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I have a feeling this is a painfully obvious question. Generally in descriptions of monsters or NPCs the list of disadvantages is preceded by a bold number (usually 75) + Disadvantages. What does this number represent? In some cases (Randall Irons page 343 of Hero System 5th Edition Revised) the total value of disadvantages is equal to 75+, while with others (the Agathodaemon on page 5 of Monsters, Minions And Marauders) it is not so clear--in this second case it lists the total value of disadvantages at 300 though I only count a value of 225 (by the way this creature as a disadvantage worth 195 points called Experience Points, which I don't understand either...). It seems to me this should be delineated some obvious place in the rules but I haven't found it yet.

Re: Vampire the Masquerade Thanks!

I’m considering running a Vampire the Masquerade game using Hero… can anybody suggest possible links that might be useful? Thanks.

I’m trying to understand how the disintegrator ray (Gadgets & Gear p. 12) is put together. I guess, in essence I’m trying to understand the Does Body modifier, and why it’s being used in an attack that already does Body. RKA 6d6, NND (defense is ED Force Field; +1), Does Body (+1) Why has the Does Body modifier been added if it’s an RKA? Don’t RKAs already do Body? Is it because of the NND modifier? Do all Killing Attacks with NND need to have the Does Body modifier as well?

I was wondering if someone could explain to me the purpose of this rule, specifically in regards to STR: A character cannot more than double the Damage Classes of his base attack, no matter how many different methods he uses to add damage. It seems to me that if someone with, say 100 STR, fights with a kitchen knife, he or she should be able to do more than 1d6+1 (4 DCs). Am I missing something?

Re: Six-Armed Ginsu Cuisinart What do you think a good maximum active point cap would be if the average villain has an DCV of 7 or 8? 40 or 50? I’ll look into damage reduction, that seems like it might be a good idea for this guy, since he is sort of a one-guy-against-many NPC. One other question: In every official Hero System NPC I’ve seen, there’s a number in brackets in the notes regarding STR. For example-- Lift 400 kg; 4d6 [2]- - what’s the two represent? Do GMs every impose OCV/DCV maximums? Thanks again.

Re: Six-Armed Ginsu Cuisinart Thanks for the advice (and the vote of confidence!). When you say up his levels and defense do you mean Combat Skill Levels or OCV? I gave him an 8 point Combat Skill Level with All Combat which gives him +1 all OCVs DCVs and damage (right?) - - should I give him another? If I do, does that mean he is +2 in all of those areas? Also, would you up his armor or DCV, or both? Maybe I should give him armor piercing… That clip issue was weird. The Charges modifier in his Pistols description was displayed only as a box with a check mark in it. I couldn’t figure out how to modify the modifier… I tried to add Charges a second time but it wasn’t available. Once I deleted the Charges modifier, closed the Power description and then reopened it, I could add Charges and choose 2 clips. Probably more info than you needed to know… Thanks again!

Re: (The Return of the) Six-Armed Ginsu Cuisinart So it’s been a little while since I’ve worked on this NPC. As a reminder, I’m new to Hero and have been trying to get familiar with the system by creating characters. The duty of learning the system falls on me, so that I might teach my friends (unfortunately I don’t know anyone who knows how to play this game). The limitless options and combinations the system has to offer, in conjunction with my lack of experience in intuiting how the numerical values of the myriad components of a character interact with/affect each other, and translate into game mechanics, has (I confess) inspired me to go out and purchase Mutants & Masterminds. I hate giving up though, and can tell that this is an awesome game, so here I am again. I guess, in the end there’s always ro-sham-bo. Below is the latest iteration of Kaushal, and experiment in character creation. Many people on this forum have offered much appreciated advice and I’ve tried to apply it. In order to simulate multiple attacks from a multi-armed NPC I’ve decided to stick with the Duplication power. I raised his END but did not apply a reduced END modifier because, though he is capable of attacking 6 times per phase, 4 phases a round, I want such a furious attack to be taxing. (I also understand the combat rounds will take hours to complete if I’m rolling 24 attacks per… but like a said this is just an exercise. Who knows, when/if I actually use him in a game I might put a cappuccino and a smoke in to two of his six hands.) I wanted to equip him with 2 clips of 8 charges each for his pistols, but while using Hero Designer, plugging in 8 charges inadvertently leaves me with 128 clips. Don’t really know how to fix that… Right now I’m not concerned with his overall point cost, just that his various aspects are semi-balanced with each other and make some kind of sense. Anyway here he is again, the return of the Six-Armed Ginsu Cuisinart. As usual, all comments are greatly appreciated. Kaushal Nehru Player: NPC Val Char Cost 21 STR 11 21 DEX 33 20 CON 20 20 BODY 20 12 INT 2 15 EGO 10 22 PRE 12 18 COM 4 10/20 PD 6 10/20 ED 6 4 SPD 9 8 REC 0 60 END 10 41 STUN 0 10" RUN 8 2" SWIM 0 10" LEAP 6 Characteristics Cost: 157 Cost Power 15 Scimitars: Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 2d6 (3d6+1 w/STR) (30 Active Points); OAF Durable Expendable (Easy to obtain new Focus; -1) 22 Pistols: Killing Attack - Ranged 2d6, 128 clips of 8 Charges (+1/2) (45 Active Points); OAF (-1) 75 Six arms: Duplication (creates 2 350-point Duplicates), Cannot Recombine (+0) [Notes: Once the single body hits 0 STUN, he's out.] 30 Tough: Armor (10 PD/10 ED) Powers Cost: 142 Cost Skill 10 Two-Weapon Fighting (HTH) 10 Two-Weapon Fighting (Ranged) 0 Language: Hindustani (fluent conversation; literate) (3 Active Points) 3 Fast Draw 13- 3 High Society 13- 9 Disguise 14- 7 KS: Music 15- 5 +1 with HTH Combat 3 Climbing 13- 3 Language: English (fluent conversation; literate) 8 +1 with All Combat Skills Cost: 61 Cost Talent 3 Ambidexterity (-2 Off Hand penalty) Talents Cost: 3 Total Character Cost: 363 Pts. Disadvantage 15 Distinctive Features: 6 arms (Concealable; Always Noticed and Causes Major Reaction; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) [Notes: Shiva will sometimes hide 4 of his arms beneath a full-length leather trench coat, or bound tightly beneath a girdle.] 25 Hunted: FBI 11- (Mo Pow, PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find, Harshly Punish) 15 Dependence: Heroin -30 Active Points from Affected Power (Difficult To Obtain, 6 Hours) 10 Reputation: Cold-blooded killer, 11- 15 Social Limitation: Secret Identity (Frequently, Major) Disadvantage Points: 80 Base Points: 200 Experience Required: 83 Total Experience Available: 0 Experience Unspent: 0

Re: Six-Armed Ginsu Cuisinart I really appreciate you guys looking at Kaushal-- a special thanks to Hugh Neilson for the time you took! (I would have responded sooner but I’ve been on the road for the last three days) I’ll go over the NPC (and the rule book) again.

Re: Six-Armed Ginsu Cuisinart So I finally found the time to do a first draft of this guy. Comments and suggestions are welcome-- Kaushal Nehru Player: NPC Val Char Cost 21 STR 11 21 DEX 33 20 CON 20 30 BODY 40 12 INT 2 15 EGO 10 15 PRE 5 18 COM 4 7/15 PD 3 7/15 ED 3 3 SPD 0 8 REC 0 40 END 0 51 STUN 0 6" RUN 0 2" SWIM 0 4" LEAP 0 Characteristics Cost: 131 Cost Power 30 Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 2d6 (3d6+1 w/STR) 30 Killing Attack - Ranged 2d6 75 Duplication (creates 2 350-point Duplicates), Cannot Recombine (+0) 11 Kevlar Body Armor: Armor (8 PD/8 ED) (24 Active Points); OIF (-1/2), Activation Roll 14- (-1/2), Real Armor (-1/4) Powers Cost: 146 Cost Skill 10 Two-Weapon Fighting (HTH) 10 Two-Weapon Fighting (Ranged) 0 Language: Hindustani (fluent conversation; literate) (3 Active Points) 3 Fast Draw 13- 3 High Society 12- 9 Disguise 14- 7 KS: Music 15- 5 +1 with HTH Combat 3 Climbing 13- 3 Language: English (fluent conversation; literate) Skills Cost: 53 Total Character Cost: 330 Pts. Disadvantage 15 Distinctive Features: 6 arms (Concealable; Always Noticed and Causes Major Reaction; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) [Notes: Shiva will sometimes hide 4 of his arms beneath a full-length leather trench coat, or bound tightly beneath a girdle.] 20 Dependent NPC: Shanti Nehru (daughter age 9) 8- (Incompetent; Unaware of character's adventuring career/Secret ID) 25 Enraged Berserker Trance: Combat (Very Common), go 11-, recover 11- 25 Hunted: FBI 11- (Mo Pow, PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find, Harshly Punish) 5 Reputation: Son of a wealthy Embassador, 8- 15 Dependence: Heroin -30 Active Points from Affected Power (Difficult To Obtain, 6 Hours) 10 Reputation: Cold-blooded killer, 11- 15 Social Limitation: Secret Identity (Frequently, Major) Disadvantage Points: 130 Base Points: 200 Experience Required: 0 Total Experience Available: 0 Experience Unspent: 0 BACKGROUND Kaushal was born in 1970, to the horror of his father and mother. The six-armed infant was an embarrassment that neither parents were willing divulge. Kaushal’s father Aabheer Obalesh, the Indian Ambassador to the United States and his mother Jahanara were unwilling to publicly accept a mutant son, and immediately hid the child’s affliction from public view. Doctor’s and nurses were paid off with bribes--Kaushal became the Obalesh family’s darkest secret. They took great pains to keep the boy from interacting with anyone but the closest family members and servants, providing him with private tutors and binding his extra arms painfully beneath tight girdles when necessity called for public appearances. For many years Kaushal wished his parents had smothered him in his cradle instead providing for him with the childhood he was forced to endure. His only solace was in his piano lessons, and though his music teacher forbid him to play with more than two hands, Kaushal practiced on his own, using all six. In an attempt to save Kaushal from a life of purgatorial monotony, his father’s bodyguard Osman Ottakoothan began to teach Kaushal the martial use of the saber. Kaushal proved to be an apt student and soon showed great interest and aptitude in the use of pistols. Soon Kaushal felt more at home with Osman and Osman’s daughter Jasodhara than with his own family. In time even a secret romance developed between him and Jasodhara. The night when Osman threw himself into the path of an assassin’s bullet in order save Aabheer’s life proved to be the end of Kaushal’s hope in finding happiness. Kaushal confronted his father and blamed him for Osman’s death. Aabheer’s cavalier response to Osman’s death threw Kaushal into a rage and the mutant nearly slew his own father. Unable to bring himself to finish the deed, Kaushal ran a way, unaware that Jasodhara was pregnant with his daughter. Kaushal disappeared into America’s underground where heroin became is only reprieve. Now filled with regret for how he had treated his son, Aabheer hired detectives to bring his Kaushal back to him, but to no avail. Kaushal soon found that his skills could earn him comfortable living as an assassin, as well as provide him with an outlet for his simmering rage. Shiva was born. When Jasodhara died giving birth to Kaushal's daughter Shanti, the mutant emerged to take his daughter and resume the charade of being his father's son. Aabheer welcomed him back, in denial of his suspicions that his son and the infamous Shiva were one and the same.

Re: Aikido throw After my last post I started thinking some kind of modified Force Wall with Backlash might do the trick. It makes sense that he would be holding his action and fastdraw sounds like a good idea. I do want the damage to be effected by the attacker's dice. I must ruminate upon the subject...

Re: Aikido throw Sandan aint something to shake a stick at. I had in mind a some kind of shield that absorbs the attacker’s dice and uses them to throw him or her in a given direction, causing Stun or Body (depending upon whether or not the Masta has had a bad day). Would that be possible/appropriate?

Re: Aikido throw Thanks for the responses. It's actually for a super-heroic game, I guess I should have mentioned that...

I’d like to make an Aikido master power that simulates throwing an opponent by using his own force against him. I’m guessing this would require the use of Absorption but I’m not sure how to put it together… Any ideas?

Re: Six-Armed Ginsu Cuisinart I didn’t even know there was such a thing as Penalty Skill Levels. Seems like the key to Hero System is being familiar with ALL of its facets as well as their myriad interactions. This multi-armed villain is meant to be dangerous enough to challenge four standard super-heroic PCs at once, and by himself at that (my justification for creating such high-powered villain). He’s also more of an exercise for me to learn the rules of character creation than anything else. (Ahem… this is rather embarrassing but he’s my first character…). Mentioning guidelines for character creation brings up another concern of mine. I don’t want to dictate blanket-mandates restricting powers with ! or STOP but I’m still new and am not confidently sure how such powers can end up unbalanced. So far as I can tell it looks like Duplicate (three duplicates each with the Two-Weapon Fighting Skill merged together, like the hydra example) is the easiest and closest remedy. I suppose I could assume such an NPC (being composed of Duplicates) would have by default 360-degree vision, though the special effect of the power dictates otherwise. When I get Shiva Jr. finished I’ll post him for evaluation!

Re: Six-Armed Ginsu Cuisinart Thanks for the responses! Just for clarification I’m planning on Game Mastering, though as is probably obvious, I have yet to run Hero System. This character is to be an NPC. And sorry about the bold type! I don’t know why that happened. Probably has something to do with me composing my emails and what not in a word doc first and then cutting and pasting. I appreciate all of the suggestions. I’ll look into Multipower Attack, Duplicate, the Auto Fire attack and skills, as well as Indirect. I had a feeling I didn’t have to buy a separate attack for each limb but wasn’t certain. Do people ever post characters on this forum to be reviewed by other players? If so in what format? I have Hero Designer if that makes it easier. It would be helpful get feedback that way. Thanks again! Steve

I’m trying to create a character with six arms that is capable of six competent attacks per phase using either a blade in each hand, a pistol in each hand, or a combination of both. Though I understand that this involves incorporating the Extra Limbs Power (5 points gets you as many limbs as you want), the Two-Weapon Fighting Skill and the Rapid Fire/Sweep attack combat maneuvers, augmented with Combat Skill levels, I’m not sure of the best way to put it all together. So far I can think of two ways of doing this (advice is greatly appreciated :) Method One (the expensive method): Buy 6 separate HKAs, one for each limb and 6 separate RKAs, one for each limb, as well as the Two-Weapon Fighting Skill. Then, in order to remove the –2 cumulative penalty to OCV inherent to the Rapid Fire and Sweep Combat Maneuvers (applicable to the second and third pair of limbs), buy two 3-point CSLs for a +2 OCV for the third attack (6 points) four 3-point CSLs for a +4 OCV for the fourth attack (12 points) six 3-point CSLs for a +6 OCV for the fifth attack (18 points) eight 3-point CSLs for a +8 OCV for the sixth attack (24… 60 total points of CSLs) Furthermore, I want to buy-off that aspect of the Rapid Fire and Sweep Combat Maneuvers that mandates “If he misses any of his Attack Rolls, all remaining attacks in that sequence automatically miss also”, but don’t know how to (I want each attack to be independent of the others and equally deadly). Method Two (the economic method): Buy 6 separate HKAs, one for each limb and 6 separate RKAs, one for each limb. Buy the Two-Weapon Fighting Skill 3 times, one for each pair of limbs. I don’t know if either of these is the ‘proper’ use of the rules, so once again, please chime in if you have any ideas. Thanks! S

Re: Today’s neophyte question; Clips & Charges Thanks for the responses. Just what I'd thought and hoped would be the answers. I'm taking my time in preparing a sort of gritty supers game, but, being new to the system, am a little intimidated by the versatility (which is also the reason why I'm attracted to it). I know, for example that I'm definitely going to have to impose limits and restrictions during my players' character-creation process, because they are min-max artists. I may have to ask you all for some advice in regards to such restrictions as things develop. Once again, thanks!

Just a request for clarification really— 4 clips of 20 charges costs the same as 4 clips of 32 charges (that being +1/2) right? Why would anyone choose 20?

This is a continuation to a posting I placed in the general discussions forum. I received a lot of helpful responses, but for total clarification’s sake I thought I’d take my questions straight to the source. If both powers are area-affecting do you roll against the target’s DCV or the area’s? Can you do a multiple-power attack on an area? The general consensus seems to be that you can—is this how you would rule it? If one of the attacks will reduce or affect of the targets defenses or CV (for example, a Drain PD or a Flash) the other attack is applied first, but what if they both affect the targets defenses? The Different Powers section (p. 359 Revised) has left me most unclear. I guess the source of my confusion is determining what is “reasonably distinguishable†STR-based weapon combat, Martial Maneuvers and the like count as distinct attacks (distinct meaning separate I assume) provided that their effects are reasonably distinguishable. Then there’s the optional rule that allows characters to fight with melee weapons in each hand as a multiple-power attack even though this involves using two similar or even identical attacks that both do damage with STR, which to me doesn’t seem distinguishable. My confusion is further compounded by the sentence (The same applies to using two Ranged weapons, such as two pistols or thrown daggers). Not only does the same weapon in each hand not seem distinguishable, but why differentiate attacks that are STR-based from ones that are not (the two pistols mentioned above)? I’m taking this to mean that un-armed STR-based attacks must be distinguishable, but with weapons it is optional. Since Off Hand penalties do not apply to multiple-power attacks (even if the special effect of the attack is that the PC fires an attack with each hand) I’m concerned that allowing a character to fight with a melee weapon in each hand as a multiple-power attack might upset the rule balance. Correct me if I’m wrong (and I confess that I probably am, considering that I don’t know how to play this game yet) but wouldn’t this be unfair for players that spend character points so their PCs can fight two-handed without off-hand penalties? I hope I’m making sense. Thanks.

After reading the description of multiple-attack powers, as described on page 358 (Revised), I came upon a few questions. Maybe you all can shed some light… A character could use an area-affecting attack (which works against DCV 3) and a non-area-affecting attack (which works against the target’s DVC) as part of multiple-power attack, but he must roll against the target’s DCV for the non-area-affecting attack. If both powers are area-affecting do you roll against the target’s DCV or the area’s? Can you do a multiple-power attack on an area? A character can use slots from two or more different Power Frameworks to perform a multiple-power attack, assuming he obeys all the rules for such an attack. Meaning he has enough points in his Power Framework to allocate to both of them? I found the following regarding restrictions in the non-revised 5th edition page 234, but the sentenced has been omitted from the revised. Second, if two or more Powers are in the same Power Framework he must have enough points in his Power Framework to allocate to both of them. When a multiple-Power attack succeeds, the target applies his defenses (if any) separately to each Power. The damage from the attack does not add together for purposes of determining if the target is Stunned. Moreover, if one of the attacks will reduce or affect his defenses or CV (for example, a Drain PD or a Flash) the other attack is applied first What if they both will reduce or affect his defenses? A PC cannot use the same power, ability or weapon to attack more than once per Phase with a multiple-Power attack. To attack multiple times with the same Power a PC needs Auto-fire for that Power or should use the Combat Maneuvers Sweep or Rapid Fire. When characters engage in weapons combat, use Martial Maneuvers, and the like, attacks based on or using STR count as “distinct attacks†for purposes of making multiple-power attacks provided their effects are reasonably distinguishable. A Maneuver that causes damage (such as a Legsweep) is reasonably distinguishable from one that provides extra STR for a specific purpose (such as Martial Disarm) in most cases. Generally two maneuvers that simply cause damage are not distinguishable (but the GM decides based on the situation). Multiple-power attacks work best when characters combine two different forms of attack to generate an interesting effect, not when they simply lump two attack abilities together to cause more damage. At the GM’s option, if a character wants to fight with a melee weapon in each hand, he may do so as a multiple-power attack, even though that involves using two similar (or identical) attacks that both do damage with STR (the same applies to using two Ranged weapons, such as two pistols or thrown daggers). Doesn’t this paragraph contradict the first 2 paragraphs? Once again I just want to say thanks for all the help I’ve received from the people on this forum. It’s greatly appreciated.

I know this is minutia, and probably not even worth mentioning, but I can’t tell the difference between N-Ray Perception and Spatial Awareness, as described on page 352 (Revised). Under the description of N-Ray Perception the example of “hearing so precise it can detect minute shifts in air currents that indicate what things are and where they’re located” sounds more like a Daredevil-like Spatial Awareness to me. In such a case does N-Ray Perception function in 360 Degrees? On the other hand the idea of Spatial Awareness (to me) seems as if it should by default function in 360 degrees, but the description explicitly states otherwise… I’m guessing that once I understand the rules a little better I’ll know how to create my own versions of x-ray vision and spatial awareness.

Re: Yet another neophyte question... Just got Rapier's response--that helps quite a bit as well. Thanks!

Re: Yet another neophyte question... So basically an RKA with No Range (-1/2) is the same as creating the weapon using an HKA with No STR Bonus (-1/2) (?) unless I'm missing something.

So, on page 148 of Star Hero there's an example of an energy sword-- RKA 3d6, NND (defense is ED Force Field/Force Wall, or being blocked by another energy blade: +1), Does Body (+1), Reduced Endurance (0 END: +1/2) (157 Active Points); OAF (-1), No Range (-1/2) (total cost: 63 points); plus RKA 2d6, NND (defense is ED Force Field/Force Wall, or being blocked by another energy blade: +1), Does Body (+1), Continuous (+1), Damage Shield (+1/2), Reduced Endurance (0 END: +1/2) (150 Active Points); OAF (-1), Linked (-1/4), Only Affects Material Objects Which Strike Blade (-1/2) (total cost: 54 points). Total cost: 117 points... (I think I've copied it correctly...) As you can probably tell if you've read my other postings, I've never played Hero System but am intent upon learning it, hence some pretty dumb questions. In regards to the example above-- Why RKA if it is for all intents and purposes an HKA? There is an example of a Laser Sword on page 194 of the Revised Edition that is an HKA, hence my confusion. Is this to simulate deflecting or firing energy bolts? And if so why the No Range (-1/2)? Much of the info in the example is repeated. Being the neophyte that I am, I do not understand why. Is the second bit the description of the Damage Shield? What is Linked to what? I think the Link involves the Damage Shield but I'm not sure. Thanks!