mallet

What I've done in my current game is still have players buy END but it is only used for tracking Long Term Endurance, we don't use END in normal combat situations or anything, but is good for long hikes, running from enemies, staying awake a long time, etc... Magic Users buy/use a "END Reserve" in this system that powers their spells and can only be recovered over time based on their trope, for example Wizards need to rest and study a certain amount of time, Clerics need to pray a certain amount of time, Druids need to meditate in nature a certain amount of time to recover some or all of their END Reserve for their spells.

That sounds like the Multiform power may be more what you are looking for in this particular case and would probably be much cheaper and involve less headaches and dice rolling. That power mainly exists for this exact effect, changing from "normal" form to "powered form" , like Banner into The Hulk, or a person into a werewolf. That kid into Shazam. An so on. But if Transform is really the way you want to go, then case according to the rules a character can lower his/her DCV to 0 if they want. So if you have to roll to attack yourself you can do it with a DCV of 0, so you will succeed in "hitting yourself" so much that hopefully the GM will eventually allow it to be automatic.

I also used to use Bleeding and Injury rules, but actually found them a bit too harsh. Also we ended up dropping hit locations (I know, crazy, right, But it worked) because it slowed things down and also could be very deadly. For the style of game my table likes, we want it to be cinematic and fast moving, but still have some grit. The house rules I listed above give us that. Damage effects the character but in an abstract way, so we don't need to get down to which area was hit, if it took enough damage to be injured or severed, if they keep bleeding out, etc... We like it to be just base BODY and then how injured you are starts to reduce how good you can function. It works for us, but it might not be for everyone. We had a new player to our table that had been playing Fantasy Hero in another city before moving to our city, and he thought it was crazy at first, but he eventually came around to it and really likes it now.

In the Fantasy Game I run I have a house rule where each point of BODY damage a character has reduces their "Initiative" by 1. So a DEX 17 character with 4 points of BODY damage has a 13 for his/her Initiative order. I like to have it that damage to characters (pc and npc) have some effect on how well they are physically able to do stuff. Going a bit further, I also have that every 2 points of BODY damage reduces all Characteristic and Skill rolls by -1. Because if you have a a major injury it'll obviously be distracting and painful to be performing other actions or concentrating on using skills. The Resistance talent can help negate these characteristic and skills penalties, but not the Initiative ones. If they have the time, out of combat, they can take an extra phase (to focus past the pain) and make an EGO roll. Every point they make their roll by, takes off 1 pt of the penalty. I've been tempted to come up with a similar rule that also effects their combat rolls, but haven't tested or implemented them yet. But my thinking was it would be the same as the skills roll one, but that might be a bit harsh, so maybe for every 3 BODY damage they get -1 to OCV and DCV. And again, I think I would allow Resistance to help negate some of the effect.

Put in a coffin and buried under 6 feet of dirt? And the character is a normal human? Then yes, they die. Or they hope some one saves them in time. If they have special skills and abilities (like The Bride in Kill Bill) then they could try and smash the coffin lid (DEF 4, BOD 3 (for a well made one)) and then hope they have enough air and STR to dig their way up through the dirt. They would need to hold their breath as the dirt falls on them, then push enough dirt into the space the inside of the coffin takes up and then push up, worm their way up, etc... through the rest of the dirt (luckily it'll be loosely packed as it was a fresh dug grave), so if they can hold their breath long enough and have a decent STR and/or DEX they might make it out. But that wouldn't be a normal (all 8 STATS) character, but a competent character with STATS 10-15 range and a good END, might make it. But again, I also don't think it needs to be built as a power. It is an environmental thing. Like being trapped in a cave in or a collapsed building or trapped underwater and needing to get out before you run out of air and drown. Once they break out of the coffin, then it becomes a countdown. they need X number of successful rolls to dig up through the dirt, and they only have Y amount of Phases (based on their END for holding their breath). If they don't make the number of successes needed to dig out before their END (and then STUN) runs out, then they die.

I feel some of this issue is because there are different ways to build characters in Hero. You can build with great STATS or with normal STATS and great skill levels and talents and powers. For a Spider-man example we'll assume a OCV and DCV of 8 for all builds (plus a High Speed and Danger Sense) and then: A) is Spider-Man built with a 80 DEX (140 CP) B ) is he built with a 25 DEX and +10 Skill Levels (All Agility Skills), +50 Lightning Reflexes which also comes to 140 CP. C) is he built with 18 DEX and +12 Skill Levels (All Agility Skills), +32 Lightning Reflexes and + 4 DCV (total now 12 DCV) which also comes to 140 CP. Which of those would be more effective in capturing what Spider-Man does in the comic books? Is the difference in "going first" that different in the campaign between A) at 80 and B ) at 75 or C) at 50? I would argue that with a High Speed & Danger Sense then Spider-Man doesn't need to have a super high DEX score like 80. He could be built for the same points and be more effective with a lower DEX. In my mind Build "C" is the most "Spider-man" he goes first in almost all cases, his Agility Skills like Acrobatics are amazing, and his DCV is super high. In fact he doesn't "always go first" in combat in the comics. he is often attacked first, but his Danger Sense warns him and he aborts to Dodge, Fly Dodge, etc... to avoid the attack. In fact I think Spider-Man is known more for his Dodging ability then he is for anything else. When people talk about Spider-Man's "super agility" most of the time they are referring to how he avoids attacks, spinning around in mid-air, leaps, etc... which is all DCV and Martial Arts maneuvers and Danger Sense. So with the decoupling of STATS in 6th Ed. I think some STATS (especially DEX) have become way less necessary to have at High Levels unless it is just to brag about how high the stat is, rather then being effective in game or representing what DEX used to mean in the game. Also since Characteristic Rolls are so downplayed in RAW (a big issue I have. I always try and make Characteristic Rolls more important in my games) then a 80 DEX character with a Characteristic Roll of 25- still needs to buy Acrobatics to do Acrobatic things (recently re-enforced by Steve's answer in the questions forum) so for 143 CP the character has Acrobatics at 25- but my 18 DEX character can buy Acrobatics with 13 levels in it giving him an Acrobatics roll of 26- so he/she is more acrobatic then the 80 DEX character and it only cost 45 CP. Heck for 139 CP they could have an Acrobtics skill of 73- EDIT TO ADD: A human with Legendary DEX in real life, I would say Jackie Chan in his prime. Some of the stuff he did was absolutely amazing and borderline unbelievable. But then is that a high DEX or is it normal DEX and highly skilled/trained in Acrobatics, Breakfall, Climbing, etc...? Until base Characteristic Rolls are (by RAW) allowed to substitute for Skill training and rolls, then STATS do not matter as much as Skills (and skill levels) for performing many things seen in comics and movies. Peter Parker in the new movies never trained or studied Acrobatics but he is naturally able to do all of that because of his "high DEX" in the movies. This isn't how HERO System works currently. In the current HERO System rules Peter Parker would only have the "untrained" Acrobatics skill giving him a 4- or 5- to even attempt Acrobatics stuff (if allowed at all) unless the GM used alternate rules. So to get back on topic, if there was a 7th Edition I'd want to see Characteristic Rolls having a large role in the System, making character builds with High Stats worthwhile, but right now high STATS (in most cases excluding STR) have very little effect on how good the character is at performing the skills and feats they are known for.

I don't think that is true, or at least that example, I can't take a best selling novel written in english and translate it to german and sell it in Germany. Even through it is "transformed" it is still the same novel and is still very illegal. That would be the same for games, adventures, etc... You can't just rewrite something that is under copyright and sell it as something new or derivative. Especially after announcing to the world on a forum that you are copying a specific set of something (in this case D&D adventures) and just changing the rules to a different system. That is still blatant and premeditated copyright infringement. Heck, this thread alone would all the owners of D&D would need to prove in court that the plan was to take copyright material and rewrite it and distribute. And you couldn't even claim "ignorance" of the laws, since the thread was started with the question of it was legal. Whether you get busted for it or not is another matter, this is pretty small fry to a big company like Hasbro, but those "fan films" people were making about Star Trek were small fry and Paramount went and crushed them. So I doubt Hero would let them be distributed here in case Hasbro decides it want to be litigious and loops them into any lawsuit.

Does the target have to be willing? Can you force someone into the suspended animation? How long does the healing take? Minutes, hours, weeks? Does the Suspended Animation offer any protection to the character, or is he/she completely defenseless during this time? At it's base (assuming it is not an "attack" and the subject is willing, then I would build it as: Simulate Death (UOO) Linked to Healing

It could also depend if a weapon is involved. I've seen a build (in fantasy hero) where it was built as a powerful blow with a weapon that drops a target. Specifically a Dwarf Fighter had Takedown with the weapon element War Hammer. So when using it he hit so hard and in such a way that the target would fall to the ground.

I don’t have Fantasy Hero Complete, so I can’t check. The lists given in Fantasy Hero 5th & 6th editions are the ones used for Hero’s The Turakian Age setting but should be general enough for most homebrew campaigns.

Fantasy Hero 5th Edition has price lists on pages 143-148ish. Including some ideas on raising and lowering the cost based on quality, etc... Fantasy Hero 6th ed also has a price list (and a more detailed one then 5th edition I think) but I don't have my copy here right now, so not sure what page numbers.

I think, and correct me if I am wrong, but the select was about who could see it, not that there was anyone there. I think the issues is Select as an adder gives you the choice to Select who is the specific TARGET of a power. I do an area of attack blast and I Select who out of the 10 people in range get Targeted. That is not the same as changing an Images power so that only certain people see it. Everyone in range automatically gets to see an Image if it is unmodified. Changing the power so that only people with certain traits sees the Image isn't Select. It is an effect on the power itself. If I added Select to an Image and there were 10 people in range when I created the Image, I could Select which out of the 10 people would see the Image. If I added Select and another modifier, say Only the Color Blind. Then when I created an Image with 10 people in the area, I could choose how many of them are Targeted by the Image (lets say 5), and then only those that were Color Blind out of the 5 I Selected would actually see the Image. I have no idea why anyone would want to build a power like that, but that is what you would get with Select and an additional Modifier narrowing down who gets to see the Image by a trait/race/sense, etc... So the question becomes, do you build the power with Select so you can choose which targets in range can see the Image, but if you build it that way how is the Image Creator going to choose what Targets he wants by traits? If it is something obvious like "Orcs" then no other modifiers or abilities are needed because the user can see who are Orcs in the area and Target them specifically with Select. But if the criteria the user wants to Select his/her targets by is undetectable by a targeting Sense or other means, for example people of a specific blood-line, then how does he/she make the decision who to Target? Deduction skill roll? PS: Genetics roll? If not, then in this build they would need a Detect Power to know who has the correct blood-line, and then once that is know he Targets those people using Select. That is not a very efficient way to get the effect/power described in the OP. So Select isn't the way to go in this instance. It would probably have to be an Images Power build that has the variable advantages Advantage on it, allowing the user to change the type of people who can see the Image each time he/she uses it. In this case he/she isn't Selecting Targets, he is modifying the power itself so that only certain types of people can see it. Maybe something like: Images: Sight, Hearing and Radio Groups Images, Variable Advantage (+1 Advantages; Limited Group of Advantages (Only certain types of people can see Image must be chosen before use); +1 3/4) (55 Active Points) Real Cost: 55 And even then, that might not be enough of a Variable Advantage to make it work, but I just picked that as an example.

True. I was just thinking of Powers/rules that already exist that add to the damage done specifically. The next stop then for existing rules, I think, would be Deadly Attack. +3DC against specific types of targets (like in the example, Undead). I believe the Talent Builds are listed somewhere in the books if I remember correctly, so you should be able to see how it is officially built. EDIT: Found it: So I guess, officially, to raise the damage of an attack against a certain target, Combat Skill Levels should be used.

Well it is kind of like buying/using Hand To Hand Attack with gives +Xd6 to STR attacks. That power is built as +5 STR with 1/4 Limitation only for damage. So maybe your +Xd6 to your Blast should also be bought with a 1/4 Limitation (Only for adding to X (Blast Power) at a min 1/2d6 damage) which is basically like Linked just worded differently so that it Add to the attack, and is not a second attack.

Same.

God, I loved Living Steel and Phoenix Command back in the day. Me and a buddy still talk about playing it again once and awhile. Yes, the detail was insane and combat could take forever at first, but once you played enough, especially in Living Steel you got to know which charts you would be using constantly (based on the weapons the players had access to) and just photocopy them out of the book and have on hand, and then things sped up a far amount, to being pretty much equal in time to a Shadowrun combat. One of our favorite campaigns in the last 25+ years of roleplaying was a Living Steel/Phoenix Command game I ran back in the day. But that was just me with one player, so things were a lot fast in play. The level of detail and threat of death or serious injury forces players to take combat seriously and try and think of other ways of accomplishing their goals or how to stack every available odd in their favor (elevation, cover, distraction, surprise, etc...) And the Living Steel main campaign/setting was awesome and still one of my favorites. "You wake up after 200 years of cryo-sleep on a planet decimated by war, including biological warfare, some of which turned massive parts of the population into violent psychopaths. Now your final orders are to regain control of this post-apocalyptic planet and re-establish order and government so that it can be resettled." It was just a crazy mix of Twilight:2000, Mad Max and Fallout (which it predated by a decade and which I have read were actually based on Living Steel. Heck, Fallout 3 & 4 are the exact storyline of Living Steel except it takes place on Earth rather then far in the future on a colony world) and it used some of the Phoenix Command rules for how they programmed the combat in those games. The creators of Fallout originally made it as a TTRPG setting and game using GRUPS). And, yes, the quotes were the best: "If violence doesn't get you what you want you aren't being violent enough."

RE DEF: What also figures into it is does the player control who the DEF is going to work against in combat? For example, he start off dueling a Halfling that is using a pocket knife. The PC goes first, and after his attack and the halfling is about to attack him back, and then a giant Orc also jumps at him wielding a great axe. Can the PC pick which attack the DEF is going to work against? Or since he started out fighting the Halfling the DEF is only going to work against the hafling's attacks? Does the PC declare which enemy the DEF is going to work against at the top of the Phase (before anyone acts) or does he do it on his own Phase, so if things change before he gets to act, he can't change it until his Phase? But then if he wants to change it after his Phase does he need to Abort to do that? Can he even Abort to change or is it fixed until his next Phase? All those variables will probably help determine how much of a Limitation it is.

This feels to me that it should be built with Mental Illusions rather then Images. You can added Area of Effect and Selective to it and get the results the Player wants with in the "rules" of the game. If it has to be Images, then I think they would need to take both a limitation and an Advantage. First, the Limitation might usable vs One floating group at a time for maybe a -1/2 limitation but then they would need to take Variable Advantage at +1 1/2 (so a +3 advantage) the math being the base IPE (Obvious to Fully Invisible, No change to Target, other characters Invisible) which is a +1 1/2 Advantage, but then that would only effect one set type of character (orcs, Ultraviolet, etc...) so to be able to change it any time the PC wants it would need to be a Variable Advantage. Which makes the power very useful, but very expensive.

Electrokinesis. Character can control electricity and lightning, etc... build it like Pyrokinesis. Telekinesis but with electricity instead of Fire. If you don't want full control of it, maybe add limitations like "only to pull directly to the character", etc...

Another ability for your list might be: Ride Like Hell: +Xm Running Usable by other (only the Horse the character is riding). Player can spur his/her horse to run faster then normal in and out of combat. Perfect for catching up to bad guys or reaching the bank in time to stop the robbery. A spin off of this would be to also increase the horse you are riding's Leap, allowing it to jump further and higher (over wider ravines, washed out bridges, etc...)

For sure, but this is a role-playing game, and Hero in particular, so any two 350pt characters should be roughly equal in power. So a 350pt Brick/Martial Artist (Mutt) would probably be able to but up a good fight against a 350pt Energy Blaster (Magier). If Mutts are kept "weaker" by the storyline/rules, then you probably aren't going to get many players choosing to play one of them.

I don't have any thoughts really rule-wise, but my only general thought (and maybe this is just because of how it is described) but "most powerful", "weakest", etc... are, I feel, tough going for a game where everyone starts with the same number of character points. Does it mean that if a player chose to be a Magiers they would start with more character points then a Mutt would? If not, then a Mutt wouldn't be "weakest" they would just sink their points into physical abilities and powers and still be equal in power to the Magiers who put all their points into flashy "spells" but are stuck with human-level characteristics (10-20 max).

Apart from Duels which everyone has already mentioned, off the top of my head other talents or special abilities might include: -A desert survival ability (beyond the survival skill). Like Life Support: High Heat (Desert Only) or something, as often in westerns the desert doesn't seem to effect main characters, but there is always lots of cattle skulls, etc... around showing how bad the desert should be. -Clinging (Horseback only) to represent standing on, hanging off the side, and all the other amazing feats on horseback that some westerns have. -Mind Control or Telepathy (Single horse only) to represent the bond and silent (or almost silent) commands a protag can give or have with their horse. -Accurate Leaping only for on or off of horseback (so getting on to or off of your horse from/to a moving train or wagon or other horse) Apart from abilities/talents I'd also pull the advanced survival rules from Post-Apocalypse Hero for desert other western environments and use those. That's all I can think of right now.

That is ambitious! Well as for the "glue", the most obvious one that comes to mind is the Elder Worms. They are already present in all of the settings, even in times of "low magic" where they are dormant and it is more about the cultists trying to waken them (say during Pulp, Alien Wars, Terran Empire settings). So that is probably your best bet. In each era the PC's are somehow involved in containing or stopping the rise/return of the Elder Worms until the "final battle" in Galactic Champions where they are unleashed, but the heroes of that time are powerful enough to stop them. If possible I would add a Post Apocalyptic arc to it, maybe an alternate future where the Elder Worms return early and "win", conquering and destroying most of the Earth. Tie this in with the present day Champions arc and have the players either transported to this dark future, or be given a "very detailed vision of" of that fate. Ie) a mystic sends the PC's minds into the Post-Apoc future and they inhabit the bodies of people there, have a full story arc in that setting, then coming back to their real bodies in the present and having to stop it from ever happening (This would allow the players to play in the post-apoc world without having the advantage of their superpowers to make things too easy for them and not fitting into the atmosphere/mood of the genre). If this makes the over-all campaign too big, then I would drop the Alien War part of it for the Post-Apoc. Alien War has the least to do with the Elder Worm storyline as the PC are mainly military and sent on missions and under strict orders, plus it takes place over 70+ years. Unless you maybe make the Xenovores Elder Worm minions or created by Elder Worm worshipers or something. Another idea would be to save the character sheets of all the players during all the settings/arcs, and then maybe during the final Galactic Champions arc/battle a rip in space/time opens and all the past characters come through to help out in the final battle. Players would get to play all of their past characters all at once. Even the Pulp ones, etc... because even they might be able to help out like how Hawkeye and Black Widow are able to help out in battles involving Thor, Captain Marvel, etc... Sure, maybe in this final battle most of them will die quickly, but they will die heroes helping out in the final battle to end all battles.

The 6th Edition Hero Skills book (anf the 5th edition) have all the rules and time charts and modifiers for building weapons and armor under the Weaponsmith and Armorsmith skills. The 6th Ed Fantasy Hero book has advanced rules for building fantasy weapons and armor starting on page 207. As for non-weapons & Armor crafting, the Skill book under the Mechanics skill has rules and charts for building and repairing mechanical devices, which could be adapted to crafting other items and such with just a bit of effort.