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The details of my magic system are as follows:
 
It is based on the Three Realms of Magic from Rolemaster/Shadow World.  Basically magical radiation/energy known as Essaence permeates the world (and the solar system) and can be manipulated by those trained to do so, or those with natural born abilities, talents or magical mutations.  Spellcasting developed deep in antiquity and was originally simply known as Essaence.  But over time, as the Essence Lords destroyed themselves, and the faerie and mortal races clawed themselves out of the dark ages, spellcasting began to split into three realms:  Essence, Channeling and Mentalism.
 
ESSENCE:  This is the Realm of the classic fantasy wizard.  It represents academic knowledge of the Essaence, how it functions and interacts with physical reality and how to manipulate it to change said reality.  It is Intelligence based.  Typical limitations include; Requires Skill Roll (Essence)*, Incantation (-1/4), Gestures (-1/4), Extra Time-full Phase activation (-1/2), Subject to Essence fluctuations (-1/2) 
 
CHANNELING:  This is the Realm of the classic fantasy cleric.  It represents magical power as bestowed upon a caster by a supernatural entity of great power such as a deity, a demon lord or other powerful supernatural forces.  It is Presence based.  Typical limitations include: Requires Skill Roll (Channeling)*, Incantation (-1/4), Focus-Obvious/inaccessible [holy symbol] (-1/2), Subject to the whim of the patron diety (-1/4), Subject to Essence fluctuations (-1/2)
 
MENTALISM: This is the Realm of the classic fantasy mystic.  It represents magical power which originates from within the caster, focused and shaped by their Will.  It is Ego based.  Typical limitations include: Requires Skill Roll (Mentalism)*, Concentration (-1/4), Extra Time-full phase activation (-1/2), Gestures (-1/4), Subject to Essence fluctuations (-1/2)
 
ARCANE: The "4th Realm", it is the original realm which represents manipulation of the Primal Essaence itself.  Spells of this realm are less focussed and less specialized but can be very far-reaching and extraordinarily destructive.  It is based on all three mental Characteristics (the skill roll is determined by averaging Int, Pre, and Ego).  Typical limitations include: Requires Skill Roll [at -1/5 Active] (-1), Incantations (-1/4), Gestures (-1/4), Extra Time-full phase (-1/2).
 
Note that the limitation, "Subject to Essence Fluctuations" means that the areas background Essence can effect the magic.  In an area of zero magic, spells just wont work, no matter the realm (except Arcane).  Essence Storms are a thing where it causes magic to go haywire, draining magic or boosting it, or causing it to go chaotic.  Casting spells during an Essence Storm is completely and utterly unpredictable.  Arcane magic, however is completely stable and not affected by null zones or Essence storms.
The limitation, "Subject to the whim of patron deity" simply means the Channeler has to follow the tenents of their faith and the will of their patron, or the may find themselves bereft of their powers.  Also, the deity may at any time deny the Channeler access to any of his spells, snuffing out a spell as the Channeler casts it or causing it to have some other effect.  This should be rare.  However, on the flip side, if the Channeler is under duress, the deity may boost the power of the spell at his or her discretion (I guarantee you this will not happen often) if it serves their purposes.  Or just for the hell of it.  Whatever.
 
All spellcasters have a new derived Characteristic known as ESSENCE (ESS) which is determined by adding INT, PRE and EGO together, then dividing by 2.  Thus an average character with 10 in all three Characteristics has an ESS of 15 (10+10+10)/2 = 15.  The character's Essence score acts like Endurance which fuels the character's magic spells.  To increase ESS costs 1cp for every +2 ESS and it has a Normal Characteristic Maxima of 50 (for most mortal characters), with an absolute maximum of 100 (there are ESS boosting magic items...Endurance Reserves...available in the game)
 
Spells are purchased in a Multipower with each slot representing individual spells.  Combined Powers are perfectly okay to buy in a single slot, as long as the combined Active Point cost does not exceed the allotted points in the Multipower Pool.  The Pool represents the amount of magical power available for the character to use.  All spells must cost Endurance to cast.  If a spell calls for a 0 End power, the Cost Endurance limitation will be applied to that individual spell slot.
 
The Multipower itself has the Realm-based limitations applied to it's cost, which affects all spells of that Realm.  ALL SPELL POOLS MUST HAVE REQUIRES A SKILL ROLL, NO EXCEPTIONS.  In general, Multipower pools must have at least -1 in Limitations applied to them and a maximum of -2.  Additional limitations may be applied to each individual spell as necessary.
 
Characters may learn more than 1 Realm.  They all draw off of the same pool, but Variable Limitation must be applied to the pool.  This increases the cost of the initial pool, but opens up quite a bit of variation and versatility to the character.  They may now pull spells from 2 or more Realms of Power.  When casting spells from the appropriate Realm, the requisite Limitations and guidelines must be observed.
 
Spellcasting requires a skill roll and a penalty of -1 per 10 active points in the spell is applied (-1 per 5 active points for Arcane magics!).  Failing a skill roll means the spell fizzles and the caster looses the Essence anyway.  critically failing the skill roll (always a roll of 18, or double the roll after penalties.  For example, a character with a Essence roll of 16 or less, casts an 80 active point spell at -8.  That gives him a chance of 8 or less to cast the spell.  If the character rolls a 16 or more, the spell is considered a critical failure) then the character has had a mishap, either the spell goes awry or the caster internalizes the spell, doing physical or mental harm to him or herself. (there is a chart)  A success means the spell goes off as normal.  A critical success (rolling half or less of the skill roll) means the character casts the spell but spends only 1/2 the Essence.
 
There are many ways to increase one's chance to cast a spell.  Taking extra time to cast the spell gains +1 per step on the Time chart.  Spending extra Essence gains +1 per X2 Essence spent. (this requires a Spell Mastery roll).  Utilizing ritual materials will gain a material bonus (+1 to +3 generally, but can be more).  Casting spells at a Foci or Essence flow will generally net a small bonus (and add a boost to the spell as well).
 
There are also many things which can inhibit spell casting.  Null zones which is completely devoid of the background Essence will prevent spellcasting altogether.  Encumbrance penalties apply to spellcasting, especially the wearing of armor (it is binding, restricts movement which interferes with gestures, metal interferes with the channeling of background Essence and prevents concentration)  Being unable to fulfill a Gestures or Incantation limitation does not automatically cancel a spell, but trying to cast one without fulfilling said Limitation is a -3 skill penalty (-6 if both cannot be fulfilled!), environmental penalties may apply as well (watch out for Change Environment!)
 
There's so much more to this.  Perhaps I will post more later.

Re: How do you balance encounters?
 
To determine if your PC's can handle an encounter there are three things you need to determine;
 
Combat Value: Compare the combat values of the combatants involved. If the CV's are comparable (equal to within 1pt difference) then the fight should be fairly even. If the CV of the enemy is 2pts higher then the PC may be in trouble. If the CV of the PC is 2pts or more higher, then the PC will have an easy time. Its okay to compare the average CV of the parties involved.
 
Dex and Speed: Faster characters tend to have more options in combat. If one side is faster than the other, that will swing the odds in their favor.
 
Attack vs Def: Compare the average damage that an opponents attack will do vs the Def of the PC's. If the average damage is close to the Def, the attack can do some damage but isn't overly powerful. If the average damage is less than the Def of the character, then the opponent will have a difficult time hurting the PC. If the damage is significantly higher than the Def, then the character is in serious trouble if they get hit by that attack. You can compare the same with the PC's attack vs the enemy's Def and this will tell you how easily the PC can take the character out.
 
There are many other minor factors to consider in combat including Body and Stun levels, various Powers, tactics and skills. But in general the three above are the main one's to consider in combat and all the other factors will revolve around these three.

Re: Silly question, How much damage do nukes do
 
If I remember right, on the old message boards we statted out a 1 Kiloton Nuclear warhead as doing around 13D6+1K damage (the Fireball, in either case) with a 1 megaton doing around 15 or 16D6K.
 
I write nukes up with both Area of Effect and Explosion limitations. That way the basic AE Radius is Ground Zero where the main damage is applied, then for each Hex (or multiples of Hexes after, most likely) the damage drops off significantly.

The vitriol against Fuzion stems from a few issues.
 
During a period when HERO had been MIA on the market for quite some time (no new books in a couple of years time) Fuzion came out. heralded as an "innovative new system" that was a combination of HERO and R Talsorian Games Interlock system (mekton, cyberpunk etc) which was very strange because the two systems had very different task resolution systems.
 
The first book released in the system was the Bubblegum Crisis rpg. that was something near and dear to my heart (one of my favorite anime of all time) and the end result, mechanically speaking, was less than stellar (the books make excellent reference material though)
 
At that time fuzion was new and mostly untried. it was clunky. it couldnt decide if it wanted to use a 3d6 mechanic or a 2d10 mechanic (it suggested either method) it included stun and body from hero, but reduced down to interlock level stats (2-10) but couldnt decide where the human average was. (One book suggested 4 was human average, another suggested higher or lower stats). It also added KILLS from mekton for dealing with heavy weaponry, which is a system fairly incompatible with heros stun and body damage system. the whole game was a schitzophrenic mess.
 
I had a discussion with one of the writers of the BGC rpg shortly after its release. Benjamin Wright who was a long standing employee of RTG, was under the impression that the interlock people and the hero people couldnt agree on which mechanics should go into the game, which is why it turned out to be such a mess. that initial experience with fuzion forever tainted my personal perspective on the game. it was a poorly implemented mess of a game that ruined what would have been the crown jewel rpg book (IMO) had it been presented in either hero or interlock (most fans expected it to be a supplement for mekton. suprise suprise)
 
The next fuzion book that came out was champions: the new millenium. this version of fuzion was obviously better thought out than the initial version printed in the bgc book, but was even less well recieved; mainly by long time champions fans who were afraid that this new version of champions was going to be the official replacement of the old version. whatever one might think about fuzion, positive or negative, it was NOT the HERO of old. fans were outraged not only by the vast changes to time proven game mechanics, but by a major overhaul in the theme and presentation of the champions universe. they advanced it to late iron-age style aka the Image era-style of supers which many elder champions fans did not appreciate (there was not much love among those fans for that style of superhero comics)
 
Thus the hatred of fuzion runs deep. one really did need to "be there" to fully grasp what happened to cause this. just be aware that it was not arbitrary and suggestions to change to anything resembling fuzion will likely be heavily resisted. that last attempt left a bad taste in a lot of peoples mouths.
 
That being said, fuzion did generate some fans. most of which came either from people who played some interlock or mainly from those unfamiliar with either system and thus had no dog in that fight one way or another. but from the hero side of the fence, the vast majority of the fans wanted nothing to do with it.
 
As for me, i loved both hero AND interlock. they are my two favorite systems and even i couldnt find anything positive about fuzion. take that for what it is worth.

LOL, no.

LOL, no.

LOL, no.

I think you are right about some of that. Certainly its been something Marvel had been thinking about. But once it was clear it was working its obvious they put together a plan by the time Captain America released. Possibly even Thor. Kevin Feige has said in interviews that the plan they are following was put into place before they even began filming the 1st Avengers film. That he always intended for this to be the result. Even if it was just a fever dream in Feige's head. at least someone at Marvel had an idea of what the hell they were doing and where they wanted to go. DC cant say that yet.
 
They cant get a Flash movie made. Its aleady gone through 3 directors. The script has been scrapped twice. Batfleck is in a similar state. Wonder Woman lost directors too. So far only Auquaman seems to be going smoothly because both Mamoa and director James Wan seem to be super into it.

I wouldnt call it Marvel's approach. Marvel is doing things in a natural organic way. You introduce the characters. Then you expand the world setting. You establish the rules of the universe first. Then you raise the stakes. Shake things up. Break some established rules and when all seems lost, the heroes make a comeback. Overcome the odds against them.
 
DC has barely established their world setting yet and already they've raised the stakes. The forces of Apokalyps is on their way and we havent been introduced to the Thamyscirans, the Atlanteans, the Speed Force, The Gods, Martians or the spectrum of emotional energy their powers. When the forces of Apokalyps arrive, our heroes are going to have to tap into these resources and audiences dont know what the f*** any of those things are yet.
 
They needed to introduce the greater DC universe before bringing in Darkseid and his baddies. They could have started with the Mother Boxes in the first few films, sure. Those are your McGuffins. Maybe have the scene with Flash trying to contact Bruce. But they should have done the core JLA members solo movies prior to Justice League to introduce audiences to how the DC univers e works before throwing everything and the kitchen sink at audiences.
 
Thats just how I feel about it. DC is just rushing, plain and simple. Yes they have writing issues and characterization issues. Absolutely. And its their haste to get movies out of the door that is the core issue here. They arent taking the time to get these individual movies right on any level. And they wont until they slow down and take stock of what they have and prioritize.

DC didn't have to copy Marvel's approach of giving each signature character his/her own movie before putting them together in the team movie, and I'm not convinced that any of the DCEU movies would have been any better off had they done so. As I see it, the core problem isn't a lack of architectural patience, but that DC is creatively misguided (in terms of tone and characterization), and that infects everything they've done so far. Maybe Wonder Woman will be the turning point, but my sneaking suspicion is that Justice League will return to the same joyless, grimdark mode of storytelling as the other films, and the WW film will be the lone beacon of light in the DCEU.

Batgirl has been in exactly one film and it was 20 something years ago and the worst film in the franchises history. Starting fresh and starting things off right would be beneficial methinks.

Man, why does DC insist on doing things out of order?
 
They need to introduce the Bat family in a batman film before giving Batgirl and Nightwing their own movies.
 
Suicide squad was too early. Those villians should have been introduced in other movies first.
 
Dark knight returs story too early. Doomsday too early. Death of Superman too early.
 
I'm noticing a trend. DC needs to slow the F down.

For a fun exercise if you are bored, google the bolded terms and prepare for entertainment.

Visual of exoplanets
 
http://www.universetoday.com/131903/princeton-team-directly-observes-planets-around-nearby-stars/?utm_content=buffera6dd6&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

That does not change the fact that she violated the rules by recieving her government emails in a non-government server.
 
Working for the Federal government, I run into a lot, and I mean a LOT of Fed employees who are absolutely gobsmacked that nothing is happening on the email front. They make us take training every year as to the policy on how to safeguard classified and sensitive information, I have taken the training six times now, and she basically violated every rule cited in the training. Just about everyone I know who has taken this training is flabberghasted at the results of her investigation.

360 degree swivel so I can keep my options open.

360 degree swivel so I can keep my options open.

88% for me, but I want that Wall built so I can man a machine gun on it.

The Freemasons WERE the good guys before the illuminati infiltrated them. They were the remnants of the ancient gnostics, who were opposed to the Archons, but the Archons used the Holy Roman Empire to wipe them out and destroy their repository of knowledge at Alexandria.
 
The Nazis were the first to colonize space with the help of the Reptillians. Their swatstica shaped moon base made famous by the documentary film Iron Sky was eventually turned into an illuminati run moon base called the Lunar Operations Command or LOC. The vampires are simply Nazis who gave themselves over completely to Reptillian and Archon possession and their vampiric tendencies are necessary to feed the alien parasites living within their auric fields.
 
The Socviets have far more than Ape hybrid armies. They have all manner of Chimera. They are currently carrying out said experiments on various bases below the surface of Mars. Though the Sphere Being Alliance may be putting a stop to the horrible atrocities soon...

I'm going to use Golden Dawn as the villains in my upcoming Steampunk game.

Not sure if ths has been posted yet.
 
We were wrong about the number of galaxies.
 
 
http://gizmodo.com/we-were-very-wrong-about-the-number-of-galaxies-in-the-1787750693?utm_campaign=socialflow_gizmodo_facebook&utm_source=gizmodo_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

Not sure if ths has been posted yet.
 
We were wrong about the number of galaxies.
 
 
http://gizmodo.com/we-were-very-wrong-about-the-number-of-galaxies-in-the-1787750693?utm_campaign=socialflow_gizmodo_facebook&utm_source=gizmodo_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

With Hero, you only ever need the main book. Everything else is superfluous. I think the 6th edition being two volumes was a mistake. But hey, whatever you need to do to sell more books.

At the core it should be a spy movie, but with heavy action element because kts Black Widow and its still a part of the MCU and should feel like it.