Chris Goodwin

In one magic system I've renamed MCV to "Mystical Combat Value".  It doesn't change anything about the mechanics or which powers use it to target, just the name and special effect.  It represents the caster's ability to target spells that aren't based on physical dexterity, but on their mystical abilities.  If I were to use it in a pre-6th edition game, I'd probably replace ECV with it, or base it on another stat (maybe OMCV is INT/3 and DMCV is EGO/3).  
 
Edit: I typed the above before rereading the previous posts on the thread.  Wheel, reinvented.  You could also do it as Combat Skill Levels with magic, that represent the caster's mystical offensive abilities, and add to their OCV or OMCV regardless of what the "M" represents.
 
Edit edit:  It looks like this thread was bumped by a spammer.  It was a pretty worthy thread to have bumped, though.

Cart before the horse, but yes.  Multiple move-by, sweep, rapid fire, mecha gangfire, then 4th edition.  
 
Edit:  Dang it, I keep seeing this thread pop up and thinking it's for me.   

I'm not a wizard, so I don't know...
 
In 6th edition, we've divorced CV and MCV from their former parent Characteristics, so we can kind of use special effects to represent them.  For instance, we could translate D&D fighter types by giving them bonus OCV, Melee Only (-1), representing using their Strength to power through their target's defenses.  
 
Shouldn't a highly skilled and powerful wizard be reliant not on their frail, rickety, low-DEX body, but on their INT, EGO, and great knowledge of and connection to the mystical sphere?  That's what Arcane Combat Value represents.  
 
So, the answer to your question is "That's up to the player's SFX or the GM's magic system." 

Amorcka, are you planning to write a large wall of text, or are you basing that on experience reading Duke's and my postings about the pre-4th edition period?   

Cart before the horse, but yes.  Multiple move-by, sweep, rapid fire, mecha gangfire, then 4th edition.  
 
Edit:  Dang it, I keep seeing this thread pop up and thinking it's for me.   

Hi Steve, got a question.   
 
If I have a number of Skill Levels (Combat, Overall, or otherwise) that may apply to both OCV and DCV, and... 
 
...for example in Segment 3, during my Phase I attack, with those levels allocated to OCV...
 
...and then in Segment 4 I am attacked, and decide to Abort to a defensive action (let's say Dodge for the sake of argument)...
 
The question is, may I take those levels that were allocated to OCV during my Phase in Segment 3, and during my Abort to Dodge in Segment 4, allocate them to DCV as part of my defensive action (assuming they're applicable)?
 
(I'm looking at the list of actions on 6e2 p. 23, and it doesn't explicitly say there that levels that were previously allocated to OCV may be reallocated to DCV, which is about the only reason I'm asking.)

In the world of the Arcana Practica, the Thaumic Age began some hundred to hundred and twenty years ago.  This was the beginning of systematized study of magic.  Before that time, "wizards" (charlatans) would ply their trades, often getting hired on into official positions.  Some of these wizards had some actual power, by means of knacks (magical talents that some people, then and now, possessed), but being a wizard was as much about putting on a show as it was about working actual magic.  Often, wizards would take on apprentices, some of which had knacks of their own, many of which did not.  Their training methods were as much flim-flammery as their wizardry.  There was a big scandal, as most kingdoms, governments, etc., gave their wizards the choice of hanging or beheading (sometimes even burning at the stake was offered), but one group (a confederation of duchies) instead commissioned a study on why some wizards could actually do real magic and some couldn't.  It turned into a long running study on magic in general, that began the Thaumic Age.  
 
Arcana, singular arcanum, refers to a type of magic: air, fire, light, lightning, animals, etc.  Practica, singular practicum, refers to a magical technique: create, sense, bind, conjure, dismiss, cloak, etc.  Together, these are a spell's Arcanum and Practicum (often abbreviated as "A and P"), and the overall organized body of magical knowledge and pedagogy is referred to as the Arcana Practica.  The incidence of knacks has gone down in the general population as the Arcana Practica has taken hold; no one is sure exactly why, but there are a number of competing theories.  
 
Learning a number of spells that share a common practicum allows you to buy a Skill (PS) with that practicum, which you can roll as a complementary skill roll to your Magic Skill Roll.  Some individuals have an "affinity" with an arcanum, which in game terms is a few Skill Levels that apply to magical and mundane manifestations.  So, for instance, an affinity with fire would help you with casting spells of the arcanum of fire, as well as with building fires mundanely; an affinity with animals would improve your spellcasting on animals, as well as your Animal Handling and other animal related Skills.  Spells would initially be bought for full point cost, though as the game progresses you can work your way into Multipowers and potentially a VPP (based on arcana).  
 
Characters can also buy knacks, which are just a magical power with an A and P.  Sufficient study of thaumatology and Metamagic can help you turn your knack into an arcanum.  
 
Finally, spells are divided into tiers, based solely on the prerequisites required.  Tier 0 spells require no prerequisites; anyone who is not "athaumic" (nonmagical) can learn them, and none of them require a skill roll.  Tier 1 spells have a basic level of prerequisites; some might have a particular tier 0 spell, others might require a minimum skill in a practicum, or an affinity, or a knack.  Tier 2 spells have more extensive lists of prerequisites; higher levels in various related Skills, demonstrated minimum ability to cast certain tier 1 spells, possibly certain knacks or other magical talents.  There are no tier 3 spells, unless you are a disgruntled wannabee who has barely passed their basic Arcana Practica and thinks that there's some kind of conspiracy keeping you from learning tier 2 spells.  

I think this is a reasonable limitation for the game and the genre, at least potentially.  I would consider the following:
 
 - the character wielding rapier and dagger has given up the advantage of a higher base attack two-handed weapon.  Assuming the character is not splitting his attacks between two targets, it seems reasonable that he can swing the two weapons (including a weapon and shield bash) as a combined attack.  Grab & Stab combines two different combat maneuvers, and is therefore a multiple attack.  Punch and stab?  Kick and stab?  Sure.  But it still seems reasonable to limit the one-handed warrior to one extra attack (you don't get to kick twice, punch once, stab with your sword and head butt at no penalty).
 
At least one edition of Fantasy Hero suggested a -1/2 "spell" limitation, which included their exclusion from some maneuvers, like Multiple Attack and Combined attack.  As well, Gestures and Incantations logically impose limits on how many spells can be cast at once.  Can the spell caster cast three defensive spells, a movementy spell or two and an attack spell as a single phase action? This suffers from the same "not consistent with the genre" issue.

Anyone else notice the announcement that Chaosium is going to be making an OGL and SRD for the system that powers their popular games, such as Call of Cthulhu and RuneQuest -- Basic Roleplaying (BRP)?
https://basicroleplaying.org/topic/10565-new-version/?do=findComment&comment=162231
 
I think that's pretty darned exciting. I'm glad that a good number of companies over the years have chosen to do that. It's opened up a lot of possibilities.

Added Distance calculator and range modifiers.
 
 

I don't know if I ever shared it publicly.  I'll poke around and see if I can find it.

So....
 
you wanna share that, or _what_?  
 
 

The whole section it's in (Multiple Attack, 6e2 p. 73) has a yellow warning sign by it.  So it's at the very least up to the GM whether to allow or not.
 

I made up a play aid to make old school Car Wars run a lot faster.  In a six player game, with four noobs and two rusty old farts, we got through a complete arena duel in about two and a half hours.  It shocked me how well that made it go. 

You should lightly edit your posts and put them out as a PDF.  “How to Run Champions for Young Gamers” 

Fast forwarding:
 
Seven Day provides an opportunity for them to learn a bit of the superhero history of the setting and to mingle with NPCs.  They elect to serve as impromptu security, and they seem to be having a great time.  This whole time, I am floundering for how to keep this exciting for them, because this isn't going to hold their interest.  They learn about the battle with Master Mind, leading to MM's death and the death of over half the then-active supers: heroes and villains both.  The players are fascinated with Tree.  This kind of took me by surprise: no one in my existing campaign took Tree as any more than a set piece in a number of years.
 
Short explanation:  Tree was a player character at one time, and had some unusual UBO Life Support builds in addition growth and stretching and a few other things.  MM's final assault was wave after wave of missiles launched from his flying assault ship.  Rook leaped onto one, attempted to rip it apart, only to discover that this last wave had poisonous gas warheads. Overwhelmed, she tried to scream a warning as she fell to the earth, was caught by Tree, who understood what had happened and extended tendrils into her mouth and nose and began using his L/S on her.  He pumped all his END into Growth, Stretching, and Life Support, using all of them far beyond his ability, running out of END and then burning STUN and even most of his BODY to push and push and push.   When he can go no more, he is literally a tree-- a gigantic tree a couple hundred feet high with limbs spreading out for nearly a mile in every direction, using his size to envelope as many of the missiles as he could and filtering as much of the atmosphere as he could.  The character continued growing, stretching, filtering-- to death.  No longer the sentient plant man he was, he is now and forever one of-- if not the-- largest trees in the world.  (several streets were re-routed owing to his location and girth)  Notably, the air is always fresher and cleaner in his shade, and the Seven Day Memorial festival is a big community picnic under his branches.
 
Personally, I think they like Tree because they're young: still at an acceptable age for climbing and playing in trees, and this is a gigantic one!  Now they don't have their characters running around and playing in Tree, but they ask lots and lots of questions, and the fliers all want to fly "around" him to see how big he is, etc....
 
Something goes "ding" in my mind!
 
All right, OP: here's something you might want to keep in mind.
 
Most of the GMs here-- myself included-- prefer to create our own adventures.  Not only is it something that we take so much pride in that she should be ashamed, but it lets us build _custom tailored_ adventures: adventures that suit our over-arching story plans, yet are crafted to provide moments that alternately spotlight and challenge the unique characters our players have created.  I know we all want to see published adventures, but honestly, with the open-endedness of HERO, it's damned near impossible to design an adventure for supers that can do both of those two things.  So, we build our adventures, taking huge pride in our drive and out ability, all the while downplaying the fact that we really don't have any other choice.  :/
 
I've stated elsewhere on this board that I would _love_ to have some prebuilt adventures, as the older I get, the less time I have to actually craft things.  Fortunately, I have for years enjoyed _reading_ adventures, even those that aren't specific to HERO or even work with any particular genre I intend to play.  I think the "Choose Your Own Adventure" books back in -- what?  The early 80s?   They were like solo adventure modules for non-gamers.  I read them with that sort of thing in mind: simple plot that players could complicate all by themselves.  Seriously:  keep your plots simple.  Complicated, intricate stuff?  You'll be playing for _years_ before you get to the end of that (don't cast any really old characters!  They won't be around to arrest!)
 
At any rate, the combination of my need to do _something_, particularly now that they are off the jag of big celebration, the history lesson, and the introduction to regular NPCs in this setting, and are starting to be finished even with Tree (the quote "I had fake sex on graph paper" comes to mind) and Tree himself brings something to mind:
 
Some time ago, one of my players had picked up one of the modern "light weight" RPGs and a couple of adventures.  I can't remember what it was called (great artwork and layouts, though, but a lousy system for doing more than hour-long one-shots), but one of the adventures-- one that I dismissed as ludicrous (but read anyway) as it revolved around "the tree of life."   I started reading it, but ultimately it was just to bizarre.  The second one featured an out-of-control duplicator, and actually could have been turned into a interesting plot for Champions with a few setting changes.
 
So what did I have?  The players were curious about Tree above all.  I need something simple, something that they can _do_ to get that "I'm a superhero!" pump before falling to boredom.  On the plus side, this should be the last "off the cuff" thing I have to do.  Everyone should be here next session, and we can get on with the game I had planned in the first place!  Also, OP:  I can't recommend enough reading short adventures.  Even if you never use them, they are _ideas_, and ideas are tools that can be used when you need them.  For example, this very "campaign" so far:
 
Rather than delay the game, we used a short and well-used scenario of my own devising to keep a session going.  Then we used a short 'intro' scenario ("Crime Spree") I found in a gaming magazine _way_ back when (slightly tweaked to make it appeal to kids playing supers).  Today, because yet again the planned adventure isn't going to happen, we are using an adventure that I don't remember the title of (nor the game for which it was written), because it's short, and because it has some slight surface resemblance to the setting we are in right now.
 
We're in action!
 
I ask for "skill checks" against Perception.  
 
 
Which everyone failed.  
 
Well what to do?
 
As Chris Goodwin has stated, "clues want to be found," so without hesitation, I make plans to have them slapped with the clue:  time for a little callback..
 
(to Kinetica, the speedster) BOOOM!  A thud shakes the ground behind you!  Startled, you whirl around and see wall of charcoal-clad muscle standing just a couple of feet in front you.  Her right arm is raised to balance a load on her broad shoulder, where she is carrying a demon made of bony spikes and plates of ridged armor-- "Boneyard!  I didn't know he was coming!"
 
Rook, rolling Boneyard off her shoulder: "Does this belong to you, Sweetie?  He says he knows you..."
"Hi, Boneyard!  I'm glad you came!  I bet this feels a lot different now that you're a superhero, doesn't it?!"
 
"Kinetica!  They're everywhere!  I need your help!  And Red Cloak and Magnificent and--"
Slow down!  What are you talking about?
"Yeah, Sweetie; take a breath..."
Get everyone, Kinetica!  I can't stop them all!
 
Kinetica takes the hint and zoom-zooms around, gathering all the PCs.
 
Short version (if you haven't read the little adventure I'm pulling from):
 
silver spidery robots are flooding the park, pouring in from several directions.  There are hundreds-- possibly a thousand!-- of these cat-sized robots, marching into the park, all head for Tree.  Several of the first ones have made it and begun to climb or drill in turn.
 
Summing it up, everyone got to use their "deputizing" powers and organize the NPC heroes into teams under the direction of Spock-like as well get in some "guilt-free smashing," since they were obviously robots.
 
Totally stoked, Magnificent (his alter ego is a technology wizard) declared he would take three or four of the better specimens "for study" to see who might be behind them.  Other players follow suit, offering what help they can in researching the robots, while Spock-like both grudgingly thanks them for controlling things, agrees that his old friend magnificent had made a good call in deputizing the other heroes, and makes a few calls to various agencies to arrange clean-up then sets about claiming particular specimens for the police to study.
 
 
ends on a high note with players still stoked about the game, so I have high hopes for next week and _finally_ getting the adventure off the ground!
 

back.
 
 
So the players are making "tell us everything about everything on this map (I had broken out a blank map once the cars moved within map range of each other and hastily scribbled some things on it: buildings, etc)" noises, so I detail the buildings, really kind of winging it, because 1) I had never fixed a particular neighborhood in mind and 2) this has never, _ever_ happened before.  I spend a few minutes making things up, deciding to put this in an area near the docks, sort of between the Hollows and Chinatown.  (The Hollows being subsidized housing projects properly named Holland Gardens but referred to by the inhabitants and most of the people in the area as "the Hollows.")  So I give them the rundown of the area, which leads to "neat!  Tell us about everything else!" (which they don't really want; they are new to roleplaying, and the idea that there is a detailed bit of imagination fascinates them more than it actually _interests_ them. I decide to use the reporters arriving on the scene to give some more life and history:
 
Are you a team?  Are you related to [retired hero x]?  Where are the rest of you?  There are seven, right?  You are the heroes that are going to replace The Seven, aren't you?"  We role-play all through this, and they emerge curious about the Seven and some of the other events and situations the reporters have mentioned.
 
Brief run-through:  Campaign City has been home to many, many superheroes and even superhero teams over the years, none of which were as high-profile as The Seven.  (The Seven were the PCs we used the longest, building their legacy across a couple of decades.  As a player "retired" a character, invariably his new PC would end up being indoctrinated into the Seven.  After we were too geographically dispersed to meet regularly, that original group-- well, players drifted in and out and one day you just sort of realize that none of your original people are left, and people are moving in and out a faster pace.....  Anyway, post-OG players would form their own teams-- and usually unofficially-- and there was never another "Seven."
 
The last big get-together of the original players was an all-out war to save Campaign City, in which all but one of The Seven fell, as did many other PCs  (we knew this would be the "last hurrah" for our group:  one was being transferred (military), one was headed to med school, one was getting married and moving to Vegas---  anyway, the campaign was coming to climax, and we all sort of agreed to make it the biggest, most spectacular, most memorable game ever-- Jim (GM of that campaign, who was the one moving to Vegas) really ramped up the stakes and seventy-two hours of non-stop brawl lead to the most heroic stand ever taken, and cleared the stables of a lot of characters (including many villains, who came to the aid of the city) that we knew we would likely never use together again.  It was _spectacular_, and led to a recurring bit in Campaign City that two of us (one of my fellow players also became a GM when he moved off; I don't think Jim has ever found another Supers group, but he _does_ still play: mostly westerns now.  I _think_ Boot Hill, but I'm not certain) still use:  A big memorial service called "Seven Day."  A parade, a memorial, a service of thanks, and remembrance of all those who gave  everything when they were needed most.  In recent years, it's become a popular place for politicians to be seen, etc, as well as something of a festival.)
 
Well you guys are in luck, if you really want to learn about the history of super-heroes in Campaign City, because it's almost Seven Day!  (apparently....  :/    )  A festival honoring super heroes, police, firemen, and all those people who stand up for those people who can't stand up for themselves!  There will be lots of other super heroes there, and it's kind of a chance for you to interact with the public without them trying to shoot at you!
 
The kids are all excited, we talk a bit about some of the heroes and their escapades in the past  (at this point, I am one of the police officers, who is something of a Super's fan, and loves to meet and talk to (and about) super heroes and the city.  I don't want to go too far into any kind of plot without a larger portion of the group, so I let the session end with us discussing the history of Campaign City, and a quick stop at Truck's Tacos across the street from Daniel's University, where the food is cheap, plentiful, tasty, and unique (choose any two).  No one wants to try the chocolate-covered mayonnaise balls or the mustard ice-cream, and only one (Feral) is interested in a two-for-one on crab tacos.
 

All righty, then; where were we?
 
Ah yes: Crime Spree.  Thus far, it has been pretty mundane: a mugging and a couple of robberies?  This isn't really the fare these kids signed up for!  We need something....  super....
Just for the absolute heck of it, I threw a monkey wrench into the works:  "Feral, something is really bugging you about this whole thing.  You can't put your finger on it, but there's something very strange about the missing people...."
 
"okay, I want to re-check the cars!  Can I recheck the cars?"
 
Sure.  The police have just arrived on the scene, and Silk Dragon is giving her statement.  Two other officers are directing traffic and one of them is calling for a two truck or two.  No one is giving any real attention to the cars just yet.
 
After re-investigating the cars, he realizes that the missing guy from both cars is the same guy.  Neither scent is noticeably older than the other, so either he had just left one group to join the other then disappeared, or--
 
"What?  It's the same guy?  Like he has a clone or something?"
 
(I was thinking a teleporter, or possibly just a duplicator (which I really didn't want to use, as I plan for them to meet an NPC duplicator (Shout out to Doc D for hooking me up with the perfect picture a year or so back!     ),  but something in "clone" strikes my fancy-- don't know why, but I file it away for later)  "Possibly.  You really don't have anyway to know for sure, but you do know that you have the same identical scent at two places, and all signs show they were here at or near the same time.  That's about all you can tell without some serious forensic work.
 
He reports to the other PCs that he suspects they are looking for clones and tells them why.  The police get all their statements and they head off to live the rest of their lives.  Feral resumes his bloodhound form and tries to pick up the scent, but there's just too many background scents and other people on the sidewalks.  He doesn't get too terribly far before he has to give up (bad streak of rolls, but all in all, it worked out great for building mystery and suspense).
 
Being paged; guess we'll do this later.
 

:: thinking about rules debates on the Hero boards... ::
 

The whole section it's in (Multiple Attack, 6e2 p. 73) has a yellow warning sign by it.  So it's at the very least up to the GM whether to allow or not.
 

The whole section it's in (Multiple Attack, 6e2 p. 73) has a yellow warning sign by it.  So it's at the very least up to the GM whether to allow or not.
 

:: thinking about rules debates on the Hero boards... ::
 

I'm saying that, like most things in Hero, the rules can be used and the rules can be abused.  You can spend 210 points on a single 42 DC attack, or you can spend 210 points on three 14 DC attacks.  You could buy 7 6 DC attacks.  By the rules (explicit in 5e and 6e; possibly the intent prior to 5e but never explicitly stated; explicitly possible in prior editions at less cost than that 42 DC attack, but only if the attacks were linked), all 42 DCs can be combined into a single attack, at a single target, with a single attack roll.
 
That does not mean, as a GM, I am required to allow a player constructed to toss around 42 DC attacks (even at a cost of 21 END,, and of 210 character points, which is substantial even for a Champions character).
 
Could it be abused?  Sure.  How many things in the game could NOT be abused?  If the 119 points I save from placing my 3 70 AP attacks in a Multipower are spent on 27 points of Power Defense, 22 points of Sight Flash Defense, 25rPD and 25 rED (added to a typical PD and ED character), which has been possible in one form or another since 1e, would that be any more acceptable than a character who can toss around those same 3 attacks (or a single 210 AP attack)?
 
 
Yup.  That is why, among many other things, we have rules for powers purchased with points and rules for equipment purchased with cash.  And, as Duke notes, you can't fire three guns, or swing three swords, at the same time.  Maybe we should acknowledge that this is an outgrowth of the Real Weapon limitation (or the nature of defined Foci) and not the base rule for attack powers.
 
I note you have ignored my question of what benefit a player receives for placing those 3 14 DC powers in a Multipower to justify paying 210 points instead of 91 points.  119 points is a lot, and it should logically carry a lot of benefit.
 
Oh, you asked about examples from the source material - every action where Legolas kicks one opponent away and then fires an arrow (where is the required Concentration for his use of a bow?) and any Supers Archer who nocks two arrows at the same time.  And the Western Gunman who uses two pistols at once, seemingly without penalty.
 
 
This, exactly.  This was the Great Linked War - if you can use two or more powers at the same time with a limitation, it must be possible to use them at the same time without REDUCING their cost.
 
We do still have 0 END baked into Charges, unfortunately, but that's the only other "automatic and omnipresent advantage" limitation I can think of.
 
 

I will not claim to be able to speak for Hugh, but if you will allow me to offer my own take-away from his comment:
 
I _believe_ that what he was offering with his example of the 42d attack was a comparison between the sum total of all the powers used in your multiple power attack (and honestly, I think if it had been named that:  Multiple Power Attack instead of Multiple Attack, I think you and I both would have had a lot less confusion about the intentions behind it).
 
That is to say, I think his comments could be re-phrased as "in essence, the powers all stacked together for the multiple power attack all hit or miss on a single roll of the dice.  However, the exact same amount of AP could be spent on a single attack that also hits or misses on a single attack roll."
 
Now I'm like you: when I first read the rules in 5e for "multiple attack," I think I developed an aneurism!  It took a good bit of careful re-reading and even following a couple of discussion to see the validity of the idea.  i still get that "not quite right" feeling from it-- likely because of my own initial mis-understanding of it-- but from a _purely mechanical_  point of view, it stands up as fair.
 
I don't know if this helps you, but what finally did it for me-- because, like you, my first thought was "not without 'Linked,' you don't!"
 
But as Hugh points out (I think he did way back when, too, now that I think about it-- back when 5e first hit) that Linked is a _Limitation_; the idea behind it being that in order to use Power B, you _must_ use Power A, and then all the matching ratios and such that went with it.
 
So then I thought about as "Linked has a value of [your edition here].  Suppose there was a "selectable" option for Linked-- what would do?  It would allow you to Link or unLink the various powers as you saw fit.  And if this was costed identically at the inverted cost of Linked (the Limitation), you'd end up pretty much with a -0 "limitation" that could be toggled on or off.
 
Put another way, if Linked is in fact a Limitation--- well, how is it limiting?  What ability does the Character (or even the Power itself) not have that an unlinked build does have?
 
Remembering that Limitations cannot be advantageous (except perhaps in some really out-there special-effects-related, GM-call situation), then Linked is not providing the ability to fire off more than one power at once; that must have been possible even before Linked existed, as Linked can only Limit.  That being the case, and given the results of having a Linked power (or three), the limitation can only be one of or both of the conditions that the powers have to be used proportionally or that the Linked power cannot be used separately.
 
For what it's worth, I think that entire section in _both_ the 5e books as well as (and _especially_) in 6e.
 
Seriously, it still rankles a bit, as I'd never played the game that way before (though there was nothing in the rules that especially _forbade_ it)  but it's just something that never occurred to anyone in my groups before it was formalized in print and so we never played it that way previously (and rarely use it now, honestly).  I believe my own problem with it (which I freely admit is _my_ problem, and not a rules problem) is all the years of playing a certain way, then having it drop out of the sky at us.  It's new and different to the entire style of play we had at that point spent decades crafting-- _that_, I think, was (and let's be honest-- still is) what bugged me about it.
 
 
 
 
As he mentioned "weapons you don't pay points for," I'm pretty sure he is.  Between me and you, I almost don't play Champions anymore: most of my stuff is a long-running sci-fi game and session-to-session Fantasy game.  The youth group (which I thought was done with the end of summer vacation) has (mostly) reformed to play on the table in my front yard, and that's about all the Champions I get these days.
 
 
Now I would like to offer that more than penalties and mechanics, a very large check on multiple power attacks in non-supers (and _possibly_ even in high Fantasy, depending on how magic works in your games) is the number of weapons you can bring to bear at once.  Just because you have three guns and two knives doesn't make it remotely likely that you can bring them all to bear for a single attack  (unless you got _lots_ of arms, of course).
 
Don't get me wrong: it still don't fall into it naturally, but after really dissecting the thing, it's not as inherently wrong or power gamer as it sounds when you read through it.
 
 
Your mileage may vary, of course, but I do hope some of this helps put it into better perspective for you, Sir.  
 
 
 
Duke
 

That would be a Multiple Attack.  With -2 OCV for each attack beyond the first, roll to hit at -142 OCV against each target, one at a time.  First miss means all the rest miss.  Of course, this assumes you are still conscious to use that RKA after paying its END 72 time.  It also uses your full phase, and halves your DCV. 
 
Oh, Chris, it's also the Multiple Move By.
 
I do find the 6e rules poorly laid out in this regard.  I would rather have seen Combined Attack and Multiple Attack listed as separate maneuvers, not combined as they were.