Cantriped

"Recovering" (CC 18): "Characters get to Recover in two situations: Post-Segment 12; and when they choose to Recover as a Full Phase Action." Recovery itself is a Characteristic, which as a class of powers are all Persistent (CC 54). Per the rules for Persistent powers (CC 44), a character's Recovery "stays activated unless the character deliberately turns it off", and despite fact that the character still only gets to Recover under the conditions specified above. So there should never be a need to activate someone's Recovery in the first place because it is already active. "Taking A Recovery" is explicitly defined as a Full Phase Action separately from the Zero Phase Actions of Turning a power Off or On (CC 138). Forcing someone's Recovery to activate (assuming for whatever reason it isn't already active) does not cause them to "Recover" (gain the benefits of having taken a recovery) because doing so does not fulfill either of the conditions under which characters get to Recover. The only game mechanics that can force someone to Take A Recovery are Mind Control and Presence Attacks, and even then the victim would have to be conscious, use their own phase to take the recovery, and suffer all the normal penalties for doing so.

"Take a Recovery" is built as a +1 1/4 Independant Advantage for a character's natural 4 REC. 4 APs (their natural REC) times +1 1/4 (because you only pay for the advantage, not what it applies to) equals 4.25 CP. Of course it doesn't matter because the construct doesn't function anyway. Your Recovery score isn't a Power that heals STUN and END when it activates, it is a static value that determines the effects of extant maneuvers (Taking A Recovery) and Conditions (Post Segment 12 Recovery). So Triggering REC doesn't actually trigger a Recovery. All that power is doing is forcing the victim to turn back on their REC if for some reason the GM let them turn it off. 'Forcing' a Recovery should be built using an appropriate Healing STUN & END construct. It won't be simple, but simulationism never is in Hero System.

The Hero System really doesn't have a codified system of 'conditions' the way rulesets like Pathfinder and Dungeons & Dragons do. However, Change Environment can be used to simulate the effects of most of said conditions. Likewise, most of the extant Environmental Conditions (such as increased temperature, fog, etc) can be simulated using Change Environment, or else have some instructions regarding what game elements can be used to simulate their effects. Those powers cover most of the necessary methods of imposing a condition. Healing and Dispel cover most of the necessary methods of removing conditions. Regarding adjusting conditions, I have very little advice. Adjusting the power which produced the condition may or may not actually change its effects depending upon how it was built, and typically subsequent power-uses have overlapping durations/effects instead of stacking durations/effects.

It wasn't a mistake, I left it off because I was following the instructions given on the weapon table in Fantasy Hero ​6th edition. You can also find the same rules in the Hero System Equipment Guide (on page 30 under Fantasy Ranged Weapons Key and repeated elsewhere in other similar tables). Personally I don't think Required Hands is applicable to powers that don't already take STR Minimum, and Real Weapon is technically only applicable to Attack Powers (which CSLs and PSLs are not). My normal inclination would have been to only place the Focus modifier on the CSL & PSL elements. I would argue that both elements should also take Linked to the main Attack Power, because those levels should only be used with that particular weapon, not just with any weapon of its kind. Per RAW, if you carried two Assault Rifles (or two Laser Pistols), you should get a +2 OCV to attacks made with either of them since nothing is currently preventing the CSLs & PSLs bought through them from applying to other weapons of the same type (except common sense of course). Alternatively, Dark Champions​ 5th edition suggested using 5-point CSLs with Focus, Real Weapon, and Required Hands, and 3-point PSLs with Focus, Real Weapon, and Required Hands (​Dark Champions 201). 5-point CSLs, and 3-point PSLs were the smallest levels which could legally take Limitations at the time; according to Hero System Fifth Edition Revised ​(5eR 54 & 66). Using that logic, in 6th edition, the rule should be that they are built using 3-point CSLs and 1-point PSLs (as those are the smallest levels which can take Limitations in 6th/CC/FHC) with Focus, Real Weapon, and Required Hands.

I certainly agree with the latter, I love putting in weaknesses for the heroes to discover. It is an important aspect of the superheroic narrative. In terms of having a "full slate" of complications though, I'm obviously not so picky. I'm equally willing to write an NPC with very few (if any) Complications as I am to write one with more complication points than character points. I don't think a GM should feel compelled to write NPCs that have either a minimum or maximum number of Complications (or Complication points)

Personally, I find the reduction in the number of Complications expected to be one of the most positive changes regarding how I write characters. Under the old standard (circa 5th edition for me) I always felt like I had to really stretch to come up with my allotment of Complications/Disadvantages as a player, and as a GM, there were always too many different disadvantages in play to actually touch on them all as frequently as they should be (if at all). Admittedly, perhaps it wasn't intended for everybody to take their maximum points in Disadvantages, but by the time I upgraded from 5th to CC/FHC I had never encountered a character who hadn't taken every point they could get their hands on. The new expectations feel more appropriate. I don't have to make my character psychologically dysfunctional, or have half a dozen Hunters and social problems to achieve the expected point level. I can focus on those complications which are actually appropriate to my character, and which ones I want to come up in play. I don't like the formatting of the 'zeroed' complications either, I think they should be showing what those complications are worth for the sake of having examples if nothing else. However, I don't think that NPCs should be formatted with an expected character/campaign level, matching complications, and experience points. NPCs should have as many character points as they need to pay for their Game Elements, and should only have Complications their backstory supports, and the GM plans to actually use against them.

Beam and Autofire have no mechanical interaction whatsoever. Beam was basically tailor written to represent the mechanical limitations of all physical projectile weapons. Beam forces you to cause maximum damage (you can't chose to do only 1d6 instead of 2d6), prevents you from Spreading the attack, and prevents damage from leaving (2m or larger) holes in the terrain. Which is admittedly more than any other -1/4 Limitation does.

In CC/FHC it is only 2-point CSLs (also called "Specific" Levels) which cannot have limitations applied to them. All other types of CSLs, and all types of PSLs can have limitations applied to them normally. Weapons have been being built as the unwritten exception to that rule.

According to the rules for Designing Weapons (CC 165) and using the statistics given for the 7.62mm AK-47 Assault Rifle (CC 219), it should be written like so: 7.62mm AK-47 Assault Rifle: RKA 2d6 (Physical), Autofire (5 shots; +1/2), +1 Increased STUN Multiplier (+1/4), 1 Clip of 30 Charges (+1/4) (60 APs); Beam (-1/4), OAF (-1), Real Weapon (-1/4), STR Minimum (13; -1/2), Two-Handed (-1/2) plus ​+1 OCV (as a 2-point CSL) (2 APs) OAF (-1), Real Weapon (-1/4), Two-Handed (-1/2) plus​ +1 versus Range Modifiers (as a 1-point PSL) (1 APs) OAF (-1), Two-Handed (-1/2). Total Cost: 19 points (17+1+1). ​Durability: 12 rPD/12 rED Usage: ​1 Clip of 30 Charges, Half-Phase Action to Reload. I built the OCV and RMod elements exactly as described by ​Fantasy Hero​ (6th edition) 217. No justifications were given for why they can/must take Required Hands, or why OCV takes Real Weapon, but RMod does not... However, the construct above does have the same total Active and Real point values as described by CC.

I bet Bixby and Hatsune Miku would vote for Mechanon too.

Makes you wonder where they found such a competent and loyal decoy. At least Doctor Doom builds his from scratch.

Move-Through PSLs are cheap enough (especially compared to the cost of buying all those Extra DCs flat), and the martial maneuvers I suggested all have flat CV modifiers. I can't claim to be a "smart GM", but I've never had a problem with Bricks purchasing Martial Maneuvers in my campaigns. "Brick" and "Martial Artist" are nothing more or less than Special Effects for how your character meets the campaign's guidelines. I don't believe a character should ever be punished for choosing one special effect over another, except to the degree which they have chosen to be punished by placing appropriate limitations and complications on their character. The issue stems from inconsistent enforcement (or a complete lack) of campaign guidelines; not with Strength, Martial Arts, or any other source of Added Damage specifically. According to the Character Ability Guidelines Table, a Standard Superheroic Character is supposed to be dealing between 6 and 14 DCs, using no more than 80 APs. It doesn't matter how the character meets those standards, so long as they do, they'll be relatively balanced (even if they happen to be a Brick who learned Boxing). Balance issues only start to arise when one or more characters significantly exceed whatever Guidelines that other players (including the GM) expected/trusted them to follow, or when one or more of them significantly falls short of said guidelines I suppose. Any character concept can be broken if the GM doesn't properly audit them to ensure that their abilities fall within an acceptable range for the campaign being played.

The most obvious trope that comes to mind is the Awe/Envy that Normals will have for Emergent Supers. There should also be lots of Disbelief regarding the existence of Supers: crime bosses won't believe that six of their goons got beaten to pulp by one dude in colored spandex, reporters won't believe the footage of super-battles they receive is real, etc.

I do something similar to the proposed guideline in my own campaigns. When I'm building characters for such games, I typically use Speeds 2, 3, 4, or 6. When I am running a Standard Superheroic game, I usually prohibit Speeds greater than 6, and discourage Speeds greater than 4 unless the character is a Speedster (or significantly reduces their Movement rates to compensate). This makes using the Superhero Gallery more difficult because most of the entries have a 5 or 6 speed. I also house-rule that Speed 1 Characters go on Segment 12 instead of Segment 7, because I believe that everyone​ should act on Segment 12.

That isn't entirely accurate. We do have some Cram-Schools in the U.S. (as well as similar institutions), but they aren't nearly as common as they are in Asian countries (although I'm given to understand that they are more common in cities & neighborhoods with high Asian populations, such as parts of Los Angeles).

It is noteworthy to remember that Complications associated with a Package Deal do not actually reduce the Cost of the package deal. Rather they provide points towards your character's Matching Complications. The end result is similar in many cases, but the distinction is very important because of what happens in the 'edge cases'. For example, in 6e/CC/FHC a Competent Normal is built on 100 CP with 30 points worth of Matching Complications (or 70 CP plus up to 30 CP from Complications). If said Competent Normal took the Marine Package Deal described in the original post, he would spend 54 CP on Game Elements included in the package normally, but he would only receive 30 points for all of the Complications included in the Package Deal. This is because a Competent Normal cannot receive more than 30 points from Complications, regardless of how many points worth of them they take. Regarding the content of the packages themselves: I think you've gone way overboard with the Complications/Disadvantages. Double dipping on Loyalty related Complications is more than a little abusive. They should have: ​Military Uniform: ​Distinctive Features (Easily Concealed, Recognizable, Detectable By Virtually Anyone). 5 points. Subject To Orders: ​Social Complication (Very Frequently, Major). 20 points. and that is it. Watched is inappropriate for the package deal because it assumes that the soldier is somehow important enough that there are literally one or more agents for every soldier watching their every move and reporting it to somebody. Likewise, Psychological Complications to enforce loyalty are inappropriate for the package deal because that would indicate some kind of brainwashing or conditioning that renders the soldiers mentally incapable of disobeying orders; as opposed to simply being disinclined because of the harsh consequences of doing so (which is already covered by the Social Complication they should have taken). Also, as others have said, content of the packages themselves should be trimmed significantly: Basic Training for 'Space Marines' doesn't need much more than: WF (Blades, Small Arms). 3 points. Zero-G Operations (either as a Professional Skill or Environmental Movement). 2-6 points. KS: Military History. 2 points. KS: Military Protocol. 2 points. Total Cost: 9-13 points. If I used the Armor Familiarity rules, Marines might also take AF (Vac-Suit) for 1 point. If Marines get Powered Armor they might also take WF (Powered Armor) and either AF (Powered Armor) or TF (Powered Armor) for 2 points, depending upon how the armor was built.

I often use Recoverable Charges for things that require more effort than simply walking over and picking up a thrown dagger, but less effort than waiting 24 hours. For example, I'll usually give anything with a rechargable battery a couple clips of 1 or more recoverable charges (with each Clip representing the battery itself), and then I'll specify in the notes what the recovery condition is (such as X number of hours spent on a charging station for example, usually apportioned to X Charges Per Y​ Amount Of Time)

Regarding Saitama: In truth he is a plot device, but for the purposes of mental exercise. When I last calculated it, Saitama has 300 Strength* and an Independent Variable Advantage (limited to combinations of Area of Effect, Autofire, and Double Knockback). Naturally he also needs comparable defense powers; such as 75% Damage Reduction (Physical, Energy, and Mental), and ~60 points of Resistant physical, energy, mental, and power defense (or perhaps a similar amount of Damage Negation). Given that he didn't die upon exposure to the vacuum of space (but still had to hold his breath) he has almost, but not Total Life Support. Finally, he needs an amount of Leaping appropriate to his Strength, and if we are being simulationist an appropriate amount of Tunneling and Teleport for those moments he forgets that 'he's only Human' (or else a VPP for Brick-Tricks). Most likely he also has a High Speed, but low Running & Swimming. * This value is based upon the fact that he was able to pull a ~2m thick reinforced steel door out of the wall (frame and all) with his casual strength. He didn't even punch it, he just yanked on it like you would to check if it was locked. Regarding the Setting: I don't think the setting would be all that difficult to represent or run in Hero. The creator went to great lengths to make it feel generic and timeless. All of the cities are letter coded instead of named. The Hero Association makes numerous background stories and group dynamics possible, and the world itself doesn't prohibit any particular special effects or origins. Although the presentation does make it seem like truly superpowered individuals are incredibly rare (and the flashy ones like speedsters and energy projectors even more so), with various levels of Brick-ness being the most common power.

Bloodmoon was indeed added in 6th as part of the updating of the Cannon. However what I meant was that according to 6th edition Cannon Tekofanes has been running around creating undead since he arose in 1987 (more or less 30 years ago now), so likely the issue would have come up in court long before Bloodmoon specifically, which is why I said "events like the Bloodmoon incident". The bloodmoon incident just happened to be the only explicit example I know of of such an event, I'm sure there were numerous others which were simply less noteworthy.

Although perhaps not as effective as a custom built maneuver, I don't see any reason you couldn't also perform a "Falling-Star" style maneuver using the standard rules for Move-Through/Collision (which don't even require the movement be controlled, so you could literally use your Falling velocity to perform the attack if you hold your action for the appropriate segment and initiative count). Alternatively there are also martial maneuvers, such as Charge, Passing Strike, and Sacrifice Lunge which could be performed during a controlled dive for massive damage (without the risk of reciprocal damage).

Given that there are several sentient undead (or practically undead) villains in the Champions Universe, this is an issue that was bound to have come up long before now. I could see a clever lawyer arguing that your pair of reanimated humans are covered under "genetic constructs based on human stock", and that the use of magic as opposed to science is irrelevant in a world where courts have to try super-wizards as well as super-scientists. Elsewise they should be covered under the limited rights afforded to independent, free-willed, sentient creatures. I imagine the success of such an argument would hinge on whether or not it can be proven that your monsters are actually living creatures (as opposed to simply being animate). I also imagine that the exclusion of Undead was intended to deal with the ramifications of events like the "Bloodmoon" incident of 2009 (Where Tekofanes reanimated the corpses of numerous superheroes and turned normals into werewolves).

Not to nit-pick too much (okay... to nit-pick a little), but wouldn't a Psychological Complication (Must Use Full Strength) better represent the mechanics you describe? One of the principle differences between Physical and Psychological Complications is that the former does not allow EGO rolls to avoid the effect, whereas the latter explicitly does.

I would represent having to use your Strength at Full Power as both a Limited modifier on your Strength and also a Physical Complication. It's value as a Modifier on your Strength is entirely dependent upon the campaign, and whether or not the character has Code Versus Killing. If they have a Total CvK, and frequently fight enemies which cannot survive a direct hit, it might​ be worth as much as -1/2. Otherwise it is worth -1/4, or nothing at all. The reason being is that there are numerous ways to circumvent doing your full STR Damage: For example, you can throw or strike with an object with less total PD+BODY than you'd normally do dice of Strength Damage (thereby reducing your damage because a thrown object/improvised weapon's damage cannot exceed its PD+BODY). The reason I suggest taking a Physical Complication is because none of the common-sense problems that come from not being able to control your own strength actually have anything to do with Strength as a characteristic. As a characteristic, always using your full Strength won't break objects you pick up unless you actively Attack them (or Attack with them). Instead you just always have extra lift capacity to spare, and have to pay the full END cost of your Strength regardless of how light the object is. Taking it as a complication is also appropriate because it doesn't require you predefine every possible situation where it might be problematic, the GM can adjudicate how often you break objects you interact with based on the frequency of the Complication. On a tangentially related note: When I am building weapons such as swords and guns, I usually put Cannot Be Reduced​ (-1/4) on them (often in lieu of Beam*). Representing that such weapons must be used at their full dice of damage. * which I split into three modifiers: Cannot Be Spread, ​Cannot Be Pushed/Reduced, and Does Not Leave Holes, each worth -1/4)

Once upon a time, I took the time to write out some suits of armor with "all the modifiers they actually deserve". That included Extra Time, Gestures (Both Hands, Throughout), Concentration (Throughout), etc, and was based on the logic that activating the power was 'putting on the armor' and deactivating it was 'taking the armor off'. The end result was that the character who bought armor with CP was able to afford much, much better Defenses than they needed/deserved (Defense powers are already cheap even without dividing their costs by 2 or 3). The limitations basically never limited the character (because who chooses to try to fight crime without most of their defensive powers activated), unless they completely debilitated the character (I.E. the armor was Dispelled and couldn't be reactivated in Combat-Time, or combat started while they were unequipped). Nowadays, I consider the amount of time it takes to Don or Remove a suit of armor to be a valueless quality, in much the same way that Personal/Universal Foci have the same value. I also consider it separate from activating or deactivating the armor (so Dispelling Armor doesn't make it fall off)*. However long it takes for you to put on your armor is balanced out by the fact that it is going to take the enemies just as long (or longer) to strip it off of you (making it significantly harder to deprive you of said defenses). *I've never needed/wanted to build a power that Dispelled Armor, and generally treat armor as if it was Always On.

The reason you won't find many "good" summonables pre-built into Hero is that the assumption is that if a PC is paying for the Summon Power, they are going to want to define the creature they summon themselves. Most of the bestiary style supplements are just meant to save the GM time coming up with encounters from scratch.