Lee

There is a GUMSHOE SRD that is a free download. It has (at least most of) the guidelines to which you are referring. Google GUMSHOE SRD. It was the first result for me. Lee

How about making the adder similar to the point cost of the equivalent LS: Immunity? Such as: +1 for Any Single Common Poison/Disease +2 for a Group of (Related) Common Poisons/Diseases +3 for Any Single Uncommon Common Poison/ Disease +4 for a Group of (Related) Uncommon Poisons/Diseases +5 for Cure All Poisons +5 for Cure All Diseases Lee

Another idea would be to base your ENC points not only on the mass/weight but also on the volume of an object. That 1kg object the size of a baseball will be far less encumbering than that 1kg object that's 1m3. It could be as simple as a few encumbrance levels (i.e. Unwieldy, Bulky, etc.) that increase the ENC by a given amount or as complex as determining the volume of the object and its average density, calculating its mass and using all that to produce your ENC points. I'm using something similar to the latter for a crafting system I'm working on. I'm pleased with where it's going, but it's no where near ready to be used or I'd share. Lee

Hey everyone, How about using different terms for new players? Specifically, use Knockout Damage for "Normal Damage" and Killing (or Lethal) Damage for "Killing Damage". That way, there's no confusing "Normal Damage" that may not be...normal. It's really more about the intent of the damage. Lee

There is a variant of Area of Effect in Digital Hero #10 pp 49 that does what I think you want: So, if you use something like this with maybe No Knockback/Knockdown it might give you what you want. Lee

Ah, okay. I misunderstood. Thanks. Lee

While you may not want to model such things in your game (thus making them pointless to you), they are nonetheless correct and may not be pointless to someone else. I was simply offering an alternative way of viewing the situation and other ways that the power might be used. No need to be insulting. I will now bow out of what was, up until now an interesting and delightful interaction. But I leave you with two quotes: “If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.” --George Bernard Shaw “It is because of my wish to be helpful that I share my ideas and experiences; being helpful to even one person is valuable. “ – The Dalai Lama I've lived my life according to these philosophies. Perhaps I should now reconsider... Lee

Hey everyone, forgive me if I've missed something (I did go back and re-read the entire thread). But are you forgetting the HERO System Martial Arts book (HSMA)? What I mean is, on HSMA 106-107 there is a point breakdown of each of the martial arts elements (so that Advantages can be applied appropriately to them). Couldn't you use them to determine what the "point cost" of the basic maneuvers are and then determine if the martial "improvements" are properly costed? I know they are not actually the elements built as a power but it might be helpful. If you really want them defined as powers... On HSMA 110, there are suggested power build starting points for most of the maneuver elements as well as some limitations that can be applied to simulate some of the other elements. Again, it may not be exactly what you want, but it might give a better starting point that going strictly from scratch. It seems the "wheel" has already been invented--you just need to figure out how to build a Lamborghini with them... Lee

I have to say, I still disagree with this regarding Sight. While I certainly reflect light in the visible spectrum, I don't actually transmit it. That's why I brought up bioluminescence. A deep ocean creature will reflect light (if light reaches down that far or your submersible shines a light on it), but that's not the same as its bioluminescence. If they are in the dark, there is no reflected light, but they can certainly transmit using their bioluminescence. I realize that this can bump up against Images, but ISTM that the difference is the complexity of the transmission. Again, using bioluminescence as an example, the lights they transmit usually only blink, change colors, change patterns or maybe act like "tracer" lights. However, they don't transmit High-Def images of a predator to scare away other fish. That would indeed be Images. I think it's just a GM call as to whether the Transmit of a Sense should be allowed or made into Images depending on the complexity of what is being accomplished. Having said all that, I would agree with your assertion that Transmit is redundant for Sight if it is in the IR part of the spectrum. We all certainly transmit Infrared radiation as heat and so would be redundant in that realm. But, unless Infrared Perception is common I don't think Transmit is redundant. With regards to it being redundant with Hearing, I agree except if the person is mute or the creature simply doesn't produce any sounds. There are animals that can hear but do not make sounds. So I'd say with hearing, Transmit is "baked in" but should be allowed to be bought off if the character is mute or a creature that makes no sound. You could go the other way and require Transmit to be purchased to be able to speak, but I like the other way around--make speaking the default. Lee

My first thought about "Transmit (Sight)" was creatures that communicate through bioluminescence. Certainly not weaponizable, not secret (anyone with Sight in the right frequency range can see it), but unless you understood the "language", it would just be a lot of pretty lights. I suppose ASL might be similar with Gestures and Restrainable. While I agree that Transmit (Hearing) is "speech", it might be used for "unusual" speech. For instance, whales' ability to communicate (almost) all the way around the world using ultra-low frequency sound. Pheromones might be Transmit (Smell) with some limitations as to range (due to winds dispersing them). Unless of course the being communicating like this could somehow tag or encode the pheromones with uniquely identifiable pheromones and possibly position information...although, carried too far it might become Telepathy. Transmit (Touch) might make for some interesting abilities, but I can't think of any off the top of my head right now. At least none that would have any game value. Lee

No, I didn't read down that far. I wish it wasn't all or nothing. I'm leaning towards multiple levels of Hard To Dispel that reduce the DR's Activation Roll rather than an Activation Roll for the attack. I know it could achieve the same effect, but I want a way to differentiate a DR that is subject to a reduction in its Activation Roll and one that is not. If I achieve the same effect using an Activation Roll on the attack, all DR's are the same--not what I want. Thanks for pointing it out, though. I may prove very useful in other situations.

Yes, you have it exactly right. That's what I'm looking to build and I like your #1 example. As far as it being established in the campaign, indeed it is. Everyone has it available and is used commonly. Also, the attacks that will have the advantage are generally weapons, so you only need to equip the weapon to have the ability. So, while most people never use Difficult To Dispel, that would be built into the weapon(s) available for the characters to use. They wouldn't need to worry about buying it as long as they had the appropriate weapon. I guess I was being a little too vague, but I was looking for a generalized solution and tried to break my question down into its simplest parts. Einstein was right: "As simple as possible, but not too simple..." Thanks for putting in as much thought as you did. I'm going to play around with your ideas first. Lee

Yes, I too wondered if a linked power would work better than an Advantage, but I couldn't think of which power to use. I never considered Change Environment. I'll have to look at it more closely. Thanks.

Interesting! I had not thought about it from that angle before. I have some very definite percentages in mind and it may be relatively easy to get the "bypass" percentages where I need them to be rather than the activation percentages. I like the idea. I've got some number crunching to do...

Yes, that's what I mean. Ordinarily, the attack wouldn't affect the Activation Roll at all (reduces the Activation Roll by 0), but a target that had the Limitation on the defense would have it's Activation Roll reduced by some amount X that's greater than 0 (depending upon the level of the Advantage I'm also trying to create).

Thanks for the replies everyone, but I think I didn't express myself very well. I don't want to dynamically add Advantages or Limitations. Let me try again: I want an Advantage that can be added to an attack power (e.g Blast) when it's being built that will reduce the activation roll of the Damage Reduction. In other words, I want a way to build an attack that can overcome the defense by reducing its activation roll. I want a Limitation that can be added to the Damage Reduction power when it's being built that reflects the fact that it's not as effective as Damage Reduction that isn't affected by the above Advantage. Limited Power would work, but I'm unsure of how limiting being vulnerable to the Advantage would be (e.g. half as effective, one-quarter, etc.). I hope that clarifies things a bit and thanks again for your ideas and suggestions. Lee

Hello everyone, I'm looking for some opinions about how to build a Power or Advantage that allows a character to reduce the "activation roll" (Requires A Roll) of another character's power. I'd also like a Limitation that can be applied to the affected power to indicate that it is affected by the "reducing" Advantage/Power and is thus, less effective. Here are some specifics: I have a power that is Damage Reduction at 100% (from the APG) but Requires A Roll (the activation roll). This roll will never be better than 13-. The roll is required every time the Damage Reduction power reduces damage. First of all, I want an Advantage (or power) that will allow another character to reduce (make worse) the activation roll of this Damage Reduction power, even to the point of making it impossible to activate. Secondly, I want a Limitation that can be applied to the Damage Reduction power that, because it is vulnerable to the above Advantage/Power,'it's less effective than the base power and thus worth fewer points. I don't think Drain is appropriate as it doesn't really apply to rolls. I think the same thing of Dispel. I also couldn't find any Skill or Talent that seemed appropriate. None of the Advantages that I'm familiar with seemed to do what I want, either. So, how would you build this combination of Advantage for the attacking power and Limitation for the Damage Reduction? Thanks, Lee

Shouldn't that read "Hero has its own perks, advantages and complications"? Hmm, let's see... HERO System: Perk: Universal Roleplaying Game (20 pts) Naked Advantage: No Levels (+1/2) Naked Advantage: No Classes (+1/2) Naked Advantage: Armor reduces damage (+1/4) Psychological Complication: Complicated System (Infrequently, Barely Impairing, 5 pts) (Sorry, just couldn't resist ) Lee

I was wondering if there was some kind of change or errata to the rules concerning the Usable On Others Advantage? In 6E1 page 354 it states that the minimum value regardless of modifiers is +1/4. However, when setting up a power in HERO Designer with the options I wanted, it showed a -1 for the "Advantage" and treated it like a Limitation. I actually like the way it works because if you put enough restrictions on the Advantage, it actually limits the power's effectiveness. However, the software is usually spot-on with regards to the RAW. So, has the rule changed or do HD and the RAW have "a difference of opinion" or is it possibly a bug? I know you probably can't answer about the software. I'm just interested if the rule has changed and I just wasn't aware of it. Thanks, Lee

Hi, I've seen the ability called "Defensive Maneuver" with I, II, III,IV attached in several places, yet I cannot seem to find it described anywhere in the 6E rules (volume 1 or 2). I also checked to see if it was something that was renamed or removed for 6E and didn't see it listed. Can you either tell me where to find it in the rules or explain to me what each of the levels' effects are? Thanks, Lee

Hello, I've been annotating my PDF's with the errata information and I came across something that looked odd. The errata said, "In the Armor Coverage Table, the Limitation values for the Activation Roll for armor are incorrect; they should have the values indicated by the rules on 6E1 389-92." Now, by my calculations, this makes the armor coverage of 14- and 15- actually advantages (+1/4 for 14- and at least +1/4 for 15- or possibly +1/2 if you continue the progression). Is this correct? At those coverages, it would actually cost more than it would otherwise? I realize that there are other limitations that ordinarily would be added for armor (such as Mass and Real Armor), but it does seem to make the activation roll (Requires A Roll) at 14- or higher pointless. You might as well buy the power without the activation roll--it costs less and you get an 18- roll (aka automatic success)l. Am I misunderstanding something? Did i mess up the math somewhere? Thanks, Lee P.S.: Sorry if this has been asked/answered before. I would have searched the forum posts, but I couldn't find a search facility on the site. I really didn't want to slog through the large number of posts hoping to spot something and likely missing what I was looking for.