Hyper-Man

I think you just described the Martian Manhunter minus the mental powers. HM

I don't know if an extra Limitation is actually what is needed at all in this case. I think the 'real world' special effect most folks are thinking about is the comparison between blunt objects and those with a cutting edge. At first this seems to match up with Normal vs. Killing damage but there are obvious exceptions. A tire iron could arguably be considered blunt killing damage and would do diddly-squat for someone holding it while entangled. The same goes for an Ice Pick as it also doesn't have an 'edge' to slice with. A pocket knife does though. The slicing action of a 'sharp' blade doesn't require any significant STR to slowly be used to cut through things. Light Sabers are a much more obvious fictional example of this. When a Jedi shoves their light saber through a blast door and then proceed to slowly cut a hole out like slicing through butter they really aren't doing anything but letting the 'blade' do its own cutting. This has been modeled in the last 2 Star Hero books by using a Compound Power build with part 1 being a traditional KA with a STR minimum (that usually doesn't add to damage) and part 2 built as a KA with a Limited Damage Shield/AOE Surface (whatever touches the blade). The same could be done for real world 'sharp bladed' weapons (a 1 pip KA with a Limited AOE Surface Advantage). I don't think this needs to actually be stated out but there is value in noting it in a similar fashion to how the Talents have traditional Power builds listed in the core books. HM

This is a great book (and is in fact one of my favorites) but it is not as essential 'up front' for a new game for new Champions players. The same goes for the HERO System Equipment Guide and Bestiary books. All are excellent resources but are primarily targeted for heroic instead of superheroic games. HM

The core books have more examples for each individual Power. The Powers book is organized more by special effect. It's essentially the equivalent of the HERO System Grimoire (Fantasy HERO spell lists for schools of magic) except it's types of superpowers instead. HM

There are some passive benefits to having a high STR that cannot be simulated easily via a Framework slot. Example - resisting being Grabbed during a segment that the character has no Phase or has already used their Phase's actions. HM

I think the DC Cinematic Universe is a pretty good template for this. The government reaction to Superman in 'Man of Steel' is about as 'real world' as it can get compared to the helicarriers in the MCU. BVS and Suicide Squad establish a small amount of pre-Superman history but it's all in the shadows. HM

The rules included in the original big blue book hardback Champions 4e are exactly the same as those in the HERO System 4e softcover book. They even share the same page numbers. The Champions Sourcebook section of the hardback has a separate numbering. The point I was trying to make is that Champions Deluxe 4e might have a few significant changes to the 4e rules similar to the differences between 5e and 5er. from: https://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/49228/champions-4th-edition HM

It's worth noting that there were 3 distinct releases of Champions 4e. 1. The original hardback - same system rules as softcover HERO 4e 2. The softcover Champions 4e (I didn't even know this was a thing till this year) - same rules. 3. Champions Deluxe 4e hardback. New layout - some rules updates/changes as well. I own the latter two but have not had the time to really compare them to the original. It also sucks that there is no PDF version of them to be found like there is for the original 4e rules. HM

You might want to check out and post pics to this related thread as well: http://www.herogames.com/forums/topic/92945-need-more-hero/ HM

Here are the 3 best resources that I am aware of: https://rpggeek.com/rpg/329/hero-system-5th-edition (scroll down to the linked items section). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Hero_System_Products https://web.archive.org/web/20101130192140/http://rhinobunny.com/derek/hero/herogameslist.html Good Luck. HM

...which setting books, guides etc do people recommend that I should purchase and why? ... Any help welcome. PaladinAg Here are my why's: Champions 6e is the best Superhero Genre book to date and was co-written by the late Aaron Allston. Champions Universe and the Villain books are just a great resource if you don't want to have to build everything yourself. Champions Powers is a great list of pre-built abilities that are designed to help with the heavy lifting for players new to the system. The full set of 6e1&2 core rules have so many more examples than what are included in Champions Complete. It is the core rules for ALL genres, not just Champions, but is 99.99% compatible with Champions Complete. If you or your players enjoy pushing the system then the Advanced Players Guides (1&2) are a good investment as well. HM

Available in PDF format that is. HM

Easiest way to SEE the full line up of HERO 6e/ Champions 6e stuff would be to follow this link: http://rpggeek.com/rpg/11085/champions-hero-system-6 Virtually everything is available from the Herogames store. Champions 6e, Champions Universe 6e, The 3 Villain Books and Champions Powers are probably the best stuff to start with. Then maybe the full 6e1&2 books. HM

That's exactly what I meant. I got the idea from the TimeWars series of novels from the 80's. HM

It's arguable that Martial Damage Classes get a discount due to the requirement to actually purchase a minimum number of Martial Maneuvers & the requirement to be used with one of those maneuvers. HM

Interesting pic I've never seen before.

John Wick 2 movie poster: HM

Yes. There is a link to in the first post - it's at the top of the character write up in the spoiler tag. HM

While they are for 6e these may still be useful for ideas. http://www.herogames.com/forums/index.php?app=core&module=search&do=user_activity&sid=f0bd3788634f9732a34cb218cd44793a&mid=2288&userMode=all&search_app=downloads&search_app_filters[downloads][searchInKey]=files&search_app_filters[downloads][files][sortKey]=date&search_app_filters[downloads][files][sortDir]=1 The download links for each include an html attachment so all can be viewed without needing to own a copy of Hero Designer. I just have never had the patience to learn how to create my own website to host this small amount of stuff I create. HM

fixed

Here are some less well known sources: http://killershrike.com/CharacterMaster/CharacterGenreList.aspx?r=0&genre=supers https://sites.google.com/site/heroicsystems/Home/avenger-champs http://the-wild-hunt.org/x-men/index.html http://www.sysabend.org/champions/gnborh/index.html HM

Another option I've seen in the comics is an Absorption ability that feeds into the Duplication. HM

Duplication is one of the few powers I've never used in a character build before. Best general advice I can give is to look for the 'chink in armor' you can live with. The first option that come to mind would be some sort of time limit (possible sfx is a personal time-fugue). HM

Split Decision HM

Martial DCs don't cost END by default. I think the -1/4 default Limitation on HA is about right considering that the damage adding rules heavily encourage using Advantages on HA instead of STR directly. HA is almost never the only option to build an effect. It only becomes the optimal one when there is a desire to include Advantages. The only way to create better balance between all the different base abilities that do damage would probably require a complete costing overhaul that would likely end the cornerstone 5 points per DC that STR and Blast currently use. Killing Attack is an easier example to begin with. The current Ranged/HTH split could be recreated with a single Killing Attack power that costs 10 points per 3 DC but includes a requirement to choose 1 of 2 mandatory Advantages (Range or STR adds to damage. Of course there is always the option of eliminating Killing Attack as a Power and making it an Advantage (similar to what was done with the the morphing of Damage Resistance into the Resistant Advantage). I think this a bad idea because it removes damage variety by effectively tripling the number of dice rolled for killing damage which puts the bell-curve like consistency of adding more dice front and center. The equivalent for HA would need to involve Blast as well as STR and would cause some wonky rounding issues if 3 points was the base. The only solution to this that I can see is to add granularity (more points) which would throw off the costing structure for the entire system. I live in a rabbit hole sometimes but this is more like a prairie dog city in the complexity involved. HM