear a cape, of course.
 
Now that I'm playing CoH again, all of my caped characters have brooch/pin fasteners, rather than the obvious choking hazard that is the full mantle. 

As tempting as many of the choices are, Kaiju Hero and Pulp Hero get my vote. Victorian Space and Isekai Hero get an honorable mention from me.

Yeah, the only other example that comes to mind would be more of a "Heroic" genre: Stargate/Stargate SG-1, where Daniel Jackson spent a good portion of his early screentime sneezing his head off.  They even made it into a plot point for a later episode, where the antihistamines he'd taken protected him from a disease ("The Broca Divide").
 
 
An excellent question.  The rulebook occasionally mentions things like inflicting or curing a disease, but I don't see anything on how to judge the effects of a disease on a PC.

This might be a good movie trope, but it doesn't translate well to HERO.
 
You are essentially penalizing some SFX but how do you make consistent rulings? What exact length of hair triggers the penalty? Why wouldn't capes be like tear-away football jerseys? What about horns, tails or body spikes?
 
If you use this on a PC, do they now get a Physical Limitation? You're imposing one as GM that the player did not present to you in character creation. How many of your NPC's will have that Limitation? Are you going to be constantly opposing anime girls or the Dora Milaje?
 
If you really feel this should be in your game, then purchase some Limited Skill Levels with Grab that only apply vs targets with the given handholds. Then describe the results cinematically.
 

NO CAPES!!!
 
 

Probably just be a mild drain on a few stats like DEX, CON, REC, END, and maybe CV.  Probably a physical complication requiring a CON or EGO roll to do anything strenuous.

I figure that kind of thing goes under special effect.  Grond does a grab maneuver, and gets something: On The Mighty Sampson, he grabs hair.  On Cape Girl he grabs cape.  If you really wanted to you could build the character with like a -1 DCV vs grab maneuvers (hero form only for Cape Girl).

If you're trying to figure out how long a combat will be, then you need to factor in at least 2 other parameters. You need the SPD's of the participants and also relative OCV and DCV. with the other numbers you just gave 4-5 average SPD will be a 3-4 turn slog at if you hit on 11 or less and 2- 3 turns at 6-7 SPD. Even at 8 SPD or higher, you're going in 2 turns. Turning up OCV slightly will shorten the combats slightly but shifting just to 10 or less will make these combats take forever. Some will be decided by who runs out of END.
 
You need to set all your variables and test them out. Only with a good baseline can you tweak.
 

STUN-only PD/ED could make sense, but it's not in the rules.  As usual, the devil's in the details.
 
Change resistant to +1/4...where?  Nonresistant is effectively -1/2 for DR.  Resistant is +1/2 for PD and ED, and Resistant Protection is 3/2...effectively +1/2.  The only time it's 1/4 is the limitation on DN...so it's the aberration in my book.  
 
In terms of 'limits'...that's up to each campaign.  For 12d6?  14 DEF and 6 dice of negation would be high *in my book*.  I use much more of a 'real life' basis...that bad guys may be trying to KILL the good guys.  Get one of em down, they may not stop.  There's a risk of BODY, sure...but practically no STUN.  Note that my charts are on 4 dice of negation...not 6.  Remember, 2 dice of negation eliminates 7 STUN.
 
My baseline for total defense is...don't get stunned very often.  No more than 10% of the time, because you're a sitting duck until you recover from being stunned...and others *will* take advantage.  There's only so far you can take that, given finite resources.  That's why I look at the distribution curves.  My process:
 
1.  How much BODY do I want to stop?  This needs to be 100% resistant, because killing attacks are the threat, not normal attacks.  (Your campaign can be different, and if so, vary this.  Unless KAs are just not gonna be used, tho...even if they're toned down, where perhaps in a 12 DC game, KAs are capped at 3d6?  That's still 10 BODY on average, and 13 is still fairly frequent.)  
 
2. What's my CON?  One of the targets is that "no more than 10% risk of being stunned"...and that's tied to CON.  I'm stunned if RolledSTUN > (BODYDef + CON).  In the negation case, RolledSTUN is using the smaller dice pool.  For 12d6 attacks...14 BODYDef, 20 CON would be 34.  Is 3 dice negation enough?  Heck no...I know that at a glance.  9d6, mean is 31.5, so 35+ is barely above average.  I can use AnyDice to confirm...yeah, it's 28%.  FAR!!!! too high.  How about 4 dice negation?  8d6...mean's 28...maybe.  35+...9% of the time.  36+ drops down to 6%.  Perhaps I go with that 1 extra point of BODY defense...or a 21 CON.  One last check...5 dice?  7d6, mean is 24.5...max is 42.  Needs 35?  That's averaging 5 per die...that's WILDLY unlikely on 7 dice.  Let's crosscheck...AnyDice says?  1.2%.  Probably overkill.
 
3.  A secondary check is, how many strikes can you take before being knocked out...ignoring recoveries, at least initially.  Let's say we like the 15 BODYDef with our 20 CON, and 4 dice of negation...slightly on the cautious side.  15 DEF against 8d6 means 13 STUN getting through on average.  How many of those you can take depends on how high you buy up your STUN...which is cheap.  I like resilient characters...so...probably 4 shots, I'd still be standing.  OTOH, 5 dice negation with the 14 BODYDef?  On average, only 10's getting through, and I can probably take a 5th hit.  It might be OK.  But we probably need to examine how often our guy's gonna *get* hit.
 
4.  The # of strikes issue is why Damage Reduction is a bit worse.  Yeah, you won't get stunned, but you take 14 STUN from the average now, not 13.  The bigger hassle is the interfering nature between DEF and DR.  2 points of DEF only eliminates 1 point of STUN, after the DR.  (I assume 50%.)  It calls for a different build...a bit lower CON is clear.  I think of DR with characters who won't get hit as much...projector types who can use range to their advantage, mobile types that are simply harder to target en masse, high base DCV, that sort of thing.  
 
The bigger problem with DR is simply the very high base cost.

I have to agree with Hugh on this.  What he is saying is a fundamental concept of the Hero System.  A limitation that does not actually limit the power should not reduce the cost of the power.   This has been explicitly stated in every edition in one form or another.  
 
The one thing that should be brought up, is that you don’t have to actually take body for it to have an impact on the game.   Body also is also used to determine knockback.  If a character has stun only, they can still be knocked around by the attack without actually taking BODY.  If the campaign is using knockback than Stun only should be worth some limitation.  At that point the argument is not whether it is a limitation, but rather how much it is worth. 

This falls into the same category as many other limitations - is it limiting in the context of the specific character in the specific campaign? 
 
The pricing question is an issue.  Typically, "resistant" has been a +1/2 advantage.  It doesn't seem like this has been re-evaluated with the evolution of killing attacks.  It was +1/2 when nonresistant defenses did not reduce Stun damage from killing attacks, which made nonresistant defenses considerably less valuable.

If anything, the loss of reducing Drains and STUN damage from KAs suggests that nonresistant is more limiting for DN and DR than for normal defenses (ie moving Resistant Protection to PD and ED). It seems like either nonresistant DN and DR should still reduce STUN from KAs (and perhaps all switches between Resistant and Nonresistant should be repriced at -1/4) or nonresistant DN and DR should be a greater limitation than nonresistant defenses.
 
The -1/2 for "only BOD" or "only STUN" presupposes that reducing each is of equal importance.  Where that supposition is not accurate for the specific campaign or character, I would take issue with the limitation.  In other words, as a GM, if you apply, and I allow, "No BOD" to your Negation or Reduction, then the onus is on me as GM to ensure that the limitation becomes relevant in actual gameplay.  For STUN Only, that means ensuring there are instances where you are at risk of BOD damage not reduced by these defenses. 
 
If I have two players, one who pays full price for Negation (or Reduction) and one who takes a discount for "STUN only", the first player deserves to see some value for the extra points spent.