Christopher R Taylor

I’d suggest to just not use any gadget using Supers. That way you’re not dealing with Foci at all, well the agents you are but still they’re agents. Also no Multiform or OIADs.

I'm actually amazed at this entire thread.
 
The real question can only be based on type of game.  If the RPG you are playing is a straight forward hackfest, there is little need for secrecy.  On the other hand if the game is investigative or a mystery, secrecy is vital.
 
But all that is actually irrelevant.
The true issue here is that some players have had a bad experience in the past and have painted everyone because of that.
 
For me personally, if I decide a game I am running needs secrecy because it revolves around the unknown, then I will make rolls in secret.  What player that has issues with it is really saying is "you are an untrustworthy liar" based on an event I have nothingto do with.  That is their problem not mine and they should seek out another GM.
 
I love to run and I have yet to disappoint anyone as far as I know.  I am upfront with my games and find it far better to walk away from false expectations. A GM is not there to cater to people with unresolved trust issues, and I for one don't appreciate being called a liar at my table. 

Odd how I started this post and now I have no idea what it's on about.🤔

Yeah a skill or INT roll for data is a simple, logical way of doing it.   Just give them KS: (appropriate data) and then bonuses for stuff you figure they ought to know.

I never used the robots for Genocide, because it violates the concept of the group in my campaign setting.  They're human supremacists, they wouldn't want robots, AI or otherwise, doing their work.

Does--
 
No; seriously-- Why does the big robot have a beard, a turtleneck, and watchcap?  Is it cold?  Disguised as a longshoreman?
 
 

Without the powers and modifiers info I was able to squeeze Hero down to about 150 pages, including combat etc in Western Hero.  Powers and mods, frameworks etc take up a ton of space.

I certainly have my senior moments....

Generally in game play you know when something is going badly. When you blow your stealth roll you can hear the leaves crunching underfoot or your shoes squeak in the hallway. Screwing the pooch on your lockpick roll?  You can feel the tumblers sticking. 
  But when rolling against the players about things like “Did the guards hear that?” the character should have no out of game info until the stuff either hits the fan or doesn’t. And he shouldn’t be able to look over at the GM’s dice and know in advance what’s about to happen.

One of my favorite TV shows of all time, and my favorite currently on is Forged In Fire.  For those who haven't watched this show, its about blacksmiths, making weapons and having them tested by a panel of experts, including historians, martial artists, and expert blacksmiths.  They make knives primarily, but really any non-black powder weapon can show up, from bows to broadswords.
 
Watching that show has taught me a lot about the relative strengths and weaknesses, as well as the things that can go wrong with weapons and how easily they can be ruined.  Its been enlightening for a Fantasy Hero writer to see the differences, sometimes subtle, in weapon designs.  For example, a show involving a claymore had two go up against each other: one was light and flexible, the other strong and heavy.  Each had its strengths in various testing, being better in some situations and worse in others.
 
What kind of stuff have you learned for use in gaming from various sources?
 
PS: Sabers are terrifying weapons.

There is something to that, the more players, the more sales of other products, in the end.  Its like paying for advertising; its a net loss but hopefully brings in more customers so it ends up a gain.  Hopefully.  And it is a fact of life with gaming materials: once everyone who wants that product has bought it... nobody will buy any more of them.  I mean, that's true with everything, but gaming has  a much smaller, if more fanatical, pool.  So the more people we bring into the fold, the more sales overall.
 
So yeah, its an investment and that's worth doing.

One of my favorite TV shows of all time, and my favorite currently on is Forged In Fire.  For those who haven't watched this show, its about blacksmiths, making weapons and having them tested by a panel of experts, including historians, martial artists, and expert blacksmiths.  They make knives primarily, but really any non-black powder weapon can show up, from bows to broadswords.
 
Watching that show has taught me a lot about the relative strengths and weaknesses, as well as the things that can go wrong with weapons and how easily they can be ruined.  Its been enlightening for a Fantasy Hero writer to see the differences, sometimes subtle, in weapon designs.  For example, a show involving a claymore had two go up against each other: one was light and flexible, the other strong and heavy.  Each had its strengths in various testing, being better in some situations and worse in others.
 
What kind of stuff have you learned for use in gaming from various sources?
 
PS: Sabers are terrifying weapons.

Just to note.
 
My stand has zero to do with one player who already knows Hero teaching others.  I have never found that to be any harder than any other RPG.
 
I am trying to come up with what I think we need.   A way to allow a group where no one knows anything about Hero can be introduced to it. 
 
 
 
 
 

OK Here are some proposed PCs for the players to pick from when they play the game.
Blurred Lion: cat girl/boy with super speed Dr Nope: Spider-man clone with poison attack instead of webbing Honey Badger: Wolverine/X-23 ripoff Patriot: Captain America ripoff Princess: strong little girl who looks like an anime character Spellbinder: mentalist disguised as a Dr Strange type Street Knight: Batman ripoff Supernova: energy projector Tank: big, strong, and tough; has a big blast that is inaccurate and can only be used once per turn Trooper: Iron Man ripoff Vulcan: Thor variant (with a hammer, but it fixes or makes things, like Fix-it Felix from the Wreck-it Ralph movie) All but Princess are designed to be either male or female, and we'll have to have images for either variant.  I want enough to cover the bases but not so many its ridiculous.  We need to cover all the "I wanna play Superman!" possibilities, plus highlight some cool things Hero can do.  I have ideas for some others but I don't want to get carried away (a shrinker, a shapeshifter, etc).
 
The idea I have in mind is for there to be multiple versions of each character, starting at lower and super simple power (you can punch and run around first chapter, next chapter you get skills, next one you get another power, etc).  Each chapter, more powers and abilities are introduced in roughly equivalent point values, although all the costs etc are behind the scenes. The final epic confrontation is with all powers and abilities, and all the rules in place.
 
What I need from you is input on the names and concepts, suggestions on whether or not a character should be included, things I missed, and input on making the characters feel new, fresh, and engaging to younger players. For example, is Blurred Lines too old a reference?  Do kids know about the Honey Badger now?

The original adventure had Armadillo, Bluejay, Brick, Cheshire Cat, Dragonfly, Green Dragon, Howler, Icicle, and Pulsar.  Rather than be too specifically out of the VIPER books I want villains who are super simple and easy to understand, with really stripped down powers not requiring knowledge of the game to understand (so no multipowers, etc).  This is meant to be a super beginners basic book so we don't want anything that is too complicated.

Repel in this sense would be along the lines of "Find easier prey". If there is no easier prey to be had, it is not an absolute. 
 
I like the change environment idea since it has a mechanic for resistance on a die roll. At -1 to EGO and EGO based rolls, for normal and large insects that are not summoned you would have a mechanism for a summoner to win their ego contest by more than the insect failed theirs and force them in anyway. Probably would be something like:
 
[Repel Wasps] Change Environment: -1 EGO and EGO based rolls, make EGO roll or move out of affected area, -2m Flying; Area of Effect Radius: 8m (+1/2);Only versus Wasps (-1), etc.
 
I think I will limit the effect to only "Animal Intelligence" or "Instinctive Intelligence". Outside of that you would need to go to Mind Control or they could reason around it by holding their breath, etc. Situational modifiers like defending the nest or extreme hunger might provide bonus of 3-5 on the roll.
 
Thanks for the ideas. I think the darkness would have been the second best. It does not have a roll mechanic, but being blinded in an area is a good reason to avoid it. Spiders and Scorpions would be especially difficult to handle with this though, due to special senses. 
 
- E

The original adventure had Armadillo, Bluejay, Brick, Cheshire Cat, Dragonfly, Green Dragon, Howler, Icicle, and Pulsar.  Rather than be too specifically out of the VIPER books I want villains who are super simple and easy to understand, with really stripped down powers not requiring knowledge of the game to understand (so no multipowers, etc).  This is meant to be a super beginners basic book so we don't want anything that is too complicated.

You are welcome to use my generic heroes for it if you wish 

I ran a version of the old Island of Dr. Destroyer ages ago as a one-off at my FLAGS.  I posted a game report.  Here it is:
 
 
 

Stretching and extra limbs with Does Not Cross Intervening Space seems the simplest way to build it.  You could also use "summon animate arm" and build a disembodied arm

Duke Bushido isn't the only one with a standard rant about the creation of light. But, carry on anyways. 😁

Hey, G-d created light at least a day before He created the sun.
 
I don't see why we shouldn't be able to do the same....

Well, the problem is that Hero is incredibly consistent and works well across all sorts of various situations and builds.  You can take a blast and do all these different hosts of things with it and it just works that way without special rules or exceptions.  There are some but they work consistently across the rules (such as the "special attack" rule for autofire).  That's why little quibbling exceptions or rules for single instances on one power like that really annoy me: it breaks the system and requires people to look through the rules carefully to make sure they didn't violate Rule 5, Subsection III, clause A-15.
 
The way some stats work with Aid and Drain are another example of this kind of thing.  Its a kludge fix, not a streamlined rule.

Focus would ngate the need of physical manifestation

Well whether or not that concept made it to 6th edition, its... wrong.  In any campaign I run, that rule doesn't exist.
 
By definition, area effect powers apply equally to all creatures in the area. Drain, Flash, Blast, it doesn't matter.  Just because "this will be hella effective!" doesn't mean you ignore that basic Hero rule.  If you feel too uncomfortable with that, you could treat the AE as a "special" attack like the way autofire works, so it takes an extra +1 advantage but "we're gonna break the rules because some dude in my campaign bought this and I didn't like it" does not wash.