Kraven Kor

Tasha, link in your sig no longer works?

Why not just Power Skill: Webslingers? Remember that not every little tiny thing a character or power can do has to have a full write-up. Using webslingers to flip a switch seems like a perfect use of the Power Skill - using your powers in creative ways via a skill roll.

It is always a judgement call. I tend to allow a lot of rules-bending when it comes to frameworks and limitations. I built a Cyborg dude once and I wanted the ability to drive, pilot, conn, or operate any vehicle. ANY vehicle. Would have been like 30 points as a slot in the VPP, and not allowed by RAW even there. GM and I ended up building a 3-point VPP for Transport Familiarity Skills only. I wanted to be able to "jack in" to any computer. GM wanted me to build some crazy Mind Control power and after an hour of mucking with it, we said heck with it and built a VPP slot that was Skill Levels with all Computer Related skills.

Pretty much. It has its problems though. For instance, if I buy Power Armor using Unified Power, the armor itself should not get the limitation, as the armor is (or mostly is) not really "powered" by the arc reactor; it's just metal. I can't *move* in the suit without the power source, but I should not have the armor *drained* if the arc reactor is drained. It also leads to the inverse effect with drains - you would think the drain would power down the big stuff first and the smaller powers could still function; but by the rules a small drain would instead offline all the minor powers - telescopic vision and such - while merely reducing the effectiveness of the repulsors, for instance. Nothing is perfect, but Unified Power definitely works better for my purposes than an EC would.

I just build the side effects as a power themselves, and price the limitation based on the cost of the side effect compared to the cost of the power it is tacked onto. If side effect AP = the power's AP, that is -1. 1/2 the AP = -1/2. 2x the AP = -2. And so forth. Then adjust based on frequency and all that per the Side Effects limitations. Side effects that do damage suck. They just do. Sure, it indeed simulates the "reality" of some powers (Exploding Man! He can Explode! But his powers also affect himself and his friends... *groan*) I generally go with the Drain option. It prices out better (15 AP = 3d6 attack, potential of 6 BODY with no defense... while a 20 AP Drain is 2d6 and recovers faster.) You can even do Drain BODY for powers that are intended to injure the person using them in order to get less extreme amounts of damage from "minor" side effects.

That would seem to indicate to me that neither a Follow nor a Response maneuver can occur in the same phase as the maneuver they are following / responding to. So I would rule that, no, you could not sweep / multi-attack two "follow" maneuvers due to the language of them not being allowed in the same phase. But, then, I feel the Block / Counterattack setup - and other similar should-be-awesome MA combinations - is a bit weak. If you abort to block, your counterattack likely won't occur until after the enemy is able to attack again - you lose your next phase, entirely, and in most cases lose the "benefit" of being able to attack before the blocked attacker on your next phase. I have thus house-ruled that Blocking only aborts 1/2 of your next phase if you are planning to do a counter-attack maneuver; you get the remaining half-phase to perform only a counter-attack maneuver on your next phase as normal, but lose the entire phase if you do not or can not use such a maneuver. I'd probably have similar house rules for some other combinations as well, but they have never come up.

Some get way complicated and different armors have wildly different DEF vs. different attack types. Like Leather is particularly good vs. cold attacks, good vs. slashing, fire, electrical, and acid attacks, not as good vs. piercing or bludgeoning attacks, and does not protect at all from sonic or "force" effects. Rigid, Metal armor is particularly good vs. all physical attacks, good vs. acid and "force" effects, not so good vs. fire or sonic, and does nothing vs. electrical attacks. How much detail you want to go into is up to you. But yes, Armor functions very differently in HERO than in D20.

Well, if you compare "True Faith (Access to Powers and Institutions)" to, say, "License to Kill" or the like, I can see it as a perk. But yes, Talent seems more appropriate to me.

Nope. I don't recall how far back this goes, but since at least 4th Edition, you can choose to apply 2 Combat Skill Levels to increase the Damage Class of an attack by 1 Damage Class. Just like you can "spread" attacks and reduce Damage Classes to increase OCV (-2 Damage Classes for +1 OCV, IIRC.)

I think others nailed it so far, but I would add limited Skill Levels or Penalty Skill Levels as another option. Dwarven Crossbows might have +2 to Offset Range Penalty. A Dwarven Polearm might have +2 to Offset "Constricted Environment" Penalties, for fighting in narrow tunnels. A Dwarven Double-sided War Axe might have +2 OCV with Sweeps. Weapon bonuses and such can get really creative and give a lot more differentiation to various weapons, if one wants.

Mooks, in my games, are out of the fight at 0 BODY (if not before, really.) My house rule on bleeding is that main characters lose another -1 BODY only if they try to do anything strenuous if at or below 0 BODY. If they play dead or only do non-strenuous acts (taking a recovery, using a healing potion, crawling, shooting off a signal flare, etc.) then they do not further bleed for that turn.

I've used FH 4th Edition, 5th edition, and 6th, and then one of the Kamarathin books as I recall, the FH Grimoires and Bestiary for 4E, 5E, and for 6E. IIRC.

"One More."

Anyone want to hazard at a "How to RUN HERO in 2 Pages?" My players are all more or less sold on the power and versatility of the system, but my slacker ass can't seem to run it smoothly enough to sell them on the gameplay.

As in all things HERO, a lot of the differences depend greatly on how the GM decides to run things, which optional or house rules they go for, etc. Some folks have essentially translated D&D to HERO wholesale, keeping concepts like levels and classes, others have stayed true to HERO's custom built characters method. Fantasy HERO that I run, for instance, tends to be a little more gritty and realistic; characters don't shrug off an axe wound with a prayer and a pull of a potion. But the HERO rules can have just as much healing and magic as D20 if you want it to. Basically, HERO lets you decide on the level of dramatic reality you want, and gives the GM much more control over their games, but this comes at the price of more preparatory work and much deeper, more complex system mechanics.

I'm a fan of "keep it simple, stupid" and so long as they aren't trying to carry everything but the kitchen sink, it rarely comes into play. Armor, main weapon, back-up weapon, dagger or two, backpack, bedroll, and rations and maybe a tent or rope or the like? Fine. "I want one of everything and two grappling hooks" I start threatening to use the actual encumbrance rules and the players pare down the list. On occasion, it has come up when a player has STR drained or the like.

Yeah, even a 2d6 END Drain now is... just wrong. Roll a 10, suck up 50 END. Heroic setting? Say hello to unconsciousness!

I have seen both Star Wars and Star Trek in HERO, with others doing Honor Harrington, or BSG, etc. It worked well enough for my own campaign though I ran into the same "giving players stuff to do" problem. It is certainly a bit clunky at first, until you figure out the pitfalls and what you actually want to do, but it can do things that other systems can't when it comes to getting things matched up to the look and feel you are going for.

Re: Beaks and Speech My mom had a parrot when I was a kid, well one when I was 5-8 or so, and another when I was 12 through 25 or so. Birds can likely make more sounds than we can, and in a further (but higher?) range or pitch or frequency or whatever; more so than not being able to properly mimic us. They do have a different 'sound' to their voice and syllables and such, but they will likely be able to speak any human word more or less understandably. I would just say they have a "Distinctive Features: Shrill Voice" or some such. And re: language above, yeah, you could easily go with that - I was only speaking to what sounds they were actually capable of making.

Re: Dogfighting I had written up some maneuvers at some point, with a separate list for "zero-g" maneuvers. Many maneuvers from atmospheric dogfighting could still work in space, but they would be more easily countered, etc. A lot of dogfighting techniques rely on using gravity to your advantage. Can't find it now, searched forums and all, could have sworn I posted them. "Of all the things I've lost in life, I miss my mond the most."

Re: What is the building in which a mason works called? On the subject of mason vs. stonecutter, layer, hewer, cutter, paver, etc. The way I am envisioning this, is that the "mason" was the guy who designed and oversaw the construction of the building. I don't think that 'architect' had truly become a trade on its own, in the era I am setting this, so the master mason of a given construction designed and planned the building, his workers then did the construction under his supervision, whether free tradesmen or journeymen or slaves or whatever.

Re: What is the building in which a mason works called? FYI, this will be for a 16th century-esque work of fiction. I was specifically wanting to know what to call the building where they cut and finished the stones. Raw stone gets broken into chunks at the quarry, I would imagine, then moved to a workshop (?) or yard (?) to be polished, decorated, marked, or the like, then the finished stones - ashlar and such - moved to the site where the stones are turned into a building. Regardless, as usual, you all rock. (See what I did there?)

I want to say "masonries" but can't find anything on google. Just need it for writing up a city description.

Re: 6E: Can Change Environmen apply an OCV penalty, or would that have to be a Drain But that would require: One attack roll per target, AND one SvS roll per target.

Re: 6E: Can Change Environmen apply an OCV penalty, or would that have to be a Drain Here is the current 'working theory': Defensive Stance: Drain OCV 3d6+1, Area Of Effect (4m Radius; +1/4), Selective (+1/4) (49 Active Points); One Use At A Time (-1), Attack Versus Alternate Defense (Skill vs. Skill Roll - DEX or Tactics vs. DEX or Tactics; All Or Nothing; -1), No Range (-1/2)