Cantriped

Steven Long told me that Ultimate Metamorph has specific rules for this sort of thing (but I don't have that sourcebook so I've been unable to check them). Barring access to whatever those rules are I second Lucius' suggestion of building this as a Multiform (built on a number of CP equal to the "largest" Gem plus 50 CP), and with the modifiers Extra Time, Requires a Teamwork Roll, and Requires Multiple Users*. This is also how you would build 5 robotic lions forming Voltron. Requires Multiple Users is what allows this power to function as "Reverse Duplication". Normally it would require every user have the exact same version of the power, As GM I would hand-wave this requirement for Gems and instead require that all Gems (and fusions of Gems) buy a Multiform built on 50 more CP than themselves as a campaign ground rule. For example: Lets say Ruby and Sapphire are 350 CP sheets and each have a 400 CP Multiform. When they form Garnet, it is a 400 CP sheet with a 450 CP Multiform. Further, lets say Amethyst and Pearl are also 350 CP sheets and each have 400 CP Multiforms, when they fuse with one another, the result is as powerful as garnet in terms of points, she's just a giant woman. If Amethyst or Pearl fuse with Garnet (who is herself a fusion of Ruby and Sapphire) the result is a 450 CP sheet with a 500 CP Multiform. If they all fuse the result is a 500 CP sheet with a 550 CP Multiform. In terms of specifics, it is important the note every potential fusion combination receives a unique character sheet, sometimes with entirely different powers than the composite gems (Garnet has electrical powers, while ruby and sapphire have heat and cold powers respectively), and often similar but not identical psychological complications. In terms of Player Educate for Gem fusions I recommend the following guidelines be followed: Fusions typically have their own personalities, they aren't just two minds in the same body. The less compatible the components of the fusion, the more mutated their body tends to be, and the more disjointed their personalities (see Lapis and Jasper). A ) NPC+NPC Fusions: Design the fusion ahead of time, but don't worry too much about the specifics of it's actions. They still do what the GM wants them to do in their fused forms, and have whatever complications the GM gave them. B ) NPC+PC Fusions: Sit down and design the fusion with your player before running the scenario involving such a fusion. Generally the player should control such a fusion, but ensure the player understands and plays to the fusion's psychological complications. If the player tries to force the fusion to do something the NPC wouldn't, have them roll and EGO vs. EGO contest, if the player wins they retain control, if the NPC wins the NPC ends the fusion or you take control of the fusion (as appropriate). C ) PC+PC Fusions: Watch out for this one, it can be trouble. Have the players sit down and design their fusion together. Make sure the fusion has powers similar to but different from the individual gems, and make sure the fusion has a personality of it's own with at least one unique psychological complication. While fused, the players must agree on all of the fusion's actions, if they disagree have both players roll EGO vs EGO contests to determine which player is dominate that phase. If the players don't play to the fusion's personality, or remain fused for too long (more than an hour) have the fusion roll an EGO vs. EGO contest against them; treat the lower of the player's rolls as a complementary roll to the higher, and give the fusion a +2 bonus to its roll for every step down the time chart past 1 hour that they have been fused. If the fusion wins, you (as GM) take control of the fusion for 6 hours, or until the fusion is poofed. After every 6 hours you've spent controlling the fusion, allow the players another contest against it. If someone they trust tries to get them to separate, immediately give the players another contest against it with a bonus (minimum +2, plus allow the helper to roll a complementary PRE roll Persuasion roll to their EGO rolls)

When I am GMing Pathfinder, I use my rulebooks constantly. I own physical copies of most of the OGL material, and my favorite supplements, and I generally limit my players to using material I own in print. Usually I find and bookmark all the bestiary pages for monsters I need to use beforehand, and keep whichever one the players are currently fighting open behind my screen. In addition, I have to reference the Grapple rules at least two or three times every scenario (lots of monsters in Pathfinder rely of grapple related tactics), and for some reason I just can't keep them memorized so often I need to leave the combat chapter open during play for that purpose. Otherwise I use the internet via my phone to look of specific feats, spells, class features, etc. When I am GMing HERO system, I use my rulebooks perhaps once or twice a session. I own copies of both CC and FHC, I keep one on the table for my players to reference, and one for myself behind the "GM screen" (my laptop). I read through the entire "Characters and the World" and "Combat" sections of the rules as close to immediately before play as I can, and keep a bookmark at the beginning of the combat section just to be safe. I find and set aside stat-blocks for enemies in PDF format, and leave them open on my computer. I know the rules for HERO (at least CC/FHC) well enough that I rarely need to check them (Grab is my bane in all systems). Since I am often heavily involved in character creation, I know all of my players capabilities, so I've never had to audit a character sheet during play. Regardless of the system, If I feel the need to check a rule, and I can't find said rule within 3 minutes, I hand wave it and move on; going back to check it during a lull, break, or after the session ends.

The first name that comes to mind is "Buck" (His stupid catch-phrase of "The Buck Stops Here" mostly just gets snickers from the legitimate superheroes). The second name that I thought of is "Cache" (He enrages when people pronounce it "cash" instead of "cash-ay" like he does, or make currency puns while referring to him)

I can understand wanting to cut down on excess paperwork and dead trees. I've found that most of my pathfinder character's end up needing separate equipment sheets eventually to keep track of all of the back-up weapons, sporadically used minor magical items, and general survival equipment I end up buying or finding for them... For some of these characters I even kept little 4-5 page notebooks filled with lists of equipment I had or equipment I wanted in my cramped pt-4 handwriting. So I suggest you just embrace the extra sheet. It will keep character stat-blocks looking cleaner, and ensure your players have enough space to track rising and falling charges without having to use the margins of their primary sheets. Although it will take some getting used to, those players who've played vancian spellcasters will already be used to keeping two or more sheets for their characters anyway. One additional piece of advice is for you to have players put their sheets (especially their equipment sheets) into page protectors and use dry erase markers and a magic eraser (those white degradable chemical soaked sponge thingies used for heavy messes) to track frequently changing numbers like BODY, STUN, END, and Charges. This will prevent the original sheets from getting all eraser fatigued from being marked and erased over and over.

I've always really liked the Resource Point rules. They encourage players to collect loot just like in standard DnD style games, while providing a fair and cinematically appropriate way to discourage players from wanting to carry everything they've ever found in a giant backpack/utility belt of game-breaking doom.

I feel obligated to post the following self-correction, while checking the rules for power frameworks in CC/FHC I was frustrated to discover that my "Super Destroyer Beam" (which uses a VPP slot to add to a Multipower Slot) is illegal by RAW for these editions because "A slot in a Framework cannot add to or modify a slot in the same or another Framework." (CC 122/FHC 143). I had missed this clause in all of my previous readings of these rules, and as I usually try very hard to stick to the RAW or cite where I am not, I apologize for my error in this regard... I don't have the mental endurance to re-run my previous calculations, but sufficed to say all calculations which refer to the aforementioned tactic are incorrect barring house rulings.

They feel pretty insane... but I don't have the intelligence score (or mental endurance if you prefer) to make the comparison to the article you've posted, so instead I will list some of pathfinder's prices for common items and let you draw your own conclusions. Full descriptions of each of these items can be found in the Pathfinder Reference Document, available online at no cost. 150 gold is the total starting wealth of a first level character in Pathfinder Society Play. By second level every character is assumed to have found enough loot to increase their total wealth by 850 gold (to 1000 gold). By twentieth level they are assumed to have found enough loot to have a total amount of wealth equal to 880,000 gold. 1 gold piece being 1/50th of a pound of gold, and worth 10 silver; which are each 1/50th of a pound of silver. 1 silver is equal in value to 10 copper; which, yet again is 1/50th of a pound of copper. From Ultimate Equipment (Available online) Wages: 1 day of unskilled labor is worth 1 silver (1/10 of 1 gold). 1 day of skilled labor is worth 3 silver (3/10 of 1 gold). Doctors and Scribes make 1 gold per day. Mapmakers make 10 gold a day. Lawyers make between 5 silver and 10 gold a day depending upon experience and reputation. Costs: A mug of ale costs 4 copper (4/100ths of a gold), a loaf of bread costs 2 copper (2/100th of a gold). An Inn stay costs between 2 silver and 2 gold a night depending upon the quality of the Inn. A chicken costs 1 gold, a pig costs 20 gold, a guard dog costs 25 gold, a horse costs between 75 gold and 300 gold. A cart costs 15 gold, a carriage costs 100 gold, a rowboat costs 50 gold, and a Galley costs 30,000 gold. A longsword costs 15 gold, a metal large shield costs 20 gold, and a suit of full-plate costs 1,500 gold. A mithral longsword costs 2015 gold, a mithral large shield costs 1520 gold, and a suit of mithral full-plate costs 10,500 gold Spellcaster's charge between 5 gold and 1,800 gold for per spell for their services, depending upon the level of the spell being cast. - 5 gold being the price of a minor spell such as Detect Magic. 1,800 gold being the price of having a cleric ask their deity for a Miracle, opening a Gate to Heaven or Hell, or casting Interplanetary Teleport. Paying a cleric to cast True Resurrection to bring back a king who's been dead for centuries costs 26,800 gold. And it said king is happy in the afterlife you are SOL. Ultimate Campaign (Available online) A House (including a bedroom, kitchen, lavatory, sitting room and storage room) costs 1290 gold, a mansion costs 5,160 gold, and a palace costs 19,640 gold. A Smithy costs 730 gold, and a Tavern costs 910 gold. In practice the prices usually work fine because most adventurers never actually see this much gold at once, they find magical items worth obscenely more than their benefits would indicate, but it gets a little daunting if you think about how hard a non-adventurer has to work to afford even minor magical items or spellcasting services. One day I plan to make a cohesive set house rules for reducing the excessive prices of "money sink" items and the expected wealth by level of adventurers in a balanced way... but since I use Pathfinder primarily for it's glut of pre-written material, that rule-set may be a long time coming.

That is excellent advice which I wish I had followed when I last tried introducing players to the HERO System. I threw them in the proverbial deep end, and I still ended up writing all of the characters. Of the two players in that group completely unfamiliar with the system; one of them enjoyed the gameplay but never did learn the system, and the other eventually learned the system well enough to read a character sheet (and appreciate how must work I was putting in) but never had the patience to write their own or the time to play often enough to get the hang of the system. All in all it was disappointing for everyone involved, and I had to switch back to running Pathfinder. Which isn't any less complicated (what with the entire bookshelf I have to keep dedicated to it), but at least it was familiar to 3/4s of my group.

In the event you are using Pathfinder's Ultimate Equipment... which is a fair choice considering that anyone with an internet connection can access it through the Pathfinder Reference Document. Then I recommend awarding new standard heroic characters with 150 gold, powerful heroic characters with 1,500 gold, and very powerful heroic characters with 15,000 gold to purchase their equipment. I also recommend only using those prices associated with mundane items. If you allow players to purchase magical items, I don't recommend using the book's prices because although magical equipment is a large part of your advancement in Pathfinder, the prices given assume that the GM is giving their players truly obscene amounts of wealth... and thus even minor enchantments are priced as a money sink... so much so that the descriptions of magical items in pathfinder make them seem far, far more common than they would realistically be if you compare their prices to the amounts of money even high level characters can generate through profession and craft skill rolls. Instead I would recommend taking using some multiple of the item's value in character points, with variations depending upon category. For example a weapon might cost 25 gold per real point worth of enchantments; such that a +1 longsword (which grants +1 to OCV as a 3-point CSL, and +1 Damage Class) might cost 140 gold instead of 15 gold for a regular longsword. Likewise, a suit of armor might cost 200 gold per real point worth of enchantments (because armor is typically much cheaper in HERO system than equivalent weapons are); such that a suit of +1 Full Plate (which grants +2 rPD/+2 rED) might cost 1900 gold instead of 1500 gold for regular Full Plate. These are all just rough numbers however, I've never run a Fantasy HERO game using Pathfinder's economy or price lists, nor do I plan to. So everything I've stated above is merely conjecture. If you have access to it, I suggest using the price list and economy described in Fantasy HERO 6th (on pages 172-180). Because frankly I trust Steven Long's ability to do research far more than that of the developers employed by Paizo. I've never been disappointed with Steven's advice on game mastering; Paizo's advice... not so much.

Snake Oil ​"It heals your wounds! It regrows your hair! It cures leprosy! There is nothing my magical ointment and elixir can't cure! It's not to be confused with the substances sold by those other snake oil salesmen... Just be sure you drink the whole bottle!" In reality this minor alchemical product only relieves the most obvious symptoms of any given malady. Unfortunately the drinker believes themselves to have been cured, which may lead to some very poor choices on their part. Cosmetic Transform (Person Into Person Who Believes Their Affliction Has Been Cured) 3d6, Partial Transform (+1/2) (13 APs); No Range (-1/2), OAF Fragile (-1 1/4), Limited Target (Sentient Beings; -1/4), Rapid Healing (REC per Day; -1/2), 15 Charges Which Never Recover (-2). Cost: 2 points.

Minor Belt Pouch of Holding This purple silk belt pouch is highly sought after by adventurers and tax collectors alike, for it can hold over 960 silver coins, yet it never weighs more than an apple. It's drawstring is especially long, and the mouth of this pouch stretches to comical proportions. One famous story tells of an adventurer stuffing an entire tavern bench into their pouch. Any object placed within the pouch appears as an embroidered patch upon it's surface, taking up space on the pouch's surface equivalent to the amount of the pouch's capacity is occupies. As a side note, amongst the dwarves this pouch is known as the Hammer Space Pouch... but no one knows why. Telekinesis (2 STR), Zero END (+1/2), Persistant (+1/4) (5 APs); No Range (-1/2), Affects Whole Object (-1/4), IIF Durable (-1/4). Cost: 2 points.

Magicraft Backpack You can fill this magical backpack with as much mass as you could normally carry. Yet it's wearer can still march with minimal effort. +5 Strength, Zero END (+1/2) (7 APs); Only To Reduce Encumbrance Penalties For Items Stowed Within It (-1/2), OIF (-1/2). Cost: 3 points. Hag's Blood Amulet This amulet consists of a vial of hag's blood suspended from a cord woven from their tangled hair. Such fetishes are believed to reduce the effectiveness of all manner of spells used against the wearer, however they are also known to attract the ire of Hags, against whom it provides no protection. 25% Resistant Damage Reduction Against Magic (15 APs); OIF Fragile (-3/4), Always On (-1/2), Does Not Protect Against The Magic Of Hags (-1/2), Side Effects (Hunted By Hags (Very Frequently, Easy to Find; More Powerful); -1). Cost: 4 points.

I knew that was the case as of 6th edition, but I could have sworn I read somewhere the Vanguard lost his life in direct combat. I can't find that reference now, so I must have misremembered it. Thank you for the correction Armitage. I don't have access to the Book of the Destroyer; I used Doctor Destroyer's stat block from Champions Villains Volumn One - Master Villains. If Doctor Destroyer in '84 only had 2/3rds of the raw power he has now, then the stats I gave for Vanguard should fairly well represent his durability. A "Super Destroyer Beam", using destroyers 6d6 base RKA, and a 100 point VPP to improve it would result in Vanguard taking 3 BODY and 24 STUN (out of his 30 BODY and 100 STUN). Which is only a little bit more than a nose bleed to someone with 40 REC If the original poster feels that Vanguard isn't tough enough as I previously defined him, I would recommend boosting all of his resistant defenses to 40 (up from 30).

Upon reflection; If it came to blows between Vanguard (as I have postulated him) and Doctor Destroyer. I have given Vanguard a clear offensive advantage, but it will basically still come down to dice luck because of Vanguard's Code Against Killing and Doctor Destroyer Superiority and Casual Killer complications. Examples: Vanguard won't open with the 123d6 Super-Serious Full-Velocity Passing Strike Punch I postulated he has access to. Because that would atomize a normal human, or even most superhumans. Unlike One-Punch Man, Vanguard actually cares about that fact. As a result he'll probably start with a 12d6 punch, which would mangle, but not kill a normal human. Unfortunately it will also do absolutely nothing to Doctor Destroyer; it won't even get through his Force Field Generator's Barrier. Seeing this Vanguard would follow up with a 24d6 punch, which is usually more than enough to splatter a normal human or at least damage most superhumans... But which will only shatter Doctor Destroyer's barrier and do about 8 STUN to him... Finally, Vanguard will use his full 36d6 punch, which will shatter Doctor Destroyer's barrier and do about 36 STUN (but still no BODY) to him. If he makes his EGO roll against his own delusions of superiority, the Doctor will retreat using Teleportation if he hasn't yet landed a hit against Vanguard. Just as a hypothetical: If Vanguard did open with his best attack, trusting that Doctor Destroyer is just so badass he'll survive... then the Doctor would be taking about 30 BODY and 104 STUN if Vanguard's attack hit; and after applying the Doctor's damage negation, his barrier, his defenses, and assuming his Tactical Adaptation power was active... Leaving Doctor Destroyer at 0 BODY and -4 STUN (without Tactical Adaptation, he'll be left at -2 BODY and -81 STUN)... alive but bound for Hot Sleep in Stronghold if they can figure out how to get his armor off of him before he wakes up. On the other hand if the Doctor was able to put everything he has into his attack... Which knowing the evil old coot, he would totally do if he knew he was fighting Vanguard. Assuming he is using his Destroyer Beam's Power Mode, plus dedicating his entire VPP improving it's damage, we are looking at a 20d6 RKA Super Destroyer Beam, which will do an average of 10 BODY and 45 STUN after applying Vanguard's postulated defenses. Meaning Doctor Destroyer would need to get three shots in before Vanguard took him down. Since the above scenario has Vanguard wasting his first two attacks because of his Code Against Killing, this is actually a fairly safe bet if they each hit the other with fairly equal accuracy. But they won't... In that regard Destroyer has a fairly decent advantage due having combat skill levels vanguard (as postulated lacks) and his Tactical Adaptation. All of which combined would give Doctor Destroyer up to a +12 OCV, or a +4 OCV and +6 DCV advantage over Vanguard's postulated characteristics. On an unrelated note, these simulations indicate to me that Doctor Destroyer also has a fairly good chance of being able to kill Saitama (aka One-Punch Man), who lacks the ability to break the sound barrier with any of his modes of movement, and certainly hasn't learned any martial arts (and therefore lacks the Passing Strike maneuver that allows Vanguard to one-shot destroyer under the circumstances described above). Saitama's tendency to let villains beat on him like a punching bag would prove fatal against the Destroyer.

I had forgotten about this earlier but... both CC and FHC include the Passing Strike maneuver (from Ultimate Martial Artist I think) Fantasy HERO Complete also includes the Flail, Set Versus Charge, Shield Wall, and Unhorse optional maneuvers from Fantasy HERO, and the Basic Shot, Defensive Shot, Distance Shot, Far Shot, Offensive Shot, Quick Shot, Ranged Disarm, and Trip ranged martial maneuvers from the Ultimate Martial Artist (I think that is where they came from anyway... I forget). None of which were included in Champions Complete.

I would suggest Vanguard be built as a 2000ish-point flying brick. This post may contain spoilers, you have been warned. In older lore he was slain by Dr. Destroyer in personal combat, so this should be possible, but difficult. Dr Destroyer is built on 3500 points; and can normally deliver 10d6 RKAs. Against Vanguard he likely would have had to use his VPP to build an AVAD or NND Killing Attack specifically designed to bypass Vanguard's defenses. In newer lore he was taken out trying to stop a planet killing asteroid if I recall correctly. Either way it was the doctor's fault. He should have a Strength score of about 180 (which is equal in force to One-Punch Man's Normal Punch), and a 90 point multipower of "Strength Tricks" His "Strength Tricks" should include one Super Serious Punch (a physical HKA or HtH Attack built to fill the entire pool), but mostly it should include various types of Area of Effect, Armor Piercing, Autofire, Double Knockback, Penetrating, and Zero END Independent Advantages for his Strength. He likely doesn't need them, but I would give him some Martial Maneuvers (especially Martial Dodge, Martial Escape, Flying Dodge and Passing Strike) because he was a highly experienced combatant (unlike One-Punch Man, who just relies on his sheer, overwhelming power). Rough Cost: 380 points He should have stupidly high defenses: 75% Resistant Physical, Energy, and Mental Damage Reduction At least 30 points of Resistant, Hardened, Impenetrable Physical, Energy, Power, and Mental Defense. At least 15 points of every form of Flash Defense (possibly also Resistant, Hardened, and Impenetrable). Rough Cost: 380 points. His Characteristics should be about twice as high as a normal Bricks: 40 DEX, 60 CON, 20 INT, 20 EGO, 40 PRE, 10 OCV, 10 DCV, 3 OMCV, 6 DMCV, 40 REC, 120 END, 30 BODY, 100 STUN. Cost: 365 points. He should have enough Life Support to survive exposure to space, and he is likely immune to all diseases and poisons.​ Cost: roughly 30 points. He should have a Speed of 8. This is the same as Dr Destroyer, and leaves some room for the world's best speedster to be faster than him, Vanguard was never described as being especially fast. He should have just enough Flight to break the sound barrier at combat speed, which given his speed requires 515m of Flight. Running 20m, Leaping 60m, Swimming 12m Cost: 615 points. That brings us up to about 1770 points... and makes him easily capable of rocking the socks off of almost anything in the champions universe without breaking a sweat. Spend the remainder of his points on special senses if you feel he needs them, skills you think he should have, perks relevant to his role in the campaign, etc. If you need Vanguard to die more easily to the likes of master villains, strip him down to around 1600 points by reducing his attacks and defenses some, and halving his flight speed. This will also bring him closer to being within the range of what Takofanes can raise as a super-zombie using his full arcane might; which would cap out at creating 125 undead built on up to 1225 points or a single built on up to 1830-points if his stat-block from Master Villains were rewritten to better accommodate his history (and you didn't increase the active points of his spells in the process). If I recall, vanguard's corpse was amongst those raised as an undead during the 2009 Blood Moon incident, however I doubt the vanguard zombie was as powerful as vanguard was in life; or nobody would have been able to destroy it, and Takofanes might very well have destroyed the entire city at that time.

There are several ways to build a power that creates an item. However few of them are simple. Item Creation is a severe problem area in the HERO system ruleset; all of the methods presented below can be Dispelled, Drained, or Suppressed with varying levels of effort, assuming the GM knows in advance which method is going to be used and builds the adjustment powers accordingly. The first method I'm going to discuss isn't legal by the rules as written in CC/FHC or HERO system 6th, so have your GM look over your constructs closely and give permission to use them. Using Summon. Summon is normally only legal for characters, vehicles, bases, and other constructs which receive their own sheet; and the rules for creating items built with power constructs are based upon those for ""creating" inanimate objects defined with CP" (FHC 102) When using summon to create an item built as a power construct (such as most weapons or suits of armor): First you build the "final product" (the item to be summoned). Then you use that item's Active Points/5 to determine the base active points of the Summon (as if the items APs were it's total value as a character). Such summons must always be Slavishly Devoted (a +1 modifier), in part because no EGO roll is needed to control them. The duration of Summon when used in this way is always 1 Phase per Task you could order a creature to perform if summoned by the same power (which is equal to the summoner's EGO barring additional levels of Amicable). For example, summoning a 12 gauge shotgun (with 60 APs) is a 12 base active point summon, and will be at least a 24 Active Point summon after mandatory modifiers, but not including Expanded Class, which would be common in these kind of builds. The summoned shotgun will last for 10 phases if you have a 10 EGO, and comes with a full clip of charges (if any), every time it's summoned... Meaning charges generally shouldn't be worth any limitation value as they won't really limit the use of the power unless the Summon power is also highly limited. This is the kind of item summoning used by the main character in the anime Fate/Stay Night, it is also the closest to the various "Bound" Item spells from the Elder Scrolls line of games. The second method of building a power that creates an item is legal with access to Fantasy HERO, and is discussed on pg 320 of the 6th edition version of that book under "Alternate Enchanted Item Creation Rules". This version uses the rules for Differing Modifiers as it's basis, It sets the base active point value of the "item creation" power as being equal to the real point cost of the "enchanted item" to be created. The default creation time for these "enchanted items" is equal to 1 day per 10 active points in the creation power, increasing or decreasing this creation time is a -1/2 modifier per step down the time chart, or a +1/4 modifier per step up the time chart. This form of Item Creation costs Long-Term Endurance (at the standard rate) by default, and may be converted to regular END cost as a +1/4 modifier. Modifiers applied to this power affect the Creation Process, not the use of the Item. You must purchase each item creation power separately as there is no version of Expanded Effect presented for this power. However, the Active and Real cost of these powers is usually very low, so using a VPP is a fairly easy way get around that. This is the kind of system closest to the Item Creation feats in DnD/Pathfinder. It is highly suitable for heroic campaigns when used use in addition to, or as a replacement for using skill rolls to create items. The third method of building powers which create items is legal in CC/FHC, however it can also result in exceedingly complicated and long-winded power constructs. First you build the "final product" just like you would for first and second methods... However, then you then apply Delayed Effect and Useable by Others* to the existing construct to define a "creation" stage separate from the item's "activation" stage. Then you apply all of the modifiers apropos to your campaign's Item Creation system as Storing limitations. If you are purchasing lots of these kind of powers in a Framework, you can substitute Delayed Effect and Storing modifiers for modifiers applied to changing the slots of your Framework to represent to act of creating the items. Such powers are usually built using charges, or as Zero END with a Time Limit. *Although a universal focus technically lets others use powers linked to it, this is so that the item can be stolen and used against you. If the item in question is Intended to be passed around to people, the rules clearly state that should have to pay for the usable by others modifier; since you should never be allowed to gain an advantage from having placed a negatively valued modifier on a power construct. This method closest to what the original poster is asking for, and is the one often used in Alchemy and Rune magic style systems. This method is really best suited for powers that have limited durations, and it is not a suitable method for creating permanent items. I personally dislike this method because it bloats the Active Point and Real costs of powers built using it. The final method I will discuss is entirely up to GM fiat: Use a skill roll, such as Inventor, Weaponsmith, or a Power skill defined by the GM. There are few clearly defined rules for this, but the penalty should likely be at least -1 per 5 real points or -1 per 10 active points in the item to be created, and creation should take between 1 hour and 1 day (or some increment therein for every 5 real points or 10 active points).

In reply to the original post. 30 APs for 1st level spells, and (imo) +15 APs per level thereafter is a good place to start when breaking down spells into tiers. It's what I typically use. In an attempt to provide another example for you before I go off on a tangent, while also keeping it within the AP limit: I present the following very shady, but legal in CC/FHC, power construct. Sanctuary as a 1st-level Clerical Spell Change Environment: Requires an EGO roll at -1 to attack a single designated target within range, Long Lasting (1 Minute) (7 base Active Points) Area of Effect (1m Radius; +1/4), Megascale (Whole Planet, 1m = 10,000km; +2) (23 Active Points); Limited Range (10m; -0), Instant (-1/4), Conditional Power (Effect ends if the designated target performs a hostile action; -1), Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4), IAF Expendable ("Small Silver Mirror" Fragile, Difficult to Obtain; -1). Total Cost: 6 points Explanation: The rules for Change Environment in CC/FHC allow it to require an affected character to make a roll at the listed penalty. Nowhere in the power is it defined what the penalty for failure is, leaving it up to the GM to decide what is fair based upon the type of roll being made. Since EGO rolls are used to resist temptations, an EGO roll to attack the cleric/spellcaster seems reasonable, as it is very tempting to kill the healer/glass cannon first if possible. The base active point value of the power would be 3 APs before Adders, and the standard range would be 15m. Limited Range makes this spell's range equal to that of 5e Sanctuary. However, since this modifier normally requires you reduce the range by at least 1/2, and we are only reducing it by 1/3, it's value in this case is -0. The Long Lasting adder makes the duration equal to that of 5e Sanctuary, and since you cannot maintain it via concentration it also takes the Instant modifier so that the power is no longer Constant. Area of Effect and Megascale as purchased allows the spell to affect the attacker regardless of distance (or as close to it as HERO system can get), as per 5e Sanctuary. This version of the spell is written with the common limitations described in the 5e version of the spell. Gestures and Incantations obviously represent the somatic and verbal components, and the foci is built as an IAF because having a small mirror doesn't obviously provide the benefits indicated by the spell. Mirrors are fairly easy to break, ergo why it is Fragile. Moreover you have to purchase them from a craftsman, you can't just go collect them in a cave like you can with bat guano, ergo why it is Difficult to Obtain. Normally a spell like this would be harder to resist (have a higher EGO roll penalty) if you have a higher primary spellcasting stat, but I simply couldn't think of a good way to work that into the power construct. However CSLs could be used to improve it (as per adding damage) at the rate of plus -1 to EGO Rolls per 9.75 APs (or 4 CLS used to increase Damage/Effect), so characters that would normally have high "Primary Spellcasting Stats" should be encouraged to instead purchase an appropriate number of such CSLs. *Steps up to Soapbox* You will find that some spells simply cannot be accurately converted into HERO while staying within an Active Point limit. This is because Active points versus Real points are not concepts which apply to how spells are tiered in DnD's spellcasting system. Instead spells are tiered largely depending upon when the designers wanted certain types of characters to gain access to certain spells, and how often they think casters should be able to use them, and not at all based upon how powerful those spells actually are. This is why Animate Dead might be a 3rd level Cleric spell, and a 4th level Wizard spell, even though the mechanics of the spell don't change. Or why standard Invisibility is usually a 2nd level spell, even though it can be built on the same APs as many far less useful 1st level spells. This is also why certain low-level spells (like Protection from Evil) make you completely immune to powers used by certain high level creatures (like a Succubus). Moreover, the scaling nature of many spell's effects, and the existence of metamagic feats in certain editions complicate the matter further. For example, a 1st level wizard's Magic Missile isn't nearly as useful as one cast by a 9th level wizard. For another example, one Metamagic feat might improve damage scaling, another might remove a common limitation (like gestures or incantations), or add a small advantage (like transdimensional), and another doesn't really change anything about the spell at all beyond it's special effect. Yet all of these feats will have the same opportunity cost of one feat and increasing an affected spell's level by one tier. *Steps down from Soapbox* I've been thinking on this for a while, so I hope it was helpful.

Fantasy HERO Complete doesn't include the Autofire skills which Champions Complete does. Instead they included several new talents (some of which are a little iffy on their legality as power constructs). Neither book includes the Wind Effects table. In addition the vehicles section contains vehicles relevant to fantasy, and the weapons section contains more standard fantasy weapons, and no modern ones. Otherwise I feel the layout and pagination of FHC is better, and the tables and text are easier to read.

Regarding the orginal post: I very much like the idea of penalties associated with wearing armor that isn't purchased with CP. I believe it is worth noting that generally speaking the heavier you are armored, the slower you'll move, and the faster you'll tire, and the more restricted your movements are. However there is the notable exception of late era Gothic Platemail (which what most people today think of when referring to platemail), it was so well wrought that it's wearer retained almost full range of motion, and it's weight was so well distributed that it encumbered it's wearer less than it's raw weight would indicate if they tried to carry it in a sack. Given that this is the case, I assert that any penalties associated with shouldn't automatically be dependent upon how much protection is offered by the suit of armor, and they should be in addition to any penalties a character suffers due to the Encumbrance system. As such, such penalties should be represented via the judicious use of the Side Effects modifier (using Change Environment to determine the APs of the Side Effect's penalties) on specific armors, instead of as a campaign rule affecting all armor. Even if players do not pay CP for their armor, I find this method preferable because this way you as GM know exactly how many "free" CP your players are really getting, just like you do when they pick up a sword or a spear. Realistically there should be some suits of armor that simply aren't worth wearing (from a player's perspective) because the drawbacks typically outweigh the benefits; and other suits that are far less restrictive than their level of protection would indicate in a standardized system. If game balance regarding armor is an issue, the in-game costs of "inferior" armor will be significantly lower than the prices of the best armor. Gothic Platemail for example should always very, very expensive. In part because it is next to impossible to resize it to fit anyone other than whomever it was created for... The value looted gothic platemail is little more than it's value as scrap metal; especially compared to typically "inferior" armors which were designed to be mass-produced or easily resized (which often impose from greater penalties as a result, and are less attractive to the player, but worth more to the merchant or king). As for what penalties exactly to impose... Penalties to Initiative, physical Combat Values, Perception rolls, Dexterity-based Rolls, natural forms of Movement (such as running, swimming, and leaping), and the imposition of increased Temperature levels (as proposed by Netzilla) are all appropriate to varying degrees. The imposition of penalties to spellcasting can be appropriate depending upon the magic system and the campaign setting (Tamriel as presented in the various Elder Scrolls games has little to no restriction on armored mages for example). In keeping with the concept that you get what you pay for, characters should generally be allowed to overcome the penalties for wearing armor through the expenditure of CP; because the opportunity cost of doing so will do most of the work of differentiating between "light fighters", "heavy fighters", and "spellcasters" for you; without having to make up new things for specific types of characters to spend points on. I am unsure about requiring Armor Familiarities, or how to adjudicate the penalties for lacking the appropriate Familiarity. If pressed for an easy solution I impose a -3 penalty to DCV for lacking the appropriate Armor Familiarity; and I wouldn't divide armor into categories. Not because it isn't realistic to do so, but because it won't make the game more fun to do so. Instead Armor Familiarity would simply cost 2 or 3 points and include all armor you don't pay CP for.

I generally dislike talents, so I almost never allow them in my campaigns (Lightning Reflexes is a common exception). I would always rather players built such abilities using legal power constructs. It is worth noting however that with rare exception, all of the talents are legal power constructs. For brevity they simply omit the construct's write-up. Deadly Blow is just a stack of high point CSLs limited to being applied to damage for example.

I Dunno if this has been mentioned already (five pages is a lot and my eyes glazed over a little), nor do I recall where I read it, but for situations where a phenomenon is represented by a power that is not linked to something with a SPD score (A Constant Power being used by a Base for example) the game engine defaults to a SPD score of 3 for that phenomenon. If I remember correctly this was also the value suggested for use when making SPD dormant. In a campaign where you are ditching the Speed Chart or making SPD dormant I believe you should assume all game elements have an effective SPD of 3. I suggest SPD 3 because it is the minimum Speed value required to create a mechanical difference between Extra Time (Extra Phase; -3/4), and Extra Time (1 Turn; -1 -1/4), and it will have a minimum unintended effect on movement, recovery and sense affecting powers.

Non-Vancian uses for a Grimoire depend n the details of the magic system, but here are a few (several of these have already been mentioned): A ) If spells always Require A Magic Roll (-1/2); spellcasters might purchase: Grimoire: +10 to Magic, Analyze (Magic), and KS (Arcane and Occult Lore) (as 3-point SLs) (30 APs); OAF (-1). Cost: 15 points. B ) If spells are generally easier to cast with access to references; all spells might take Variable Limitations (IAF [-1/2], or Increase Endurance [x2; -1/2]; -1/4). C ) If individual spells are treated like equipment which can be gained and lost (perhaps purchased through a VPP or Resource Pool); all spells might be contained in Grimoires or Scrolls. Grimoires or Scrolls might be built like much like any other magical weapons; perhaps replacing STR minimums with EGO/INT minimums or Required Rolls, and usually costing normal or increased END. Being a "spellcaster" in such a game might just mean having versions of Weapon Familiarity, Combat Skill Levels, Weaponsmith and Inventor in order to write and/or use Grimoires D ) If spells are always purchased individually for CP (and especially so if Spells don't receive a Cost Multiplier ala the Turakian Age); spells that spellcasters haven't mastered yet might require the spellbook they are contained in as a Foci, or use some variation on option B (see above).

I worked on a build for a teen super named "Rainbow Girl" who suffered from mentally retardation before she and her cat were accidently struck by the experimental "Oooh" Ray satellite weapon. She was never played because her player decided it was just too sensitive a topic to actually play. The weapon was struck by a small meteor, or pushed by a superhuman or something. Instead of hitting the target point in the testing field, the ray crossed dozens of city blocks and covered entire buildings with waves of rainbow light. The "Oooh" Ray caused no property damage, the incident happened late at night, and there was next to no evidence; so the cover-up of the accident was successful. Soon after everyone exposed to the "Oooh" Ray started developing all kinds of different superpowers. Almost everyone exposed to the "Oooh" ray also became smarter. It actually only raised the victim's intelligence to a set level, so some grew more than others, and a rare few got stupider. Those with powers from the "Oooh" Ray always glowed distinctively while their powers were in use, and everyone with rainbow powers was immune to other direct rainbow powers (almost all of the powers were required to buy Personal Immunity). The teen girl became a pseudo Magical Girl (complete with a transformation that made her taller, more slender, her hair floated as if she were in Zero-G and reflected her rainbow aura), and the cat became a her Familiar. Most of Rainbow Girl's "Rainbowkinesis" powers (standard light blaster fare) were actually granted by her Cat; who had spent it's entire life watching sailor moon from the foot of the bed, and had similar powers. The girl's own powers were limited waking up one morning with super intelligence (INT 25, Eidetic Memory, and Cramming) and a psychic bond with her now talking cat.

The chart for AVAD in CC/FHC normally ends at Rare, or a +1 advantage for an RKA (since it already targets rPD or rED). If each additional modifier is house-ruled to be treated as an additional rarity level, then an AVAD (Double-Hardened, Impenetrable Smell Flash Defense) should be worth +2 1/2 when applied to an RKA instead of +2 (and +3 if applied to a Blast). Otherwise the modifier value is capped out at +1 1/2, and the GM should look very closely at anything rarer than unmodified Smell Flash Defense or Resistant Power Defense before allowing them. Toxic Odor Spray: RKA 1d6, AoE (16m Cone; +1/2), AVAD (Double-Hardened, Impenetrable Smell Flash Defense; +2 1/2), Does BODY (+1) (75 APs); Restrainable (-1/2). Cost: 50 Points.