LoneWolf

Before you decide if a race can be inherently evil you have to decide what evil is. The most important thing to figure out is are you going with the concept of free will, or predestination? Both concepts have been debated in western theology and literature. Examples of absolute predestination include more than just the Calvinist religions, the book Story All You Zombies by Robert A. Heinlein is good example of non-religious predestination. If you favor the theory of absolute predestination over free will inherently evil races, make perfect sense. If you favor the idea of free will inherently evil races are harder to justify. Like anything else this can be a scale instead of a binary choice. How much free will exists and how much has already been determined can be different. This can also have a lot of impact on other parts of the game besides just the question of morality. If you favor the idea of free will then predicting the future is a lot harder, but if you are going with absolute predestination the future is set would be easier to predict. For those using the idea of angles and demons as being that are inherently good or evil, I want to point out that according to the original stories demons are the angels that followed the devil in rebellion to God. If Demons are not inherently evil, why would any race be? What it really comes down to is what type of game does the GM want to run?

In all honesty the reason he was annoying was for both of those reasons. The character mostly stole things because he was greedy so was not a bloodthirsty villain. The other thing is that the character almost always managed to get away. I think the only time he was captured in the campaign was the time I managed to get him. The campaign did have a lot of very deadly villains including some really vicious murderers. He was not the most hated villain just the most annoying. After watching him get away all the time it got old, but finial capturing him felt great. He usually knew when to leave, but that time got a little too cocky.

The most annoying villain I have encounters was Roadrunner. He was a speedster that was incredibly difficult to hit and like to go out of his way to be annoying. I still remember him dumping a McDonalds shake on my character and then dumping a coke on me, saying that shakes always made him thirsty. He had a high DCV that made him really hard to hit and had a running dodge and a high enough DEX and skill levels he could dive for cover out of most area of effect attacks. I managed to catch him one time by waiting till he was jumping over me (to pour the coke on me) and put my tear gas arrow in the hex he was going to land in. Not only did he not have the defense he took double damage from the attack so ended up getting stunned. The attack lasted a turn, so he ended up being knocked out in his next phase. I think I was one of the only characters to ever capture him.

I agree with @unclevlad about being able to dodge this. That makes it seem like you are trying to recreate a spell from a game like Pathfinder that allows a save. I don’t see a reason this should be able to be resisted like this. UAA requires you to define a way it can be resisted, but having XDM of your own would make more sense. This is going to be a very expensive power because you have to account for the total weight of the area. An 8m radius will need to be able to handle about 25 tons, which puts the active cost to 165 points. The 32M radius will cost you 260 points. For the altering of the terrain that was moved that sounds more like a change environment than a transformation attack. A penalty to running due to the fact there is probably a hole in the ground that may have bits sticking out and water leaking out of the pipes creating mud.

@Duke Bushido enjoy being a player for a change. How you build the character does not really matter as long as the GM and the player are good with it. For me one of the best parts of the Hero System is that it allows you to build things that work the way you want them. Sometimes other people may not understand your concept so may think your power should operate differently. My initial impression of what Duke wanted was the ability of a speedster to snatch things (including people) out of the grasp of others. To me that suggests a grab, but the standard grab has some problems, so I suggested a flying grab. It turns out that is not what Duke wanted.

I think the idea that the Hero System is more reading than other systems is not really true. Other game systems have more books and spread things out more. Hero System actually has fewer books than most current game systems, but each book has more content. Looking at the 2nd edition Pathfinder site I see 16 rule books listed with prices around $50 - $60 books. I am not familiar with 2nd edition Pathfinder, but in 1st edition each book had completely expansions of the base rules. So, while getting started is slightly easier having everything is a lot more complex and requires substantial investment. With the Hero System all you really need are the two rule books. Other books in the Hero System are more advice on how to run a specific campaign and some source material for those types of campaigns. Fantasy Hero for example has a lot of information for the GM to setup his campaign and has expanded lists of equipment and talents. Really only the GM needs to purchase Fantasy Hero. Other systems have a lower entry threshold but are a lot more difficult to master than Hero System.

HKA are often more powerful in 6h edition due to the maximum damage limit being removed. Under 5th edition a 30 STR character with a Karate Chop (Killing Strike) would do 1d6+1 damage, under 6th edition it now does 2 ½ D6 damage. The cost of the maneuver does not increase for the stronger character they simply do more damage. There is a suggestion that weapons that do more than double the damage might have a chance to break, but that is a suggestion. Another thing that changed is that now skill levels in all campaigns can be used to increase damage. In Earlier editions this was usually limited to heroic campaigns This is probably one of the reasons they increased the cost of skill levels. This can make certain characters more powerful in a superhero campaign. A highly skilled sniper is a more dangerous in a superhero campaign in 6th edition campaign than they are in a 5th edition. Some powers have changed how they work. Force Wall was replaced by Barrier and is quite different in how it works. Growth also changed a lot and is now more expensive but gives you a lot more. It also is less flexible. Each level of growth represents a full doubling in height not mass. All resistant defenses are now under a single power called resistant defense. If you want it to act like the old force field, you add the limitation cost END. They added a new defensive power called Damage Negation that reduces the DC of the attack hitting you instead reducing the damage rolled. Damage Negation can have some interesting effects on combat especially in games that use hit locations. As other have said most of the differences between 5th edition and 6th edition are in character creation instead of game play. Even in character creation it is not that big of a deal. Figured stats and the increased points are about 80% of the defenses between the editions. What really changed is that the new books are a lot bigger and go into a lot more detail. They give more details and examples of how things are supposed to work. This seems to bother some people who have been playing the game for years, but I find that most of the extra material is reasonable and well thought out. It does mean a lot more reading, which is probably why a lot of people don’t like it.

The grab weapon option allows you to grab accessible focus or other held or carried objects. A hostage would be considered a held or carried object. The grab weapon states it uses the normal grab rules, which means you have to make a STR vs STR roll to gain control of the object. The extra STR from a martial grab maneuver applies to the STR vs STR roll to gain control of the held object (hostage). The rules for a grab by state that it is usually used for grabbing focus but can be used to grab people. Since the flying grab is basically a martial version of the grab by it should be able to be used in the same way and be allowed to grab a hostage.

True, but the real benefit is it improves your chance of being able to pull the hostage free if they are being held. That is what the extra STR does allow you to do.

It needs to be built and paid for if this is something the character plans on using on a regular basis and having it work reliably. How to build it also depends on what the player wants to do with it. If this is just something that the character might do once or twice in a campaign it probably does not need to be built. If this is going to be a regular thing the character does, it needs to be defined. If all you want to do is to grab a single hostage, the grab by maneuver will allow you to do it but has penalties that make it difficult to count on. The grab by maneuver takes a -3 OCV and -4 DCV, which puts the character at a real disadvantage. By spending 5 points for a flying grab, it reduces the penalties to a -2 OCV and -1 DCV and Gives the character +10 STR to grab with. So, a character with a flying grab can probably safely get two hostages with only a -1 to his DCV. Using TK or Teleport as an attack would allow the character to save multiple targets without exposing the character to much danger. Like I said earlier it depends on what the player wants to be able to do.

You cannot abort to any action after attacking or performing a full phase action until the next segment.

The one thing to consider on a normal grab is that it will end the characters move. Maneuvers without the FMOVE element take place at the end of your turn. You can perform a half move before using the maneuver, but after you make the attack roll your turn ends. This makes it difficult to run in and rescue the hostages as you end your turn next to where they are. The solution to this is to buy a few martial maneuvers with the FMOVE element. In this case a flying grab would be what you want. Most of the time a speedster will end up with a martial art with most of the maneuvers with the FMOVE element. It also depends on exactly what you want to do. If all you want to do is to be able to grab one or two people and get them to safety a flying grab with good movement and enough STR to carry the targets should be enough. If you are looking at getting more people out, then you might need to build it differently. Moving the bus for example is not going to work unless the character actually has enough STR to move the bus. Without further details on what you want to accomplish and how the power works it is difficult to give anymore advice.

I don’t know that any edition has rules stating that when you grab something it automatically has to do damage. In 6th edition the book states that you can grab an enemy just to hold on to him and prevent them from doing anything. If you want to hurt the person you grabbed you can squeeze, slam or throw them doing normal damage. When you throw the character after a normal grab you do not add velocity damage like you do on a marital throw. The 5th edition book does not specifically state you don’t have to damage your target but uses the word can. That seems to indicate damage is optional. There is a Grab By maneuver that basically combines a grab with a move by, but that is usually for grabbing things from people as you move past them. I think that if you want to you could damage the target by doing a grab and slam, but do not have to. You might want to purchase a flying grab for this character. The fact you are moving at a high velocity should not matter.

In some cultures, destroying the body may prevent the soul from finding peace. Egypt is an example of this and until fairly recently many Christian faiths also disapproved of cremation. Burning the bodies of the dead may actually create more undead than burying the body does. Most mindless undead are created by necromancers raising them as troops. The only time this becomes a problem is when the necromancer is trying to concur the land. Other undead are tied to the site of the burial or death. These types of undead usually don’t bother people unless they are disturbed. Undead that interact with society are fairly rare, vampires being probably the most obvious. Vampires probably don’t create a lot of minions because they don’t want to competition. Too many minions make it harder to feed. One reason that something may become undead that I have not seen mentioned in this thread is it being a curse. They may be cursed because of their actions in life were so evil that their soul could not find rest. Or maybe they offended some powerful creature, and that creature cursed them to become undead.

There is no reason you cannot define your base form as a car, but that would mean you are always a car. Shapeshift is to allow you to change from the robot form to the car form. Shapeshift to sight, touch and hearing groups will allow you to change your form into a car. The touch group allows you to alter your physical shape and mass distribution. Sight makes you look like a car. Hearing would make you sound like a car and cover sonar.

What can a character built as a vehicle do that a normal character cannot? I am not talking about how the character is built, but rather what they cannot actually do. Other than the fact they don’t take stun or use END I don’t think there is anything a character built as a vehicle can do that a normal character cannot. So, the real question is do you want to allow a character to be able to not worry about stun and END. The other thing to keep in mind is that a vehicle is normally not a sentient being. In order to make a self-aware vehicle you purchase an AI using the computer rules. This means in addition to the vehicle the character also needs to include the cost of the computer in the multiform. This also means you have to buy each and every skill the base character has that the vehicle can use. If you are ok with the character ignoring STUN and END you should require that both forms have this ability. That means the robot form needs to purchase automation powers and add 0 END to all his powers. This is going to increase the cost of the character by at least 45 points and make it significantly more powerful. Next thing to consider is what the car can do that the robot cannot? Do they have similar STR and movement capabilities? Is there DEX and SPD radically different? The robot is already 12’ tall so is probably about the same size. Looking up the size of sports cars in the book I am seeing they have 800kg of mass, which is the same as a character with the first level of growth. Both the sports car and a character with growth have a 25 STR. I am not really seeing a lot the car can do the robot cannot except maybe having a higher movement. I am not sure that a multiform is really the best way to go for this concept. Multiform is used for when a character has two radically different forms that has different skills and abilities. If each form has a lot of different abilities that only that form can use a multiform is going to be the best way to build it. But if both forms share most of the abilities shapeshift may be a better way to go. You can put a limitation on the powers that only one form has only in <insert form>, which is probably going to be a -1/2. This would allow you to purchase some extra movement for the car form, or a weapon for the robot form. If two forms do have radically different abilities a multiform is appropriate. You still don’t need to use vehicle rules to do so. I think in the end using them is going to actually be more expensive and complicated. Using the vehicle rules you are going to need to write up the robot, the car, and the AI for the car. I know you want to have a general rule for this, but that might not be the best idea. The strength of the Hero System is its flexibility and the ability to build exactly the character you want. Imposing set ways of doing basic idea usually ends up restricting the players ability to have the character they want. Some general guidelines are fine, but strict requirement on how to build a character is not keeping with the spirt of the Hero System.

Putting them in stasis is the special effect of the LS. You don’t need to purchases anything to do this. Just like when you build a bow and arrow you don’t need anything more than the RKA. The concentration limitation represents the fact they are unconscious the entire time. It really does not matter if you use concentration or a custom limitation. The custom limitation should be worth the same amount as it is essentially the same thing. You don’t need the UOO advantage. The focus would be considered a universal focus so anyone could use it.

I have to agree with using LS on this. In addition to the focus add Concentration O DCV character totally unaware and must concentration throughout use of constant power. Transformation is not needed.

If you look at the comic books death is usually not the end of the character. More often than not death is just an excuse for a radiation accident. Look how many times Jean Grey died? When I did a quick search to see Bing said she has been killed and resurrected 15 times. When death is incredibly rare in the source material is it any wonder if a game follows that? Outside of the Marvel movies how many superheroes have actually been killed and stayed dead. I am not talking about dying from old age, but actually killed in action. Even those that died of old age tend to be from a much earlier time and die offstage. The only Marvel Superheroes I know that have died and stayed dead were the original Captain Marvel and Bill Fosters Goliath.

Depends on what you mean by dying. If you mean taking enough damage to put you at negative of your BODY, than I have had 2 characters die. In both cases it was a good excuse for a radiation accident. If you mean a character that remained dead that is a different story.

This sums up things perfectly. I think a lot of the people that prefer figured stats are thinking they are getting more for their points. In reality the difference is trivial and being able to directly buy CV has some advantages.

Can the ship be flown while he is not downloaded to it? If it can and the other players are contributing to the ship, I would allow him to buy his second form as a computer. He is still going to have to pay for all skills and mental characteristics, so it is not like he is getting anything for nothing. This would allow the other players to assist in ship-to-ship combat. He is basically acting as the pilot for the ship, and it is really not all that different than a normal character doing so.

From the sound of it I would do this as a multiform. Create one form for the robot and another for the ship. Do not use the AI rules for the character just write him up as a normal character. Most robots in champions do not use the computer rules, Mechanon is written up as a standard character. Use complication to give him any computer related weakness the character has. The ability to download into other computers is going to be a bit more complex. I would not use multiform for this for one important reason. When he is in the computer, he is going to be limited by the computer he is downloaded to. Does the computer he is downloaded even have the capability to support the entire character? In real life computers have limited resources like memory and storage. Can just any computer support the characters full consciousness, or does it require a powerful computer. Think of trying to load a modern operating system onto an older system. Trying to download the characters full consciousness could be like trying to download the latest version of windows onto an early 286 computer. More than likely all he can do is to download something like a virus that takes over the computer. That can probably be handled by a few mental powers targeting computer minds.

What can the character do when his consciousness is downloaded into a computer? Is he able to access or control the computer? What happens to his body when he is in the computer? One way to do this could be by taking the concentrate 0 DCV, character is totally unaware, must Concentrate throughout use of a constant power on an appropriate power.

Using a compound power would be the best way to handle it. Doing so allows someone looking at the character to clearly understand how the sword works. This is going to be important if the campaign has multiple GM’s or the campaign is paused for a while before going back to. When you are first writing up the character or are using it regularly you will understand what the custom adder is. But let’s say you want to use that character in a new campaign or the campaign restarts after 5 years, you might not remember what that custom adder is or the pricing behind it.