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In games where all spell casting (combat and non-combat spells) require a skill roll, do you (as a GM) apply the "Combat Conditions" skill roll modifiers (-1 to -3) to the Player's Magic skill rolls during combat? If not, and I assume most people will say no (I never have in many years of Gm'ing, but have been re-reading the skill book lately and this question came to mind) it basically means they get the "Combat Ready" Talent for free for their magical skills. Is this unfair to other Player's who want to use some skills during combat who have to take the modifier or

I agree players (and GMs) should make the most out of their points and I think that all the discussion has also shown that the Game is much different then the source material, or at least the game stat "Descriptions" are different then the way most people play, compared to the comics and movies. For example, I've read a fair amount of Batman comics over the years, but I've never seen him lift something as heavy as a piano, or a sailboat, or a sports car (STR 15, 23 & 25 respectively), so from what I've seen in the comics (and movies) a "true" Batman build wouldn't have more th

I think as a general statement that yes it is bad. By that I mean people should be building to their concept, not to the point breaks or such. In your exact example of buying DEX at 18 instead of 17 because the breakpoint is at 18 is a perfect example of this. A character "shouldn't" be buying DEX or any other stat at the break points, or at higher point levels, if it isn't part of their concept/build. If the (starting) character should only have a 12 DEX then the player should buy it at 12, not 16, 17, or especially 18 because of the break point. The chart in the main book pretty

I would agree on side effect, but maybe it would need to be differently worded. The bad guy’s “Nearest minion” might actually be 100’s of miles away or even on another planet in certain settings, which is still rules legal, but probably not the effect they are going for. so maybe “nearest minion within 100m dies” plus a second limitation “power doesn’t work unless at least one minion is within 100m of user”.

It could also be used for a “backup” END reserve. like the power armor has its main END reserve for all its functions, but the players also buys a second “back up” END Reserve that only applies to Life Support and Flight. so if the main reserve ever goes down/is drained, etc... the back up kicks in and he/she still has life support and can fly away to safety, but can’t shoot lasers any more or anything.

This is actually quite interesting. At first I agreed with IndianaJoe, Then my opinion changed to agree with Lonewolf, but now thinking about it, and re-reading the Stealth listing in the Ultimate Skill, I think something a little different from both. First, though, and in general, I would go with Lonewolf's suggestion of just applying the bonus to the player and move along, keep it simple and quick. But... if realism and/or more detail is required, then I think it would actually be like this... The Stealthy character gets no bonus from the darkness. Why?

One option might be to allow shield users to attempt to make a block as a half phase action, which doesn’t end their turn. So they could block, then use a half phase to attack or retreat at 1/2 or 1/4 movement. That might be a bit powerful, so I would add that what is currently the DCV bonus of the shield be changed to floating modifier. For example, a large shield currently gives +3 DCV, in this variation instead it could give up to +3 OCV to block (like current rules allow) but whatever + the user takes to their block attempt, they get an equal -OCV on whatever attack they might do

Somewhere in the book(s) there is a rule that if the Players want to kill an unconscious opponent they can automatically do it (with GM permission). In this case it would just be a matter of saying they are stabbing the Dragon through one or both eyes, driving their swords into its brain. No extra rolls needed or anything. Just logic, storytelling and keeping the adventure moving at that point. EDIT: Found it. Hero System 6th Ed. Vol2, Pg.106 "A character in this state of unconsciousness can be killed automatically as a Full Phase Action by any character with the means to do

But what are they Acting as? From your own write up they are Acting like a person with low Presence. You know the old saying/belief that "women love a man with an English accent." Say that was an established "Fact" and would maybe give a character a +1 on a Seduction roll vs a certain female character. Well if a character was an American and used Acting to fake an English accent he would get that bonus +1, but if a player had a character that WAS English and always had that accent, then they would automatically get that +1 to their Seduction roll. Not Acting roll needed.

I agree with all that has been said for the most part, but I do wonder if some of it is from historic rule play and interpretation, then actual rules. for example, the example of the stand up comic with a high presence score but just looks like a normal guy. well, that doesn’t match with the stats description in the rules as RAW. Rather that would be something like a character with a PRE of 10, and maybe +15 PRE for telling jokes and stories or something like that. Look again at the RAW description of PRE. It says it is the character’s forcefulness, charisma and (

So the rules describe Presence as: Presence represents the character’s forcefulness, charisma, bravery, confidence, bearing, and leadership qualities— in short, his impressiveness. So a character with a very low Presence would be very unimpressive, which can also be interpreted as unimportant. So imagine a scenario where the NPC guards are keeping a look out at a downtown building and searching a busy city street for any suspicious or dangerous people (doesn't matter if it is a modern game and the building is a corporate HQ, or a fantasy game and the build

Realistically, and logically, yes they should, at least with any costume that does not completely cover their face. But baked into the genre is the fact that people don't make that leap/conclusion, it is like they all get one free disguise that always works. There is no way, realistically, that Lois wouldn't know Clark was Superman after the first time or two she met both of them, or that Karen wouldn't know Matt was Daredevil after spending so much time with both, or that Commissioner Gordon wouldn't know Bruce Wayne was Batman, and so on. It is a "freebie" given by the genre and in Hero. Co

Well if the person disguised convincingly looks like the other person but is acting different people may think he/shes been mind controlled, or gone insane or something else like that. Lots of people might believe "what they see" rather then what might be said, etc... so it could start rumors or such, or video clips on social media might create rumors, lies, made up stories about the person, etc... Imagine the social media postings: "Spider-Man is robbing banks!" "The President is being nice to people and given up golfing." "Elon Musk is being humble!"

Well there is no mechanical rules stopping this, but it is a potential abuse of the rules if all your players want this and it doesn't actually match their concept. Yes, it matches the concept of Shazam or the Hulk, but it doesn't match the concept of Superman or Batman or The Flash. So as the GM you have the right to not allow them to take it if it is abusing the system or just away to get extra points. I, personally, would handle it this way. If the campaign you are running is a 400 point normal super game, I'd say that the players only get to have one "400 pt form". It co

My thought is that magic items shouldn't be paid for with Character Points. As the GM you are "running" the world, if the players come across any magical items after a fight or find hidden away in a tomb, it is because the GM (you) decided to put it there. And unless you are handing out tons and tons of CP, way above the standard rule suggestions (average 3 per session), the players would never be able to pay for magical items with CP. Just going by the few examples in Fantasy Hero 6th, most magical items (not counting potions) cost around 30 CP and some go up to 60. So by the g