Steve

some music choices could cause extreme reactions. Like f a Darth Vader character came with a "Sunshine Lollipops and Rainbows" soundtrack

The concept is as follows:
 
The game universe has a "soundtrack" that is audible only to the audience and those characters who have spent the points on the appropriate sensing ability. Within this universe, those individuals who are important in the grand scheme of things each have a unique leitmotif (or motif for short) associated with them. The downside to having a leitmotif is, of course, that it makes it difficult if not impossible to have the element of surprise against enemies who can hear the soundtrack.
 
As GM how much would you give characters for this as a DF?

I'm sorry I missed this conversation (having written the Narosia book). 
 
My original pitch to DOJ for Narosia was to be an all-in-one intro to fantasy hero with all of the systematic decisions already made (magic works like THIS, equipment works like THIS, etc.). We succeeded on that point. However, I think it ended up being too much. The tenets of my design philosophy were:
The world needed to make sense. It is a deconstruction of dungeon crawling. Why dungeons? Why tougher monsters the deeper you go? Why don't the monsters overwhelm the surface world? Hand players a ready to play game powered by the Hero System. The GM needed to be able to easily keep the history of the world in their head. Not the details, but the framework.  What could have been better was the accessibility of it all. It's absolutely a fair criticism that maybe it's too much. That is the consequence of trying to make it complete (which it isn't, actually). I developed the Quickstart character building system (and have a generic Fantasy Hero version of it) to facilitate rapid character development. At cons I would run a Narosia Quickstart: build a character in 45 min and then play for 1:15 (2 hour slot) or 3:15 (4 hour slot). I was always successful. Absent such a system, which is fairly comprehensive in its character options, you end up with classic decision paralysis unless you know how to play Hero. 
 
Still, there is a lot there. I built 2 (arguably 4) magic systems for the game. The feel of each system was exactly what I wanted, and conceptually a Skill based magic system where you pay only 1 point for a spell proficiency seems simple enough. Looking at it now, there is a lot of detail (which provided 100s of hours of fun for us), but that detail can still be overwhelming. In many ways I traded one set of complexity (building Hero powers) with a different one. The magic systems are still complex, but in a different way from core Hero. Is that a positive or negative? Entirely subjective. 
 
I still run Narosia, and learned a lot from writing it. I have worked on Narosia 2.0 because I see how it can be better, simpler, and more unique and inclusive.

There are constructs in the book (like race) that don't need to be. The cosmology can be simpler and cleaner. 

 
Now, even with greater simplicity, does that serve the Fantasy Hero Quickstart objective? No, not really. I wanted it to be that, but no 500 page rulebook can be that. 
 
Ideally, something with an edited Hero System Basic ruleset + fantasy character building + basic magic + adventure is what I'd like to see. 
My Fantasy Hero Quick Start is 38 pages with very little padding (that covers characters, magic, and equipment). Add that to 138 pages of basic + 32 page adventure and that's a 200 page book. 
 
Here's the question I would pose: why make such a product?
 
I dreamed once of winning the hearts and minds of gamers over to Hero to have the type of gaming experiences I've been lucky to have. I don't think that's realistic. Hero does what it does in its way and those that engage with it will like it or not. At the end of the day if the 4-6 players at the table don't engage with it, the point is kind of moot. I think we can always win over 1-2 players at any table, but winning them all is really difficult, and everyone has to WANT to play the game that operates the way Hero does or the campaign fails. Especially when player expectations of online tools, online content, and accessibility is such that the legacy of Hero I don't believe can match. Nor should it. 

I've got 3 active projects right now:
1. Narosia 2.0
2. NOVA6
3. Atomic Sky
 
Narosia 2.0 and Atomic Sky drove the development of NOVA6. I'm super happy with that game and I run it weekly. It's just about ready to launch (and you can find it on the website in its most recent version). It isn't Hero, but it is a descendant of Hero. It addresses the accessibility aspect, with rapid time to play that I feel doesn't lose much from a fantasy hero experience (at least). We finished the Narosia grand campaign in NOVA6 (meaning the original playtesters going through Village of Gillkas, to the Library of Baradahm, and finally Act 3, all in NOVA6) and it works. I will say,  however, that it is a different experience than the Hero version of Narosia, all good, but not necessarily "better" (depending on what you want out of the game). 

NOVA6, especially in its more detailed version (which we call NOVA6 Expanded and aren't moving forward with), was tailored for Narosia and Atomic Sky. However, I didn't like how it played for Atomic Sky (dieselpunk atomic apocalypse). So... Atomic Sky drifted into other directions, other systems. At one point it was going to be its own system (*shudder*, like I need to make ANOTHER system). It was in D&D 5E (and working, and would, I think, be attractive to a wide audience there). But I didn't like it. I only ever really liked it in Hero. Years ago I did a full conversion (well, full-ish) of Fallout and S.T.A.L.K.E.R., both of which I ran on the con circuit for years and had a ton of fun (and are still on my website). So, I've come back around to Atomic Sky being in Hero and, thinking through it, having it be essentially PA Hero 6E. However, I'm not going to replicate all that material since I think it is largely unnecessary. What I will do is use that material to make a complete setting book (no integrated rules), make the campaign decisions about how powers and such work, and then build out scavenging and campaign guidelines for what Atomic Sky is about. I want power-armor character, scrappy snipers, monstrous mutants, synths, high tech, and low life, scrabbling for survival with hope for a higher purpose. Hero GMs can build on that material (or not). 

I've learned a lot on this journey, and I'm happy to be focusing on Hero again. This time my objective is different: I want to make something I, as a Hero fan, enjoy playing and hope to bring some of you along with me. I'm not trying to win over non-hero players (like I was with Narosia). And this experience will likely result in a Narosia 2.0 that is also more of a service to this community rather than tilting at the windmills of winning over D&D players to Hero.
 
They'll join us if they want, because they see us smiling, shouting, and having fun at that "table over there" rather than challenging them that they are engaging in wrongfun and that we know better. 

Talents are what you are looking for.  Most of the ones in the base rule book are fairly basic, but there are some important ones there.  Combat Luck, Combat Sense, Danger Sense, Deadly Blow and Weapon Master are good place to start.  The Fantasy Hero book has a few more that are worth looking into.  The Hero System Martial Arts book has a whole chapter on martial arts abilities that would be useful. Many of them will work even if you are not using an Asian martial art.  
 
You can also allow your players to write up their own talents.  Just be sure to go over any of them to make sure they are not overpowered.  
 
For the most part restricting things to any specific character type is unnecessary.  For the most part the cost of the abilities will do this for you.  The character who tries to do too much ends up not doing anything well.    
 

I'm not sure I can offer much help: In the last Fantasy Hero game I played in, the GM started by saying, "Spellcasters are not available as PCs. Magic is of such a nature that your characters could not possibly have access to it." Discussion over.
 
We found ways to make interesting and effective characters anyway. My PC was a fencer with Martial Arts, some Talents, and Penalty Skill Levels to make certain tactics more viable. Another PC was a burglar whose medusa ancestry enabled her to briefly paralyze people who met her gaze. (A supernatural power... but not spellcasting.) It was an edge, but not enough to dominate the campaign or, indeed, most encounters. Another PC was just exceptionally strong and tough. Etc.
 
Most importantly, we gave our PCs good personalities and social connections, and we had a GM who made use of them.
 
I would suggest that if magic overpowers everything else in a game, or there's no other way for characters to be cool and effective, that's on the designers. Fortunately, the Hero System does not compel such choices.
 
Dean Shomshak

Skullface - The Phantom Pain from Metal Gear Solid. Would make an interesting character (at least the look) for a Weird Western or even Pulp game.

Alternatively sleepwalking could be a side effect of using certain abilities.
 
Power limitation: Side Effect, xD6 Mind Control + Cumulative (give it a high maximum result ensuring the character succumbs to the effect) + Trigger (after falling asleep and before waking up normally)
 
 
 
I agree generally with LoneWolf's thinking and I am not knowledgeable about sleepwalking.  That said, if it is set up as a physical complication then there should be some sort of condition (maybe just a roll of the dice) to set it off.  In a sense I see this as combination of Accidental Change and a Physical Complication that is not handled very well by the existing rules.  (It's a game.  It is not a simulation of everything in the universe.)  As a complication, something like sleepwalking will probably require the player and GM coming to an agreement.

Depending on what the player is looking for, I could see handling this in a couple different ways.  First, use it for adventure hooks.  The GM just tells the player something like "You wake up and find yourself on top of the Chrysler Building in your pajamas.  You are holding a small child in your arms who appears to be fast asleep.  What do you do?"  Now the player has to figure out who the kid is and where they came from and so on.  They might also see news reports on TV and recognize their sleeping self doing something they don't remember which could be anything from stopping a bus from running over an old lady to robbing a bank (but thankfully the lighting is too bad at night to be able to identify them, or their sleepwalking self had the good sense to put on a mask).
 
The second approach would be to start a scenario with the character, playing normally, but then suddenly they wake up and find out that the person they are battling is not their arch-nemesis but in fact another hero, or instead of breaking into the villain's hideout they find themselves in a secure government building, or any number of similar scenarios.  This could cause all sorts of complications obviously, but the fun part here is for the GM to drop subtle hints as to whether the character is sleeping or not and the player having to figure out whether what they are seeing is real or a dream ("Wait a minute, when did ArchNemesis acquire a heat ray?").  It would definitely make the hero more cautious about using excessive force.
 
Personally I would go with the former, because I am not a huge fan of the unreliable narrator, but with the right GM and player it could be fun.

A Psychological Complication does not fit; those can be overcome with an ego roll.  Accidental Change at first looks like a possibility, but that also does not work.  With an Accidental Change you cannot change back until the circumstances triggering the change have altered.  That would mean the sleepwalker could not be wakened until the circumstance that triggered it is no longer present.  None of the other complications other than a Physical Complication are any better.  So by process of elimination that means it would be a Physical Complication.
 
 While sleepwalking can occur at any age it is pretty rare in adults.  It mostly occurs in children instead of adults so is unlikely to affect most characters.  Unless the campaign focus on playing kids it is not likely to come up.  In Adults it is probably the result of medication they are taking.  Most player characters have good CON scores so are usually in pretty good shape and have very few health issues.  Those that do have issues requiring medication usually already have a complication for it so that could be considered part of the underlying complication.
 
Unless the sleepwalking is something that character picks up during the game any conflicts with other complications should have already played out.  This means if the character is likely to go sleepflying without their mask they do not have a secret ID.  Even if the character gains his power at the beginning of the game they should still avoid picking conflicting complications.
 
The last thing to consider is that the player actually has control over how a complication affects his character.   So if the player wants to have sleepwalking as a complication he can define control how much it affects the character.  If the character defines sleepwalking as infrequently, barely then all that would likely happen is that the character is tired once in a while because he got up and wandered around his house.  If the character defines it as frequently, greatly he might go wandering around the city looking for trouble while asleep.    As a GM I don’t have a problem with the first example, but would probably veto the second one.  
 

[with absolute terror, from the Player, OOC]: Do NOT put me in the comfy chair!
 
 
So, after months of hiatus, thanks to vaccines and our tendency to play outdoors at the picnic table-- well, several tables, what with social distancing, etc-- and good mask etiquette, the youth group has finally met again.  In an absolute _marathon_ session Sunday (from eleven AM to nearly eight PM), the concluded the current adventure (the GM helped a bit by opting to not play a few red herrings and completely dropping an additional subplot-- Lord, these kids have waited a long, _long_ time for this, you know?  Just didn't seem right to _not_ let them finish when they declared "Mr. Duke, I have permission to stay until ten o'clock if I have to!  We are going to finish this!"  Yes: it's calling a senior by their first name, but with a 'Mr." in front of it.  For those you who are not from this south, this is _extreme_ courtesy, as it shows both respect and appreciative familiarity.  "Mr. Oliver" would be that teacher they absolutely hate.     )
 
I don't usually like to fill this particular thread with this, but a very brief recap, given how many months have passed (and welcome to Year 2 of "14 days to flatten the curve," folks):
 
over the nineteen (counting Sunday as only 2, because there was a lot of excited side-banter going on) sessions of this story arc, the Characters have learned Salamander of Strike 2 (formerly "the Redeemed, until some official publication took that name) has been being targeted by kidnappers and assassins.  Tree has been attacked by spider bots that have been boring into him for core samples.  Eventually the heroes figure out the bots are after samples of the fluids that course through the gigantic (as in a hundred feet tall and several city blocks of canopy) tree that is all that remains of the once might superhero).  Following the trail of siperbots leads to the storm drains and to the depths of Lake Campaign itself.  Feral, with the help of Fish Guy, aquatic "hero" from two cities down the coast (see, Hermit?  I told you we had a Fish Guy.     He was originally one of Jim's (my first GM) throw-away experimental NPCs, but Players seem to enjoy him and his absent-minded schtick.  Just for you:  Pictures:
 
In "normal" form:

 
 
 
With Fish Guy powers activated:
 
 

 
 
That's right: he becomes somehow _more_ boring with his powers activated.   
 
 
Anyway, the find a self-destructed underwater base in the depths of Lake Campaign, along with a self-destructed submarine that looks very familiar.  With the help of Red Cloak, they raise and beach the sub.  Combing the sub for clues (and snacks.  Fish guy is all about the canned goods! ), the realize this is an identical ship to the flying sub commanded 20 years ago by Master Mind, the villain who waged the war commemorated annually as Seven Day to remember the nearly 100 supers-- heroes and villains-- who gave their lives to save the city.  Master Mind was never captured, and is presumed to have died when the sub exploded.
 
After a few days gathering evidence, it appears that not only did he survive, but he was in fact the CEO of a major tech corporation back during his criminal career.  Hmm....  Now to find him and see what he wants with Tree, and if it's related to the attacks against Salamander....
 
 
By session 4, they are all holed up in a bunker under Daniels Industries, trying to figure out how to keep Salamander and his wife safe from a pair of invisible assailants when Kinetica sees herself hiding behind some crates.  When she goes to chase the impostor, she is forced to phase through a wall that blocked out a disused corridor, leading to a lab.  With help from Feral and Magnus, the wall is destroyed and the lab contains a machine that is projecting a portal with the impostor on the other side.  "Get her!" The entire team leaps through the portal, only to discover that it is in fact a portal through time.  The earth is in ruins, and Kinetica 2 explains that she was only going through the portal to destroy the darkon generator (one of the invisible assassins in visible in darkon fields) before it's runaway accident).  The team leaps back through the portal (after a fight with the mechanical servants of the Dark Lord (you know: the one with the cardboard helmet   ) and destroy the generator (that they had suggested in the first place) even as Box announced "there is an anomaly in the power core," saving the future, but leaving themselves vulnerable.
 
They can't figure out why anyone would want to kidnap or kill a third-rate villain who had fully reformed into a second-rate hero until Salamander's wife says "I might have some idea."  She then proceeds to walk behind her husband as he studies an announcement on the wall-mounted monitor and shoots him in the head, killing him instantly.  Everyone is shocked, sickened, and diving for her to get the gun out of her hand.  She begs and pleads for them to burn him, but of course, they do not.  However, his will stipulates that he is to be cremated, and low and behold, when the kiln is opened, there lays a completely unhurt (and very naked) Salamander!  It takes him a few days to get all of his memories back, but he is as good as new!
 
Across a few more sessions, they piece together that the gymnasium responsible for the creation of Boneyard (previous adventure) is somehow tied to all the clones that are running around.  Eventually, the learn that these are clones of Lucas Quinn, founder and CEO of Quintech, and the man that they believe to have been MasterMind!  Why all the clones?  And why do they randomly melt?
 
A couple more sessions, and it's starting to look like rich old Mr. Johnson, out on the peninsula-- the one who has the nasty habit of returning orphans-- might actually _be_ Lucas Quinn!  How to be sure?  All of his staff and his niece and nephew all say he has been in that wheelchair since a tragic skiing accident twenty-five years ago!  Finally, they are able to interview his former valet, who says he quit because he just couldn't stand Johnson and his obsession with finding the perfect heir (and because he was a jerk), and he tells them "He was in that chair long before I met him.  I just always figured he was in some kind of a horrible accident, given the severity of the burn scars.  Heck, his feet are burned completely off!"
 
Just before we ended the last session, Johnson's butler had called the police, frantic: a supervillain had killed Mr. Johnson!
 
Sunday, the heroes are quick to investigate: Johnson has been found frozen in a block of ice!  Magnus uses some of his unusual Detects and confirms that Johnson is dead: no heartbeat; no neural activity.  Later, the coroner confirms that the freezing and formation of ice crystals have ruptured almost every cell in his body.  The man is dead.  Immediately, the police liaison (I mentioned I had one player who wasn't comfortable being a superhero, right?) is helping to guide the heroes through a forensic investigation of the house and ends up in the study.  The study (where he was found, in his wheelchair, next to his desk, reading a book) contains the desk, two straight-back chairs in front of the desk, some antique audio equipment (reel-to-reel tapes and four-pound headphones) and a comfy chair.  Perhaps it was the way I said it; perhaps it was Players doing that thing they do, but everyone was instantly suspicious of the Comfy Chair.  Too big?  Too overstuffed?  Too incongruous to the rest of the decor?  Or just so suspiciously comfy....?  Right away, Magnus is pressed into using his Detects to examine the chair without touching it.  Why, there are electronic components and electrical gizmos present in that chair!
 
"Yes, Sir.  It's a massage chair.  Mr. Johnson would sit here for hours, listening to his music and his books.  He collected old open-reel audio.  He shared this passion with his adopted son, and would often request that I mail him one of the reels as soon as he finished.  His son is at boarding school.  He adopted a young child some years ago.  He will be sixteen in a few days.  Is there any other question I can answer?  I must call his son and his attorney..."
 
More investigation (painfully slow and _hilarious_ at times-- always with sinister eyes toward the Comfy Chair.....   "I very-- _very_ carefully touch the chair?  What happens?"  Nothing.  "I touch it here!  Okay, here!  How about here?  Magnus!  You're nigh invulnerable!  _You_ touch it!  Red Cloak!  Examine it magically!"   Nothing.  "Okay, fine.  Who's the biggest tank?  You sit in it!  Okay, what happens...?"  There is a low and ominous hum... Suddenly, the chair begins to vibrate! The nervous knots in between your shoulders begin to _melt_ away, and the stress of the day is slowly draining out through your fingertips.....  "I jump up!  There's a trap here; I know it!"
 
"Okay; we'll come back to the chair.  I want to listen to one of those tapes."  You call for the butler, who doesn't really know how these antiques work, but he calls for the current valet, how cues up a tape and hands you the headphones.  "Okay, I put them on and ask him to play the tape."
 
Make a CON check.  "What?!"
 
Make a CON check.  "I'm not in the chair!"  I know that.  Make a CON check.  "I never even _touched_ the chair!"  I know that, too.  Make a CON check.  [Dice roll-- badly....]   "Seventeen."   
 
You become instantly dizzy-- nauseously dizzy.  The room spins until the floor is at such an angle that you can stand on it!  You slide off it to the side and roll onto the floor, grasping at the carpet to keep from sliding any further....
 
"Wow.  He looks _bad_.  What happened?"  "It doesn't matter!  Feral, help me get him off the floor--
 
"Do _NOT_ put me in the Comfy Chair!"
 
 
    
 
For anyone wondering what sinister secret the comfy chair held:
 
It was solar powered by panels above the bay window, and activated when the seat detected more than sixty pounds of pressure.
 
 
 
I love Players so very, _very_ much....
 

 
 
 
 

At extreme levels of range, perhaps an archer also needs Telescopic Sight abilities to deal with at least some of their range modifiers? This wouldn’t be an issue with shorter ranges, but would when you get to the outer edge of a bow’s range.
 
An archer may have a ton of penalty skill levels, but they wouldn’t do much good if they can’t clearly see the target, would they?

I voted for Adventures.  They are actual content I can use in a game.  As for which game should get them?  I am actally playing Champions right now so I'd love to see some Champions content, but if there is a desire to do some Luche Libre or Star Hero I'd be down for that.
 
For what it's worth: My last $100 of money spent on gaming went $60 for Pathfinder Adventure Paths and $40 for some Mutants and Masterminds adventures I am actively pirating into Hero Content.  The book of Templates II looks good and I'll pick it up eventually but it isn't on my "must have" list.
 
My Higherarch of needs for a Genre is:
1 - A Genre Book that lays out how Hero handles the conventions of that sort of fictional adventure.
2 - An Enemies book that establishes what typical opposition looks like and has a bunch of fun NPCs with plot hooks to help me get things rolling
3 - Adventures that take place in that setting
4 -  Setting Info.  Things that put the above into context and give me a framework to go "offroad" with my own stuff inspired by the first 3
 
So if we are talking:
 
Champions, I have 1=Champions, 2=many Enemies Books, 3 = Nothing 6E, but a decent amount of stuff from older editions but I can work with that, 4=More than I can list
 
Pulp Hero I have 1=Pulp Hero 2= Masterminds & Madmen, 3 = A ton of mini Adventures by Steve, 4= Thrilling Places
 
Star Hero I have 1=Star Hero 2= Scourges of the Galaxy, 3 = Nothing, 4= Name Escapes me but there is a book of Worlds
 
Fantasy Hero = 1 Fantasy Hero, 2= Nobles, Knights, and Necromancers, 3= Battlegrounds, 4 = Valdorian Age
 
Luche Libre, Urban Fantasy, Post-Apocalypic Hero, etc I have 1= A Genre Book, 2 = Nothing, 3= Nothing, 4=Nothing
 
So as I look over these, the thing about Genre books is that by themselves they are fine.  Some are even a lot of fun, but while they point me in a direction I'm still homebrewing 95% of everything.  I'd love me some Luche Libre but it is just such a lift to get it off the ground.  My players need more of a framework than the example characters.  They need Heels to fight and while I can make everything I can barely get an evening's worth of content ready for the actual game every week let along all the NPCs.  I actually played Pulp Hero back in the day because I could pull stuff from the books and have a game, I didn't need to do it all myself.
 
I am super good with the amount of rules stuff we have now.  I *like* that Hero is self-contained and doesn't need an endless list of feats and new classes.  I have the APGs but rarely use any of them.  I super don't need a new book of advantages.

I picked settings but only after I saw you write that you are thinking about mini-setting books.  Give me a piece of the 'campaign' puzzle that I can use for an adventure but can help build up the campaign as well. 

Heh. I didn’t have anything quite that grandiose in mind.
 
I was planning to start small, like a 10-20 page adventure, some themed NPCs (like a ninja clan or Hudson City PD officers) or a mini-setting book.

In a case like that, I'd encumber the perk.  4 point wealth perk, but all of a sudden you've got a large purchase?  While you pay the loan, your wealth perk is lower...because that loan payment is how you're choosing to spend that chunk of your discretionary income.  This might be a pain to do;  it might be less than a point, so there might be some tracking.  But it's not that hard.  
 
One thing to remember:  the character has to contend with repaying the principal...and the interest.  For example, say you borrow $1M, at 10% per year interest, and make $200,000 a year in payments:
 
 
So you pay it off after about 7 years and 3 months or so.  
 
So even with a 5 point wealth perk...you're putting stress on it.  I'd call it a 3 point perk for the entire 7 years.  6+ points, it wouldn't count as a whole point, but it'd be a footnote.

Having lines of credit totaling $100K is easier said than done unless you also have fairly significant net worth and/or income.  Also, an 800 credit rating isn't that big a deal.  
 
If you suddenly slap unusual sums onto your credit card...just because you have a good credit rating at the time, doesn't mean you can pay them off.  That requires income...or cash on hand.  (Oh, and suddenly slapping a few thousand onto one of those lines, DOES lower your credit score.)  Paying them off 'eventually'...isn't good enough to maintain an 800+.  Because that says you're largely at your limit.  Especially on plastic;  the interest rates are bad to obscene.
 
Hero B probably does have a small complication, yes.
 
Hero C...a 10 point wealth perk is $5M a year...no strings attached.  If there are reversals, then slam the size of the perk.  If there's major debts...slam the perk first.  
 
$100K income is middle class...and not even upper middle.  The income levels go back to at least 5E;  that was 2002.  They weren't changed.  Not only are there 20 years' worth of inflation, but there've been concept shifts...the minimum wage is rarely viewed as a living wage.  
https://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/family-finance/articles/where-do-i-fall-in-the-american-economic-class-system
 
And note that if you've got even 1 dependent, $100K is just doing OK.  You're not flush.
 
I agree that the Money perk represents income;  credit isn't a factor.  Credit's what you use when you don't want to sacrifice liquidity.
 
If you're playing in 2021, too...those levels of wealth need interpretation.  They're OLD.  I read the perks, not as income, but discretionary income.  Your income is everything, but it has to pay for housing (mortgage or rent), taxes, utilities, daily transportation, food, insurance, and everyday expenses.  What's left is your discretionary income.  For someone single, paying normal taxes, and in a moderately priced area, discretionary income of $100K probably means gross income of $300-400K in most cases...remember that taxes on it will take close to half.  A house tops $400K *fast*...so property taxes might be another $5k.  Car and property insurance?  My car insurance...with a good record and a LOW value car...is $1000 a year.  House insurance isn't bad but my house is quite basic.  Utilities...internet, cable, phone, cell phone?  $200-400 a month, and I'm talking 1 line.  Food is variable, but we're not talking ramen and mac'n'cheese.  Quality food costs.  Good clothing costs;  we're not talking about haunting Marshall's for bargains, or Wal Mart for ANYTHING...we've got a wealth perk.
 
Start breaking this all down, and the total is higher than you think.  Plus, the cost of living in your area of residence makes a major difference...start looking at what you can get for, say, $4000 to $5000 a month in NYC or San Francisco.  It's WAY less than you would think.  Plus, major cities often have city taxes...on top of state and federal.    Don't want to worry about stuff like this at all.  While, OK, $100K discretionary doesn't go as far in NYC as elsewhere, it's still a lot closer to location-neutral.
 
And it gives you a better handle as player or GM.  "Hey, I wanna buy a new, nice truck."  OK...$50K.  Can do that on a 1 point wealth perk, but it'll do a number on your liquidity for a while.  Can do it with a car loan for only mild impact, but for several years.  Cool.  It's reasonably understandable now.  Might take a little research...what does a high end dinner run per person?  Starts at probably $100, without any booze tab;  upper level?  The tasting menu at Masa is $800 a person.  Before tax or tip.  So there's still a lot of spitballing, but saying it represents discretionary income simplifies things and lets you get a decent handle.
 
 

Setting aside exceptions to the rule like Madoff of certain ex-presidents we mere mortals need a certain amount of cash or property in order to achieve a decent credit rating.  
   In game terms if you haven’t got a limitation about it then your character is assumed to have a working to middle class life-style.  If you want your PC to be a Tony Stark/Bruce Wayne type you buy the perk Wealthy.  Anything more that this is just roleplay.
  If they have a million dollars in the bank that they can access at any time, that’s the perk.  If they can’t get their credit card to work that’s roleplay.

I see Wealth in the game as being more a measure of, well, wealth than credit, exactly.  Credit is a measure of how much you could come up with if you maxed out your resources, while Wealth is more a measure of what your resources are without maxing them out.
 
Yes, some "middle class" people have good enough credit that they could get their hands on $100K if they absolutely had to. But their everyday lifestyle is still middle-class, and accessing that 100K would leave them with debts that would take years to pay off.
 
Someone with even 5 CP of Wealth would be able to get 100K with much less long-term impact, even if it wouldn't exactly be a breeze, and it wouldn't leave them in as much of a crunch afterward.  Also, if they maxed out their resources the same way, they could come up with considerably more than 100K. 
 
For the middle-class person (0 CP of Wealth), 100K may be more than their entire annual income (it probably is more).  For the 5 CP of Wealth person, 100K is about a fifth of their annual income.  That's still a big chunk, but 100K to someone with an 80K income is a lot bigger deal than it is to someone with a 500K income, even if their good credit technically means they could get their hands on it...

so credit is a measure of how far you can 'Push' your weath? does this mean using credit costs END and requires an EGO roll?

Here are the rules of thumb I have been using for a long time now.  They seem to be working:
Character Benchmarks - Famous fictional fantasy characters and their characteristics.  I stole it from someone's site.  If anyone knows whose it is I will add an appropriate authorship.  It is possible to argue with the characteristics for each of theses fictional characters.  That isn't important.  The important part is the relative comparisons. For my campaign, Nyonia, I provide the following rules and information for the players: Characteristics Combat Skills So far we have had everything from a well armed and armored knight (chainmail + breast plate), sword master (fighting with two blades), archer, and a martial artists/monk who fought with a pair of clubs/fighting sticks.  Everyone had their moments in combat.  Everyone had the crazy hard fight and everyone had the chance at a one shot.

As someone who has run a lot of Fantasy Hero and plenty of folks who want to play archers.  Here is what I usually do:
Allow up to +3 vs  Range Allow up to +3 vs Hit locations Allow up to +4 with bows OCV no higher than a 5 Generally the bows can only do up to 1 1/2 d6 RKA There were characters that were able to shot 3/4 way across the gaming table.  If the target is unaware then the archers almost always would take a head shot (and usually connect).

Please do!  The more content for Hero there is, the better for the hobby, for Hero Games, and for us as fans.  The more stuff that game shops etc see from Hero, the more likely they are to order, stock, and promote.

Just to clarify, I did assume Steve was asking about Hero System material because he wrote that he wanted "to get a sense of public opinion from my fellow Hero fans." I didn't assume only using Champions as a base, though. The complaint of a lack of adventures in Hero crosses genres, with DnD and Pathfinder being the most common example of game systems thoroughly supported with a stream of published adventures. Back in the day Steve Long used to say that adventure modules didn't sell as well as other types of books in Hero -- maybe because Hero fans tend to be self-builders -- but various parties here keep expressing their opinion that general public gaming expectations and habits have changed; as well as pointing out that with growing life responsibilities they just don't have the time to design their own adventures any more.

I got thinking of the rules option since that is where most people tend to get the most problems.  With the extreme variation that Herogames has between the base ability,  mods, and other ways of both making and using the extreme different types of characters that can be created,  many new players are properly lead to believe that this system is way more complex than it really is. Actually dnd has the same complexity and few people cry about that system being strange and complicated.