mrinku

There's always the "vs a special effect" version of some defense powers (i.e Damage Reduction vs Fire).

Nice one, Chris! More elegant than a Transform or a suite of Aid powers.

After the 86th floor observation deck, the ESB floors become rather small. It would not be practical to build a base any higher.

First question for me is "are you using hit locations or not?" Assuming not, what Greywind said. But if you want to build powers that let them do stuff, build some powers. An alternate to QM's small multipower: +5 Combat Skill Levels with Block, Strike and Disarm, OIF Armoured Gloves and Boots (10 pts). You could assign other maneuvers to your taste, especially if you have Martial versions.

Chris, why not break it up by how the gear is carried, then apply weight allowances. Doesn't have to be finicky. Maybe: Clothing (including armour) Pack and webbing Belt Each hand. Hand allowances can be combined if needs be (i.e. carrying a chest). "Belt" might also represent "ready to use" equipment that's not strictly speaking attached to a belt, like a bandolier or quiver. Packs become more encumbering when not strapped properly and VERY encumbering when transferred to a Hand allowance. Equipment stored in a pack can't generally be quickly accessed. You can strap gear to the outside of a pack within reason, but would need to first take off the pack to access it.

Fairness is relative; if you're playing a tournament wargame, fairness is critical or noses are quickly put out of joint. RPGs are asymmetrical games, however, with the GM controlling the "fairness" or otherwise of a situation. This cuts both ways - sometimes players need a bail-out.

Properly speaking all aborts to take defensive action need GM approval, and this might be something they would already require in some cases. Needing a PER roll shouldn't be required for aborting to block an opponent you're already fighting face to face, or diving for cover against a haymaker that you were aware of. Or aborting to turn on your force field after Doc Destroyer pressed a big red button at the end of his soliloquy. But aborting to Dodge VIPER Agent #3 over there switching targets from Absorbo The RKE Absorbing Man to your character? Makes sense to require a roll to notice that. So yeah. A point worth mentioning, but I'd not make it a regular rule. Might be something to enforce in the more realistic settings, though.

Silver Age Flash levels of burst hyper-speed can be bought as Teleportation; Must Pass Through Intervening Space (-1/4), maybe with Destination must be a Surface. If the character has a Desolid power, they may not even really need the limitation, or it could be linked to that. That would be sufficiently fast to allow surprise attack bonus, especially vs mooks. I'd also thought Indirect might be appropriate to allow for running around obstacles, but that's only allowed on Attack powers. Mind you, speedsters usually have more than enough tricks up their sleeve to get Surprise Attack bonuses other than from sucker punches. Grabbing a pistol, unloading the bullets and putting it back in the mook's hand... tying shoelaces together... going desolid and letting the sucker take a swing. And there's always "Ha! You missed!" "Oh, did I?" followed by something falling on the target, or their gun falling apart.

Doc doesn't technically live at the top - his suite is on the 86th floor. You could fortify yourself on the upper observation deck and not bother him much

Yeah, I get it now. Unfortunately yet another fine point that didn't really make it into Champions Complete In terms of notation, it would probably be better to say something like "+60 CP to Protective Spells power" or "increase Protective Spells power to 75% DR", rather than stating it as another 50% rDR, which *could* be a purchase of a distinct power and is frankly what caused the confusion. Thanks for clarifying, Hugh.

Sure it does. Some powers DO stack, such as movement, characteristics, etc. Others do not, like Desolidification and Damage Reduction. Or a sense you already have. Someone with Radar will not normally gain any benefit from buying Radar twice, assuming the same modifiers. But you can use your VPP to buy it anyway, if you want. But yeah, my terminology was a little imprecise. Any power you use a VPP to buy would be generally useable (limitations aside). You could choose to use that one or the one you already had. If they give identical effects there would be little point in having wasted the VPP doing this.

Interstingly, my old 3e/4e campaign Superman tribute character (Terrificman), only had 100STR. He was deliberately set to be well above the 250pt PC level, just in case I needed a hero to bail them out or get them to toe the line. I had the John Byrne Man of Steel version of Supes in mind when I did him, so there was no need for Silver Age shenanigans. Golden Age Terrificman had 50 STR and fitted into 250 pts.

Splitting up to save time never does.

Very impressive work! One tweak I might suggest is to lower the raw STR and make some of it "Lift Only" or "Extra Push" so that he doesn't have a basic 25d6 punch (let alone his Haymaker...) With a lot of the larger strength feats he really has to strain, suggesting that he may be Pushing the Power. Haymaker also helps cover him doing more property damage for a given lift ability. I'd also suggest that the damage he would take from a building collapsing on him would be less than the damage a point mass of the same weight falling on him would do, since only some of the building would actually be crushing his body, there would be voids in the collapse, etc. You could probably get by with lower resistant defenses, but maybe harden them. Which edition were you using, but the way? That's clearly pre-6e.

Great work, massey! I've got a lot of those episodes too. My understanding is that the cartoons actually fed back into the comic - X-Ray vision is the best known example... it was invented for that episode. I've also heard that they changed leaping to flight in the cartoon because it was easier to animate, and this carried on to the comic. Worth noting that the first of them was 1941, when Superman had only been around for three years or so, so this effect of the cartoon leading the way was not trivial. The episodes may not have been screened in the order they were written, too, so powers coming and going (i.e. flight) is not unexpected. There's an almost shot-for-shot shout out to Mechanical Monsters in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (which should be compulsory viewing for Golden Age and Pulp fans ) If you want to get REALLY thorough, there's 2000+ episodes of the radio serial, which ran from 1940 until 1951. Kryptonite was a plot device invented for that version, by the way.

I put it up on Steve Long's FAQ and it received the following response: "As noted in the rulebook, Time Limit is primarily intended for “utility” or defensive abilities; attacks generally should rely on the standard HERO Systemduration rules. So the more appropriate way to build this ability would be: HKA 2d6, Constant (+½); 3 Continuing Charges lasting 1 Turn each (-¾). Total cost: 26 points. Assuming that the GM were to allow the power construct you came up with, then the fact that it has Charges means it doesn’t cost any END." Although unfortunately Steve's build doesn't give the same effect the OP was after, since a Constant HKA of 1 turn duration keeps doing the damage to the target every phase until it runs out. But it at least sets my mind at rest about the endurance question, which was still bugging me a little. Also bugs me a touch that if Time Limit was meant to primarily apply to non-attack powers that Blast was used as the example of an Instant power in the CC entry.

GURPS has GURPS Lite, which gives you enough to make a character and run the game in 8 pages of free rules. HERO could easily copy that - the current 2 page summary download is neat, but not enough to allow you to grab the sourcebook of your choice and start playing, as GURPS Lite often will (depending on setting. It works best with those that aren't Power heavy, but then that's GURPS in general). You'd just need the basics for making a 75 point Heroic character, the core game mechanics and maneuvers, most of the skills, some of the talents, maybe aan example spell/power or two, short medieval and modern equipment lists and you'd pretty much be fine.

Fair enough. Myself, I was quite surprised how heavy the Desert Eagle was. 2kg? That's insane! Talk about strapping a brick to your hand...

Well, that's your call as GM to use that as a house rule. And in the specific case of Dragon Mandarin it's a bit of a moot point since he's meant to be something like a mystic Doctor Destroyer and pretty much should have whatever the GM needs him to have for the situation. But for more general (i.e. player) use, there shouldn't be any rebate. That's where I would use caution.

Most of that What's New is spot on, but the cinderblocks for armour is a bit cheeky. That would literally be like comparing how a twenty kilo backpack feels when you lift it directly and haul it around as opposed to wearing it with chest and belly straps in place and adjusted properly. And I can guarantee Phil got a lot of feedback on that very point from his SCA friends Plate in particular is pretty comfy. Far easier to wear than chain of the same weight - that stuff really digs into your shoulders, no matter how well you clinch it up at the waist. A coat of plates drags on the shoulders as well, but not as bad. That's a big reason that later styles got rid of the hauberk and just used chain patches to cover spots like the inside elbows and backs of knees. @Nolgroth: 2.5kg for a longsword? More like 2.5 pounds. 2.5kg would be a big two hander. A typical one handed sword is about a kilo. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longsword A sword's pretty easy to wear, too, once you get hang of it. Bows are... inconvenient at best. Though there are designs of bow case (especially for saddle use) that work okay for the shorter recurves. A longbow you carry unstrung or in your hand.

If you think a player is pushing common sense, get them to wear analogues of the gear they reckon they can manage and TRY to do the stuff they claim they can. Good luck on finding a way to holster a polearm, in particular... However, a horse takes care of a multitude of equipment issues and means you arrive at the fight a lot fresher, too

For me the ideal solution would revolve around having several "best" options instead of just one optimal one. 6e (or maybe it was 5e) seems to have expanded what you can use maneuvers with, which is a good start. What about a carrot approach, with some bonus for creative power use? The rules already sort of have this with the "surprise maneuver" rule, but everyone tends to forget that one. What about initiative order based on how entertaining the player's last action was? (defaulting to boring normal rules if everyone is being boringly normal) "Okay, Combat Thug hits him again" "Sure. Roll damage. Robin?" "I'll grab the mook, roll him up into a ball and dribble him towards the boss!" *laugh* "Okay. Roll damage on that. You get to go first next phase."

That guy should GET a pack mule If you want a reasonable rule, use reason. No armour worth its salt is encumbering in the context of its intended use, and should be well distributed on the body. Even the very thick tournament plate suits that would have been totally impractical in battle let the wearer plant their lance accurately in a joust. Armour does fatigue through heat retention, though. Which is a different thing. More than a couple of weapons is weird. Primary, secondary, maybe a dagger. Most weigh less than you might think, too. Encumbrance through weight is less of a concern than them getting in the way when you're fighting. Unless you've got a squire or other helper to hand you a weapon swap, it should be something for each hand and what you can carry on the belt. No one swaps to bow after starting with sword and shield, but starting with bow then drawing a sword is reasonable.

He has 50% rPD and 50% rED as a standard power and a big VPP for spells. But just because you can use a VPP to build a power doesn't make it usable. There's nothing in his example spells in Villains I that has DR that I could find.

With that one of the Tick and Arthur... Tick is pretty much perfect, but Arthur is way too fit. If he didn't have a dad bod, should have used foam like the other guy! That Doom... oh my!