KA.

Yeah, what you said. To be more clear: I think if you are standing behind a hostage with a gun, and you have a held action, you can certainly use that action to shoot the hostage without using the official "cover" maneuver, and you would be free to instead use the action to shoot at an incoming Hero. Shooting the Hero would use up your held action, so you would now have to wait a second or two (based on Speed) to shoot the hostage. Which is how things are supposed to work out, isn't it? KA

You may want to look at the Counterstrike maneuver from the Ultimate Martial Artist. It does STR +2d6 and must follow a successful Block. Most likely your Tai Chi master will either have some damage classes and/or STR so that you can do as much damage as the incoming attack would have done. You could put in a Limitation that the Counterstrike can only do the same dice of damage as the incoming attack. As far as game mechanics, it should work more or less the way you want it to. Guy attacks you, you both make Attack rolls. If you win, his attack is Blocked and then you do that amount of damage to him. Not perfect, but not too bad. KA

That's the one I was talking about Paek-Tu! KA

Okay Steve, I hate to bother you on this, but there is something that is really vexing me. In Hero Designer, and in previous character creation software for the Hero System, there is a Combat Maneuver called Crush. It has to follow a Grab, and adds 4 dice of to the normal STR damage. So far I am pretty sure I am not just dreaming this. BUT! I can't find any published reference to this maneuver. It is not in the index of FrED! It is not in the index of UMA 5th Ed! It is not in the index of Ninja Hero 5th Ed! And scanning through the text of all three has not revealed any concrete evidence of it either. So my question is, once and for all, does this maneuver offically exist, and if not, how did it get into Hero Designer? I would really like an official answer on this, since I am building a low-level Martial Arts character and this is going to be one of his main attacks (after Martial Grab, of course). If you have a chance, and the maneuver exists, could you possibly clear up why the heck it isn't listed anywhere? Thanks, KA

Part of it depends on how "realistic" you are trying to be. Even though Hero has a more precise and defined set of mechanics for combat, (haven't played D&D for years and don't mean that as some kind of insult) there is one concept from D&D that I still apply. Even though characters only get a certain number of "attacks" in a certain amount of time, that does not mean that the rest of the time they are just "standing there". I read a description in one of the AD&D books that said that the "attacks" that count (the ones you roll to hit) come during a fury of moving, positioning, feinting, etc. Based on a character's dexterity and skill, he only gets a certain number of real opportunities to do some damage in a given time period. What does this have to do with your question? If a character with a gun is holding an action (and waiting for a target to shoot his gun at), and you start to charge him, he will target you and shoot before you get there. But if he is doing something else: looking out for the cops, watching two other characters fight, dodging flying bits of stuff from a fight nearby, trying to decide if he should just run for it, etc., he may not notice that you are charging until it is too late. To give people the chance to abort to an attack could prove unbalancing. Way back when, Aaron Allston's group created their own Martial Art where all of the attack maneuvers could be aborted to. It was so nasty that they ended up banning it themselves! And as far as I know, those were only HTH moves. To be able to abort to a Ranged attack seems like it would really alter gameplay. Just my opinion, KA

JohnOSpencer: You know, at heart I agree with you. I may try to find a way to work in some more background skills. As I said in me earlier posts, I am used to designing Champions characters, so only having 100 total points to work with has probably caused me to be a bit stingy. One thing that I think may have mislead some of you is the "No Killing Attacks" parameter. That only applies to us in creating our PC's, it does not mean we will be in a gun-free world. That is why I took the Martial Dodge. Since I currently have no Ranged attack, and no advanced movement, that is basically my only defense against a gun or similar weapon, other than my DCV. That's mostly what I took it for. KA

Thanks Jhamin, I was thinking that some of the people on here might know some off the top of their heads, so I really appreciate you going to the trouble of doing a search for me. Those sites should get me through several sessions, but if anyone knows of any more good ones, please post them. KA

Okay, here is my question. I am creating a character for a modern, low-powered, martial arts campaign. He is a professor of Asian Philosophy. (I have a thread posted in Champions [don't know why I didn't put it here, reflex I guess] on his actual character design if anyone cares to look and offer comment.) http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=865 We are supposed to be students at a martial arts school. The professor is studying Karate because he keeps getting hassled by people who expect him to know it already. One of his quirks is the quoting of pithy Oriental sayings. My problem is, I don't know that many! Does anyone know of a good online source for this sort of thing? Thanks in advance, KA

Okay, Here are two versions of this character as it stands so far. Would anyone care to pick a favorite and/or offer criticism on ways to improve the final version? Version One: Professor Walter Brooks Player: Val Char Cost 15 STR 5 17 DEX 21 15 CON 10 10 BODY 0 13 INT 3 10 EGO 0 13 PRE 3 10 COM 0 9 PD 3 6 ED 0 4 SPD 13 6 REC 0 30 END 0 26 STUN 0 7" RUN22" SWIM03" LEAP0Characteristics Cost: 60 Cost Martial Arts Maneuver 4 Martial Block: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +2 DCV, Block, Abort 4 Martial Dodge: 1/2 Phase, -- OCV, +5 DCV, Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort 3 Martial Grab: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, -1 DCV, Grab Two Limbs, +10 STR for holding on 4 Martial Strike: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +2 DCV, STR +2d6 Strike Martial Arts Cost: 15 Cost Skill 3 Breakfall 12- 3 KS Eastern Philosophy (INT-based) 12- 1 KS Karate 8- 3 PS Teacher (INT-based) 12- 3 Stealth 12- 6 +2 with Karate Skills Cost: 19 Cost Talent 6 Combat Luck: 3 PD/3 ED Talents Cost: 6 Total Character Cost: 100 Val Disadvantages 10 Dependent NPC Girlfriend, Normal, 8- (Infrequently) 20 Dependent NPC Students, Incompetent (-20 points or lower), 8- (Infrequently), Group DNPC (x2 DNPCs) 10 Psychological Limitation: Philosophical, Common, Moderate 10 Rivalry w/ Coach Weaver, Professional and Romantic, Rival is As Powerful, Seek to Outdo, Embarrass, or Humiliate Rival, Rival Aware of Rivalry 0 Normal Characteristic Maxima: No Age Restriction Disadvantage Points: 50 Base Points: 50 Experience Required: 0 Total Experience Available: 0 Experience Unspent: 0 Version 2: Professor Walter Brooks Player: Val Char Cost 15 STR 5 17 DEX 21 15 CON 10 10 BODY 0 13 INT 3 10 EGO 0 12 PRE 2 10 COM 0 8 PD 2 6 ED 0 4 SPD 13 6 REC 0 30 END 0 26 STUN 0 7" RUN22" SWIM03" LEAP0Characteristics Cost: 58 Cost Martial Arts Maneuver 4 Crush: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +0 DCV, STR +5d6 Crush, Must Follow Grab 5 Defensive Strike: 1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, +3 DCV, STR +1d6 Strike 4 Martial Block: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +2 DCV, Block, Abort 3 Martial Grab: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, -1 DCV, Grab Two Limbs, +15 STR for holding on 4 +1 HTH Damage Class(es) Martial Arts Cost: 20 Cost Skill 3 Breakfall 12- 3 KS Eastern Philosophy (INT-based) 12- 1 KS Karate 8- 3 PS Teacher (INT-based) 12- 6 +2 with Karate Skills Cost: 16 Cost Talent 6 Combat Luck: 3 PD/3 ED Talents Cost: 6 Total Character Cost: 100 Val Disadvantages 10 Dependent NPC Girlfriend, Normal, 8- (Infrequently) 20 Dependent NPC Students, Incompetent (-20 points or lower), 8- (Infrequently), Group DNPC (x2 DNPCs) 10 Psychological Limitation: Philosophical, Common, Moderate 10 Rivalry w/ Coach Weaver, Professional and Romantic, Rival is As Powerful, Seek to Outdo, Embarrass, or Humiliate Rival, Rival Aware of Rivalry 0 Normal Characteristic Maxima: No Age Restriction Disadvantage Points: 50 Base Points: 50 Experience Required: 0 Total Experience Available: 0 Experience Unspent: 0 Thanks for your help, KA

Acroyear, I think you are right, Dodge seems like a better, and more efficient defensive choice. I may put Missle Deflection on my "wish list" of things to buy as I gain experience. Speaking of that, and again, anyone reading is welcome to join in, what would you add to this character over time as experience is gained? KA I have added a list of things I can think of adding over the course of time with experience. These are not in order, if anyone would care to prioritize, I would appreciate it. 1) Missle Deflection (Non-Gunpowder) 2) A weapon art of some type. Bo? 3) Some type of ranged attack. Any ideas for non-Killing thrown attacks?

Thanks for the tips JmOz! I might be able to get away with some Damage Reduction and/or Combat Luck. I will run it past my GM. I have a question, for you, or anyone else who wants to chime in. If I can get it, is Missle Deflection worth the points? Probably the highest level I could buy it to is Bows, and the campaign is going to be a modern setting, so my guess is most really bad guys are going to have guns, so what does anyone think? It is sort of a classic bit, but I don't know if it will come up often enough to be worth it. KA

Thanks Acroyear! Just the sort of thing I was looking for. It looks fine to me, but I will wait to see if someone wants to offer a 2nd, or 3rd opinion. When I do decide on a final version, I will post him here to let you guys critique him. KA

I am here to make a humble request for help with a character. First let me provide some needed background and parameters. One of my regular players is going to GM a Martial Arts campaign. This is his first shot at GM'ing. He wants us to play "realistic" characters, meaning we are at the "Competent Normal" level (50 points / 50 points of Disadvantages). I do not have any experience at this power level; I am used to building Super Heroes, so I don't want to waste any points. For those of you with a conscience about such things, let me make a couple of points clear: A) I am not trying to create an unstoppable killing machine, I want to have a character who is reasonably effective in combat, while still having enough points to give the character an actual background, including Professional Skills, perhaps a "hobby" or two, etc. I am dealing with an inexperienced GM, who is also used to playing at a higher power level, and I would like to have an efficient enough character that I won't die because of an "oops", on his part. Now the parameters, as per the GM: 1) No Killing Attacks 2) Only "Basic" Martial Arts maneuvers are allowed. (Martial Strike, Martial Block, Martial Dodge, etc.) Since we are supposed to be students at a school, we don't yet have access to all the fancy stuff from the UMA. 3) No "Powers". Something like a Ch'i Healing or Chinese Herbal Healing might be okay, but no Ch'i blasts, Flight, etc. 4) No Weird constructs. (A 12d6 HTH attack with tons of limitations for 3 points.) 5) If it isn't already obvious from the above, Normal Characteristic Maxima. As far a Characteristics, Skills, Skill Levels, etc. I leave it to you, I will figure out things like Professional Skills and Background skills, so leave 10 points or so for those, and other than that, you have a clear field. What I am looking for is practical advice for constructing an effective character at a low power level, and ways of avoiding "wasted" points. I am usually not a munchkin, and I am not trying to become one now, but in the past I never really worried about things like "More DEX vs. Combat Skill Levels", I just did whatever seemed the most appropriate. However, with only 100 points total, I am more concerned with efficiency. I know that this is a rather restrictive set of rules, but consider it like a soap box derby. Everyone starts with the same block of wood, and rules on how to carve it. Let's see who can go the fastest! Thanks in advance, KA

A personal favorite that I invented. Originally used in D&D, but adaptable to almost anything as long as the characters involved don't have Flight or something similar. It also will not do a terrible amount of damage to High Physical Defense characters. Characters are walking down a hallway and begin to notice a bit of a downward slope. The passage also begins to curve to one side. (If you could see it from above it would appear to be a large spiral.) The characters reach a certain point and notice that the floor is more sharply sloped and has become quite slippery. At this point the GM innocently states that they need to make a DEX roll to stay on their feet. The characters usually begin scrambling desperately to get to and stay on their feet as they accelerate along the downward spiral. The end of the trap: A solid stone wall, rather painful to slam into at speed, but not really deadly, but a few feet in front of that is the "fun" part, an extremely sharp, nearly invisible blade positioned across the hall at waist level. That's right. The characters who fall down and stay down will have a nasty impact with a wall, but the "fortunate" ones who keep their feet and smugly "surf" down the hallway are at great risk of being split in two! KA