Brian Stanfield

Well it won't be any time this month. 
 
I have to say, I sort of got my money's worth here, too! 
 
My book was waiting on me when I got home, and I opened it with the fervor of a five-year-old at Christmas (you know, if said five-year-old had a pocket knife) and was quite shocked to discover that I had accidentally bought the wrong thing.  I checked my order, and it was for a used copy of Western HERO infair to good condition. 
 
What I _got_ was a brand new, unsold copy of Western HERO!  Still in the original cellophane-like wrapping, with several ancient price tags getting lower and lower, then newer ones with much, much higher prices (presumably as it became a. Ollectibke or an antique; I don't know) still stuck to it (all of them _considerably_ less than I payed :(.)
 
While I am delighted with this turn of events, I am also scrupulous: I have an e-mail to the seller to determine if this was a mistake and if they would like to exchange or what-have-you.  As tempting as it is to here that crinkly crunch of Tearing off the wrapper....
 
Not until I am sure, I'm afraid. 
 
And even if I get to keep it, there is no way I am slicing up a book this pristine. 
 
I'll look again next month for one that could only be improved by living in my phone.
 
 

Without knowing the whole story, I’d have to say the problem isn’t with Champions, but is with the players and the GM! These players sound like Pathfinder munchkins who don’t understand the concept of Champions at all. On one hand, it sounds like too many people trying to manipulate the rules without knowing them well enough. On the other hand it sounds like too many people who don’t want to actually play to their concepts(both their advantages AND limitations), which is critical in Champions. The openness of character creation is a benefit, but people who are trained to think in terms of classes, and all the munchkinny aspects that go with it, have a hard time with defining their own limitations. Everyone has to cooperate at this basic level first, and the GM needs to enforce a clarity of concept for each hero.

Without knowing the whole story, I’d have to say the problem isn’t with Champions, but is with the players and the GM! These players sound like Pathfinder munchkins who don’t understand the concept of Champions at all. On one hand, it sounds like too many people trying to manipulate the rules without knowing them well enough. On the other hand it sounds like too many people who don’t want to actually play to their concepts(both their advantages AND limitations), which is critical in Champions. The openness of character creation is a benefit, but people who are trained to think in terms of classes, and all the munchkinny aspects that go with it, have a hard time with defining their own limitations. Everyone has to cooperate at this basic level first, and the GM needs to enforce a clarity of concept for each hero.

So in other words, “You pity the fool?”

Precisely my thoughts. I was playing a Traveller GURPS game for a while, for the first time in my life, when this CD became available. I jumped on it as soon as I heard so I could take a look at things in HERO terms. Everything gets translated through HERO for me, even the way I watch movies. 

A couple of years ago I was at a fabric store looking for something to recover the seats in Big Ugly.  I found a sandy-colored fabric that had a black slightly-smaller-than-one-inch hex pattern on it (seems like it's something on the order of 13/16" ).  Later I would find this same fabric in a bold red at Sprawl Mart.  I bought about six yards of it for next to nothing.  Use chalk to write on it, toss it in the washing machine with my work clothes when the game is over.
 
Best twelve bucks I ever spent.  
 
The seats in Big Ugly remain untended.  
 

Thanks, Brian.
 
As a matter of fact, I ordered that CD rom just last month.  I _still_ haven't opened it yet.  I really need to find the time!    for the most part, though, the two Traveller HERO books that shadowcat so very graciously sent me some years ago have served all my game-resolution needs, while my original Traveller books (what few I have) manage to keep my universe eventful.  Though I haven't had a traveller group in well over a year now...
 
I bought the disk primarily because, even though they will never get the HERO license again, I really, _really_ wanted to support the effort that went into the making of Traveller HERO, and the exemplary people they have demonstrated themselves to be.

On an unrelated note, 
 
I very much like your choice of avatar.  Way back in the 80s, I thought he was just another flash-in-the-pan so-so, not-particularly-talent muscle-man action star.
 
Then one day I saw part of an interview with him.  Over the decade I saw two more interviews with him.  I never would have thought it (and am rather ashamed to admit) that I had made the mistake of confusing "uneducated" with "unintelligent" and "celebrity" with "self-absorbed."
 
Mr T has been a highly-regarded personal hero of mine for thirty years now.
 
My finest compliments on your tastes.
 

Folks (And I do mean more than one, not trying to single ANYONE person out, but this seems a good thread to bring it up...again)
 
Only in referring to cancer (the medical condition, not the poster) And COVID (In the Coronavirus thread) are we supposed to use a certain F word on these boards. The Admins have in the past reminded folks that while we tend towards older demographics we want this to be a family friendly board over all. SO...  I mention this now and then, and yet still if I do a search, folks ignore it..a lot.
 
So far my options appear to be...
Start issuing warnings and infractions
Clear them up only to have them happen again
a mix of above
Or... entertain myself in how I edit the F word because it really gets tedious.
 
So if you start seeing comments like "I really fluttershyed up at work today" where you thought more standard language was. Now you know why. 
 
And if I start to think folks are doing this deliberately just to see how fun it could be, I'll consider that making more work for me, surrender, and just go straight to the warnings or more likely infactions.
 
I am getting too fuzzylumpkin old for this Snugglypoo
 
 

The original question was not how the character concept could be built, it was if the concept should be allowed. The GM was aware that a VPP was the most logical way to build it but decided that he didn't want VPPs in his campaign for (legitimate) fear of abuse.
 
The GM simply didn't want a superhero with the theme "all the powers the player thinks are useful".

this almost 200 page **FREE** pdf was put out today... the plans are in Traveller squares, but this can be worked around
https://travellerrpgblog.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-starship-geomorphs-book-if-finally.html

All the reasons I gave are true.  However, add the most weight to the desire to support one thin book.
 

The difficulty here arises from the fact that we need another tool in the toolbox -- Stops Teleport + Transdimensional isn't going to get you what you want. Instead, we need a new Advantage:  Cannot Be Escaped With Extra-Dimensional Movement (+1/4). That solves the problem nicely.
 
Alternately, the GM might allow a character to create an Anti-Dimensional Travel field using Change Environment. Establish a cost for that effect (let's say 20 points, just off the top of my head), apply Area Of Effect, and voila.

I think you are absolutely right although I do not blame Champions or the HERO system at all. I only think that it is not suitable for everyone. Or maybe not everyone is suitable for the HERO system.
 
Although he knows the approach of the players to roleplaying for more than two decades the GM underestimated the problems that would arise. I think he simply trusted that everyone understood what he wanted but didn't expect that he had to supervise everything.
 
I'm also quite sure that the other two players really believe that they are being treated unfair because they are not allowed to have the characters they want and should be able to build using the HERO system. The rules clearly state that the system can build everything but it is the GM who keeps them from doing so.

Here's an annoying way to do it.  I'm just thinking out of the box here, so take it with a grain of interdimensional salt.  
 
Dimensional Travel usable against other 1 dimension target triggered area of effect.  
 
Thus if they attempt to dimensional travel out of the area, they trigger the dimensional travel and are back to this dimension.
 

That's an interesting idea...if you use HAPs a critical hit could reward one.  Gives the player a chance to decide on how to use their extra success. 

I included a section on Critical Hits in my "Lethality Guidelines" 
 
http://www.killershrike.com/fantasyHero/HighFantasyHERO/shrikeLethalityOptions_Unofficial.aspx
 
CRITICAL HITS Some other games have a concept of "critical hits"; strikes that randomly do more damage than normal. The HERO System tends to shy away from "random" and lacks such an option natively. However different variations of critical hits have been suggested at or described as possible options in some supplements over the years, and some play groups have versions that they use. Described below is my version of "critical hits", which I call the "Rule of Three", that I've used successfully for years. I also describe a Critical Hit concept based on a "lucky die" mechanic, and a mechanic based on degree of success. NOTE: You should probably only implement one kind of Critical Hit rules in a given campaign; two or more can get severely out of hand. RULE OF THREE If a character (PC or NPC) rolls a natural three on a 3d6 roll under type of check then they have the option of either taking "max effect" or an "epiphany". MAX EFFECT If the three was made for an Attack Roll max effect is the maximum possible damage or effect with that attack (treat all effect dice as having rolled 6's). If the three was made for a non attack roll, not only does the character win any opposed roll (even if the opponent made their roll by more) or succeed at their task, but they do so in a stylish looked-cool-doing-it fashion which is also justification for gaining a "Display of Power" bonus to a Presense Attack made sometime within the next few actions against anyone that observed them. EPIPHANY The character has a flash of insight regarding the skill or ability that they rolled a three for and their competency with that ability is expanded. The character gains +2 character points to allocate towards a bonus with that skill or attack. For attacks this translates into a +1 OCV Combat Skill Level with that attack. If a skill this translates into either a +1 or +2 with that skill depending on whether the skill is on the 3/2 or 2/1 costing model. If the three was rolled for a familiarity, the familiarity becomes a full skill instead. This can not be used to upgrade existing levels; for example a character could not opt to bump an All Combat level to an Overall Level with the 2 free points gained in this fashion -- the 2 pts must be spent specifically for the task they were gained from. However, levels gained in this fashion can themselves be upgraded later with experience. For example a 2 pt +1 OCV level with a specific kind of pistol could be upgraded to a 3 pt "Pistols" tight group level later on. LUCKY DAMAGE DICE Some other games have the idea of a "lucky die" which is rerolled and cumulatively added if its max value comes up. In other words, if the lucky die is a d6, then if it rolls a 6 it is rerolled and the result adds to the original 6; if another 6 comes up it is rolled and added in again and so forth until it stops rolling 6's. The HERO System already grants more damage to a 6 when doing Normal damage in the form of +1 BODY inflicted but Killing damage gets no such consideration. In the interests of increasing lethality you as the GM can decide to up the ante further by implementing a "Lucky Damage Dice" House Rule for Killing damage. You can specify that this rule applies to all Killing damage dice, which is a powerful / dangerous kind of critical hit that will occur often and can result in one-hit kills vs. even protected targets, or you can specify that only one die (represented by a physically different die) is "lucky" which is much less extreme. DOVETAIL WITH LUCK POWER Alternately, you can converge this with the Luck Power and allow characters to buy Luck dice defined as "Lucky Damage Dice" instead of the normal function of Luck dice, and a character can roll as many Lucky Damage Dice on a given attack as they have purchased up to the limit of the attack (a character with 3d6 Lucky Damage Dice using a 2d6 Killing Attack would only roll 2 dice but both would be "lucky"; if they later picked up a weapon that does 4d6 Killing they would roll 4d6 and 3 dice would be "lucky"). CRITICAL SKILL / DEGREE OF SUCCESS Some games feature a mechanic whereby more skilled attackers inflict more damage due to their increased skill. The HERO System allows this to some extent if Hit Locations are being used since a more skilled attacker can overcome to hit penalties for choicer hit locations, but using Called Shots can result in a total miss which can seem very odd in practice. An alternative to relying on Called Shots (and even Hit Locations in general) is a mechanic whereby characters that hit by more than they needed inflict more damage. The base mechanic is +1 Damage Class per 1 point a character made their Attack Roll by; thus in a 3 OCV vs 3 DCV scenario, an Attack Roll of 10 is made by 1, which grants the attacker +1 Damage Class. This is easy to remember and scales evenly, but doesn't overly reward characters that make truly impressive to hit differentials. BASIC EXTRA DAMAGE SEQUENCE Hit by: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Extra DC: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 This can be scaled up or down by the GM to suit their campaign by varying the ratio of extra success to extra damage; for instance a GM could set the ratio at +1 Damage Class per 2 points a character makes their Attack Roll by. LESS EXTREME EXTRA DAMAGE SEQUENCE Hit by: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Extra DC: 0 0 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 A GM could also make hitting by a little not make much differenct but hitting by a lot being extremely lethal by basing the to hit vs DC ratio on a Fibonacci sequence instead as displayed in the following table. Basically using this kind of progression hitting by 5 or less is not much different than the basic progression (and is in fact more moderate overall), but an Attack Roll that hits by 6 is more comparatively deadly, and anything that hits by 7 or more is almost absolutely fatal. FIBONACCI EXTRA DAMAGE SEQUENCE Hit by: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Extra DC: 0 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 Any other progression of this sort is equally valid based on the GM's preferences, of course. The following displays the same concept on an exponential progression which is easier to remember and more consistent with HERO System doubling rules but would result in excessively higher damage if on the same scale as the Fibonacci sequence; thus this chart is based on a progression of hitting by 2 more than needed per step. EXPONENTIAL EXTRA DAMAGE SEQUENCE Hit by: 0 2 4 8 10 Extra DC: 0 1 2 4 8 And so on; it's just a numbers game. Any approach that is easy to remember and apply at the table that rewards hitting with a margin of succes at a rate acceptable to the GM and players is equally valid for that group.

Obviously I can't make it available, but when mine gets here, there will be a pdf shortly there after!
 

I think my spellcheck snuck in and messed up the author's last name and I didn't notice till now.
 
At any rate, I tried the Forgotten Enemies titles (there were only 2, so I didn't have "the urge" to grab up a whole set of something!
 
Worth the price.  I think I preferred the larger character portraits in the first one to the much smaller ones in the second, but it's a minor quibble.  
 
In all honesty, the would have been far more useful to me if I didn't already have the original sourcebooks these characters (all but Ghoul; I don't think I've got the mutant enemies book) came from, and I'd recommend them to anyone who didn't have these books (or doesn't want to do their own conversions to the newer system) and wanted to add a few villains to his stable.  The conversions are reasonably accurate, the write-ups are true to the source material.
 
There is nothing earth-shattering here, but the given the price of enemies type books, the price is completely reasonable.  As a bonus, if you have the Hero Designer software (I don't, so I don't actually "feel" the value there, even though I completely understand it), there are hdc files for the characters, and at the end of the PDF is a set of paper doll minis for each character presented.
 
It's not slick, stellar, glossy stuff like when you actually buy a book, and it's not---  I don't want to come across as bashing this; it's a lot of effort on the author's part, and in no way do I not feel like I got reasonable value.
 
The best testimony, I suppose, is to say that, even though I can't use the "biggest" part of it (the software files) and already have earlier version of all but one of these characters, I still feel like I got more than I paid for.
 
Kudos to the author(s?).  Definitely worth-a-look stuff.
 
Unforunately, I can't go through with my plan.  I came back to the forum because I had awarded myself some mad money, with the intention of picking up a few items from the store-- reading material, idea-fodder, etc.  However, having shortly after my arrival discovered that my Western Hero is missing, I bit the bullet and dumped my remaining mad money on finding another copy of that in reasonable condition-- as I mentioned, I use that one a _lot_ (like the way other people used Ninja Hero, way back when) in Heroic-level stuff, and sometimes as a stand-alone.  
 
Fifty bucks!  Holy smurfin' crap on a crutch!
 
Like the least-popular HERO book ever published, and it's fifty bucks for a used one!
 
 

That is weird. I've viewed and downloaded the ER spreadsheet from that link twice myself.
 
Heck, I'll just attach it here.
New EF Rating.xls

I've actually had reason to build some Champions characters lately, and it's made me think about two staple complications, Secret Identity and Code vs Killing.  I'll be doing separate threads to help keep the discussion focused.
 
Secret Identity is one that I've been less sure about for a while.  Even before the MCU decided that secret IDs were a relic of the past, there have obviously been characters who don't really have troubles with their identities.  And I will admit, this one is depends far more on the particular character.  And perhaps some on how you want to phrase the complication.  Because in many ways, the complications you take let the GM know what kind of stories you want your character to have.  For instance, a recent character of mine has a social complication of being a grad student; it's a job with some defined hours and responsibilities, and consequences for not meeting them.  It has some similarities to the standard Secret ID, but it's not as big a problem and has a more defined scope.
 
Though one that's been bugging me more is another game I joined, where the GM remarked on the danger of me taking a Hunted, but no Secret ID.  Which is a fascinating concept now that I've noticed it, that a Secret ID complication should give you an in game benefit.  It is something of a nitpick, but still strikes at fundamentals of character building and HERO, that you have to pay points for positive effects.
 
But I suppose that I just wonder how much people expect that a character should either have a Secret ID or Public ID.  Thoughts?

There is a nice illustration of “Code of the Hero” in Issue 2 is Chuck Dixon’s comic,”Avalon”, where there is Superhero duo of a Brick and. Ghost. (Selective invisibility, and desolid but takes concentration).  The Brick is an idealist, and follows the code of the Hero. The ghost is a pragmatist. When rading a drug lab, the ghost runs across a satchel of cash, and takes it home. Later he shows it to his roommate, the brick, which seems to trigger the brick’s “enrage “ over violations of The Code of the Hero, and threat is the ghost to get rid of the money and donate it to an”good cause”. The ghost is not happy, as they both have trouble coming up with rent, and they are both “unlicensed vigilantes “.  But the ghost complies and a mysterious satchel with the note, “For the Kids” appears at a
nurse’s station at Children’s Hospital. Later, they find
out that the lab was a project by a regional crime boss. So they go raid his penthouse apartment. The brick caves in the front door and laughs at the kooks and their guns. The ghost slips in unnoticed and phases through walls looking for evidence. Well, he finds the safe, and as their mall food court jobs haven’t been adequate to make rent, the ghost  robs the safe. The crime boss, alerted by the brick ignoring the bullets and pushing over walls, runs to the safe, and finds it empty.  He yells to his looks to look for another accomplice. The brick, putting two and two together, flies into a rage, and starts bulldozing through the apartment after the ghost; completely ignoring the mission. Having his roommate charging after him, calling him a thief, ruins his concentration, and eventually he gets tossed in the swimming pool, with the brick making sure he can’t get out until the police arrive. The cops take everyone in for questioning. The Brick turns  in his partner for theft. He does a sorry perp walk to a cell. The brick expects a cell as well, but because of him catching and turning in a thief, he gets recruited by one of the UN approved super teams. 

Up until a few years ago, the Hero Games website hosted a wide variety of book excerpts, supplements, and game aids for free download. However, with the most recent website upgrade, most of those items were considered not resource cost-effective to maintain, and were discarded. As a result most new Hero gamers are unaware they ever existed; and even some of the veterans may have missed the treasures they contained, or have since lost something from the collection they once had.
 
However, thanks to the magnificent Internet Archive Wayback Machine, virtually all those items are still obtainable if one knows where to look and what to look for. But since many people don't know, I thought it would be helpful to provide links to representative archived pages.
 
These downloads cover many areas: maps (from published books or supplementary), book excerpts and introductions (including supplementary info about the published official settings), wallpapers, color covers to PDF books, character sheets and hex maps, items cut from books for space (including supplementary forms mentioned in various books), adventure modules, character outlines for illustrations (under "Character Sheets and Hex Maps" for some reason), illos for cardboard mini figures, apps and utilities, graphics and sounds, and more. Many of these were generously created by Hero fans.
 
Because the website has gone through several revisions over the years since DOJ bought the Champions IP, and each version has made changes to the downloads it hosted, I'm including links to Free Stuff pages from different years to cover as many of the varied offerings as possible.
 
https://web.archive.org/web/20061201152750/http://www.herogames.com:80/FreeStuff/freestuffherogames.htm
 
https://web.archive.org/web/20071013030046/http://herogames.com:80/freeStuff.htm
 
https://web.archive.org/web/20110516165152/http://www.herogames.com/freeStuff.htm
 
NOTE: Sometimes a file linked to on one of those pages would not actually have been saved on the particular day that page was crawled by Internet Archive. At the top of each page you'll see a graphic representing how many times the page was crawled on various dates. Clicking on that to get to another date will bring up another page, on which the item you want may have been saved.
 
I recommend exploring. There's much there to enjoy.

Regarding a minimum cost to be able to apply limitations to differing types of skill levels: as a reminder, the application of limitations to the various types of skill levels is a GM call in 6e -- whether we're talking about Combat Skill Levels or plain old Skill Levels (the latter of which would be relevant for a bonus to the Concealment Roll).
 
Per 6e1 p71:
COMBAT SKILL LEVELS WITH LIMITATIONS
With the GM’s permission, characters can put Limitations on CSLs (for example, to build equipment, like a laser sight for a gun). The GM may restrict which types of CSLs a character can Limit; for example he might rule that only 3-point or more expensive CSLs can have Limitations. Unless the GM rules otherwise, CSLs with Limitations can only increase the user’s OCV, not DCV or damage.
 
Per 6e1 p88:
With the GM’s permission, characters can put Limitations on Skill Levels. The GM may restrict which types of Skill Levels a character can Limit; for example he might rule that only 3-point Skill Levels can have Limitations.

If it helps, yes: I am reading a 6e book.  I mentioned somewhere here that while I don't even like Fantasy as a genre (it really is my least favorite.  I'd rather endure a Twighlight / Hunger Games mash-up than read fantasy, in most cases), I have always had an appreciation for Fantasy Hero.  Not because I'm a HERO fanboy (though I am), but because it doesn't _feel_ like most fantasy games.  Perhaps because it doesn't lock you into a setting or a world like other fantasy games?  Maybe because there are no pre-ordained character molds and behavior patterns?  Wizards in plate mail and barbarians casting spells?  Maybe because if I want elves to be a hidden race of dumpy, shiftless no-goodnicks hiding in a pocket dimension, spreading lies about their beauty, talents, and harmonious living there is nothing in the book that says I can't?
 
I don't know.  I really don't.
 
Accordingly, I haven't missed a Fantasy Hero rules book / genre book yet.  I don't do the setting books, etc-- I don't like the genre.  But I do want to support the continuation of the line.   More importantly, I want to support the continuation of a "Complete" line-- everything in ONE THIN (ish) BOOK that can be read quickly, digested easily, and referenced instantly.  I picked up Champions Complete for that last reason (that, and I wanted to support Derrick's work, of course).  Though I don't like most of the things I've heard about it, if I can get up a bit more mad money before the deadline, I will probably back Champions Now for that last reason, as well.
 
Besides, FHC or CC either one gives me a refresher of the 6e rules without having to wade through the encyclopedia it has become.