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Re: Hero System is Just Alright With Me That publishers can produce non "slash n' grab" adventures for D&D would seem to imply that D&D is not limited to "slash n' grab" by the system.

Re: Hero System is Just Alright With Me

Re: Help me build my Gameday event! Okay, here's Ryan, the psychic. He's modeled after the character of the same name from Smallville. He appeared in two episodes as a telepath abused by his foster parents; the Kent family attempts to adopt him. He's souped up a bit here, and I gave him a hefty Reputation as a "bad seed". The townfolk seem to blame him for his missing parents and brand him as just plain no good. Feel free to offer a better way to make up those 15 points. Ryan Player: Val Char Cost 8 STR -2 17 DEX 21 13 CON 6 8 BODY -4 13 INT 3 29 EGO 38 10 PRE 0 10 COM 0 3 PD 1 3 ED 0 4 SPD 13 5 REC 0 26 END 0 25 STUN 6 8" RUN42" SWIM01 1/2" LEAP0Characteristics Cost: 86 Cost Power END 60 Ryan is psychic: Multipower, 60-point reserve 4u 1) Psychic trauma: Ego Attack 6d6 (60 Active Points); Extra Time (Full Phase, -1/2) 6 6u 2) Mind-reading: Telepathy 8d6 (Human class of minds), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (60 Active Points) 0 3u 3) Two minds become one: Mind Link , Human class of minds, Any Willing Target, No LOS Needed, Number of Minds (x8) (40 Active Points); Concentration (1/2 DCV; -1/4) 0 5u 4) Obey me: Mind Control 12d6 (Human class of minds) (60 Active Points); Concentration (1/2 DCV; -1/4) 6 4u 5) Shut off your optic nerve: Sight Group Flash 6d6, Based On EGO Combat Value (Mental Defense applies; +1) (60 Active Points); Extra Time (Full Phase, -1/2) 6 6u 6) Mental static: Change Environment 8" radius, -4 to Characteristic Roll or Skill Roll, -4 to Characteristic Roll or Skill Roll, Multiple Combat Effects, Personal Immunity (+1/4) (57 Active Points) [Notes: -4 to INT rolls and Intellect skill rolls] 6 20 Ryan has psychic defenses: Mental Defense (26 points total) 0 13 Ryan's will is strong: Power Defense (20 points) (20 Active Points); Only Works Against Limited Type of Attack (attacks versus, or involving, mental/psionic powers; -1/2) 0 7 Ryan can sense others who are "awakened": Mental Awareness, +2 to PER Roll, Increased Arc Of Perception (360 Degrees) 0 Powers Cost: 128 Cost Skill 5 Gambling 13- 3 Stealth 12- 3 Streetwise 11- 5 Survival 13- 4 KS: Comic books 13- Skills Cost: 20 Cost Talent 16 Combat Sense 13- Talents Cost: 16 Total Character Cost: 250 Val Disadvantages 5 Social Limitation: Teenager (Occasionally, Minor) 5 Money: Poor 20 Psychological Limitation: Code Against Killing (Common, Total) 10 Hunted: Littleton sherriff's dept 11- (Less Pow, NCI, PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find, Watching) 10 Psychological Limitation: Fear of abandonment (Uncommon, Strong) 20 Dependent NPC: Foster parents: Kyle and Susan 8- (Normal; Unaware of character's adventuring career/Secret ID; Group DNPC: x2 DNPCs) 15 Social Limitation: Wants to keep powers a secret (Frequently, Major) 15 Reputation: Bad seed, 14- Disadvantage Points: 100 Base Points: 150 Experience Required: 0 Total Experience Available: 0 Experience Unspent: 0

Re: Help me build my Gameday event!

Re: Help me build my Gameday event! Thanks for the kind words, levi. I was afraid the PCs might be too boring. Here's how the event is listed in the sign-up thread (in my .sig, BTW): I'm hoping this will be a lot of fun. It'll be the first HERO game I've GM'ed since... 1989? 1990?

Re: Help me build my Gameday event!

Re: Hero System is Just Alright With Me

Re: Help me build my Gameday event! The main thing I'm trying to come to grips with right now is guaging how many points my adversaries should be built on. From reading Champions and some of the published adventures, I get the impression that, if I have 4-6 PCs built on 250 points, I need 4-6 NPCs built on 250 points for a fair fight. If I have fewer NPCs, I need to build them on more points. It seems like the major villains in Serpent's Tooth and Battlegrounds tend to be built on about twice the points of the PCs. I wondering, then, if I can use "lieutenant" villains at the standard 350 points (e.g., taken from CKC) as decent challenges for the group before they hit the Big Bad. Anyone have any pointers on this?

Re: Help me build my Gameday event! And now, we present Allison, the nosy reporter for the school paper with TK abilities she's just beginning to master. Allison Player: Val Char Cost 8 STR -2 20 DEX 30 13 CON 6 10 BODY 0 18 INT 8 17 EGO 14 15 PRE 5 14 COM 2 6/12 PD 4 6/12 ED 3 4 SPD 10 10 REC 10 31 END 3 28 STUN 7 6" RUN02" SWIM01 1/2" LEAP0Characteristics Cost: 100 Cost Power END 17 Allison has some powers that take effort: Telekinetic Control, 60-point powers, (30 Active Points); all slots Increased Endurance Cost (x2 END; -1/2), Concentration (1/2 DCV; -1/4) 17 1) Allison can move things with her mind: Telekinesis (33 STR), Fine Manipulation (60 Active Points); Increased Endurance Cost (x2 END; -1/2), Concentration (1/2 DCV; -1/4) 12 17 2) Allison can shield others: Force Wall (10 PD/10 ED; 4" long and 3" tall) (60 Active Points); Increased Endurance Cost (x2 END; -1/2), Concentration (1/2 DCV; -1/4) 12 17 3) Allison can stop you in your tracks: Entangle 6d6, 6 DEF (60 Active Points); Increased Endurance Cost (x2 END; -1/2), Concentration (1/2 DCV; -1/4) 12 11 Allison has some powers she has mastered: Telekinetic Control, 22-point powers 11 1) Allison can levitate: Flight 11" (22 Active Points) 2 11 2) Allison can shield herself: Force Field (6 PD/6 ED) (Protect Carried Items) (22 Active Points) 2 11 3) Allison's TK blast: Energy Blast 6d6 (30 Active Points); Extra Time (Full Phase, -1/2), Limited Range (Range reduced by half; -1/4) 3 Powers Cost: 112 Cost Skill 3 Criminology 13- 3 Deduction 13- 3 PS: Reporter 13- 5 Streetwise 13- 3 Sleight Of Hand 13- 3 Computer Programming 13- 3 Bribery 12- 7 Bureaucratics 14- Skills Cost: 30 Cost Perk 3 Contact (Contact has access to major institutions) 11- Perks Cost: 3 Cost Talent 5 Eidetic Memory Talents Cost: 5 Total Character Cost: 250 Val Disadvantages 10 Hunted: Littleton sheriiff's dept. 11- (Less Pow, NCI, PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find, Watching) 5 Money: Poor 20 Psychological Limitation: Code against killing (Common, Total) 10 Psychological Limitation: Curious to a fault (Common, Moderate) 10 Psychological Limitation: Overconfidence (Common, Moderate) 15 Reputation: Nosy reporter, 14- 5 Social Limitation: Teenager (Occasionally, Minor) 15 Social Limitation: Wants to keep powers a secret (Frequently, Major) 10 Vulnerability: 2 x STUN Mental attacks (Uncommon) Disadvantage Points: 100 Base Points: 150 Experience Required: 0 Total Experience Available: 0 Experience Unspent: 0

Re: Hero System is Just Alright With Me

Re: Help me build my Gameday event! Okay, here's Kristin, the stealthy martial artist with the ability to become invisible. Kristin Player: Val** Char*** Cost 8** STR -2 28** DEX 54 15** CON 10 10** BODY 0 13** INT 3 11** EGO 2 10** PRE 0 14** COM 2 * 6/12** PD 4 6/12** ED 3 5** SPD 12 10** REC 10 30** END 0 22** STUN 0 *8"**RUN42"**SWIM01 1/2"**LEAP0Characteristics Cost: 102 Cost** Power END 13** Kristin can "fade": Invisibility to Sight Group (20 Active Points); Extra Time (Full Phase, -1/2)* 2 18** Kristin can roll with the punches: Armor (6 PD/6 ED)* 0 11** Kristin can heal very quickly: Healing 2 BODY, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Persistent (+1/2) (40 Active Points); Extra Time (Regeneration-Only) 1 Hour (-2 1/4), Self Only (-1/2)* 0 Powers Cost: 42 Cost** Martial Arts Maneuver 20** +5 HTH Damage Class(es)* 3** Legsweep: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, -1 DCV, 7 1/2d6 Strike, Target Falls* 4** Martial Block: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +2 DCV, Block, Abort* 4** Martial Disarm: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, +1 DCV, Disarm; 43 STR to Disarm* 4** Martial Dodge: 1/2 Phase, -- OCV, +5 DCV, Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort* 4** Martial Escape: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +0 DCV, 48 STR vs. Grabs* 3** Martial Grab: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, -1 DCV, Grab Two Limbs, 43 STR for holding on* 4** Martial Strike: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +2 DCV, 8 1/2d6 Strike* 3** Martial Throw: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +1 DCV, 6 1/2d6 +v/5, Target Falls* 4** Nerve Strike: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, +1 DCV, 4 1/2d6 NND* 5** Offensive Strike: 1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, +1 DCV, 10 1/2d6 Strike* Martial Arts Cost: 58 Cost** Skill 6** +2 with Martial Maneuvers* 2** PS: Cooking 11-* 3** KS 12-* 3** Breakfall 15-* 3** Concealment 12-* 3** Contortionist 15-* 3** Fast Draw 15-* 3** Riding 15-* 3** Shadowing 12-* 3** Stealth 15-* Skills Cost: 32 Cost** Talent 16** Combat Sense 13-* Talents Cost: 16 Total Character Cost: 250 Val** Disadvantages 10** Dependence: Food -20 Active Points from Affected Power (Very Common, 1 Hour) [Notes: Metabolism requires she eat constantly in order to maintain ability to "fade"]* 15** Dependent NPC: Jensen, her boyfriend 8- (Normal; Unaware of character's adventuring career/Secret ID)* 10** Hunted: Littleton Sherrif's Dept. 11- (Less Pow, NCI, PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find, Watching)* 5** Hunted: Social Services 11- (Less Pow, NCI, Limited Geographical Area, PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find, Watching)* 5** Money: Poor* 20** Psychological Limitation: Code Against Killing (Common, Total)* 10** Reputation: That girl whose parents died, 14- (Known Only To A Small Group)* 5** Social Limitation: Teenager (Occasionally, Minor)* 15** Social Limitation: Wants to keep her powers secret (Frequently, Major)* 5** Unluck: 1d6* Disadvantage Points: 100 Base Points: 150 Experience Required: 0 Total Experience Available: 0 Experience Unspent: 0

Tom v2 Okay, prompted by some thinking anf the Teen Champions thread, I'm upping the power level to low-powered supers, i.e., 150+100. So, here's our new version of Tom the brick. Tom Player: Val Char Cost 30/60 STR 20 17 DEX 21 23 CON 26 24 BODY 28 10 INT 0 13 EGO 6 20 PRE 10 13 COM 2 6/12 PD 0 6/12 ED 1 3 SPD 3 15 REC 8 60 END 7 56 STUN 5 12" RUN02" SWIM06"/12" LEAP0Characteristics Cost: 137 Cost Power END 15 Tom can boost his STR, at a cost: +30 STR (30 Active Points); Increased Endurance Cost (x2 END; -1/2), No Figured Characteristics (-1/2) 6 18 Tom has thick skin: Armor (6 PD/6 ED) 0 6 Tom is inherrently tough: Damage Resistance (6 PD/6 ED) 0 12 Tom won't budge: Knockback Resistance -6" 0 12 Tom's sight and hearing are enhanced: +3 PER with Sight Group and Hearing Group 0 7 Tom's system can handle it: Life Support (Safe in High Pressure; Safe in High Radiation; Safe in Intense Cold; Safe in Intense Heat) 0 12 Running +6" (12" total) 1 Powers Cost: 82 Cost Skill 4 PS: Farming 13- 1 TF: Agricultural & Construction Vehicles 3 Animal Handler 13- 3 Power 12- 7 Mechanics 13- 10 +2 with HTH Combat 3 Riding 12- Skills Cost: 31 Total Character Cost: 250 Val Disadvantages 20 Dependent NPC: Parents, John and Annette 11- (Normal; Group DNPC: x2 DNPCs) 10 Hunted: Littleton Sherrif's Dept. 11- (Less Pow, NCI, PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find, Watching) 20 Psychological Limitation: Code Against Killing (Common, Total) 15 Social Limitation: Wants to keep his powers secret (Frequently, Major) 5 Money: Poor 5 Social Limitation: Teenager (Occasionally, Minor) 25 Dependence: Sunlight Powers Gain 14- Activation Roll (Very Common, 1 Turn) Disadvantage Points: 100 Base Points: 150 Experience Required: 0 Total Experience Available: 0 Experience Unspent: 0

Re: Hero System is Just Alright With Me FWIW, this is basically what GURPS 4e does. There's an Advantage called Innate Attack, and it's basically just the power to do damage at range. You then modify it to model the attack you're trying to build, e.g., remove the range, define the type of damage, how much, etc. Again, GURPS uses the terminology Enhancement/Limitation for things that modify Advantages/Disadvantages. Not that I'm trying to pimp GURPS or anything... just been readin' 4e lately.

First pregen: Tom The thread necromancy begins... Here's the first PC that I came up with. I decided to use the guidelines in Sidekick for Heroic PCs, points-wise, but plan to build them with superpowers that fit the concept. I'm trying to limit what I use to Sidekick, for the most part. Tom is basically the brick, i.e., the Clark analogue. Advice is actively sought out. Tom Player: Val** Char*** Cost 35** STR 25 13** DEX 9 20** CON 20 20** BODY 20 10** INT 0 10** EGO 0 10** PRE 0 13** COM 2 * 10** PD 3 10** ED 6 3** SPD 7 11** REC 0 42** END 1 48** STUN 0 *8"**RUN02"**SWIM07"**LEAP0Characteristics Cost: 93 Cost** Power END 10** Tom is inherrently tough: Damage Resistance (10 PD/10 ED)* 0 4** Running +2" (8" total)* 1 7** Tom's system can handle it: Life Support (Safe in High Pressure; Safe in High Radiation; Safe in Intense Cold; Safe in Intense Heat)* 0 4** Tom won't budge: Knockback Resistance -2"* 0 Powers Cost: 25 Cost** Skill 4** PS: Farming 13-* 1** TF: Agricultural & Construction Vehicles* 3** Animal Handler 11-* 3** Power 12-* 7** Mechanics 13-* Skills Cost: 18 Cost** Talent 14** Fearless* Talents Cost: 14 Total Character Cost: 150 Val** Disadvantages 20** Dependent NPC: Parents, John and Annette 11- (Normal; Group DNPC: x2 DNPCs)* 10** Hunted: Littleton Sherrif's Dept. 11- (Less Pow, NCI, PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find, Watching)* 20** Psychological Limitation: Code Against Killing (Common, Total)* 15** Social Limitation: Wants to keep his powers secret (Frequently, Major)* 5** Money: Poor* 5** Social Limitation: Teenager (Occasionally, Minor)* Disadvantage Points: 75 Base Points: 75 Experience Required: 0 Total Experience Available: 0 Experience Unspent: 0

Martial Throw does STR +v/5 in damage. The velocity is based on the velocity of the target, iirc. How do you know what the velocity of the target is? Does this only come into play if a PC throws another PC that is already in motion? I guess I'm trying to figure out how a Martial Throw is of any use over just punching someone. If PC A picks up stationary PC B, does he just do STR in damage? What if A throws B a great distance, or throws them into a wall? Thanks!

Re: Why I love HERO Woo! HERO love fest! Why do I love HERO? Abort. Seriously, I love that you can perform certain actions outside of the "initiative" order by forsaking your next phase. If things don't go as you expected, you can at least dodge or dive for cover, or even dive to take a bullet for someone. I can't really think of many other RPGs I've played that allow that. It's always, "Tough, you didn't say you were going to do that." More generally... I love HERO because I think it's one of the most flexible rules-heavy systems the hobby has ever seen. I mean, being flexible in a rules-lite game is easy, IMO. They're usually all about GM fiat anyway. But to do so in a rules-heavy context by providing a ridiculously thorough character description language (a great phrase not coined by me) INSTEAD of simply throwing an encyclopedia's worth of rules that hopefully cover all possible situations*, well, I just think that's amazing. And I guess I tend to like crunchy rulesets. And, as crunchy rulesets go, it moves pretty fast. Most everything you need to know is on your character sheet, and most situations can be resolved using common sense, as opposed to bending rationality to the ruleset. I don't find my group needing to refer to the rules very often. Having the system back in the hands of people who know how to run a game company, participate in the RPG community, and consistetly produce some of the best books in the hobby... well, that's good, too. I dunno. I've been in my fair share of HERO-bashing threads where people point out all the flaws in the system, well-argued or no, and I still have yet to see anyone definitively show HERO seriously lacking in any way. The fanboyish behavior it inspires in HEROdom is well-deserved, IMO. *This was my main beef with GURPS 3e. Thankfully, 4e seems to have avoided much of this.

Re: Help me build my Gameday event! I'm thinking that they should, as then time during the event doesn't have to be dedicated to their discovering each other's existence. I planned on this, sort of extending the "meteor rocks" concept from Smallville. Maybe a crashed alien spaceship back before they were born (semi-stealing from Wild Cards, sorta). Getting back to the point above, I figure that there's been enough weirdness in the town that the "super teens" have had reason to come into contact in the past, ergo they are aware of each other and feel a certain fellowship. The population at large may even be peripherally aware of their existence, a la Buffy around season three. "There's been a lot of weird @#$! in this town, and I figured you guys were the best ones to handle it." They maye even jokingly refer to themselves as the "Super Friends".

Re: Help me build my Gameday event! Thanks, mudpyr8.

Another ENWorld Chicago Gameday is coming up (tentatively scheduled for 10/16), and I plan to run a newbie-friendly Sidekick game loosely based on the WB's Smallville. Set in a small farm town, the PCs will all be teens with special abilities, a la Clark, though not quite as powerful. I want to keep things simple and straightforward so as not to overwhelm players who've never played HERO before. E.g., the Clark analogue will basically be strong and damage resistant, and that's it. Then maybe we'll have the telepathic reporter for the school paper, the angsty kid who's Batman-in-training, "Kid Flash" the track star, and so on. So, given these parameters, what kind of point totals should I be shooting for? Even though we're talking kids with superpowers here, I'm thinking that we'll still be in the "heroic" range, points-wise. Any other newbie tips? Powers I should avoid? Good ways to explain system concepts? TIA. P.S.: We're still in the planning stages, so sign-ups for Gameday are not being accepted just yet. If you want to weigh in or submit an event, check out the planning thread: http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=98770

Re: Extra Limbs and Characteristics A casual search of the forums is not finding this for me. Can anyone point me to it? Did Steve weigh in?

Bloody brilliant. Ne-il! Ne-il! Ne-il!

I just want to add my vote for coverage of "genres" like Buffy and (esp) Smallville. Those shows, and even crappy (IMHO) WB fare like Tarzan and Birds of Prey seem to comprise a sort of teen supers that's a little (well, a lot) less spandex-n-angst, yet still cinematic and filled with good fights. I kinda like taking costumes out of the equation. I know I'm going to run a "Littleton" game at some point (probably as a Sidekick game at cons or to pimp HERO to my Saturday group).

I got my copy of Junior this weekend. First, the negative: it's too bad that the section on experience points got crammed at the end of the Disadvantages chapter. Okay, that's it for negatives. The positive: This book rocks. I was fondly reminded of the copy of Champions I bought back in 1982, i.e., this cool little system that fit in a slim paperback book. And it's got big honkin' chargen and combat examples! I'm a long-time HERO vet, but I know that I am still often pretty foggy on a lot of concepts. Not only is this a great book for newbies, but it's a nice summary of the core elements of HERO for us addle-pated oldtimers, too. I can't wait to start pimping HERO among my friends using this! Thanks to Steve & Co. for yet another awesome product.

$7.99 from http://www.frpgames.com.

Let me add my voice to the chorus; this is freaking SWEET. I'm sending the link to my gaming buddies. Just curious, how much of the combat descriptions in your writeups are poetic license vs. actual combat manuevers? E.g., Damian using the car door to block A-man's attack. Your HERO-fu seeems strong, so 'd like to know how that was handled mechanically. Oh, and Terry totally reminds me of Jason Statham. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005458/ BTW, what the heck is the RDU, and where do I learn more about it?