Anaximander

You definitely have a point their. If I were to allow a character to build their own version of Thor or Hercules based on mythology, I wouldn't expect their characters to be Rhode scholars just because they've been alive along time, but I think there is also a sound argument for my point that people who do pay attention to what's going on around them will amass a lot of information that others wouldn't, and a mechanic that could easily account for that without costing the moon would be good to have. Particularly, for characters who are classified as fonts of wisdom who are still active and useful in the field.

As a point for Ghost-Angel, when writing college papers, I often quote sources that are available in databases that are available to me and my teachers but would not necessarily be available to a regular guy off the street. The papers I quote often refer to papers and studies that are not available to me. The point of citation is not always with the expectation that the reader will be able to obtain the source but to show that the knowledge was not created in a vacuum and, therefore, not arbitrary. Another example is when I started reading comics in the 1970s as a young boy that would often refer back to stories that was written before I was even born. Then there is the issue of being current. To be current means that resources are currently available regardless of the format. The fact that all of the books of 6e are available in electronic format means it is available and current, and Hero is being generous by keeping 5e available even though it is not currently supported. After all, there are entire game systems that have been produced and marketed entirely in electronic format, and some of them are quite good. The fact that a book is not currently available in a preferred format does not mean that it is not available or current. With these standards, Hero meets minimum qualifications for restricting support to the primary 6e products, and even if they do not meet minimum qualifications, it is their product to do with they please. As far to the health of Hero, that has to be considered relatively. The truth is that pen and paper RPGs are not as healthy in general as they used to be unless you happen to like DnD, but among RPG alternatives, Hero is probably one of the healthiest. Right now, they are obviously in a hunker-down mode, and they are just trying to hold on until our current economic storms pass, but that is true of a lot of companies right now, not just RPGs. I think they are playing it right under the conditions. Whether they can survive, that is left to forces beyond their control. I, for one, hope they can pass the storm, and I am willing to buy products to help them survive, but I, like a lot of other potential customers, have my own storms I have to get past, and buying new game products is kind of low on my priority list.

In my campaign, I have an NPC team that is mostly made up of weak and no powered super heroes. Most of which would be built on 100/30 using super hero rules for buying equipment. The mostly function as a do good society but can handle low lever crimes if need be. They are well liked by the community but are not who come to mind when serious threats occur. Their primary advantage is numbers. The problem is coming up with large numbers of otherwise throw away characters that are still potentially easy is a lot more daunting than I suspected when I came up with the idea. So, now I make a request. I would like for members of this forum to share super hero concepts built on 100/30 or less using super hero rules for buying equipment would consider character built on as 225/50 as valid. Any ideas is welcome. I do have an initial request. My campaign universe started out as collection of short stories that I have written but not published. I hope some day to write publishable quality stories for my universe; so, if you don't mind your characters being used in future short stories, please, say so. If not, I will assume I do not have your permission for short story usage. Thanks in advance! I will share some of my own ideas once I figure out how to copy from the Character Designer onto the forum. I'm new to the designer, but I am growing to love it.

I more likely to think Linux, but I think the particular genre books would simulate different front ends in your analogy.

Thanks!

What I want in a game is something that would allow multiple genres without having to invest in multiple systems, and I think Hero does that. That being said, the market for RPGs in general is weak right now. They are a niche luxury, and with our current economic issues, people are cutting back on luxuries. In addition, there are a lot of luxury entertainments to choose from. Hero represents one niche within the overall RPG niche that DnD has the cat's meow of. That means in order for Hero to remain viable it has to make hard choices. The cost of printing of books and the artwork probably represent a substantial bulk of the expenses in marketing a game. Correct me if I am wrong. Going PDF is an excellent way around it, but it has its problems. It is possible for players to share a hard copy book by passing it around without violating any laws and rights, but if I want to loan my PDF copy of a book, I would have to send them a copy and, being an honest and honorable person, hope they are honest and honorable enough to buy their own copy if they are interested. As far as GURPS, I used to be invested in it and wish I hadn't gotten rid of all of my books as they were so well researched that they are often useful to gamers of other games and even non-gamers who are simply interested in the subject. Perhaps, Hero could package their genre books in a way that would be useful to other games and to hobbyists as well.

My question is where is this Super Power Wiki at. This is the first I heard of it.

As someone who is approaching 50, I know that I don't have all of the skills and abilities that I used to, but I can still sometimes surprise myself, but there seems to be no rhyme or reason as to what I remember and what I don't. Maybe, some kind of VCC that is limited to only stuff that the character could have known and some kind of activation roll to determine if the character actually remembers it.

I will consider that a cautionary tale. In spite of being invested in this game for a couple years now, I have yet to actually play it or run it. I have a super busy schedule, and most of my friends prefer other games instead.

They don't have mad skills for sure, but they are often a treasure trove of forgotten information, but at the same time, they are treasures troves of useless but occasionally interesting information; so, I think some sort of KS would useful, but not one that is always dependable. Besides, in some genres, characters retain information and abilities longer than they would in real life. In a more realistic genre, I wouldn't even make an issue of it, but for more cinematic genres, it would be more useful to have a rule.

I agree with Lord Liaden regarding Hero's versatility. All of those idea are pretty good, and I have a few idea of my own to toss in. One, as the GM, I like tailoring player knowledge around the character concept and background. I like rewarding players for well-thought characters; so, age could just be a sort of special effect to the concept which I think works well when describing the difference between 40 year old character and 19 year old character, but I think it breaks down over longer ranges. I have also thought about by skill levels that only work in situations where older knowledge might handy. Like knowing how to crank start a Model A Ford or knowing who won the World Series in 1939 without either being a gear head or sports fanatic. Those sort of things aren't likely to happen often; so, I don't want to require a large cost, but in a campaign world where characters can visit alternate timelines and other worlds, it could still be handy enough to be worth something. And, going over the list, I think either the VPP idea mixed with either one of the Universal advantages or the KS: Personal Trivia ideas look the best for my tastes.

I actually have APG1. I will have look over that.

All those ideas seem good. I have been considering adding both Champions Complete and skills book to my library, but for now, JohnnyAppleseeds idea is the most obtainable at this time. Thank!

In my supers campaign, I have two characters that are effectively unaging who have been around for a few decades. It seems that an old character who has his wits should possess a significant knowledge capital. What is the best way of represent that knowledge without spending boatloads of CPs to buy skills. I am asking here and not in the supers forum because the answer could be relevant for some sci-fi and fantasy campaigns as well.

Marcus, I think I like that idea best so far. It seems simple, and I think it is much closer to what the player had in mind for his character.

I might have to consider that as an option. Basically, I am trying take a real life social engineering trick where someone can escape the notice of even trained personnel just by acting like they are supposed to be there and raise it to a cinematic level, and the less it feel like a real power and more like and advanced skill the better.

I am trying to build a power that allows a character to walk past a guard on something unnoticed. I figure it would be a variation of invisibility to sight or mind, but people would actually see him but pay him no attention. It would only work on the human class of minds. It would not be useful for any kind of combat modifiers, but those influenced would have a difficult time trying to give an accurate description after the fact. I am thinking of having it activated by stealth, shadowing, persuasion, or some other skill. Any ideas on how to best build this ability. Thanks in advance.

I am so tempted, but I am in a fast track baccalaureate program, but I doubt I could keep up with the playing demands at this time.

The big guy is always faster than and smarter than he looks.

Thanks! I must of have read over that a dozen times without seeing it.

According to rules if you flash a character's sense of touch, the character suffers -3 Dex penalty. I could have sworn that I read somewhere that its effects would have other affects in combat, but I don't remember where I read it. Either I am looking past it in one of the books I have, it is in a forgotten book that I have lost, or it was someone's home grown rule that I read somewhere. I am pretty sure that I read the penalties applied beyond Dex skills but to any skill that depended on touch. Does anyone know where I can find this rule?

I am invested in the 6th edition system, but there are some 5th edition supplements that look interesting to me. If I were to purchase some of the 5th edition stuff (or decide to invest in both systems), how easy is it to convert back and forth between the two systems?

I would use complimentary skill rolls for most to those ideas, also since most of those ideas are primarily specialized versions of skills that are already available, though there may be room for a new talent like Media Savvy that would apply as a kind of Striking Appearance for media based interactions.

Fortunately, I have other hobbies and interests besides roleplaying games and will happily do one of them rather than play a game I don't like.

I think the GM makes a bigger difference regarding build based versus position based gaming. The better GMs I have played under not only used tactics to make their encounters more powerful without using the gamemaster largesse to undermine every tactical plan of the players. That being said, I have also had gamemasters who used their monsters tactically and abused their position to undermine the players' tactics requiring the players to do a lot of min-maxing and occasional dice fudging just to survive.