Zephrosyne

I haven't really had to opportunity to play as much Hero System as I would have liked over the years (played way too many other games) but I have played it a decent bit. The Multipower Framework in itself isn't really that much of a problem but I do think that it requires gm oversight. Yes, I know everything does but I have seen some people really stretch a "concept" to justify putting something into a Multipower because adding slots is pretty cheap. I have had wanna be munchkins over the years but no really competent ones. I am actually pretty good at picking up things that will be a problem and I have absolutely no problem with saying "no." I don't really find the Multipower Framework to be too cost effective but then again I can be a rather strict gm. If you can't explain your concept in detail well enough to justify something, you don't get it. As I said, I have no problem saying "no" and my gaming group knows it. Variable Power Pools are a different animal and I do find those too cheap and I have addressed that in my games but I will not really go into that: I don't want to deviate too much from the original poster's intent. That is my answer as far as the second question. As for the first question, regarding what game effect the Multipower is supposed to provide, I don't have any answer for that beyond what is in the rulebook and the various examples in the various supplements.

Unless I am misunderstanding what you want, you could use Area Of Effect (1m Radius Accurate; +½), MegaArea (1m area covers the entire world; +2) to affect a single target anywhere in the the world. This is used to create a spell called Curse (Hero System Grimoire pg. 51). As a gm, I would also require Indirect +1/2 as well to be able to affect a target that might be inside or outside.

For me it isn't even a contest: 6th Edition hands down! Lots of changes I liked and very little that I didn't like.

For me, this group of Avengers is what comes to mind when I think of the team--Avengers Classic: Thor Iron Man (even though I really don't care for the character at all) Captain America Vision Scarlet Witch Hawkeye Wasp

If you have the Advanced Player's Guide, there is a bit more granularity as there are intermediate (semi) levels in between Growth categories: for example Semi-Large, Large, Semi-Enormous, Enormous, etc. This doesn't help if you take issue with the overall cost of Growth or the benefits/penalties of Growth, but for those who just want more granularity, I think it helps a lot.

If it had been part of his background or anything like that I would not have encouraged him to choose something else. I would have made it useful. It really wasn't that significant to his character at all.

According to 6E1 page 196 "if an object is Drained of all of its BODY, it crumbles to dust"; furthermore, it adds that "the gm may rule that an object cannot regain Drained BODY normally--it need repairs instead." If I am interpreting the book correctly, a object Drained of all of its Body is destroyed in the same way that a person is slain if Drained to his negative BODY. However, it is the gm's option as to whether or not the object regains Drained Body normally or needs repairing if it isn't fully Drained. Sorry for the necro; didn't notice how old this thread was.

I tend to use a lot of skill in games I run no matter what game or genre. Even in superhero games, I refuse to let the game revolve around cool powers and nothing else. Of course, my superhero games are often very different from comic books. That being said, I make sure that no skill on a player's character sheet is unused. Before the campaign I carefully scrutinize every character. If I see a skill (or anything else) that I think will not be useful in the campaign, I will advise the player to get rid of it. One example off the top of my head was a player who made an archaeologist and chose Farsi as a language. I think he just randomly selected it to be honest. I encouraged him to take Arabic because it is more widely spoken and easier to incorporate. It actually became very beneficial in the campaign when he was listening in on a conversation between two individuals who presumed that he didn't speak their language.

Dude, you don't need to defend yourself. Frankly, I busted out laughing when I read your first post. While I am neither a killer gm or a masochist type player, I do realize (as both a player and gm) that sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes you totally outclass the opposition, and sometimes you are totally outclassed. It happens. As long as you are honest and your campaign is overall fair and you and your group are having fun, no one else matters. Do you!

I totally agree with this! It is one of my house rules.

I agree with you Doc Democracy as far as the intent of the thread: finding a balanced way to create the desired effect using game mechanics (assuming I am reading it correctly). I respect that, which is why I tried to word my post carefully so that I did not come across as trying to tell people how they should do something in their games. From the point of view of thread's original intent, Transform is probably the best option in my opinion. I just wanted to add another perspective to the debate. The above being said, you touched on something that I found interesting. You brought up the example of someone creating a power suit guy who did not take the Focus Limitation and the "inconsistency of how things are bought in Hero." I don't want to get too tangential and deviate from the initial intent of this thread but I think your point brings up another issue: how should things be built. I guess I have a very different idea in using the Hero System toolkit than most. From my observation over the years a lot people see it as means to build anything you want in a vast number of ways however way you want. I see it more as create any type of campaign that you want in a vast number of ways. What I mean by "campaign" isn't simply a setting (as in fluff) but also the reality of how thing work mechanically as in what mechanics apply to what special effects. I don't believe that just because the rules say you can create something ten different ways, all ten different ways are valid and/or appropriate to the setting. To me part of a creating a campaign setting is creating certain mechanical (as in the rules) standards. Using your example of the power suit guy without the Focus: why does he not have the Focus Limitation or at least Only In Alternate ID or Restrainable? A power suit that doesn't have one of those Limitations sounds like something grafted onto (or into) the guy in such as way that it can't be teleported off without harming him such as tearing him apart (e.g. Teleportational Rending via RKA w/AVAD perhaps). Don't get me wrong, I am not arrogant enough to assume that just because I can't think of a power suit that doesn't require one of the above Limitations no one else can. I'm just not sure what. Maybe I am just stricter than most gms but the mechanics and special effects have to make sense in concert with one another and how they blend with the reality of the game world itself. Just because there is a rulebook way to do something doesn't mean that particular way is a good choice, let alone the best one. I think establishing a set of standards (mechanical, special effects, and game world reality) as a gm avoids the problems that originate from the "inconsistency" created by how things "are bought in Hero." Once those parameters are set, one can just build away. Just my opinion.

Mechanically, it seems the way to go is Teleportation with Usable As Attack. Reading the rules for both Teleportation and the Advantage, Usable As Attack, has me convinced that it is the best (perhaps only) option. Of course, the person in the armor (PC or NPC) did take the Focus Limitation. I have no sympathy for the argument about how many points the Focus cost. You took the Limitation and by doing so, you agreed to have access to your Focus denied (within reason), whether the Focus cost 1 point or 1000 points. That being said, as a gm, I realize that the construct that I am advocating is pretty cheap for what it does and can be a bit of a game wrecker if a player has this. Frankly, I think this is an example of just one of many abilities, powers, etc. that exists in fiction but doesn't translate well in a game. As we all know, in fiction one writer controls everything, unlike a gaming table. While I appreciate the effort put into coming up with balanced constructs using Dispel, Drain, Mind Control, Teleportation, Transform, or whatever else I missed, sometimes the gm just has to say "no." I think that is just a better option that coming up with quirky, odd, clumsy constructs in the name of creating a balanced cost for the power. Just my opinion.

Actually, Hero System does have a power that does something similar to what you want: Probability Alteration. The power is on page 34 of the Advanced Player's Guide 2. The power allows re-rolls at a rate of 1 re-roll per day for 5 points. There are various Advantages based on whether you have to keep the re-roll or not or whether you get to keep rolling until you get a better result. There are also Advantages that allow the number of re-rolls to refresh more frequently than once per day. However, if you really want to keep the Luck Power, Advanced Player's Guide 1 (pg. 105) gives you multiple alternate applications of Luck that are more concrete and mechanical, which, if I am reading your post correctly, is what you are looking for.

Cool, thank you very much. I've been gaming for 30 years and I can honestly say that I have never been wanting a product so badly.

Hey Steve, there is one thing I'm really curious about. How many character points do your gods have? Yes, I know it varies. I'm sure Zeus has a good bit more than say Hermes. Just give me a little teaser. I don't need a character sheet. I'm just curious about the point range of gods (not heroes and demigods, the big boys). Please...a little somethin, somethin

I prefer 4 players but I can manage as many as 6. There is no way in hell I am going beyond 6.

I always rounded in favor of whomever the number/stat/trait/whatever being rounded belongs to.

First of all, Steve, you're a tease . I want this book NOW!!! Second, how big is this book gonna be (as in pages)?

I prefer 4; I can live with 5 or 6; and I can work with as few as 2. I will absolutely not take more than 6.

Actually, there is a power that does this.in the Advanced Player's Guide 2 (pg. 32) called Object Creation. It is actually pretty useful.

What about using the Limitation, Physical Manifestation, the represent the totems? If I am understanding you correctly, what you are describing sounds similar to a Shaman in World of Warcraft. They conjure attackable totems that have various effects (e.g. healing nearby targets).

Although I haven't really had the opportunity to run a game with it yet, I would definitely use 6th Edition. I have previously ran both 4th and 5th and own stuff as far back as 2nd Edition. I think 6th is easily the best edition, especially with the material from the Advanced Player's Guides added in. However, there are a few things from 5th Edition that I have kept and I have a sprinkling of house rules.

The sidebar titled Toolkitting: Defending Against Presence Attacks in 6E2 page 136 does provide optional rules for using other Characteristics (including Ego) to defend against Presence Attacks.

That's interesting, Tasha; I guess different strokes for different folks. I actually like the "textbook" quality of Steve's writing. I just never needed rules to be written in a manner that is entertaining. If I want entertaining reading, I'll read a novel. I more partial to the rules being clear (as far as how they are written), which I think Steve does very well. Steve being the writer is a big decider, if not the biggest decider, in whether or not I purchase a Hero System product.

Actually, I don't see your point. I wasn't referring to the author's level of detail when it comes to combat. I was referring to his level of detail with one very specific thing: firearms and things pertaining to firearms (e.g. scopes). That is far more specific than "combat." If you are going to make an "analogous" comparison, shouldn't you compare something similar in scale. For example if in Dungeons and Dragons there was a tremendous amount of detail with swords and things pertaining to swords (e.g. scabbards) compared to everything else such as character actions (including combat) or other activities. Your analogy would be more on point.