Vondy

Hero has long allowed for the use of custom advantages and limitations. So... why not just use Damage Over Time as written? I have noticed a psychological shift as the rules have become more comprehensive, lawyer-think-laden, and verbose. Namely, that people have become progressively less disposed to use custom anything. And, yet, in 4e the system was terse enough, and presented a pared down list of option, that almost demanded them. Custom modifiers are traditional. True Blue Heroes love them. Back-port it, call it a custom limitation, and be done with it.

I agree. A few characters, however, you could get away with changing. For instance, while it would be playing to stereotype, you could make Iron Fist an Asian (or Eurasian) and not alter the character too deeply (and considering the dirth of Asian characters... maybe not such a bad thing). And, speaking of mixed-race people, I think Hollywood has a black-and-white mindset (pun intended) that ignores biracial people and implies we never mix and are forever divided. Its kind of like the government census and EOE forms: you only get to check one, even if you are many. We officially endorse the divisive racial purity mindset. This is one of the things about Obama that saddened me. He's biracial. That was a huge opportunity that was completely missed. Is his having a black father and white mother really so uncomfortable that we can't put it out there and say he's a black and white president? Sorry. That was an unnecessary rant. But, I guess my point is, I think staying true to the core concepts works well and shows respect for the source material - I agree with you - but racial background isn't key to every concept, either. In some cases you might be able to make an adjustment without doing damage.

Real life battles that last more than a minute or two don't typically have people burning off dozens of clips one after the other in rapid succession. Hell, how many people are carrying dozens of clips in the first place? The standard load-out for infantry these days is 300 rounds. That's it. Most soldiers practice burst control, firing discipline, and take time to acquire targets, move, take cover, etc. Cooking off your whole kit in the opening moments of an engagement (which may be a part of a larger deployment) would be ridiculous. A loaded assault rifle magazine weighs 2.2-3.1 pounds depending on caliber. Ten clips will run 22-31 pounds! Try carrying much more than that - plus guns, armor, and other gear - while remaining tactically mobile. At some point you'll be dragging a several hundred pound duffle-bag of ammo across the battlefield while you change positions - maybe then you'll have enough ammo available to melt that barrel. Of course, at that point, you're so tied to your ammo pile that you won't be able to maneuver and will be a sitting duck. What is more, no one in the scene in Heat fired more than a few hundred rounds (each), or even changes clips more than 5-6 times. That is hardly enough for barrel overheat. Real world? In the north Hollywood shootout the suspects (combined) fired just over 1,100 rounds. Their weapons didn't come close to failing - and they were each carrying 50+ pounds of ammunition. Plus the firearms. Plus the body armor. Plus the money... The video is a gun-bunny experiment that doesn't even remotely mirror what will happen in 99.9% of real world extended firefight scenarios... Its redneck science.

Sheepishly raises hand. I use blazing away and surppression fire every so often. A good presence attack can do wonders to clear a room. And, suppression fire can control the battlefield so that your side can maneuver or accomplish other tasks. But, overall, you're right. Three-round bursts are the sweet spot in Hero.

You would have to blaze away, use suppressing fire, miss one hell of a lot, or be doing a machine-gun emplacement simulation during a mass battle that lasted for turns on end before you ran across this problem. In 35 years of gaming, I've seen a situation like that once or twice, at most. Even extended battles with lots of rounds being cooked off tend to have lulls in the fighting for maneuver, etc. I just don't think its worth modelling.

I can spend 20 points to have 5 OCV and 5 DCV. Or, I can spend 20 points to have 3 OCV and 3 DCV and +2 Levels I can apply to one or the other. Why would I ever buy skill levels? Or, from another point of view, there was a valid reason skill levels were somewhat cheaper in previous editions. The bean counters ran afoul of the law of unintended consequences, IMO.

And, if Ant-Man can get inside Tony's suit, well... Ants in your pants.

Firstly, we have to explore an issue to determine whether its material or not. Secondly, a broader insight can often be gained from such discussions, even if no change is warranted. Thirdly, sometimes ancillary / tertiary issues that are raised do prove material. Fourthly, sometimes people present novel ways of using the system I haven't thought of before. That said, I tend to follow a "three pass rule" on the Internet. In online disagreements, if positions remain unchanged after three exchanges... let it go.

That could also work.

Why are we still talking GA? You've decided what you think. You've told us what you think. You aren't changing your mind. They aren't changing their mind. Its as easy to fix as a wave of your magisterial wand... "Poof - all primary stats cost one point!" So why keep on with it?

I'd like them to mix the soundtracks up a bit more. I just had a play-list of the MCU main themes going and while a few of them are immediately recognizable... A bunch of them just sort of blend together.

There comes a point where buying more maneuvers is a disproportionate tax for the utility gained. If you look at the maneuver list, there is a lot of overlap and variations on a theme. If you have purchased 4-5 maneuvers you've generally reached the point where you are paying 4-5 points for variations that, if you were building a custom maneuver, would only amount to 1-2 points worth of difference, element-wise. Another way to go would be a VPP: A Dozen Arts: Power Pool 10, Control Cost 10, Cosmic (+2), Only for Martial Maneuvers (-1). Total Cost 17 Points. Ten points in the pool allows the character to call up two maneuvers per phase in the event they want to use a combo moves. Its a little bit on the cheap side (I tend to view 20+ points the point where stacking on more maneuvers becomes punitive cost-wise), but its defined in such a way that skill levels beyond those provided by the maneuver itself must be purchased separately (outside the pool). I would require those levels to be purchased as applying to "martial maneuvers," "hand-to-hand" or "all combat." I would not allow two point levels. Another option, which comes in at a flat 20 points, would be to leverage Universals from Skills 6e. Universal Martial Arts Maneuver (20 Points). The problem here is that, even if you house-rule this to be "legal," you can't do combo-maneuvers unless you buy it twice (40 points), which my gut says is "too expensive" for what you get from it.

What if I agree, but consider it too trivial to bother changing?

So, if I understand it, one has the option of allowing EGO to resist PRE attacks where appropriate? Good. I'm glad we settled that.

Agreed. KB always makes me think of the old Hulk v. Doc Samson fights where they would haymaker one another through buildings page after page after page... Now, don't get me wrong: I love playing bricks and love brick fights, but its not for ever title or even every character within a title. Its a niche mechanic.

What about toolkitting bracing instead of knockback. Why not make brace vs knockback a 0-Phase action, but keep the 1/2 DCV?

I cherry pic elements of the CU I like and twist them for my homebrew game.

I think the issue may be how your player is reading the word "crippling." As designed, the talent models a short term incapacitation (like a nerve cluster strike that renders a limb temporarily unusable) rather than a longer-term or permanent one (like a joint break) that would be represented by body damage.

I frequently visited Montreal in the nineties (and Toronto less frequently). I remember how impassioned the various sovereignty party protests got!

The book mark already gave it away...

I think she's fine. I just thought. "Gosh, I wonder what this fanboy was drooling over..."

In a painfully groan-worthy footnote, my copy arrived with a bookmark at Ambrosia's write up.

This compunded by what I call "brick fight" mentality. They expect to exchange and soak a ton of blows, and design to achieve it. As a result, you end up with padded defenses and extra stun that makes blocking, dodging, and setting up a finishing blow is a sub - optimal strategy because, odds are, you won't finish them (and you can tank early on). You have to keep pounding away to win. In games with lower defenses and stun (heroic games, mostly) I've seen far more tactical thinking than in superheroic games and games with a bunch of damage obviating heroic talents that render you quasi-superheroic).

I just received a copy of the 4th ed. Champions of the North. I forgot how cool this book was.