Jhamin

Luck of the draw. I happened to walk in when they were opening their UPS shipment & stocking the new arrivals shelf.

Just picked up my copy of Terran Empire at my FLGS.

I'm impressed at the way it manages to span several hundred years maintaining a consistant setting, but still giving a sense of time passing.

Not bad for a first attempt. Alot better than mine was. Just a couple points:

The End Reserve isn't supposed to go into a power Framework. Among other things they violate the rule that only powers that cost End can be in an Elemental Control.

Your flight isn't expensive enough to fit. All powers in an elemental control have to have at least twice as many active points as the reserve. (Active points are the cost of the power with all its advantages but without any limits). If anything you might want to make your flight better, so it's active points go up & you can fit it in.

It also looks like you aren't actually taking advantage of the Framework. With elemental controls you add up all the advantages on a power, then subtract the reserve cost, then you appy the limits. It saves you points but ties the powers together. If some bad guy tries to shut down a power, they can all stop working. For this reason you often want a power or two outside a framework if you can afford it.

How about this:

20 Electricity Gear: Elemental Control, 60-point Powers, all slots: (30 Active Points); OIF (-1/2)

20 1) Lightning Blaster: Energy Blast 8d6 (vs. ED), Armor Piercing x1 (+1/2) (60 Active Points) (uses END Reserve) 6

20 2) Barrier Field Generator: Force Field (30 PD / 30 ED) (60 Active Points) (uses END Reserve) 6

10 3) Electrc Arc Gun: Flash 6d6 (Sight Group; Additional Sense Group: Hearing Group, Additional Sense Group: Radio Group), Does Knockback (+1/4), Area Of Effect (4" Radius; +1) (63 Active Points); 2 Charges (-1 1/2), Costs Endurance (Only Costs END to Activate; -1/4) (uses END Reserve) 6

20 Flight Belt: Flight 15" (30 Active Points); OIF (-1/2) (uses END Reserve) 3

40 Battery Pack: Endurance Reserve (300 END, 20 REC) Reserve: (50 Active Points); OIF (-1/2)

Total: 130 Points

By upping the damage of the Energy Blast it's active points climb high enough to fit into the Elem Control. I haven't touched the flight, but you may want to find a way to fit that in as well, or just have it remain a seperate power. That might imply that you could still have your electric flight belt even if you lose your other gadgets.

You may want to check with your GM though, As origionally written you had a 6d6 Armor Piercing EB and a 30/30 force field. That is a moderatly low attack and a moderatly high amount of defense. Nothing wrong with that in and of itself but you really want to make sure you are in line with the rest of the game. If everyone was bought this way then attacks would almost never do any real damage vs. defenses and combat would take forever until somebody would drop.

Most Hero games encourage attacks that have about twice the active points of most defenses. This allows combat to end in a reasonable amount of time.

One last thing: It is good form to name the source of each power. That encourages you to think of your character in terms of what their power are rather than what game mechanics you have access to. (Electric Blaster: 6d 6EB AP as opposed to just: 6d6 EB AP)

It also comes in handy when you forget exacty what a power was supposed to represent six months later.

I eventually had to stop bringing El Diablo along on missions just to prolong the game. His explosive fireballs were a thing of beauty.

The evil Doctor is a great villian. If anything I am reluctant to use him because of his reputation for unrivaled evil. I mean you could trot out lesser baddies like Firewing or Dark Seraph whenever you needed somebody dramatically bad, but I always feel like the evil plots I generate for my players aren't worthy of Dr. D.

I generally want to use him more, I just don't want my players to loose their fear of him.

It pretty much comes down to if you are using NCM in your game or not. In a game filled with Rigellians, Vulcans, Cylons, and Sayans, who is to say that NCM is warrented?

Officially in FREd all package deals are affected by NCM.

Of course if I created my Dad on 18Quadrillion points with attack and defense numbers that rival nuclear half lives, he could probably beat up your Dad too.....

Sorry, just ranting.

Dr. Destroyer is really powerful in comparason to the Champions Universe standards. If you don't follow those standards then of course you can beat him up. If you want to be better than the standards, you just buy yourself above them.

I mean, just cause Galacticus would whup my buddy from sophomore year in high school, that doesn't mean that my buddy couldn't kick some serious 16 year old butt when he got going.

The best rundown I have heard of the changes comed down to this:

4th Edition Dr. Destroyer = Dr. Doom (The world best team can topple him)

5th Edition Dr. Destroyer = Thanos of Titan (All the heroes in the world hope they are enough)

On issue #1

I have found that a three point spread in character Speed scores is pretty healthy, as long as the rest of the character is balanced for being real fast or real slow.

The slower speed charcters should either be doing more damage, be alot tougher, or be much more accurate with their attacks than the faster guys if you want balance.

If everybody has the same attacks and defenses but somebody has two more points of speed, then you will probably have trouble.

Re: Re: New Campaign PC Issues

Originally posted by Monolith

Most of the powers you have listed above are not legal in an EC, and most of them I would not allow. For example, all the Defense powers are not allowed in EC. This is because all those powers are very cheap in the first place, and should not be getting any cost breaks. The same for the EC with Danger Sense, Spacial Awareness and DCV. Those powers are not allowed in an EC either. It sounds like you have a couple of munchkin players there to me.

If you have a bunch of experienced hero gamers at the table it is also probably very likely that they didn't read the section on ECs in FREd. The rules on what is and is not legal in an Elemental Control changed alot between 4th Ed and FREd. You are going to have to reread that section of the rules and then review the characters again.

Don't worry, by the time the next book comes up I'm sure he will have adapted to correct that design flaw.

I almost forgot:

The exact workings of OIHID were clarified in the 5th Ed rules FAQ. Some OIHID rules of thumb that were generally accepted in older Editions of Hero system are no longer correct. The two big ones are:

1) A character who has powers bought OIHID *Must* have some limit that would prevent him from changing. This can be He-Man not having his sword, a Power Ranger without a Morpher, Shazam being gagged and unable to say the magic word, or whatever. If changing into hero form is unstoppable, you don't get a limit.

The Crowns of Krim from CKC work this way. They technically have human forms but it is pretty much impossible to prevent them from changing.

2) If you have OIHID you do not need to pay points for an ability to change into your hero form. Just as Peter Parker doesn't have to pay points to become Spiderman, Billy Batson does not need to pay points to become Shazaam! The difference is that Peter didn't buy anything OIHID and when he changes his abilites don't really change. When Billy changes he gets much better as all his OIHID powers kick in.

The lightning show is just a special effect and doesn't cost points unless he tries to attack people with it.

Originally posted by ChipDancer

Multi-form is a power, along with the lines I was thinking, as OIHID; that is a limiter. From what I understand they go together.

 

Any other ideas?

Not quite. In fact it is quite rare that you have a character who merits both. It is really a question of how much access a character has to skills in each form.

A multiform is generally used when a character has useful powers and/or abilites but also changes into a second form that has seperate powers and/or abilites. In general these forms are different from each other and do not have access to eachother's abilites. The classic example is a werewolf of legend (NOT a white wolf style wherewolf). The human form has all the skills possesed by a normal human being. The wolf form is stronger, tougher and has teeth, but lacks any skills or social contacts possesed by the human form.

Only in hero ID is a limit in that you are just one guy and have one set of abilities, but some of them can only be used some of the time. When you are a normal you have one set of abilites, when you are in super form you STILL HAVE the set of abilites that you did as a normal, and all the other stuff you bought with the limit. An important provisio is that there has to be some way to deny you the ability to change. If it is almost impossible to stop you from changing then you will never get stuck without your powers and the "normal" form isn't really a limit at all. A classic example of OIHID is He-Man. When he is a hero he still has all the knowledge an abilites of Prince Adam (They are basically the same person), but is also much stronger and tougher. He needs the sword to change, but after he changes he doesn't need the sword to remain in his He-Man form.

You are correct in pointing out that Multiform is a power and OIHID is a limit. Think of it this way:

A wereworf and it's human form are basically two different characters with two totally seperate sets of abilites. A human who can become a werewolf is more formidable than that same human would be if he couldn't, and therefore pays points for the privledge of changing.

A "most powerful man in the universe" who is also a whimpy prince isn't as all-around good as a guy who is "the most powerful man in the universe" all the time. He therefore gets a point break on all the powers he can't use when he doesn't have the oppertunity to change.

Guyver is one of the poster children for Only in Hero ID.

At what point does Tony get a heart transplant and lose the dependence on the chestplate? I know he no longer needs it by the time Stane takes over Stark International.

For that matter, is it appropriate to substitute the chest plate for Alchaholism or a Rivalry with other industrialists like Stane and Hammer?

Re: Re: Re: If they use the same crew for SpiderMan

Originally posted by Agent X

If there is a problem, I think it will be the helmet. I always thought the helmet was a little too form-fitting to be realistic in the comics - but it sure looked cool!

It might not be as hard as you think. The various powerranger shows use a helmet design that has about the right feel. If you put a hollywood budget behind it you can probably get a good looking IM helmet, it would be at least as form fitting as the silver centurian model.

Originally posted by Lord Liaden

Star HERO is an exceptional genre book, but I thought that the HERO Bestiary is one of the most broadly useful books that DOJ has yet put out. [/b]

You know, I bought the Bestiary mainly to support the DOJ, but now that I have it I keep referring to it. My memory of the 4th ed Bestiary was not real positive. I remembered falling back on my own writeups for most everything most of the time, but now that I have the 5th ed one I find myself referring to it all the time.

Originally posted by Supreme

Anyone ever been tempted to play out a retcon? Do a Crisis on Infinite Earths game?

Just did it. When I converted from 4th to FREd I had the Despoiler damage the Keystone of Reality in the Outback. His entropic powers were vastly increased as the universe unraveled, but an alliance of heros and villians were able to contain him (with a little help from Mrs. Miegs from Horror Enemies)

The real fun was the jockeying for supremacy by various cosmic forces while the crystal healed. The heroes eventually got things mostly back in the right place by the end. There are just a few hiccups, like Millenium City, the new (CKC inspired) rosters of a few teams, and the return of a couple enemies they thought gone for good.

It was great fun. My players have also demanded a temporary moratorium on time and dimension travel stories.

Originally posted by Agent X

And he doesn't look foolish already?

Not if you live in the land of Oz. Those red slippers are pretty styling in some circles.

I'm not sure Ironclad would look at all imposing in the real world.

And as comic book type hoods almost never translate well into real life, Nighthawk will look pretty foolish in the flesh.

Originally posted by BNakagawa

Built something like this before.

 

The notion is that the weapon is absolutely lethal to somewhat lightly armored targets and pretty much ineffective vs tanks, bricks, bunkers and other seriously tough things.

 

Took a basic 1d6+1 with points of piercing (this was a long time ago) and stacked it with 2d6 KA that only kicked in if the base attack did body damage to the target.

 

Obviously, piercing no longer exists, and if you make the base attack AP, and the follow on is not, then there is some inconsistency, but it should do what it's designed to. (massacre lightly armored targets while leaving heavy units pretty much unscathed)

Why not just use a 2 or 3d6RKA with reduced penetration?

Re: Cracking the whip

Originally posted by Syberdwarf2

55 Taser-Whip: Multipower (125 point reserve, All OAF (-1), All Limited Range:3" (-1/4))

1u Whiplash: HKA 1d6, Ranged (+1/2), Limited Range: 3" (-1/4), Str Min 8 (-1/2), Str Min Doesn't Add/Subtract To Damage (-1/2), OAF (-1), Reduced Endurance: 0 END (+1/2)

5u Taser: Drain STUN 5d6, Ranged (+1/2), Limted Range: 3" (-1/4), OAF (-1), NND (defense is any resistant ED, or target is insulated) (+1)

1u Tie 'Em Up: Entangle 3d6, 3 DEF, OAF (-1), Limited Range: 3" (-1/4)

Couple more comments.

You have a really high point reserve here. None of your powers hit it if you change the writeup of the drain, which brings us to my next point:

Do you really need to buy a drain with NND? The only defense against a drain is power defense and unless Power Defense is really common then NND is not needed. If you just leave it as a ranged drain you drop the active cost quite a bit.

You probably want a "lockout" type limit on the entangle. As written she can entangle someone in her whip and then continue to whip others.

Also, many of these powers are bought "ranged". While this is valid, have you considered buying a limited form of stretching linked to the multipower? That way you save alot of points and you also reflect all the advantages and disadvantages of having a rope between you and the guy you hit.

I would like to second a list of sample characters from various fantasy subgenres rather than an "adventuring party" selection from the same one (as we saw in the old fantasy hero)

I would also like to see:

*A discussion of magic types vs. fighting types vs. mixed characters and point costs.

This will probably be part of the genre or magic discussion but it seems to me that with most attempts to have magic in a point system, spells are either so expensive that wizards who have a selection of spells are too expensive to be player characters, or magic is so cheap that everyone benefits from a simple 3 point spell or two.

*A discussion of how to spend XP and remain within Genre. How do fantasy heros improve and what new abilites do they develop over time?

If this is a game where heros pay for equipment you don't put str minimums on the weapons. It is assumed you can use any gear you can pay for and you don't get a limit for a disad that doesn't apply to you.

If this is just a standard whip that anybody can carry without spending points on it, then carry on.

I would like to see some commentary on the various approaches you can take with a special effect, and not just in the "does this power have AP or not" vein. In my opinion there is too much of a tendency to say "if I'm in a fight I need an EB, so how can I justify it?".

It seems like this is a good oppertunity to some up with alternate power writeups that allow for use in combat without falling back on EB, HA, KA, RKA, Armor, & FF.

There is a big difference between somebody like Deadweight from "Enemies of SanAngelo" and Gravitar from CKC, not just in power level but in approach. They both have gravity but Deadweight manifests his as a really nasty gravity field that he has learned to use, while Gravitar has a more standard array of attacks and defenses. Both are valid, but you end up with two very different characters with the same special effect.