Vurbal

Re: What fundamental thing would you change about the Hero system? Nope, not just you Chris. This is the only thing in the system that I actually consider broken. If I were designing the system from scratch I'd probably change some other things like how the size of a character is bought and how size affects attacks, perception, and the like. I'd probably also use either 3d10 or 3d12 for things that used 3d6 now because I like the curve better and would prefer a wider range of results.

Re: How would you construct and Ecstasy Weapon? I have a character with a couple of ecstasy type powers. The first, Rapture, is a BOECV Entangle. The second, Stimulate, is a Flash to the Mental and Touch groups.

Re: Linked Powers question (in and out of Power Frameworks) You can link a slot to a power that's not in any framework. 5ER has an example of this. What you can't do is link a framework slot to any part of a framework (either the one it's in or a different one), link an entire framework (or multiple slots in the same framework) to the same power or a framework or slot, or link a power to the base cost or reserve of a framework.

Re: Indispensable Books For me (as a player) the essentials are 5ER and UMA along with the Resource Kit. If I was running a game I'd add the Bestiary, and possibly TUV to that list. Fortunately most of my gaming books from the last 5 years are in PDF format so almost all the books I use are nearly always available to me during a game.

Re: Humorous: Broken arithmetic in system. What you don't seem to be grasping here is that the description of charges specifically notes that it's an Advantage when you reach that level.

Re: How do you use Regeneration in your campaign? My initial reaction to 5th Ed Regeneration was negative because of the hand waving issues that others have mentioned. Plus I didn't see the advantage to building it from another power. After reading through this thread I have a little bit different take on it than before, but I still wouldn't build it with Healing. REC already 'heals' BODY so it makes sense to me to build Regeneration from that and apply an advantage to move up the time chart, but I'd probably make it a +1 per step. That sounds like a lot, and for some games it would be (due to Active Point limits), but I'd also apply a limitation of BODY Only that would vary in value based on the importance of regenerating BODY in the particular game. For example, in our heroic fantasy games we don't track END on a per turn basis (just for long term Endurance) and sometimes there's a lot of BODY lost in a combat so I'd probably make it a -1. For our current superheroic level urban fantasy game we keep track of END per turn and there's still a significant amount of BODY taken in combat (Regeneration is a common power for this game) so I'd make it a -2. If we were to play a normal supers game we'd still track END normally but I'd expect taking BODY to be much less of a concern so I'd probably value it at -3. Using those values for BODY Only gives the following totals: 1 REC (2), Reduced Time (+8), BODY Only (-1) 18 Active / 9 Real 1 REC (2), Reduced Time (+8), BODY Only (-2) 18 Active / 6 Real 1 REC (2), Reduced Time (+8), BODY Only (-3) 18 Active / 4 Real If the Active Points are a problem you can always reduce it to +1/2 per step up the time chart and lower the limitation value accordingly to get the real point total you want. Since we don't worry about AP limits this wouldn't be a problem for us.

Re: Tunneling Question. Interesting. At first glance I really like this. It removes some strange side effects of tunneling like putting holes in things without using an attack power and not being able to tunnel through certain things because you can't put holes in them without an attack power.

Re: Tunneling Question. I agree. Tunneling creates holes as a by-product of moving through some substance. If nothing is being moved then there's no tunneling going on. If the SFX allows for creating the hole without the movement then addtional powers should be purchased to represent that in game terms. If the character doesn't have other powers but it makes sense within the SFX to be able to create the hole without movement I might allow it once or twice, but would definitely require other powers to be bought if it was going to happen more than that.

Re: Experience increasing

Re: Reasoning from effect or vice versa? In 5er there's a small section called "Eight Principles For Interpreting And Applying The Hero System Rules". The first 4 basically state that the GM is the final arbiter of what's legal.

Re: Multiple Attacks in a Phase Since this is well into GM discretion territory, whether it's a legitimate build is really a judgement call. I probably wouldn't allow it, but as with most things that's dependent on whether the player could justify it to my satisfaction.

Re: Let's Talk Disads: Limitation Alternates We talked about doing it that way, but since it would involve a bunch of changing DNPC's for various situations and there would be no rhyme or reason to their power level or how frequency different individuals would be involved it made more sense to use unluck.

Re: Let's Talk Disads: Limitation Alternates I'm not saying there's anything wrong with your way, just that I would just handwave it being specific to the ship. Since the frequency goes down the severity automatically goes up to compensate and the same effect is achieved. It should come out at the same cost and effect either way.

Re: Let's Talk Disads: Limitation Alternates I don't have a problem with limitations on disads, but for something like this I would probably just tell the player to buy fewer dice of unluck. IMO whether it applies to his entire life or is always related to his ship is just SFX. The number of dice is the only thing that matters when it comes to points because that determines the frequency/severity. OTOH I suppose if there were significant enough periods of time away from the ship I guess I could see the limitation. I once had a Champions character with unluck that always happened to his friends and family. No limitation on the disad - just the way the unluck manifested itself.

Re: Lets Talk Disads: Enraged/Berserk

Re: Lets Talk Disads: Enraged/Berserk

Re: Lets Talk Disads: Enraged/Berserk I like the idea of extending the enraged/berserk mechanic for other results. I'd call it something like Compulsion. As far as skills go I think the real test would be whether it sidetracks you from whatever you feel compelled to do. For example, with Enraged using CSLs for offense leads directly to the result you want, while using them defensively doesn't cross your mind. Arguably you could be compelled to do something that would require you to use particular skills to overcome obstacles. If you're trying to rescue someone you might need to bypass a high tech security system or use some sort of magic to divine his location. Maybe a good solution would be to have penalties for anything the character does that isn't directly leading to accomplishing the goal or causes any kind of delay. That would (at least partially) simulate being frustrated and distracted. It may end up simply being a GM call as to whether an obstacle is significant enough to justify any kind of delay or peripheral action.

Re: Building a modular rifle I'm the same way. Until I read through the rules I won't really have a good grasp of the system. In my case it's mostly because that's how I learn. I can pickup more from reading the rules than a lot of people can by playing for months. I just don't seem to come up with the right questions until I have it all laid out in front of me.

Re: Reasoning from effect or vice versa? I start by determining what mechanics best simulate what I'm trying to do. That determines the basic power, skill, talent, etc, ... used. Then I look at the special effect. That's primarily used to determine adders, advantages, and limitations, It's also usually the determining factor for whether a framework is appropriate. If there are multiple ways to build something the determining factor is usually special effect, but in some cases that makes a build that's either overly complicated or greatly over/under-priced so other factors certainly come into play.

Re: Steve's Chat Tonight (Thursday, April 27) What if I let the badgers provide the projectiles instead of being projectiles?

Re: Transformation

Re: The interaction skills

Re: Communication - interception and impersonation

Re: How do I build a . . . ? If the reason the character paid points for the item was something like "it's a family heirloom" or "it's a one of a kind item" it makes sense within the framework of that character's story for them to make getting it back a priority. I don't see that as spoiling the narrative, but if you think it will be an issue I can see your point. However, just because it's a focus doesn't have to mean that the character will get the same item, or even one that's funtionally the same back. There's the approach I mentioned before of getting a replacement - obviously not always feasible. It's also possible the character may spend those points a different way. You can look at independent as a limitation of the points instead of the item. Points spent on an Independent item can be lost. Points spend on a focus that's not Independent won't be lost, but the GM doesn't have to feel obligated to allow the focus to be recovered or replaced by an identical one. Once again, I understand your approach (and it wouldn't bother me if I were one of your players) but I think you're making it more limiting (from the GM's perspective) than it has to be.

Re: More Difficult Than Average And that's just from hauling it to your game! Oh you meant in the rules.