Steve Long

Yes, you could apply the STUN Only (-½) Limitation to Damage Negation, provided the GM permits you to. When an attack hits the character, the GM rolls the full dice to determine the BODY damage done. Then the GM should shut his eyes and randomly remove the appropriate number of dice based on the amount of Negation bought and the type of attack. That tells you how much STUN damage the character takes.

The rules for putting Limitations on Penalty Skill Levels (any type) are at the bottom right of 6E1 84 (and the middle left column of 6E1 85, for defensive PSLs). Beyond that, it's mostly a matter of what the GM will let you get away with. For example, I probably wouldn't let you place Limits on TSLs at all -- they're already incredibly useful at their base price. I can see the real world logic behind your request, but I'd rather just work it out to say that you Uppercut always hits Location 5 for free, with no OCV penalties or damage bonuses. But other GMs may think differently.

Well, we definitely wouldn't want you to have a fist fight with yourself. Probably not a flame war either, though if you haven't already posted about this in the Discussion forum, it might make for an interesting group conversation. First off, one problem that's tripping you up is the idea that these spells could potentially activate/take effect during the Post-Segment 12 interlude. That's incorrect. Nothing happens in Post-Segment 12 except the free recovery. So for example, if a SPD 2 character casts a spell on Segment 6 that requires an Extra Phase, it activates/takes effect on the character's DEX in Segment 6 of the next Turn, as discussed on 6E1 372. The "(Post-Segment 12)" parenthetical in the Extra Time Table is probably what's causing the confusion here, and I apologize for that. It's a carryover from previous editions that I should have removed. And I will, in the errata. Now on to the meat of the question. This is a perfect example of a situation calling for the discretion of the GM -- i.e., you. In a world where you expect pretty much everyone to have SPD 2, Extra Time (Extra Phase) and Extra Time (1 Turn) are effectively the same thing. So you have to decide which Limitation value to use. In doing that, I recommend that you keep one salient fact in mind: the rules aren't really designed for the average Joe Schmoe on the street, they're designed for heroes and their equally powerful and competent adversaries. Unless you specifically restrict the PCs to SPD 2, the harsh truth of the matter is that every PC will buy his SPD up to 3, or even 4, as soon as he gets the chance. In that case, Extra Phase and 1 Turn have different game effects, so the Limitation value difference between them makes sense. In the case of a character with an Extra Time (1 Turn) ability/spell who casts it in the middle of a Turn, you just count 12 Segments down from when he casts it, and it activates/takes effect on the character's DEX in that Segment (again, the Post-Segment 12 interlude doesn't factor in to this count). I think that covers your questions, but if I've missed something in my run-down, please send me a private message or post another question. Good luck with your conversion project! That's a heckuva lot of work.

Happy New Year to you and yours as well, LL! The default answer is, “No, it wouldn’t” — but this is really something that should be left up to the GM to decide. How Mental Powers work in his campaign, the special effect of the slot in question, and other factors may affect the answer, so the GM’s the only one who can respond definitively. He should start with my “No” as a default (in the interest of keeping the rule about Mental Powers and CSLs consistent), but shouldn’t feel any qualms about changing the answer if he feels that suits his campaign (or this particular character) better.

Just a quick reminder that GenghisCon, where I'm a guest, is coming up in just a few weeks -- and early registration for games is already open! You can find out more here: GenghisCon 42

Just a quick reminder that GenghisCon, where I'm a guest, is coming up in just a few weeks -- and early registration for games is already open! You can find out more here: GenghisCon 42

Howdy, Herophiles! As some of you may already know, I'm a guest at GenghisCon 42 -- this February 21-24! You can find out about the con in general here: GenghisCon 42, Feb. 21-24 And early registration for games is already open! Game Registration I am running three games, one each day: Scales Of The Serpent (which I think has gotten mis-named "V.I.P.E.R. Returns" in the registration table), a Champions scenario; The Shadow From The Mountains, a Fantasy Hero adventure; and Let's Go To The Maul, an MHI RPG / Urban Fantasy Hero caper. I've already seen a couple of people sign up for them, so you'd better hurry if you want to get one of the five seats at the table! Though who knows? If all goes well, maybe there'll will be a chance for me to play in, or run, some unscheduled "pick up" games. Or just sitting around in the bar talking HERO and gaming and such. Or trying a new board game. The possibilities for fun are endless -- but you've gotta be there to take part!

He can Push for 8 points of STR in this situation. He can Push for up to 5 Character Points' worth of an ability (STR, in this case) just for succeeding with the EGO Roll. If he succeeds by a greater margin, he can exceed that amount as indicated in the rulebook.

See 6E1 234, under "Healing Inanimate Beings And Nonliving Objects." (Though you could certainly build a "mending" power with Transform instead, if you prefer.)

No worries -- I'm still providing official answers to rules questions, and even working on some stuff to be published (such as an Advanced Player's Guide III, mostly composed of answers I've provided here). And of course I'm working on some projects of my own, such as Mythic Hero (which you can read more about in a pinned post on the Discussion board, if you're interested) and some short PDF products. Y'all can't get rid of me that easily.

Yes, I believe this past December 3 marked twelve years. I may be off a year or two, but I think that's when it was.

As discussed on page 250 of The Ultimate Skill / HERO System Skills, telling believable lies is a function of the Persuasion Skill. Depending on the situation, the text on that page suggests that any of the following Skills might be appropriate to determining that the character using Persuasion is lying: --INT Roll --EGO Roll (which is typically used to resist Interaction Skill rolls) --Deduction --Perception --Persuasion (the idea here being that if you're good at lying, you might also be good at determining when someone's lying to you) Alternately, if you think that lying/uncovering lies will be a significant factor in the campaign (in other words, that it will happen frequently), the GM might want to create a Skill especially for that (probably an INT-based Skill, but that's up to the GM creating it). See also TUS/HSS pp. 65-67, which discusses how to handle Interaction Skills in general (especially when used against PCs).

That was Andy who did that. It was such a clever idea, and he was so into it, that I had to run with it.

Earlier this week I taped an episode of the BAMF! podcast, in which I and superhero gaming luminaries Steve Kenson and Christopher McLoughlin talk about superhero RPG design and related topics. Enjoy! BAMF! Podcast: Steve Talks Superhero RPGs

A character cannot use a Disarm maneuver to free another character from a Grab. However, with the GM’s permission, if the Grabbed character’s being used as a “club” to hit other characters with, then using Disarm to free him from the Grab is possible.

First off, even if the rules allow you to do something — add damage, in this case — you don’t necessarily have to do it. It’s all up to the circumstances and the GM. If you don’t feel as if the character should get Extra DCs due to special effects, common sense, and dramatic sense, then don’t take them — after all, 6E2 92 specifically states that a character doesn’t have to use all of his Extra DCs if he doesn’t want to. That’s working within your character conception, and I think most GMs would approve. I want to restate the central part of your question, to make sure that I understand what you’re asking, and so that other readers also follow along. If I’ve misunderstood you, please post a follow-up. Q: If a character has an HKA with the No STR Bonus (-½) Limitation, can he still use a Martial Maneuver to add damage to that attack? A: Yes, but he may not add his STR to the Martial Maneuver when determining how much damage it adds to the HKA; he can only add in the damage from the Maneuver itself. For example, suppose that Bruiser McGee (STR 20, Martial Strike +2d6, HKA 2d6 No STR Bonus) wants to use his Martial Strike with his HKA. (I’m assuming here that he’s paid for a Weapon Element that lets him do this, or has the GM’s permission.) Ordinarily, his Martial Strike would add 6 DCs: 4 from his 20 STR, and 2 for the Maneuver itself. But since the HKA has the No STR Bonus (-½) Limitation, his STR doesn’t apply, and he only gets the +2 DCs from the Maneuver itself (increasing his KA to HKA 2½d6).

I want to rephrase your question to state it in a way that I think gets at the heart of the issue: Q: According to 6E1 322, a Mental Damage Shield has to be built with the Limitation Mental Contact Only (-½). What does “mental contact” mean, and how is it established between two characters? A: “Mental contact” means any form of contact or connection between two characters that takes place mentally rather than physically. This can include attacking a character with a Mental Power, being attacked by a Mental Power, establishing a Telepathy, Mind Link, or Telepathic Mind Control “link” between two characters, and so on. If there’s any doubt as to whether mental contact occurs between two characters, the GM has the final say on the issue. However, in the case of Mental Damage Shields specifically, there’s another Limitation to keep in mind: No Range (-½). Since a Mental DS has No Range, any form of “mental contact” that involves the character with the Mental DS using a Ranged power will not activate the Mental DS. This includes the character with the Mental DS using a Mental Power to attack another character, to establish a telepathic link, and so on. (If he were to use one of those powers at No Range, perhaps while touching the target, then the GM might rule that the Mental DS activates.) But if another character makes a Mental attack on the character with the Mental DS, that’s sufficient “mental contact” to activate the Mental DS, even if the Mental attack were made at Range.

Reduced Endurance (0 END) costs +1/2, regardless of the END cost of the underlying power. As usual, though, the GM can change this if he thinks that value is too high (or too low).

As a default answer, yes — sauce for the goose, sauce for the gander. However, mental powers are a tricky thing, so the GM might prefer to rule otherwise. Or he might require the character using Mind Control to succeed with an EGO Roll to “hide” his use of Mind Control from the “eavesdroppers” in the Mind Link.

Yes, Cateran’s Power Defense applies in this situation. Generally speaking, the HERO System doesn’t distinguish between a character and a character’s Foci or possessions in these circumstances (though there are some specific rules that take some aspects of this situation into account). Of course, the GM can make that distinction if he wants to, and it’s definitely something I’ll discuss in THE ULTIMATE GADGETEER, if I ever get the chance to write that book.

It's definitely possible for a character to try to break a Grabbed character out of the Grab -- see one of the examples under "Multiple Grabs," 6E2 63, for an example of how this is done. And yes, a character can try to break a telekinetically Grabbed character out of the Telekinesis Grab. In this case, use the telekinetic character's DCV to determine whether the character can "hit" the TK with his Grab to apply STR to break the Grabbed character free. Example: Zomgar (currently DCV 8 taking all modifiers into account) is a super-alien leading an invasion of Earth. He uses his Telekinesis (40 STR) to Grab Facepuncher, a superhero who's fighting the alien invaders. When Facepuncher isn't able to break free from the Grab on his own, his ally the Silver Sentinel decides to help out. He has STR 60 to apply against the Telekinetic Grab's STR, but first he has to Grab the Telekinesis. To do this he must hit Zomgar's DCV 8. Assuming he succeeds, the odds look good that Facepuncher will soon be free to continue doing what he does best -- punching the face of evil!

I’m not going to try to come up with some sort of “laundry list” of what Touch Group Images can do. It’s a futile task; no matter how much I try I’m going to forget something — or many somethings. I’ll leave it up to the GM to handle anything that raises a question. In the specific case you describe — causing pain — in theory a Touch Group Images could make a character feel pain or other uncomfortable sensations. But since these would have absolutely no game effect, it’s a waste of points and actions. (See 6E1 237-38.) Just buy a Drain STUN (or the like) with the special effect of “it’s an illusion so intense it can cause actual pain.”

Cool. Thanx!

Hey, Herodom, I need your help! A few minutes ago I answered a rules question about breaking out of an Entangle using a Characteristic other than STR. I swear to 3d6 random gods of your choice that somewhere in one of the 6E books we published rules for using alternate Characteristics for things like this (and various other powers), but damned if I can find them, and I'm tired of wasting time looking. Other than the HEROglyphs column I wrote in Digital Hero #5, can any of you point me to these rules? If there isn't something like this in print I want to put these rules in APG3, but I just can't shake the feeling that we've already published 'em. Any help much appreciated!

I don’t normally answer “how to” questions, but for once I’ll make an exception. Here’s how I’d do it: 1. Buy an Entangle with Takes No Damage From Attacks (+1). 2. Apply addtional Power Modifiers that allow the Entangle to work against CON rather than STR. That second step is a little tricky, though. One option is to adapt the Based On CON (-1) Limitation, which ordinarily only applies to Mental Powers, to this ability. But here’s another option. I swear to 3d6 random gods of your choice that somewhere in one of the 6E books we published rules for using alternate Characteristics for things like this (and various other powers), but damned if I can find them right now, and I don’t have time to keep looking. So, what I’ve appended below are optional rules for escaping Entangles using alternate Characteristics that we published in Digital Hero #5. I’ll consider putting these in APG3 (unless, of course, someone points me to where the “using alternate Characteristics” rules are already in print). Here ya go: Entangles Affecting Characteristics Other Than STR Under the standard rules, a character breaks out of an Entangle using STR. 6E1 217 provides rules for creating Entangles that require EGO to break out of instead of STR. It’s possible to extend the reasoning behind “Mental Paralysis” Entangles to create Entangles affecting other Characteristics. Doing this requires a Power Modifier, Works Against [CHAR], Not STR. This Modifier may be an Advantage or a Limitation, depending on whether, in the campaign, the average character is likely to have the affected Primary Characteristic at a lower or higher level than STR. If it’s likely to be higher, Works Against [CHAR], Not STR is probably a Limitation; if it’s likely to be lower, it’s probably an Advantage. This takes into account not only Characteristic cost (expensive Characteristics are likely to be lower than STR), but the nature of the campaign and types of characters in it (in a psionics campaign, EGOs are usually higher than STRs). The value of the Modifier depends on the average relative level of the two Characteristics, as indicated by the accompanying table. [[BOX TEXT]] WORKS AGAINST [CHAR] SUGGESTED VALUES Affected Characteristic Is, On The Average... Suggested Value Much higher than STR -½ or more Slightly higher than STR -¼ Equal to STR -0 Slightly lower than STR +¼ Much lower than STR +½ or more [[END BOX]] Here are some guesstimates of these values for “average” HERO System campaigns, with descriptions of possible special effects. The number in front of the slash represents the value in Heroic campaigns, the number after the slash the value in Superheroic games. Many of the suggested special effects require the Takes No Damage From Attacks Advantage. Works Against DEX, Not STR (-0 / +¼): This might represent energy bonds that can’t be broken, only wiggled out of, coils that stretch so much they’re unbreakable but which the character can squeeze out of, and so forth. Works Against CON, Not STR (-0 / +¼): This might represent paralytic attacks such as some venoms and nerve strikes — it’s not the strength of the character’s muscles or will that governs how long he’s paralyzed, but his hardiness and fitness. Works Against INT, Not STR (-0 / +½): This might represent psychic attacks that put the victim in a “mental maze” he has to “escape” from before he can act, or a puzzle so absorbing a character can’t do anything but try to figure it out until he somehow forces himself to look away from it. Works Against EGO, Not STR (+¼ / +¼): This represents “Mental Paralysis,” as discussed on 6E1 217. Works Against PRE, Not STR (+¼ / +½): This might simulate the ability to inspire unwavering awe, or a terror attack leaving the victim so frightened he can’t move. Works Against BODY, Not STR (+½ / +½): This might represent attacks similar to Works Against CON. A character attempting to break out of one of these “exotic Entangles” may use his “Casual” Characteristic, in exactly the same way that Casual STR works against normal Entangles. This costs END at the standard rate of 1 per 10 Active Points used (including the base points the character gets “for free” in the Characteristic). An exotic Entangle functions in all ways as a standard Entangle (it reduces the victim’s DCV to zero, and so forth). Depending on the special effect involved, another character who wants to “attack” the Entangle to free a trapped comrade may actually have to try actions other than attacking (such as slapping the victim’s face, splashing water on him, or shouting out clues and encouragement).