Yamo

That seems like it would duplicate the effect from the movie pretty well.

I say Environmental Movement. It's already been used in official HERO products to represent things other than true "environments" like intoxication, so why not dizzyness, as well?

You're only looking at half the picture, however. Someone with, say, 24 DEX is not only farther from the nearest "negative" breakpoint for purposes of Adjustment Powers, he's also closer to the nearest "positive" one. He would benefit more from a DEX Aid just as he would suffer less from a DEX Drain. Can't do that with Power Defense.

Incorrect. There are a host of reasons. They are called Adjustment Powers.

Physical. Despite what that awful new version of Dungeons & Dragons says, acidity is not a form of energy.

You don't need stats for everything. Don't be afraid to just throw whatever strikes your fancy at the PCs and make up the numbers as you go along. Whenever you need a value for anything, just make up something reasonable and go with it. The PCs will never know the difference.

Steve, another suggestion for Fantasy HERO: I don't know if this has been covered before, but one of the major tropes for fantasy gaming thanks to (much less so fantasy fiction) is a differentiation between "arcane" and "divine" spellcasters. More D&D influence, I guess. Anyway, how about suggestions for making these two types of magic both distinct and balanced with each other in the same campaign? Thanks.

The rules for constructing new martial arts maneuvers are very arbitrary and very different from the rules for building Powers, which is why I dislike them so and don't use them in my games. They're found in the Ultimate Martial Artist book. As for why you can get all the goodies associated with martial arts so cheap, all I can tell you is that I don't know. It's not really balanced point cost wise with everything else in the system.

Extra Characteristics and possibly CSLs Only When Enraged/Berzerk is what you want, I think. Link it all together and add Continuing Charges to it if you want the number of times he can do it each day limited. Also add a Side Effect to reflect the fatigue afterward if you want, probably a big STUN or END Drain (possibly with delayed recovery rate).

Obscure children's urban legends? Your wish is my command.

Just buy Armor with a dodging special effect and an "Only When Aware Of Attack And Able To Maneuver" Limitation. That's the simplest way and doesn't add any extra rolls to combat.

This is what I meant. I should have been more clear. I've revamped the paragraph to be closer to my original intent.

Cheaper, but more limited. Remember: Arcane casters can do anything. Divine ones can only do things "in character" for their diety. That's a distinct drawback and their spells SHOULD be cheaper as a result.

Looking for opinions. Does this seem balanced for a Heroic (probably 75 +75 to start) campaign? Magic in the Realms Magic in Faerun is divided into two catagories: Arcane and divine. Regardless of type, all magic spells are purchased as individual Powers and Power Frameworks of any kind are not permitted. A single spellcaster may practice both arcane and divine magic, provided that he or she abides by all applicable rules. If a magic spell requires a Focus, that Focus must be Obvious and Accessable. The greatest number of seperate spells that a spellcaster may have active at any one time is limited to INT/5. This includes spells with the Delayed Effect and Trigger Advantages. "Arcane" and "divine" are not considered to be seperate special effects. They both fall under "magic." All player-proposed magic spells and items are subject to GM modification or veto. Arcane Magic Arcane magic allows its practitioners to tap directly into the Weave and channel the raw magical power drawn forth into useful effects. This difficult and demanding task is possible because of years of extensive study and practice by the spellcaster. Arcane spellcasters often spend much of their time seeking to expand their magical knowledge by hunting down rare mystic tomes, long-lost enchanted artifacts, lost places of power and the counsel of secluded master mages. An arcane spell requires a minimum of -2 worth of Limitations of the spellcaster's choice. Limitations in excess of this -2 minimum may later be bought off with experience points, but no spell may ever have less than -2 worth of total Limitations at any time. No arcane spell can utilize the Healing Power. Arcane spellcasters must be literate in their native language. Additionally, they must spend a minmum of three points on a Power: Magic Skill (INT-based and used as the default Required Skill Roll for all arcane spells) and a minimum of three points on KS: Arcane Lore. Unless otherwise noted, innate magical effects like as a drow elf's ability to create magical darkness are considered to be arcane. Divine Magic Unlike arcane magic, which allows spellcasters to access the Weave directly through extensive study and complex mystic formulae, use of divine spells is granted to spellcasters by a divine patron in exchange for worship and obedience. Typically, this patron is a god, but sometimes more obscure extraplanar figures such as demon lords or elemental princes adopt this role. A divine spellcaster may have only one patron at a time, and changing patrons is a risky proposition at best. Whether they're called priests, clerics, shamans or something else entirely, divine spellcasters are nothing less than the chosen mortal representatives of the gods. Divine magic is gifted to the spellcaster by an intelligent being with its own personality and goals. Because of this, no divine patron will ever grant a spell that contradicts its ethos. Sune, the goddess of beauty and love, for example, might grant a follower the ability to heal wounds or banish the vile undead, but she would never dispense the ability to cause terrible wasting disease or turn rotting corpses into zombie minions. Bane, the god of tyranny and strife, is unlikely to grant spells intended to protect the weak but very likely to favor ones that facilitate the domination of the weak at the hands of his minions. Kossuth, the elemental diety of fire, is unlikely to grant followers the ability to create water. The GM should always keep the goals and personality of a divine spellcaster's patron in mind and insist that any spells the character be allowed to purchase are in harmony with them. No patron will ever grant a request for a blatantly "out-of-character" spell. As with arcane spells, each divine spell requires a minimum of -2 worth of Limitations at all times. One of the Limitations that can never be bought off must be the following one: Limited Power: Religious Restrictions (-1/4) This Limitations reflects the fact that the divine spellcaster must always abide by his or her supernatural patron's rules and commands or lose the ability to use divine spells until a process of sincere atonement is completed. Especially grevious or unforgivable sins may result in the loss of all divine spells from that patron permanently. Because of the wide variety of divine patrons with influence in Faerun, the precise standards for proper conduct and atonement in cases of transgression are many. Consult with the GM for details on a specific patron. If a divine spellcaster chooses to permanently shun his or her patron (or the patron chooses to do the same to a wayward follower), it may be possible for the character to switch patrons and regain some measure of lost spellcasting ability. In general, spells that do not contradict the new patron's divine portfolio and ethos are regained with the switch, while those that do are not and the points spent on them are lost. Still, divine spellcasters should never be permitted to switch patrons casually. A divine spellcaster that fully and willingly turns his or her back on a patron will virtually never be welcomed back into the fold by that same spurned patron. A new would-be patron will certainly require the petitioner to prove his or her worth and sincerity in some way, often with a great personal sacrifice or the completion of an epic quest. In any event, desire to regain lost magical power alone should never be enough to convince a new patron to accept the spellcaster. A sincere desire to serve is a must. Needless to say, after two or three such switches, no divine patron is likely to trust the spellcaster enough to grant him or her any measure of power. Finally, all divine spellcasters are required to spend a minimum of three points on a Power: Faith Skill (EGO-based and used as the default Required Skill Roll for all divine spells) and a minimum of three points on a KS corresponding to their religion of choice. Before divine spellcasters can switch patrons, they require at least three points in a KS corresponding.to the new patron. Magic Items Both arcane and divine spellcasters can create magic items by investing an item with a portion of their own mystic power. Magic items include wands, staves, rings, potions, swords, suits of armor and countless other things besides. The possibilities are endless. All magic items are usually purchased as seperate Powers, but may be purchased as Multipowers with the GM's permission. Arcane spellcasters cannot create magic items that use the Healing Power, unless they also possess divine spellcasting ability. Divine spellcasters cannot create magic items with Powers that run contrary to the ethos of their patron and may not take the Religious Restrictions Limitation on Powers that represent magic items. Only spellcasters may create magic items. In order to create a particular item, a spellcaster must already possess a total number of Real Points worth of spells equal to the total Active Points in all the items's Powers. The Real Points in a spellcaster's arcane and divine spells are counted together for this purpose, but those in innate magical abilities are not. If a character is both an arcane and divine spellcaster, only the total Real Points in that character's divine spells count toward this requirement when creating items that use the Healing Power. A divine spellcaster that loses his or her patron's favor cannot apply the combined Real Points in his or her divine spells toward the total required to create a particular item and cannot create any item that uses the Healing Power until that favor is regained. Any Power possessed by a magic item that is successfully affected by an appropriate Dispel is deactivated for a period of one minute for every point by which the Dispel roll exceeded the Power's Active Points and cannot be reactivated before that period of time elapses. Because of this, magic items are often created with the Difficult To Dispel Advantage. Magic weapons, armor and similar items stripped of their Powers in this way may still be used, but function identically to their mundane counterparts until their enchantments return. A potion or similar consumable magic item that is used while its Powers are non-functional is wasted with no effect. Characters may not begin play with magic items. There are two types of magic items. Expendable magic items with no more than one Charge (such as potions) and standard magic items that possess either no Charges, more than one Charge or Charges of a type not allowed for expendable items. Expendable Items The ability to create an expendable magic item is purchased as a unique spell with the following required Advantages and Limitations: Trigger, OAF Expendable (see below), 1 Charge (not Fuel and lasting no more than six hours if Continuous), Extra Time (one day for every ten Active Points or fraction thereof in the item's combined Powers) None of these Limitations may ever be bought off. The Focus for an Expendable magic item should be considered Difficult To Acquire if the Active Points in the item's combined Powers total 1-40, Very Difficult To Acquire if the Active Points in the item's combined Powers total 41-80, and Extremely Difficult To Acquire if the Active Points in the item's combined Powers total 81 or more. Standard Magic Items All standard magic items require the following Limitations: Focus (any, but must be Universal), Independent. None of these Limitations may ever be bought off. Standard magic items require a Focus, and this Focus (or the materials to create it) should be difficult at best to acquire. Typically, large amounts of money must be spent on rare components and dangerous adventures personally undertaken by the spellcaster to gather ones too unique to purchase on the open market are necessary. Furthermore, a significant period of time is required to work those components into their final form and apply the necessary enchantments. This period of time can be days, weeks or even months depending on the power and complexity of the item. Spellcasters should never be allowed to create magic items instantaneously simply because they want to and have the points to spend. Generally, the higher the total Active Point cost of the item's Powers, the more effort and sacrifice on the spellcaster's part the GM is likely to require.

Alright. Let's say that I do something like this. I require a minimum of -2 worth of Limitations on arcane spells, but for divine spells, I require only the -1/4 Limitation for having to abide by religious restrictions or lose access to the spell. Is this balanced? Does it give divine casters enough compensating for having a smaller amount of effects to choose from? Does it make them too powerful? Or is it no benefit at all in a low point total Heroic setting where they'd probably still have to pile on the Limitations to have any decent spells anyway?

Than how do you handle nobody ever wanting to play divine spellcasters because their spells all cost the same as arcane ones but are thematically-limited by the character of their diety? Divine casters are flat-out worse under such a system, since the wizard can cast anything he wants, but the healing god cleric it out of luck if he wants a death spell.

But couldn't the Linked attack miss? That would make no sense, since pulling out a barbed harpoon should cause damage automatically.

I'm currently trying to convert the D&D Forgotten Realms setting to HERO. I'm thinking of using a single Power = single spell system for now. The question is this: How do I best differentiate in HERO terms between the two types of magic: Arcane and divine? I don't want limits like "arcane spellcaster can't heal" or "divine spellcasters can't shoot fireballs." This isn't D&D, and I don't want that kind of arbitrary baggage. Besides, powerful mages have been healing and clerics of fire gods shooting flames for years in the D&D Realms, so that would be a bad approach anyway. I don't want to use set spell lists because, again, this is HERO, so why limit unnecessarily? I'm thinking maybe this: 1. Arcane spells require -2 worth of Limitations that can never be "bought off." 2. Divine spells require -2 worth of Limitations that can never be bought off, 1/4 of which has to be the following Limitation: Limited Power: Caster Must Abide By Religious Restrictions Or Lose Access To Spell Until Proper Atonement Is Rendered (-1/4) Additionally, divine spells can't be "out of character" for the diety granting them. No death spells for clerics of Sune, in other words. Divine spellcasters would also need a two-point Fringe Benefit Perk representing their membership in the clergy of their diety. Looking over what I have so far, I can't help but feel that it's hard to not make divine magic "worse" than arcane in HERO. In D&D, clerics have more "limited" magic, but they also have the balancing factor of unrelated things like higher hit points, better chances to hit, and better weapons. It's hard to enforce that in HERO. Unlike with wizards, they'd have to choose from effects that reflected their diety's nature and abide by their diety's dictates. Requiring less Limitations is one idea, but it's a mixed blessing at best in a Heroic game where they'd probably just add more of their own to get a reasonable number of spells at a reasonable cost. Any ideas?

I would simply make all the characters in the campaign that wanted to purchase Combat Luck do it with a -0 Limitation: Not In Armor. That would seem to balance tanks and non-tanks pretty well, IMHO.

Opps! I should have been more specific. Here's what I was trying to do: Barbed harpoon with a line attached. It harpoon does BODY, it sticks and target automatically takes damage again if it's pulled out. A few minutes and a successful Paramedics roll could remove it without further damage, though.

This one seems so simple, but it kinda has me stumped for some reason: How would you build a harpoon in HERO?

I see the spellbook as more of a collection of the mage's notes and a guide to his overall knowledge of magical workings than a rote listing of a finite number of spells that he knows. It's more of a toolkit (not unlike our beloved FREd ), a collection of general magical knowledge that he uses to prepare the spells he needs on a case-by-case basis. Not knowing how to use a particular spell is not so much a matter of not knowing the right formula as of not having attained the general level of understanding needed to craft a spell that complex (i.e. with that high an Active Point cost). In other words: Magical knowledge is highly abstracted, and the mage is assumed to know how to accomplish anything that the AP limit on his VVP would allow for. Make sense?

Oops. I totally missed the FF thing. I need to read more carefully. Does every living thing take damage from this, or is this just a cool special effect? If the latter, you would probably just need a really big attack with appropriate Limitations like Extra Time and probably Concentration if he needs to stand still and can't do anything else when he's building up power. If he needs to make unique gestures with one or both of his hands during this, Gestures would probably be called for, as well. This attack probably affects a pretty big area, correct? If so look into the Area of Effect and Explosion Advantages. One or the other should work perfect.

I don't know anything about Dragonball Z, but the Powers look good to me with one exception: You have to purchase points of Force Field seperately for every kind of defense you want it to provide. Does that Force Field you have provide 40 Physical Defense? 40 Energy Defense? Both? In the Ninja HERO book, they have a Dragonball Z-style character much like the one you've made, and Aid is used for the "powering up." The Succor would work perfectly if you wanted the extra power to disappear instantly when Goku stopped actively maintaing it instead of fading more slowly. Good stuff! It seems you "get" the system pretty good for a beginner. Let us know if you need anymore help. That's what we're here for!

Well, you'd have to be a little arbitrary in assigning a value. I'd say start with the -1/2 value for a Major Side Effect. If you want it to affect the character and his environment (either could be damaged by an out-of-control blast) add 1/4 for a total Limitation value of -3/4. If it affects only the caster's environment and not him, subtract 1/4 for a final value of -1/4. Then you just say: Side Effects: Character Must Succeed With An EGO Roll Each Time Power Is Used Or Lose Control Of Power For That Activation