Cantriped

Mechanically speaking, there is no way to "Fail to Pull a Punch" but still hit the target (and thus end up doing Full BODY); you can only fail to connect with the attack because of the OCV penalty associated with Pulling A Punch. If you have PSLs to counter the CV penalty pulling a punch would be no more difficult than striking with full power (or reduced DCs). However, if you wanted that mechanic in your campaigns, you could forbid the optional maneuver Pulling A Punch, and instead require characters in your campaign purchase STUN Only (+0) as an Independant Advantage for their Strength/Power, and place Requires A Strength/Power Tricks Roll as a limitation on it. However since that would still cost 1 CP (unless said GM ruled otherwise and made it free to characters with CvK), it would be a pretty pointless power and a mean thing to do to one's players simply to achieve a harsher mechanical effect.

Newer versions of the various Lantern Corps have Life Support (Self-Contained Breathing, Safe in Intense Heat, Cold, Vacuum, High Pressure, and Radiation) (and likely immunity to toxic/poisonous gasses as well) through their ring's personal fields. In addition to having said Life Support package purchased Usable as Attack and linked to hard-light constructs used to englobe targets. Which makes me wonder if (Code vs. Killing Aside) a Lantern could purposefully suffocate a target they've englobed in hard-light.

I believe so. CC page 33 indicates that the following should be sheet-legal. "Living In A World Made Of Cardboard" | +4 to OCV against OCV Penalties For Pulling a Punch (as 1-point PSLs) (4 Active Points) Note: As the penalty is -1/5 DCs this is a high enough modifier to compensate for Pulling a Punch of up to 20 DCs allowing you to halve the BODY damage of such attacks without a CV penalty.

Yes, most Fantasy HERO character's are built on about 150-175 points (depending upon Edition). However they have to purchase their primary characteristics with those points too, which I didn't account for in my initial "Level" metric. If we assume players will spend at least 50-75 points on Primary Characteristics (not counting things like PD/ED, CVs, END/STUN/BODY, etc), this makes them roughly equivalent to between 5th and 7th level characters. Which is a high enough level to represent most of the stranger concepts that aren't directly achievable as a single-classed character, have a definitive specialty, or be a reasonably competent spell-caster (which 1st level d20 Spellcasters are not), but not so high that the character can take on armies of kobolds and goblins by themselves. My metrics for conversion are almost entirely theoretical, I haven't spent the months it would take to actually stat out packages for each level-up in each common class, but it is based upon a fair bit of old research (Killer Shrike's website had lots of conversion materials for 5th, which served as a basis for my thoughts on this topic) and relatively recent experience. The problem with making any d20 to HERO conversion accurate is the simple difference in design conceit; d20 relies almost entirely upon what HERO System calls package deals (or templates) for balancing it's opportunity costs. This is an issue in conversion because when you take a Level in Fighter or Wizard, you are going to spend a certain number of points in things players don't normally invest in whether you like it or not. Wizards for example keep getting Base Attack Bonus improvements even though they have few if any Weapon Familiarities and a great number of their spells are Area of Effect or otherwise would not require an especially high Combat Value to hit with, and Fighters still have to spend a certain number of their level-up points improving skills which largely don't have direct Combat application to them, or purchasing Feats which do not directly improve their specialty/concept significantly (because they have either already purchased all the available ones that do, or the ones they need next have useless prerequisites in front of them for the sake of "Game-Balance"). One "level" of fighter, for example, would typically include about 4 STUN & 1 BODY, 2/5ths of a point of Base OCV, a point or two of Power Defense (renamed Fortitude and arranged to only benefit the character against attacks defined as diseases. poisons, transmutations, etc), 1/2 a point of Mental Defense (renamed Will Save, and as before only used against attacks appropo to the conversion), Reflex save bonuses are either Limited rPD & rED (in keeping with the idea that Armor Class and other %miss modifiers becomes Defenses in the conversion) or +1 DCV against Traps (as Limited 3-point CSLs or even 2-point MSLs perhaps?). What I have described thus far would be worth about 9-10 points per Level-Package. This leaves you 5-6 points to invest in "Skills & Feats" each level. Fighters being a class who's main feature is the number of Feats they receive, would likely purchase at least one Martial Maneuver, Talent, or Perk every Level, and select to improve one Skill or improve the breadth/number of one group of Skill Levels every other Level. I can't really predefine the split up of these last few points, even for a simple class like Fighter, without a lot of research. This is because of the bell-curve on Skills that doesn't exist in d20, and the fact that a vast number of Feats only serve to let you become slightly more specialized as a task than you would otherwise be allowed to become based upon the Level-restrictions on Skill Rolls and Attack Accuracy. 110 sounds about right for generic weather control over a decent sized area, the example titled "Weather Control" from HS6th V1 was 150 AP. And no, it doesn't really feel equivalent to me either, but unfortunately that has been an intentional element of HERO System's Change Environment mechanics through every edition I'm experienced with. Change Environment is the umbrella power you are expected to turn to when nothing else achieves the effect you are going for, and because of it's versatility and "potential for abuse" it has always been kept more expensive/inefficient than it should be considering the effects it can achieve. Remember though, CE is is the only mechanic in the game which can be used to force another player to make a Skill or Characteristic Roll, although it has always been kind of vague on what happens if you fail the roll, it is assumed I think that it must be an effect you would normally make such a roll to avoid/achieve. I generally assume that for 0 additional Active Points a Change Environment can be used force an appropriate roll (one that it has paid to penalize) to successfully Enter/Exit, Remain In, or Perceive Through the affected area. Although this isn't stated explicitly anywhere in the rules and is simply My House Ruling regarding the clause that it can "force a player to make a roll it penalizes", and my memory of the example it gave of that. For Example: A Change Environment penalizing Lockpicking could also be defined as locking the door it was used on for as long as you paid END (longer if you apply the appropriate modifier) at no additional cost. If you used such a power on an unlocked door, the next person to try an open the door would need to succeed at a Lockpicking roll (at the penalty you purchased) in order to open the door (an Enter/Exit Condition). If you don't happen have the skill referenced than you are just hosed unless you have some other way of getting through (like enough Strength to simply break the door off it's hinges). Another Example, which I believe was actually given in one of the books, was that if you penalize DEX rolls in an affected area, targets within that area would have to make a DEX Roll to Enter or Move Through the Area, failure indicating that the character falls prone instead. Several editions have outright said something along the line of "you should never be able to do as much damage with a Change Environment as you can do with another Attack Power". Even worse (in my mind), is the fact that the rules specifically prohibit producing "Positive" Effects using Change Environment even though in many instances that would appear to be the most mechanically appropriate power to do so with. Which is why powers which create light are built using Images with limitations on it. I imagine this was all just to avoid Change Environment becoming a power which people treated like a "Poor Mans Variable Power Pool", or used in lieu of more appropriate powers simply because of absolute nature of it's effects. There is usually little to no defense against the penalties Change Environment imposes, which is directly counter to HERO System's design conceit that there are no Absolute Effects. However because all of it's effects are based upon Special Effect, there are powers which can grant immunity to them: Life Support (Intense Cold) would negate all penalties related to Lowering Temperature Levels, for far fewer CP than it would cost to purchase the appropriate number of points of Recovery and Regeneration to counter the effects. Penalty Skill Levels can reduce penalties to sense groups and characteristic rolls, and I would generally rule that enough of them to counter the entirety of the penalty would also negate the need to make Rolls against that sense group or characteristic, but probably not to skills, since the door should technically remain locked even if you know how to deal with magically locked doors (see above).

To aid in a smooth transition, I suggest the following rough metrics be taken into account. Based upon my experience, which I grant is only worth the paper it's written on, but I've been GMing both Pathfinder and HERO games with my current group simultaneously. A 1st level character is worth about 30 points, each subsequent level is worth about 15 additional points. 1 Point of straight OCV is roughly equivalent to 2&1/2 points of Base Attack Bonus (Based on the Value of Multiple Attacks as being analogous to the Full Round Attack Action), Most DnD weapons only do 3-6 DCs (with Strength), and that it's STUN and not BODY which is most closely analogous Hit Points in terms of value (even though you can't die from Stun damage). That Full Plate only provides 8-12 rPD (and likely half that much ED if any). That many of the feats accessible at low levels would only be worth 2-5 CP in HERO (Weapon Focus for example is at best a single 2-point CSL, and Dodge is either a point of DCV or 1 rPD & 1 rED), and most of them are best represented by Martial Arts instead of Powers. Spells are more difficult to convert, but should almost always be bought in a Framework: Cantrips and 1st level spells are rarely worth more than 30 AP, and each spell level thereafter is worth about +10 Active Points, and 9th level spells have no standard, but 110-150 AP is a good range to build around.

In a campaign I run I have two players playing characters of note for this conversation. Whom in my mind exemplify roleplaying their psychological limitations right. I've never had to call on Ego Rolls to get them to act in character or in keeping with their Psych Lims. One of whom was summoned from a storybook and has the Psychological complications "Overconfidance" and "Justice Is Black & White, And Evil Must Be Punished" and the social complication "Unfamiliar With The Real World"... Not to mention an insanely lethal magical sword which tells her what is and isn't evil (though not how evil they are or any other aspect of their personality), and neigh indestructible magical armor. The other character is a Portaler who has a Moderate Code vs. Killing, and the ability to cut though space with the 2-dimensional edges of her portals (A Penetrating RKA vs. Power Defense with the SFX Side Effect that debris cut off end up in random locations), but not so much in the way of defenses, though she can take a hit pretty well, and is really good at avoiding being hit at all. In combat against groups of criminal agents known as the Trojanmen (a group who wield unique blasters which fire seemingly endless supplies of corrosive white fluid/gas that can melt automobiles to slag in seconds), who mostly just rob banks and collect new members Fight Club style. The aforementioned magic sword-wielding character generally gave criminals who weren't actually evil a chance to surrender or rout before she unsealed the beatstick, but then she doesn't hold back at all, and once cut one of the Trojanmen in half with a single blow, and leapt in front of a Trojan Plasma Blast to protect her teammate (and survived because her magical armor makes her all but invincible). She also decked a super mystic and doctor upon entering a hospital "simply because he was Evil" (he then hospitalized her with one blow, knocking her to GM's Option (He was most definitely Evil by backstory, but he was also the most powerful and well known healer in the entire city and never dealt lethal damage because he too had CvK now). They were at the hospital because the Portaler was dropping off Trojanmen they (meaning mostly the sword-wielder) had injured after an unsuccessful bank heist. The Portaler has never, ever used her oh-so-lethal RKA against a person... not even against supervillains (although she did use it against a giant green-skinned monster living underneath a children's park, kidnapping them, and turning them into it's goblin like bile-thralls, but that was a little different), instead the character usually chooses to use Presence Attacks and her Crowd-Control abilities to stop criminals from committing crimes. She has, on occasion, taken serious injury because she left an opponent alive but knocked out, only to have them fire on her when they came to a few phases later. Even when confronting the Trojan Mastermind (who wears a decent suit of powered armor in addition to using the same blaster he equips his henchmen with. The most lethal thing she did was slam him into the ceiling a few times and propel a brick towards his heavily protected head, all after the sword wielder had already been severely injured in the opening barrage of combat (even losing consciousness for a moment thanks to most of the Trojanmen involved in that fight making their Teamwork Rolls that phase), had failed to do lethal damage with her magical sword after impaling him, and then nearly had her sword pulled out of her hand by the Trojan Mastermind (who was a competent martial artist in addition to being a mad scientist who had invented a new form of High-Energy Weaponry). Knocking him out and forcing his Henchmen to scatter with a seriously well phrased Presence Attack (the loyalest of them trying to grab their heavily armored leader and fly him out through a hole they melted in the wall with their blasters). They only ended up getting a few buildings away before accidentally dislocating their master's arm trying to avoid a Portal Straight To Jail, and still ending up in Jail the next phase.

I'm not gonna spend a lot of time researching the values for theses examples, instead including an X variable in their place. Also these examples are based upon Champions Complete. The Pop Quiz Gun: Multipower (X-Reserve Points); All Slots; Focus (OAF; -1), Incantations (-1/4), Only Works Against Human Class Minds (-1/4). Real Cost = (Active Points)/2.5 1) Entangle Xd6, Dismissable (+5 AP), AVAD (INT instead of STR; +X), ACV (OMCV vs. DCV; +0), Cannot Be Damaged By Attacks (INT Only to Break Free; +X) (X Active Points); Focus (OAF; -1), Incantations (-1/4), Gestures (-1/4), Charges (X Charges; -X), Time Limit (5 Minutes; -X), Only Works Against Human Class Minds (-1/4). 2) Mental Blast Xd6 (X Active Points); AVAD (INT instead of Mental Defense; -X), ACV (OMCV vs. DCV; -X), Focus (OAF; -1), Incantations (-1/4), Gestures (-1/4), Charges (X Charges; -X), Only Works Against Human Class Minds (-1/4). 3) Telepathy or Mind Control Xd6, Constant (+1/2), Cumalative (Maximum Effect Times X; +X) (X Active Points); AVAD (INT instead of Mental Defense; -X), ACV (OMCV vs. DCV; -X), Focus (OAF; -1), Incantations (-1/4), Gestures (-1/4), Continuing Charges (X Charges Lasting 1 Minute; -X), Only Works Against Human Class Minds (-1/4), Language Barrier (-X), Only To Discern Answers To Questions or Force Target To Answer Questions Aloud (-X) 4) Drain (1/2 to INT, 1/2 to Any One Knowledge Skill One At A Time) Xd6; ACV (OMCV vs, DCV; +0), Constant (+1/2) (X Active Points); AVAD (INT instead of Power Defense; -X), Focus (OAF; -1), Incantations (-1/4), Gestures (-1/4), Charges (X Charges; -X), Only Works Against Human Class Minds (-1/4). The special effect of the Entangle and the Telepathy/Mind Control is that the victim is trapped inside a mental illusion of a class room, and must solve a quiz or puzzle of some kind in order to escape the ego-space created by the Pop-Quiz Gun. The special effects of the Mental Blast and Drain are psychic feedback which makes thinking critically more difficult for the victim. Obviously the Effect of the Drain against INT is reduced by their INT before their INT is reduced by the effect, as would be the case with Drain Power Defense. If the opponent proves to be too smart for the Pop-Quiz Gun, Hit em with the Dunce-Bat a few times first. The Dunce-Bat: All Slots; Focus (OAF;-1), Gestures (-1/4) Hand-To-Hand Attack +2d6, Reduced END (0 END; +1/2) (15 Active Points) PLUS Drain INT 2d6, Reduced END (0 END; +1/2), AVAD (Mental Defense; +0), Delayed Return Rate (5 points per Hour or 1 point every 12 minutes; +X) (X Active Points).

First off, I want you to know that I hate Active Point Limits in campaigns, especially when used as a Hard and Fast Rule. However they do have their purposes; mainly to ensure all members of a table have roughly equivalent attacks and defenses. I have played in many campaigns which used them, but I don't use them myself except as a general guideline. The aforementioned player with the powerful Change Environment also has a 200+ Active Point, Usable As Attack Teleport (Gate), which frankly isn't worth a quarter of it's active points, though it is a nice ability. Remember that Active Point Limits are not a standard rule, they are simply the most common optional rule described in the books, but not more required than the optional Combat Rules (like "Ground Fighting" and "Guarding Areas and Ignoring Opponents") or Characteristic-Based Proficiency and Familiarity Skills. In the same breath which HS6th talks about Active Point Limits and Effectiveness Ceilings, it includes clauses regarding making exceptions to the Cap for a character's "Main-Shtick" or for powers with higher active points than their effectiveness would indicate. You should remind your GMs of this fact so they have the option to stop ruining your enjoyment of the game. Second, the value of a thing isn't based just on how useful it is in a typical combat, or Cosmetic Transforms and Life Support (Immortality) wouldn't still exist as powers, and most of the Skills and Perks in the game wouldn't exist either. In Champions Complete (page 53) there is a "Varying Combat Effects" Adder, but what it does is allow you to rearrange the effects of your change environment instead of having to define it at purchase (Flip the direction of a temperature change up or down, replace Temp-Levels with Wind Levels, or penalize EGO Rolls instead of generating Wind), and there is also the Varying Environment Modifier. Either of which are roughly equivalent to having a Variable Power Pool for Change Environmental. Neither is required to create a change environment power or even a suite of them if you are willing to purchase multiple CE slots in a Weather Control Multipower . Change Environment can let you trigger your opponent's complications or limitations based on special effect, as well as produce effects which are impossibly expensive to represent any other way, and a fair GM would make sure the opportunity came up to use a power if they have let you pay character points for it. As for the game effect of changing the color of the sky; it is that the sky is now a different color, nothing more nothing less (I'll admit it wasn't the best example I could have come up with, but it does prove you can't easily get a CE up to 90 AP unless it actually does something useful). However, If an invading Alien armada were scanning the galaxy for a small blue planet they were told to invade, and you can make the planet green or yellow or orange, they might pass right on by or attack the wrong planet (which is exactly the kind of plot I would run if you had that ability). If you can make the Sun produce red light than Superman could lose his powers, and if you could coat a city block in yellow paint (or a thin layer of wood) you also prevent certain era's of the Green Lantern from manipulating the environment to their advantage; all without having to actually pay for the ability to Dispel, Drain or Suppress those powers. Also, note that the CE I quoted above is only 80 AP because it affects a vast area and literally lasts forever (even after you die, the sky stays green and people eventually start telling legends about the man who recolored the sky just because he could). As opposed to a normal change environment which only lasts as long as you pay END for it. If it didn't last forever it's only worth about 2 AP to dye the sky of an earth sized planet and would cost about 1 END per phase to maintain (or be ~3 AP and 0 END if you applied Reduced END, and Persistent to it). If none of these example are ever likely to come up, than the rules of the game allow me as a GM to grant you that power at a cost of 0 CP regardless of it's Active Points. (See CC page 10: "What Not To Spend CP On"). The Active Points listed above are based upon applying Area Of Effect (2m Radius; +1/4), and Megascale (1m = 10,000 km; +2) to a Change Environment with no negative effects (worth 1 AP). Applying the modifier to let you change the color from use to use would have negligible impact on the cost at this point because of the bell-curve involved in Modifier Multiplication (the first +1 in advantages are worth as many Active Points as the subsequent +2, which are worth as much as the subsequent +4, etc) Third and finally, while a Blizzard may have limited applications as a superhero, as a supervillian I could hold an entire city hostage with it rather inexpensively, -4 temperature levels (or 30 degrees fahrenheit if the area started in the comfort zone) are all I need to prevent every normal person in the city from being able to recover their END or STUN. In addition they suffer 4 points of Long Term END Damage every 20 minutes even if they stay huddled in a corner doing nothing, which means they won't be able to fight me for very long before they are burning STUN which they can't recover, and as soon as they go down they'll start burning BODY, which without a REC score to bring their STUN or END positive again means they freeze to death in about 4 hours depending upon their total BODY. Spell of the City Sized Blizzard: Change Environment (-4 Temperature Levels; -1 to Sight & Hearing PER Rolls, +2 Wind Levels), Area of Effect (4m Radius; +1/4), Megascale Area (1m = 1km; +1), 0 END Cost (+1/2), Persistant (+1/4) (84 Active Points); Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4), Concentration (1/2 DCV; -1/4), Extra Time (1 Turn; -1 1/4). Real Cost: 28 points (3 CP if bought in a Multipower).

To Pinecone: I'm sorry your GM's have sucked Pinecone, but that has nothing to do with 6th edition as a ruleset. I disagree with almost any argument which prefaces an entire power is broken. I may intensely dislike Damage Negation for example, but I don't argue it's broken, just that it is inconsistent with other Defense Powers (in that it reduces dice of effect before they are rolled) and that it interacts nonsensically with Barriers because it was poorly written. Further you do not appear to understand my point. My argument regarding Multipower reserves isn't about a large reserve with small slots, I don't care much about that, it was about how inconsistent application of Active Point Caps would encourage abuse of Multipowers by allowing some character's to circumvent the Cap but not others. I would make the same arguement As for Change Environment: One of the most powerful character's in my campaign uses Change Environments to devastating effect, and they paid a lot of Active Points for those abilities. The only Mandatory Modifiers that I know of is the one on Hand-to-Hand Attacks, and that's because using a lower active point value appears to have made it too CP efficient in previous edition, at least when compared to other Attack Powers (especially when purchased through Power Frameworks which always have AP limits). I've just read over Change Environment, and sure enough, it says nothing about requiring any modifiers; unless you are counting Area of Effect, which is only required if you want to hit more than a single target with the effect. If the Change were truly only "window dressing" than I don't see how you are possibly getting to 90 APs. A Change Environment that has no negative effects only ever has 1 Active Point, and even after applying Area of Effect (131,072m Radius; +4), is still only 5 active Points. If that same Window-Dressing Change Environment were Permanent after you stopped paying END, it's still only 80 AP (16 AP)x(1+4 in Advantages). And although it may not kill anybody, Changing the sky Green and the sea Orange for the rest of eternity should not be a cheap ability (unless it's a Multipower Slot, then you can totally do it at will for just 8 CP and agreeing not to do it in a Multiple Attack alongside your 16d6 Blast. Causing a Blizzard on the other hand it not a cosmetic effect by any means... it involves lowering Temperature levels (which causes characters without life support suffer from reduced REC, spend 1 Long-Term END per 20 minutes, then STUN, and then BODY in turn, as per drowning, as well as increasing damage from dehydration) and raising wind levels (which apply points of TK on the target, reduce PER rolls, and OCV with Missile weapons). All of which can and should quickly become very expensive if you want to hit lots of people with it because blizzards are deadly. See HS6th v2 pages 144-146 for examples of just how awesome Change Environment can be. To Christopher: With rare exception I feel 90 AP is a good limit for Jedi/Sith abilities, with most Jedi only having 30-60 AP frameworks. The rare examples which surpass this could be explained through Pushing, or the character having purchased a compound component for which ever power in the Framework they have that is stronger than the reserve allows; or an Aid/Boost for their Force Manipulation Framework and one or more slots simultaneously. Also, if your character has the points to spare my package could be made much more Consular like simply by making most of the powers without fixed costs Variable Slots.

You make a very fair point regarding the "hidden value" of the Multipower Pinecone, the Luke from NSG's example could very inexpensively fill out their powerset by spending 9 CP expanding the Multipower slots over spending 38 points purchasing powers separately, with each additional slot/power costing 3-6 CP instead of about 30 CP each. I'm not exactly sure where your impression of 6th edition's change from a system "that can to anything" to a system that "has a thousand ways to say NO!" stems from, but it seems to be a common impression here on the forums. Looking at the document "Converting Old Characters To Champions Complete", which also includes summaries of changes made between First through Sixth, there are a few things I miss about previous editions (Transfer for Example) and a few things I wish they hadn't added (Like Damage Negation). However I fail to detect how any of theses changes would make something I've built before impossible to represent or how the rules are any less permissive than before. I can still pretty closely, if not very accurately represent any and every character I've ever seen described or imagined myself, and there are still enough different ways do to so that no two GMs are ever likely to agree on which method is the best. HERO System is still the Ultimate Gamer's Toolkit in my mind, even if the names of a few of the tools have changed a little.

The Stave of Min-Maxing as I've built it allows any of it's slots to be use in almost any combination (assuming you don't insist on using them all at Full Power). For example: Flight and Blast could be used together at their 6d6 Blast and 30m Flight levels respectively, and in HS6th the advantages applied to the Multipower would be inherited for free, making both powers cost 0 END, and equivalent to 60 Active-Point powers (or 120 APs for the purposes of Dispel), while only actually using 30-points worth of the Multipower's Reserve. If used at full power either power becomes the equivalent of 120 Active Points, completely negating any point in using an Active Point Cap on "Powers" by themselves (as you have defined them to exclude Power Frameworks) Alternatively the character could use the above stave to become Desolidified, and still have enough points left over for the Naked Advantage to Strength, Up to 20m of Flight, 4d6 of Blast, or 10m of Flight and 2d6 Blast simultaneously. Most of my experience as a player was with 5th and 5th Revised, I now GM Champions Complete (6.5...6th Revised? Anyway...). Champions Complete doesn't support Active Point Caps that I can find reference to. However on page 271 of HS6th V2 the topic is given a fairly exhaustive treatment, and indicates that nearly any Game Element (such as skills, characteristics, powers, and by extension I am assuming power frameworks as well although it is not specifically mentioned anywhere) can be subject to an Active Point or an Effectiveness Ceiling. If applied universally, you would total the Control and Reserve costs of VPPs for the purposes of determining when they hit the campaigns AP/Effectiveness Ceiling, as well as Reserve plus Advantages for Multipowers; preventing the player from abusing Power Frameworks to circumvent the Active Point Cap. From a purely mathematical, power-gaming perspective there is very little reason to intentionally purchase a power with fewer Active Points than your Reserve allows unless the power practically has to go into a Fixed Slot (Desolidification, or Invisibility for example). The primary cost of the Framework is in the reserve itself, and even if all of the powers share all of the same limitations (An unlikely feat if building your framework to represent a specific existing concept such as Jedi & Sith, or the Lantern Corps instead of just making a cost effective build), it doesn't break even for the character until they have purchased more Active Points worth of powers through their Multipower than the Framework has Reserve Points. Otherwise you are just paying more than it would have cost you to buy the powers separately. For example, you only saved your example Luke 4 points by purchasing the three slots described above through the Multipower described above, if there were only two slots it would have cost more than purchasing those powers separately, and if there were more than three slots the savings would have quickly grown. The cost of purchasing Luke's powers at 60 AP would have been 48 within the Multipower, or 90 without it, so for the price of +9 points your save +38 points over purchasing the three powers separately.

Meanwhile, Back On Topic. I wrote a Jedi/Sith Package for my own purposes last night. I'm not that familiar with the Star-Wars Universe so I had to rely on online resources, memory and common sense. And some of the game elements were built according to my own interpretation of the concept, as opposed to what is or isn't Cannon.

->NuSoardGraphite EDIT: My Apologies; The Argument Below Is Only Applicable To The 6th Ed Core Rules (see HERO System 6th Edition, Volume 1; pg. 405), Champions Complete closed this Loophole (see CC; pg. 122). I usually prefer CC rulings over HS6thV1. The Reserve of a Multipower is an Active Point limitation as well as a limitation on the number of powers usable simultaneously; that is part of why you get such a cost break for purchasing powers through one. Ergo, any campaign with an Active Point Limit should logically also limit the reserves of power frameworks accordingly. Don't forget that any advantages applied to a Multipower are inherited by it's slots for free! Under your assumption, a player could easily bypass your campaign's Active Point Cap by purchasing a low-reserve Multipower with several generically useful advantages, making a character neigh unbeatable by anyone who isn't also min-maxing in the same way. For Example: Lets say the "Active Point Cap" is 60, as this is a common number for Superheroic Games and allows enough points to achieve most thematic effects. Stave of Min-Maxing: 60-point Multipower Reserve, All Slots; Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Difficult To Dispel (x4 Active Points For Dispelling; +1/2) (120 Active Points); All Slots; OAF (Magical Stave; -1). Total Cost: 60 Points. 1) Variable Slot: 12d6 Blast vs. ED (60 Active Points). Total Cost: 6 Points. (Costs 0 Endurance to use and requires you beat 240 Active Points to dispel, an impossible threshold to achieve with 20d6 Dispel Blast [60 Active Points]) 2) Variable Slot: Flight 60m (60 Active Points). Total Cost: 6 Points. (As Above) 3) Fixed Slot: Desolidification (Affected by Heat and Flames) (40 Active Points). Total Cost 2 Points. (Costs 0 Endurance, requires you beat 160 Active Points to Dispel, Still Impossible to Dispel within the boundaries of 60 AP) 4) Fixed Slot: Affects Physical World (+2) For Up To 10 Active Points of Strength (20 Active Points). Total Cost: 2 Points (Costs 0 Endurance, requires you beat 80 Active Points to Dispel, NOT Impossible to Dispel within the boundaries of 60 AP, but still above your average rolls, assuming anybody would ever purchase Dispel Strength or Dispel Naked Advantage) Total Cost of Framework: 76 Points. Naturally, somebody could purchase a Dispel with the Cumulative advantage in order to allow them to eventually turn off one of the powers above, but considering the contents of the framework, slot 1 is not worth even trying to dispel, the Blast will hit you before you build up to the threshold, and the previous dispel casting won't benefit you against the next activation, and as for slots 2 and 3, aborting to reactivate them is a small price to pay for not falling to one's death or being turned into Superheroic Meat-Paste. Slot 4 only exists to let you pick up clues, whoop-dee-do, I've gotta pick it back up after you've dispelled my pseudo-solidification. Note: If you purchase a 120 AP Multipower, and apply those advantages to the Slots instead of the reserve, the cost rises from 76 points to 92 points. So not only to I completely break the balance of your campaign, but I saved 16 points by doing it; which I'm sure is not the intent of an Active Point Cap. All of this being said, I don't use Active Point Cap in my campaigns, and haven't noticed any real game-balance issues regarding it.

->NuSoardGraphite That depends on how harsh your GM is about the Active Point limits of their campaign. Technically speaking, a 100-point Multipower is still a 100 Active Point "Power"; even if every slot purchased within it is only 20 AP.

You don't need usable Simultaneously because number of targets is covered by Area of Effect. If you use the Usable as Attack instead of Usable on Others, than you don't need Increased Mass; because attack teleportation doesn't care how much the targets weigh and anything entering the area of effect would be Attacked by the power automatically (even passengers inside of vehicles, and people/objects being carried by other people).

Although you should also bear in mind that the Battle Axe, Lance, Spear, and Great Sword builds listed in CC are all above your campaign's Active Point limit out the gate. I wouldn't consider Extra DCs from maneuvers or other sources a problem in regard to an Active Point Limits, because you can use maneuvers with spells too unless you force the players to put that god-awful "Spell" -1/2 modifier on their magic. However even if magical martial arts are unavailable in the campaign, there is nothing saying that Wizards can't apply 3-point Combat Skill Levels to the OCV or DCs of a small group of Attack Spells just like the Fighter can to Blades. In terms of balancing the Fighters vs. the Wizards, and assuming it is a Heroic Campaign with "Free" Equipment; making sure both have an equal opportunity to do damage if they choose to focus on that is a good start. Secondarily, you could also consider what items society might have developed specifically for Wizards, that you can give to your player Wizards in order to balance the "free character points" the Fighter receives from their equipment. For a DnD-esk world some examples include an "Eternal Wand of Magic Missiles" which requires the caster actually know Magic Missile (3-5 Charges per day as Magic Missile if the casting system is strict), or a "Ring of Magic Missile Control" which grants two to six 3-point CSLs for Magic Missiles.

This is the Smartphone build I include in the Everyman List for my Champions Complete Game. Smart Phone Multipower, 20-point reserve, (20 APs); all slots OAF (-1), 1 Continuing Fuel Charge lasting 6 Hours (Charge Recovers After 3 Hours Of Charging Plugged Into A Standard Electrical Outlet; -¼), Restrainable (By Electromagnetic Pluses; -¼), Gestures (Varies*; -¼) f LED Flashlight 1) Sight Group Images, +2 to PER Rolls, Area Of Effect (4m Cone; +¼) (20 APs); Only To Create Light (-1), Gestures* (Obvious; -½) f Wireless Internet Service 2) Detect TCP/IP Signals 9- (Radio Group), Discriminatory, Increased Arc Of Perception (360 Degrees), Partially Penetrative, Transmit (20 APs); Affected as Sight Group And/Or Hearing Group As Appropriate (-¾) f Cellular Phone Call 3) High Range Radio Perception (Radio Group) (12 APs); Only For Communication Between Cellular Phones (-1), Affected As Hearing and Radio Group Simultaneously (-½) f Cellular Text Message 4) High Range Radio Perception (Radio Group) (12 APs); Only For Communication Between Cellular Phones (-1), Gestures* (Subtle, Both Hands, Throughout; -¾), Affected As Sight and Radio Group Simultaneously (-½) f Global Positioning System 5) Detect Current Location 9- (no Sense Group), Discriminatory (8 APs); Affected as Sight Group (-½) f Data Storage 6) Eidetic Memory (5 APs); Only to Recall Images and Sounds Recorded On This Device (-2), Obvious to Sight (-½), Gestures (Distinct; -¼) f Video and Audio Playback 7) Sight and Hearing Groups Images, Area Of Effect (4m Radius; +¼) (19 APs); Only to Reproduce Images and Sounds Redorded On This Device (-1), No Range (-½) f Alarm App 8) Hearing Group Images, Trigger (When Current Time Equals Preset Time; +¼), Area Of Effect (4m Radius; +¼) (7 APs); Only to Create Noise (-1), No Range (-½) f Calculator App 9) Detect Solution To Any Mathamatical Equation 9- (no Sense Group), Discriminatory (8 APs); Affected as Sight Group (-½), Gestures* (Subtle, Both Hands; -¼) f Clock App 10) Detect Current Time 9- (Unusual Group), Discriminatory (8 APs); Affected as Sight Group (-½) f Account Information 11) Fringe Benefits: Access (Bank Account Information, Contact List, Identification & Passport, Medical Records, Social Media Networks) (6 APs)

So According to a combination of the book plus Derek's ruling above, that paragraph should read: "Alternate forms must be regular characters (...), and are built on the same Total CP (including matching Complications) as the most expensive form." Is this phrasing correct? Even with this phrasing the rules still seem to contradict themselves. As it says on page 80 that "...the true form need not be the most expensive form." yet later less than a page later states that alternate forms (ie: not the true form) are built on the same Total CP or Fewer as the (true form/most expensive form). Also, what defines "Most Expensive Form"?... because at the moment it appears that character's "most expensive form" is always their true form, since even after purchasing multiform the alternate forms must have been built on equal to or less than the true form. However, at least according to special effect and common conception, the most expensive form is highly unlikely to be the True Form (Examples: Blassreiter, Hulk, Generator Gawl, etc).

Similar to this I developed a "Skill-Minimum" based pseudo-vancian spellcasting system for a campaign I'm running. This is an example of the Modifier used: Skill Minimum to Memorize (Necromancy, 1- Roll per 5 Active Points; -½) (An 11- Necromancy roll allows for memorization of up to 55 Active Point Spells. -1 per 10 Active Points would be the -1/4 permutation, and -2 per 5 Active Points the -3/4, and -4 per 5 Active Points the -1 permutation). This modifier establishes an eligibility requirement for spellcasting; it simply requires the caster have the appropriate skill roll at the appropriate level in order to activate (or in this case memorize) the power, an actual roll is not required. This modifier was written for a magic system wherein Spells are considered to be Equipment (in the form of the Spellbooks which contain them), and would likely be inappropriate for a spellcasting system where character's must pay CP for their spells.

The characters from RWBY should all be in the Low-Superheroic Range (275-300 CP with 50-60 points worth of Complications); since they mostly are equipment-based this should be plenty of points (Since this is superheroic equipment STR Minimum is unnecessary). Attacks in the campaign setting generally appear weak across the board (especially compared to their visual effects). So I would cap base damage at about 6 DCs (6d6 Normal & 2d6 Killing), and maximum damage (with Strength, Martial Arts, CSLs and the like) at 12 DCs. All characters should have at least 10 or more points of Resistant Protection with Nonpersistant or Costs Endurance to Maintain (in addition to whatever Armor they wear). Monsters in the world likely have Damage Reduction and High BODY/STUN scores in lieu of having high DCV and Defenses

I would build this ability as a Multipower. The first slot of which is a generic Summon with Expanded Class of Beings (and possibly Increased Number of Summoned Beings). Each subsequent slot would be a Summon with Specific Being (And possibly a -1/4 limitation stating that each specific being summoned counts against the total number of generic being you can summon and control. Although by default... It wouldn't matter if Bob were busy, he would be summoned and subject to an EGO roll or fall under your control. It wouldn't matter if Bob were a Player Character, or the Villain's Follower, or currently being Summoned by somebody else, he would still be Summoned to you. If you Summoned Bob and sent him to scout, you could Re-summon him to your location to report. It also means you can't recycle that Summon to reset their remaining BODY/STUN/END though. If Bob can refuse to be summoned than the power should also take No Conscious Control (at the -1 level).

Re: IK Hero? I've made some small changes to the Bodger build, [ATTACH]25441[/ATTACH] and did prefabs for Mage Hunters and Gunmages. [ATTACH]25442[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]25440[/ATTACH] And finally, built in much the same manner as other pools. sample Spellcasting END Reserves for several base classes. [ATTACH]25443[/ATTACH] In the equipment tab of this Prefab is also a model for Soulcages. The idea was to buy spells individually (at a small discount most likely; considering how limited the casting pools seem to be).

Re: Pennsylvania Dutch Magic: design questions Historical aspects aside "Pennsylvania Dutch Magic" as it is being defined by the OG poster looks like a pretty interesting idea for a subtle magic system. Stealing Fire from a Gun: When the proper incantations are spoken, this talisman will protect it's wearer from the next gun fired at him. Often causing the weapon to misfire, or jam. Game Information Dispel RKA 12d6, Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4), Trigger (Activating the Trigger is an Action that takes no time, Trigger requires a Zero Phase Action to reset, Character does not control activation of personal Trigger; Firing a Firearm at Wearer; +1/2), Invisible Power Effects, SFX Only (Fully Invisible; +1/2) (81 Active Points); Conditional Power (Firearms Only; -1/2), OIF Durable (Talisman; -1/2), Incantations (To set Trigger; -1/4). Hex: When crafted, this powerfully charmed poppet will cause a great unluck to befall whomever it represents. Game Information: Negative Skill Levels (-3 with Any Skill), Costs END Only To Activate (+1/4), Uncontrolled (Hex ends when Poppet is destroyed, or by recieving the blessing of a holyman; +1/2), Area Of Effect Accurate (One Hex; +1/2), Invisible Power Effects, SFX Only (Fully Invisible; +1/2), Indirect (Any origin, any direction; +3/4), MegaScale (1" = 100,000 km; +1 1/2) (150 Active Points); Extra Time (20 Minutes, Only to Activate, -1 1/4), Gestures, Requires Gestures throughout (Requires both hands; -1), Incantations (Requires Incantations throughout; -1/2), IIF Fragile Expendable (Easy to obtain new Focus; Poppet; -1/2)

Re: New Game: Remnants of Hope Oh I doubt it would be more effecient, just a different take on vampires

Re: New Game: Remnants of Hope KAze, you could also play a varient on the Vampire model. for example. the Nosgothic vampire is pretty heavy duty (both in power and in weaknesses. anyway, here are the Prefabs if you wanna take a look at my work on converting them to HERO. [ATTACH]24884[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]24885[/ATTACH]