Christopher R Taylor

I agree, Vulcan needs to be more dusky and olive skinned. But I think having just one character that's set is not going to exactly offend or horrify anyone, surely. That was my concept, but if people think someone who just gains powers in the time of need of a nation would be a more interesting or better build I'm all for it. Its a risk, but I think most players today are familiar with the idea of the tutorial that ramps them up through power rapidly to their intended power level. And, since these are intended to be learner characters rather than ones people stay with (unless they really want to), its just a way of helping people get used to the concept of spending experience, building characters, and increasing complexity rather than a demonstration of the usual campaign pattern. It is worth having special notes for the GM to make sure the players understand this, though.

Well the playability, learnability, and intimidation factors all would have been better dealt with if, as many suggested in the forums here as 6th was being worked on, a big book with all the details and rules was made, and a stripped down more lean version for players was released as well. Nobody has a problem with the Player's Handbook/DM Guide model. They expect the GM to need more details and specific information. Its an appealing approach, and Hero is really not all that complicated - certainly no more so than it was with 4th edition, when it comes down to actually playing and building characters. There are just more options now and more specific, clear ways to different builds. It just looks intimidating as heck.

Correct, this would be an accelerated tutorial. Read back the previous posts, we discussed the idea. Except for that's how the god is portrayed in every single instance of mythology, legend, and stories, so it would be weirdly forced to make him something else. I figure since every single other character has a male and female version one is acceptable to not be binary. People who cannot stand the idea of playing a guy have all those other choices. Unless we decide to make Spellbinder always turn into a magic girl, an option I find very entertaining. I agree, and I'm going to go over them and lean them up a bit. The simplified character sheets make them a lot easier to use but still they need toning down. As for more skills; those can come in the experience blocs. I am a big fan of characters "always having" abilities that never show up until later issues. I mean, sure, Captain Keen might be a geologist, but its not until episode 4 when the rock monsters show up that he even uses the Geology skill.

I've noticed a pattern with early release reviews: they're dazzled by effects and spectacle, then later go "you know, it wasn't really all that great" too often. But really good movies tend to get tepid reviews that later on get better. Professional reviewers are usually a bit more objective and consistent.

For the record, armor piercing surprised me at 1/4 and I sense that its too cheap for what it does, particularly at the superheroic level but have not tested it out extensively. Old school 12d6 or 8d6ap vs new 12d6 vs 9½d6ap, that's a pretty big jump.

1) They are 300 points because the idea is that, over the course of the adventure, they will get "packs" of experience in bundled powers that are more familiar and similar to "levels" until by the end of the adventure they are 400 points. 2) I agree some of the builds are kind of complicated, but they're meant to be presented as super simplified versions to the players. Vulcan looks more complicated than he is, because he's basically two character sheets on one - the player would get only Vulcan's powers. But you're right I think they have more complexity than they probably ought. 3) The idea is to have several stages of an adventure, each one introducing different rules to help in a tutorial fashion with the game and showcase basic superhero standard adventures, so its got to be longer than just one session.

...That is an interesting option. Instead of showing up out of nowhere, there's just always someone who becomes The Patriot when the time comes. Would save a lot of points, and let me throw higher presence on them base, add in those combat levels. Somethign to think about, I was trying to reduce complexity but that's not too bad.

I agree, you're right he needs more CV. I think I want the gun to be not a focus because its such a basic part of his character; he just always has a gun as a soldier. I'll give it some thought, I'd rather he be very impressive even if someone hasn't heard of him, just more so if they have.

Which is fine, but you need to be aware of it ahead of time.

PATRIOT The Captain America type character of the group, an old soldier that never dies. This character has the least obvious places to grow in, although more equipment would make sense (a knife, IR goggles, etc), and a multipower of gun tricks such as disarm, etc would be useful. I didn't buy regenerates from death because that never makes sense in comics. Everyone comes back from being killed anyway, so its a waste of points. Patriot is a somewhat blatant ripoff of The Old Soldier from Astro City, and is built more around stats and skills (and massive presence attacks) than powers. What the spirit was who showed up and apparently granted this character their immortality (in fact, they aren't immortal, no nation lasts forever) is up to the GM. Was it a time-traveling patriot? Was it just some hallucination that later the Patriot kept changing to fit the world that they came to visit later? Was it some personification of Liberty or the USA? Was it all made up? No one knows. This is the visual inspiration for the character: BASE STORY: The Patriot was one of the first colonists from Europe to land on the new world and set up a colony in what would become Virginia. The colony faced several attacks by local tribes and the Patriot fought them, then when the place fell apart, the Patriot joined a tribe and lived with them. In a vision quest as part of the tribe, the Patriot was confronted with a glorious woman of great beauty holding a star-spangled flag who told the character that they would be the defender and protector of a great nation that would one day rise on that land. The Patriot was wounded in battle and seemed to die, but disappeared and showed up again, defending colonists again when new settlers arrived. Again and again through the centuries, this character would reappear at key times of great need, from the French and Indian Wars to the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and on through history, always on American soil to protect the nation. Now, the Patriot has appeared once more, but this time the character is staying longer - why, no one knows. Patriot is known as someone that tells the truth, acts with honor, can be trusted, and is famed for their fair play and love of their nation. FEMALE STORY: She was a spitfire, a girl that was always willing to fight. When the other girls were sewing dolls, this character was up on the wall firing at attacking waves of enemies. Through the ages, people have been surprised to find that The Patriot is a woman, but they're always grateful when she arrives with her great skill and knowledge. And her leadership is incredibly inspiring to all. The Patriot is a symbol of feminine courage and love of country that has always been beloved and appreciated. MALE STORY: He never looked like much, a gangly teen with unruly hair, but when it came to fighting, The Patriot had more fire and more courage than all the others in the colony. The local tribes were very impressed with his courage and the fire in his heart, accepting him as one of their own. As the years have gone by, the Patriot has filled out and grown, and now he is a huge, strong man that inspires awe. Patriot Val Char Cost 25 STR 15 Lift 800lbs; 5d6 (9d6 with combat training) 20 DEX 20 23 CON 13 14 INT 4 18 EGO 8 20 PRE 10 Presence Attack: 7d6 6 OCV 15 6 DCV 15 4 OMCV 3 4 DMCV 3 9 PD 7 With Combat Luck: PD 15; rPD 6 9 ED 7 With Combat Luck: ED 15; rED 6 5 SPD 30 10 REC 6 40 END 4 12 BOD 2 40 STN 10 20m RUN 8 8m SWIM 2 10m LEAP 3 Characteristics Cost: 185 Cost Power 2 Life Support (Longevity: 400 Years) 9 Regeneration (1 BODY per Day), Can Heal Limbs 33 Gun: Blast 10d6 (50 Active Points); OIF (Focus: gun; -1/2) 16 Combat Training: Hand-To-Hand Attack +4d6 (20 Active Points); Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/4) Powers Cost: 60 Cost Skill 3 Breakfall 13- 3 Climbing 13- 3 Concealment 12- 2 KS: Famous battles 11- 5 KS: History 14- 3 Oratory 13- 3 Paramedics 12- 3 Stealth 13- 3 Teamwork 13- Skills Cost: 28 Cost Perk 3 Positive Reputation: Very famous hero (A large group) 14-, +1/+1d6 Perks Cost: 3 Cost Talent 6 +2/+2d6 Striking Appearance (vs. all characters) 12 Combat Luck (6 PD/6 ED) 3 Ambidexterity (no Off Hand penalty) 3 Environmental Movement (Exceptional balance) Talents Cost: 24 Total Character Cost: 300 Pts. Complication 10 Distinctive Features: Not from around here, awkward and out of place (Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) 20 Hunted: Temporal villains Frequently (As Pow; NCI; Harshly Punish) 15 Psychological Complication: Extremely patriotic (Common; Strong) 20 Psychological Complication: Code of honor (good guy/hero code) (Common; Total) 5 Rivalry: Professional and Romantic (representatives of other nations, must prove better; Rival is Less Powerful; Seek to Outdo, Embarrass, or Humiliate Rival; Rival Aware of Rivalry) 10 Social Complication: (Not from around here, lost in time) Frequently, Minor 10 Social Complication: (Public Identity) Frequently, Minor 5 Vulnerability: 1 1/2 x STUN Time based powers (Uncommon) 5 Vulnerability: 1 1/2 x Effect Time based powers (Uncommon) Complication Points: 100 Patriot.hdc

White Scream The Death’s Head Shrew is named for its hairless white head and gray body, and it is tiny as all of its kind. But its bite contains a powerful hallucinogenic venom which makes victims relive their worst nightmares, fears, and experiences while it lasts. Even after the visions fade, the victim is a drained and shivering wreck. Effect: Entangle 3d6, 3 DEF (fades 1 body per minute) and Drain 1d6 Presence and Endurance in stages, recover per hour Stages: 3 Delay before effect: Victim’s Phase Time Between Stages: Victim’s Phase Origin: Forest, Plains, Caves Rarity: -2 Preparation: 1 dose per shrew, milked or extracted from glands Form: Ingested (no flavor) or Insinuative for d3 hits or d6 turns, stores d6 days Resistance: Life Support vs Animal Poison Cost: 9 silver

I remember the horrific fights over what "linked" meant in 4th edition. 5th cleared an awful lot of that up, and was a huge breath of fresh air after a long time when it looked like Hero was dead. The company was putting out a different product, for crying out loud.

I think we should go with old school viper stock stuff. they started up a Yahoo group to talk stuff over but you have to jump through such hoops and tell so much information, get a phone call and all this crap to sign up I just don't want to do all that. Its like signing up to college or something. We need a blood sample, your social security number, your grade school transcripts, a personal testimony from a non-related person in your past, five pieces of ID!

3rd edition also added more than a few new powers and such (power pools, disadvantages, and so on). It was pretty extensively a change compared to 2nd edition.

Jet Li is still doing martial arts movies, he just said he wasn't going to do any more movies teaching the principles and history of Kung Fu. I think he's a pretty solid actor, I'd love to see him do more movies that don't require him to beat people up constantly, but that's gonna be tough with his limited English.

Not any more than you donate a piece of your arm to someone.

LIGHTNING: This is a pretty basic speedster type, stripped down to be a simple to play as possible. When I usually build speedsters, I give them so many options and tricks it starts to be paralyzing because of all the choices and the high speed giving less time to plan and so many chances to act. This is one of the few characters with vulnerabilities, since many players really dislike them. He's not stupendously fast like some speedsters, but there's room to grow in the next 100 points of experience. Lightning has basic speed tricks like running up walls, hitting lots of people, hitting lots of times, etc but not a lot of fancy stuff yet. Things like speed reading, increased speed of senses, disassembling or changing things rapidly (transform), and the teleport move that has to have a clear line between locations can come later. One complication that is unique is the sped up DOT effect; basically anything bought with Damage Over Time takes effect faster. if it has increments one turn apart, they come six segments apart. Lightning does not have significant defenses, but can heal very quickly and can have gigantic DCV with a dodge - and aborting a 7 speed is not much of a penalty. BASE STORY: This character grew up with unusually swift reflexes and only got faster with age. Early on, Lightning knew that their great speed was unusual, and was raised carefully by their parents to use their abilities carefully and respect the limitations of others. Lightning took up painting, which was an area they had great talent in, and because of their extreme speed, was able to learn very rapidly. Lightning caught the eye of an influential studio in The City and soon was selling paintings for quite a bit of money, making the character one of the rarest of people: a successful artist. Lightning teaches art at the local community college part time, and paints still for spending money. Meanwhile, Lightning has begun fighting crime and helping people in The City mostly because of his little sister's urging and the chance it gives him to get out and do something different. But Lightning is discovering that they are drawn to do good and help others. No change for male/female background. Lightning Val Char Cost 13 STR 3 Lift: 130kg;2½d6 27 DEX 34 13 CON 3 10 INT 0 10 EGO 0 10 PRE 0 Presence Attack: 2d6 6 OCV 15 9 DCV 30 3 OMCV 0 3 DMCV 0 10 PD 4 Resistant PD: 4 8 ED 2 Resistant ED: 4 7 SPD 50 20 REC 16 55 END 7 10 BOD 0 24 STN 2 30m RUN 18 4m SWIM 0 10m LEAP 3 Characteristics Cost: 187 Cost Power 12 Difficult to Hit: Resistant Protection (4 PD/4 ED) 7 Combat Running: Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (7 Active Points) applied to Base Running 50 Speed Tricks: Multipower, 50-point reserve 4f 1) Off The Line: Rapid Noncombat Movement (+1/4), Noncombat Acceleration/Deceleration (+1) (37 Active Points) applied to Running 2f 2) Surface Running: Flight 30m (30 Active Points); Only In Contact With A Surface (-1/4), Stall Speed 10m (-1/4) 1f 3) Long Distance Running: Running 0m (30m total), x16 Noncombat (15 Active Points) 2f 4) Punch By: Hand-To-Hand Attack +5d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (37 Active Points); Linked to Running (-1/2), Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/4) 4f 5) Speedbag: Hand-To-Hand Attack +5d6, Autofire (5 shots; +1/2), Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/2) (50 Active Points); Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/4) 3f 6) Fist Storm: Hand-To-Hand Attack +5d6, Area Of Effect (1m Radius; +1/4), Area Of Effect (1m Radius; +1/4), Selective (+1/4) (44 Active Points); Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/4) 2f 7) Focus Punch: Hand-To-Hand Attack +5½d6, Armor Piercing (+1/4) (35 Active Points); Increased Endurance Cost (x2 END; -1/2), Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/4), Extra Time (Delayed Phase, -1/4) 2f 8) Recuperate: Healing Stun and Endurance 1½d6, Self Only (+0), Expanded Effect (Endurance and Stun simultaneously) (+1/2), Decreased Re-use Duration (1 Turn; +1 1/2) (45 Active Points); Extra Time (Full Phase, -1/2), Lockout (All other activity except running; -1/2) Powers Cost: 89 Cost Skill 3 Conversation 11- 3 High Society 11- 3 PS: Artist (painter) 12- 2 PS: Art Teacher 11- 3 Trading 11- 5 Cramming Skills Cost: 19 Cost Perk 5 Money: Well Off Perks Cost: 5 Total Character Cost: 300 Pts. Complication 15 Dependent NPC: Little Sister Frequently (Slightly Less Powerful than the PC; Unaware of character's adventuring career/Secret ID) 15 Hunted: Mutant Hunters Infrequently (Mo Pow; Harshly Punish) 15 Psychological Complication: Protective of beauty (art, people, locations) (Common; Strong) 15 Psychological Complication: Easily fooled by the opposite sex (Very Common; Moderate) 10 Social Complication: (Secret Identity) Infrequently, Major 5 Susceptibility: Below freezing temperatures 1d6 damage per Minute (Uncommon) 10 Fast Metabolism: DOT tick 1 more and 1 step faster 5 Vulnerability: 1 1/2 x STUN Ice and cold attacks (Uncommon) 5 Vulnerability: 1 1/2 x BODY Ice and cold attacks (Uncommon) 5 Vulnerability: 1 1/2 x Effect Ice and cold attacks (Uncommon) Complication Points: 100 Base Points: 300 Lightning.hdc

I like the rule, since basically nobody braces for impact unless they are about to be pushed off a cliff, since it blows a half phase or requires an abort. This makes it painless and more useful, but as DasBroot notes, won't have a huge impact on big knockback attacks.

(Woses are my campaign world's equivalent of Ents) WOSEWOOD: Made from the wood of Wose, this is somewhat rare and sometimes will generate great hatred and rage in people who see someone using it. Wosewood is a deep green with golden highlights, and has magical properties, as well as being very hard. Wosewood has a base PD of 7 and ED of 9. Working Wosewood takes a penalty of -2. Weapons and armor made from Wosewood wood both grant +2 DCV and 5 Power Defense versus undead.

I thought black Heimdall was a bit much, I mean, you'd think that the Norse would have noticed this dude is black when they told the legends and myths these people were based on. I can buy they got Thor's hair color off, but a black guy in Norway kinda stands out. And the white British ancient one bothers me less by the change than by taking away a pretty significant role from an Asian actor. I mean, how hard would it be to find an old mystical seeming Asian dude? It was just obviously a "we need more women in the movies" move rather than any story thing. Half Vietnamese is not all Asian, nor less Japanese. I'm not a huge Munn fan to begin with, either, but I haven't been terribly impressed with any of the X-Men movies anyway so, no big deal. But for me, the casting choices matter less than the motivation behind them: they're not doing it for story reasons or character reasons, its the stuff Vondy and Zslane wrote about above, its striving for a checklist of "social justice" choices in some kind of virtue signalling that is just lame.

Might be worth printing off the salient pages from the pdf for him to examine, DOT/AVAD/ACV/AE changes at least. Unless you've tried that and he just feels pressured, then I agree, work with what you got.

She died and was resurrected as a Japanese ninja. Hey, don't look at me, I didn't write it.

Elektra looks somewhat quasi-Greek in a way, so she worked okay. Wasn't fond of the first episode featuring her and Matt interacting (flashbacks and narrative was super confusing) but she was okay. Kirk's super power is to populate the galaxy, she'd tumble for him.

I agree about Obama and about minor characters being shifted. For example, Psyclocke is supposed to be an Asian girl, and they cast her as Oliva Munn who is half Vietnamese but it doesn't really fit the character. Missed opportunity (I do appreciate her insisting her costume be purple at least). Danny Rand, I don't care if he's a cracker or not; he's just not a big enough or established enough character. Other less major characters you could do a lot with. A black guy playing Wonder Man? Why not, he's an energy construct anyway. Others it matters more, like Tony Stark.

Yeah I'd just import DOT, or move to 6th.