Killer Shrike

You don't need instant change as a power; Activation of Powers already covers the ability to change for free if that is part of your SFX.

In your opinion. I'm not justifying anything. You stated your opinion and I countered with mine. I provide facts and examples to back up my opinion, you provide things like the following bizarre statements to back up yours... Well, if you think having the ability to select more than one output format in a character generation app is equivalent to your house being on fire... Uh huh. Yes, yes it is. I know that no one likes to admit that there are drawbacks to doing something manually without taking advantage of more advanced tools when they like doing it that way; branding modern technology as a problem does not make it go away however. At best, it shines light into ones own inability to keep up with the times. You are more than welcome to continue to grind out your characters by hand with pencil and paper, 1974 style. No one is coming to your house to take away your pencil and force you to use an app.

The problem with a "print button that says print" is the complexity and sheer number of different kinds of characters that can be made using the Hero System. Unlike some games where all characters have more or less the same structure and level of complexity, for instance. The export feature complements the "build virtually anything you can imagine" ethos of the Hero System, the differing needs of genres, vehicles, bases, computers, general aesthetics, desire to output data for use in combat managers or spreadsheets or to directly publish to forum software or a website, and so on. It's a feature. But sure, for Joe Average User with their one character for the one campaign they play in it is overkill. My general advice over the years is that HD is best for GM's and a small subset of players who are particularly keen on making characters in bulk. A consumer should always do whatever due diligence they feel is warranted before making a purchase. HD only costs $25 however, so the risk vs reward is pretty good there. As far as Dan S., I'm aware that some people have gotten their feathers ruffled here and there by his directness, but I have a different perspective. As an established software engineer, it is very unusual to directly interact with actual end users on a day to day basis. Even interacting with less technical colleagues gets irritating quickly for most developers. I've remained continuously amazed that he has the patience to do it at all. I would never do it; I'm a reasonably patient person but I'd rather walk a mile on broken glass than do direct technical support for a week much less the many years he's been helping people out on HD. So, different perspectives. I see the export functionality as a major feature, so I would never pretend that it isn't true. And I as far as the unheard of ability to get free technical support (from the principal engineer no less) for a $25 pay once app? Also seems like a feature to me.

I've been slinging code in some capacity or another on and off for 40 years, starting at age 5 on BASIC; did it as a hobby until my early 20's and entered the industry during the dot com era. I think Dan is of a similar vintage. I manage a large team of software engineers of different flavors, ranging in age from a bit older to me to fresh out of college with most being in their late 20's and 30's. You are not wrong; these new whippersnappers (so to speak) have no context for "how things used to be". But I think to an extent that is for the best. The field is evolving so rapidly and some part of that is due to not being too encumbered by tradition. Every now and then I or one of the older devs get to have a "wise old man person" moment and re-introduce an old idea or technique that is still relevant but most of the tech of the past has been obsoleted for good reason.

Sure, if you prefer to do it by hand that's all well and good. But I wouldn't want prospective players considering an HD purchase to get the idea that they need to program java plugins to use it or something along those lines.

Could you cite an example or two, drop a link perhaps? Well, the intent wasn't to insult you but to figure out what you mean. Your assertion seems odd to me because I've been using HD for many years and while I know C, C++, C#, Rust, and a variety of other programming languages, I don't program in Java (I can read it much like many spanish speakers can read portuguese but I don't program in it) and more to the point I've written zero lines of custom code for HD and yet still somehow manage to use it for a wide variety of things. But, if you'd rather feel insulted than engage in a dialogue that is of course your prerogative.

As far as "technobabble", I make a good living as a software engineer so my idea of "technobabble" is likely a bit different than yours. "Export..." is a pretty common concept...particularly in the era when HD was introduced. Even those touting using spreadsheet software as their character creators of choice might be familiar w/ "export to csv" or "export to..." and while I don't have perfect recall of the software that proceeded HD (Creation Workshop) I do know it had a facility to select custom print templates as well because I wrote a few of them. So, I don't think "Export" having something to do with outputting character data to other formats it is too much of a logical leap and I think it was reasonable for Dan to choose that terminology for what is in my opinion one of the core features and primary value propositions of HD. All of the character sheets on my site are exported directly from HD using various custom formats, for instance. Personally, I have used HD more like a desktop publishing tool, utilizing the export format feature. It's a best-in-class feature in my opinion. Pro tip: you can use CTRL+E to export the file to disc or ALT+E to immediately preview it...in the case of an html export template this will pop up a tab in your browser of choice. I do this a lot; I typically do a visual check of the character and then (if I want a hard copy) print it using my browser of choice's print dialog. Super easy. Since my browser of choice also supports print as PDF, I can also save or print to PDF if I wish for those who prefer that format. Murgatroyd.pdf However, I prefer to directly publish them as web pages to my site (such as this slightly earlier version of this same character: http://www.killershrike.com/HereThereBeMonsters/Characters/Durzan/Murgatroyd/222/Murgatroyd.HTML ) ----------------------------------- As far as the user forums for HD are concerned, I'm sorry if you've had a bad experience but my experience has been different. The few times I've had comments, questions, or a request for feature over the years I've been able to get speedy resolution. But, if you don't want to use the forum so be it...fortunately the software documentation is very thorough. Specifically on the subject of export templates, in the preamble it mentions them specifically as so: And printing characters gets a full page and a half of documentation starting on pg 31 and all of page 32, under the heading "Previewing, Exporting, And Printing A Character". If you don't find the value proposition of HD to be meaningful enough to you, I respect that. And I get that you appear to have a grievance / had a bad experience with the app or the user forums or some combination thereof. But I can't really empathize as the thing you cite as a problem (exporting) seems pretty straightforward to me.

I'm not sure what you mean "you have to stop and learn Java". HD is written in Java but it's an executable GUI; you don't need to learn Java to use it any more than you need to learn any programming language that any particular application you use is written in. Maybe you mean "figure out how to install the java runtime on my computer"?

Just a joke, man. 🤷‍♂️ Personally, I've been using HD since the early days of its life, and while there have been a few glitches here and there I've never had a significant problem w/ it. As a more serious answer, I used earlier products before HD came along, Hero Maker and Creation Workshop if memory serves, and made some export templates for CW...so it has been a very long time since I wrote Hero System characters out by hand. Even in its first version HD blew the doors off of CW for me; I switched and never looked back.

I'm a heavy user of Hero Designer. I can of course do it by hand, but I value my time and also don't hate myself.

+1

RAW, I would say "No". The rules say: For this Limitation to be valid, the character must have some difficulty changing forms — the change must take at least a Full Phase, if not longer (during which the character can do nothing else) So, it seems clear to me that it is intended to take time and fully occupy the character. A GM might be lenient and interpret it differently, either across the board or on a case by case basis depending on SFX. Otherwise you could take steps to mitigate your risk before activating the change, or potentially stop-gap the momentary weakness by taking a defensive ability with the Lim "only while transitioning between forms" if it bothered you enough.

So, technically a PRE Attack is an "Action that take no time", so you can combine one with any other Action if you like. The Fantasy Hero suggestion to do so in conjunction w/ Drain vs PRE to simulate a "fear" SFX just piggybacks that core rule.

Which is probably why the Fearless talent that sparked the discussion also includes Mental Defense, and the NND defense listed is that same talent. 🤨

As it happens it is a "typical construction" as presented in Fantasy Hero supplements, as is the corresponding Fearless Talent someone called out upstream which uses Power Defense from which the question "why Power Defense" emerged. -------------- Fantasy Hero 5e p359 FEAR AND AWE In Fantasy settings, some areas are so Evil or disturbing that they inflict fear on characters in them; similarly, many Evil creatures can inspire fear in people. On the other hand, some beings of power and might inspire awe instead. While awe is a standard Presence Attack in most situations, some special considerations apply to fear. In HERO System terms, there are three primary ways to create a fear effect. The first, and by far the most common, is Drain PRE. Since PRE represents a character’s bravery, confidence, bearing, and resistance to shock and intimidation, reducing it inspires fear in him and/or makes him more susceptible to feelings of fright. If appropriate, you should assume that the Drain PRE power automatically includes a Presence Attack saying “run away in fear!” or the like. The Presence Attack occurs after the Drain applies, and is resolved in the usual fashion against the character’s diminished PRE (generally you should not use EGO in this situation). If a character or monster can inspire fear in anyone near him, you can buy this as a Drain PRE Damage Shield, Area Of Effect — anyone who enters the area suffers the effect, and the longer they remain within it, the more terrified they become. For a fear that virtually any character will feel, apply the No Normal Defense Advantage to the Drain PRE (the defense is the Fearless Talent, page 106). Second, you could build a fear attack as Mind Control with the Limitation Set Effect (create fear; -1). Third, you could use Change Environment to create an effect that removes points of PRE, creating an effect similar to a small Drain PRE over a large area. -------------- It is worth noting that I was only providing an answer to the "why model Fear as Drain PRE / why model fearlessness as Power Defense?" question, rather than advocating for such an approach.