LoneWolf

The crew handles the running and repair of the ship. The scientists would also be a part of Starfleet. Probably most of the civilians are dependents of the crew. What the rest of the civilians do is provide services for the crew. Think of all the services you use in your own life. Replicators provide the food, but without someone who knows how to cook the food it probably tastes like paste. So they may have a cook on board, but the cook spends most of his time programing the replicator. The same would be true with a Tailor. Also Think of a starship as a city instead of a vehicle. Besides houses what types of things are in cities for people to do?

What really matters in a case like this is the special effect of the power. If I have a death touch power which is bought as Drain Body with the limitation No Range that should be a HTH attack. If I buy a lightsaber as a RKA with the advantage Attack vs Limited Defense, No Range that is also a HTH attack. If I have a martial arts power bought as a Blast with the advantage AoE radius No Range that is also going to be a HTH attack. The breath weapon I can see as a ranged attack. In most cases a power with the limitation No Range is going to be a HTH attack. There are some things due to special effect that may still be considered a ranged attack, but that is going to be fairly uncommon

I have to agree it depends on the character. The most interesting character I have would be my own precog. What would have probably happened is my character would have seen his character shooting the suspect and tried to stop him. The question is would the other precog have seen me, seeing him and try and avoid me? If so would I have seen him, seeing me, seeing him? And If he had seen me, seeing him ………….

When you apply an advantage or a limitation it changes the power. If I have a HTHKA Useable at Range that is a ranged attack, and can be deflected as well as blocked. If I have a RKA with the limitation No Range that is no longer a ranged attack. If they are still considered the original type of attack then I can use skill levels with the original type of attack. This would mean that I could by my HTHKA or HTHA at range and use 5pt levels with HTH combat no matter how I am using it. This violates the section on common sense in the beginning of the rules. If I buy my Lightsaber as a RKA no range (among other things) it is a HTH attack, not a ranged attack. I can use it with my HTH martial arts assuming I have the appropriate weapon element. My levels with HTH combat can be used with it. And I have to factor in the HTH modifiers for my opponents DCV.

One thing to consider is that Damage Negation is much more efficient if the damage on the dice is above average. In a campaign that uses critical hits Damage Negation will be more effective that the same amount of regular defenses. If you are also using hit location than Damage Negation got even stronger. This is particularly true in a campaign that uses a lot of killing attacks. In let’s say a Fantasy Hero game where both critical hits and hit locations are used even a small amount of Damage Negation will make a big difference. Both characters are wearing Magical full plate. One of them simply has increased the value of the resistant PD to 18. The other one has the normal resistant PD of 8 plus -3 DC of Damage Negation. Both characters also have 8 normal PD. Both characters are hit by 2d6 HKA in the chest with average damage. Neither character is going to take any damage from this hit. Now both characters are hit with in the chest with a critical. The first character takes 0 Body and 10 Stun, The second character takes 0 Body and 2 stun. Finally both characters take a critical hit to the head. Again neither character takes any Body, but the first character takes 34 Stun, where the second character takes only takes 14. I would be very hesitant to allow a character with large amounts of damage negation. I would allow it with enough limitations. If the character is trying to become immune to a certain type of damage, Damage Negation is a good way to achieve this.

In the Hero system special effect is the important thing. Sometimes a specific attack may require an advantage or limitation, but its special effect is still the important thing. When you take the no range limitation on the power it is no longer a ranged attack. If I create an undead monster that drains Body with a touch, that is a HTH attack not a ranged attack. It is treated as a HTH attack for all purposes.

Most attack powers are usable at range so there are many times you will use no range when the power is not AoE. With Blast you use HTHA instead, but other attacks delivered by touch will use not range. Let’s say you are creating something that weakens its opponent with a touch. That would be a Drain STR with the limitation No Range.

The smart phone will become what it was inspired by the tricorder, but with a built in communicator.

I would go with the ranged attack no range, but really it makes no difference. When I see HKA I subconsciously think about adding STR. On the other hand when I see area of affect cone my first thought is it probably has no range. Using the RKA just seems to be more clear and concise. Ranged is not required for the HKA.

When it comes to recovery time many two handed weapons actually have faster recovery time than a one handed weapon. When I block with a two handed weapon I will block so that your weapon goes away from your body, and my weapon is between your weapon and your body. This allows me to reverse my swing and attack you while you are exposed. My heavier weapon and greater leverage from using it two handed allows me to move your one handed weapon so that you have to move your whole arm to recover. I on the other hand simply have to reverse my pivot. Another technique to use is when you see your opponent is about to block you, you do not resist. Instead of trying to stop his blow you let his sword push yours back, while you step back to avoid the blow. You then use his own momentum again him. This is particularly effective because often the other person overextends and is not able to defend himself. The other thing to consider is how easy it is to defend yourself with a two handed weapon. I can simply hold the weapon in a normal stance and keep the person with the dagger at bay. If they come in to attack me they expose themselves to my attack. Often they have to move around me to be able to get in a shot. Since I only need to shift my position slightly this means they are moving significantly farther than I am. Obviously the time they are spending in maneuvering around me limits the number of attacks they can get. Even in the hero system there is a lot of abstraction to combat. While it is not as pronounced as say Pathfinder there is still some abstraction. Much of what is being discussed here is beyond the scope game mechanics.

Also keep in mind just because you have the ability to see into the future does not mean you know everything that will happen. You still need to know where to look before you can see anything. If you want to figure out what the villain is doing you have to be able to know where the villain is going to be at any particular time. Even if you know the villain is going to be meeting someone to set something up you probably do not know where they will be meeting. In the scenario with tomorrow’s newspaper you have to figure out where a paper is going to be that you can read. Remember that precognition does not allow you to interact with the future just see it. Another important detail is you have to have a reason to look for something. Unless you have a reason to suspect something is happening why you would even be looking in the first place. If the players cannot tell me what he is looking for and justify why his character would be looking he does not look. As it is written in the book precognition does not allow you to rapidly scan the future. It takes as long to view something with precognition as it would take to happen. If you want to keep watch on the hallway to figure out when it will be empty you may need to blow a lot of time. I do not allow the rapid adder to be purchased or to be used with precognition. Like Chris Goodwin I also require the player with precognition to make a perception roll, but in some cases I add a penalty based on how far into the future it is. Basically it is a range penalty based on time.

The rules are actually quite specific on this that you can use DFC vs any attack. Normally vs a HTH maneuver this is going to be a poor choice, but in some cases it may be the best tactic. I can think of at least two situations where this could be the appropriate choice. The first situation is if your opponent is attacking you with a delayed segment attack like a haymaker that you know you cannot avoid, and you acted in that phase. The second is when you need to get to a both avoid the attack and to get to a specific location. Let’s say the only door out is about to close and you tried attacking someone in your last segment and missed. Your opponent is about to grab you and keep you from escaping. If you are grabbed you cannot get out, so you dive for cover to escape the grab and get through the door. In both cases if you miss the dive for cover roll you are pretty much gone, but if you succeed you are in a better position. It really helps if you are faster than your opponent, or someone else is there to provide assistance to you (like closing the door).

The thing everyone seems to be ignoring is the fact that in combat you are not just standing still and trading blows. In combat you are constantly shifting position to avoid being hit, or to give yourself an advantage. Even if you move 0 meters you are still moving within the hex. This is simulated in the game by DCV. You are also using your weapon to defend yourself even if you are not blocking. This is also part of DCV; part of it is also what you are doing in combat. When I use a skill level with swords for DCV I am using my weapon defend myself against your attack. If I have zweihander and you have a dagger I can easily step back a step without actually moving and be out of your range, while you are still well within my range. I can also knock your weapon out of alignment so you need to spend time recovering. You also need to be very careful in how you approach me or I am going to hit you. All these things are normal parts of combat that does not require any special maneuver to perform. These types of things severely limit how often the person with the dagger can actually attack. Sure if you are willing to allow the person with the zweihander to go first and put yourself at 0 DCV you may be able to attack a couple of times before I can return the attack. As to physics and moving the object that is a false assumption. If I am using a pivot maneuver I only have to move my hands on hilt a small distance but the end of my sword will move a farther and faster than the hilt. It takes me the same amount of time to move my hands six inches as it does the person with the dagger. The person with the dagger moves his dagger 6 inches; I move the end of my sword much farther than six inches.

Simply give the droid the relevant skills like combat piolet and navigation. How they interface with the ships control is more a matter of special effect instead of a game mechanic. The ship is probably actually controlled by a computer and the controls are to allow a human to interact with the ship. The droid is simply bypassing the controls and directly communicating with the computer. This could be done by some sort of physical plug they attach to, or some sort of wireless connection. The wireless connection could require some sort of radio transmit and listen.

It really depends on the campaign and the players. Many of the people I game with myself included are in technical position, so some of the science ends up being very realistic. But there are still players who are not as technologically sophisticated and often they are the ones who end up playing the more scientific characters. This often leads to the person learning a lot about what their character knows, but they do not. On a couple of occasions we had game sessions that were almost completely technical in nature with almost no actual combat. Having to investigate the security measures and find way to neutralize them was actually a lot of fun.

I think a lot of people are underestimating the speed of a two handed weapon like a great sword. You use a grip where the hands are spread apart on the hilt. One hand basically holds the weapon and the other pivots the weapon. The weapon is mostly held in front of your stomach. A small movement with the end hand results in a large movement of the blade. The end of the blade is moving a lot faster than the part near the hilt. This is basic physics; it’s the same thing as the fact that the outer part of the wheel is moving faster than the inside. You can use the middle and lower part of the blade to block with and to keep you opponent at bay. The over the head full body swings are almost never done. They are more of a Hollywood thing, than something done in actual combat. For the most part you never raise your hand higher than your shoulders. In reality a person with a dagger vs a great sword is at a severe disadvantage. It is very difficult for them to get a shot in at all without exposing themselves to hit from the person with the great sword. What really matters is the skill of the people involved. If the person with the dagger is more skilled he will probably win, if the person with the great sword is more skill then more than likely he will be the winner. The types of things people are suggesting seem to be how an expert with the smaller weapon can do. These types of things should be purchased as talents.

Another way to do it would be to use the focus limitation. Reduce most of his physical characteristics and then buy them back to the level you want for the character with the limitation IIF body. Buy any additional characteristics and powers you want the character to have with the IIF limitation. Buy regeneration like you planed, and also purchase some extra defense without the focus limitation only to prevent death. You may need shapeshift to allow you to look like the new body. Purchase any abilities the maggot form would have without the limitation. Many of them would have a limitation not when in meat suit.

I start with the concept and make sure that he character can actually do what the concept entails. After I have a rough outline I fine tune the character to make sure he will be an effective character. The character does not need to be good at everything, but he should be very good at what he does. I usually have better system mastery and tactics then most of the other players so my character may end up seeming more powerful. This is often why I will take a strange concept that weak and see how far I can push it. I actually go out of my way to make sure my characters are not significantly more powerful than other in the group.

One thing to keep in mind is that dodge and martial dodge are HTH maneuvers. The DCV bonus does apply vs ranged attacks because that is what it is designed to do. If the levels are with martial arts he gets the extra DCV because he has trained (bought skill levels) at dodging among other things. HTH levels would also apply because martial dodge is still a HTH maneuver and therefore can be applied to dodge and martial dodge. Levels with specific weapons apply when actively using the weapon, not just for having in your hand. They cost the same as levels with martial arts, but are different. Levels with martial arts can only be applied to specific maneuvers. Levels with weapons can be applied to any maneuver used with the weapon. So your scenario with the character with levels in swords is in error. He can apply his levels with martial arts to the his DCV, but not the levels with swords. He could use the levels with sword on a maneuver that was not in his martial art as long as the maneuver involves the sword. In Kendo from 5th edition if you wanted to purchase dodge as a maneuver you were required to buy a bare hand element for Kendo.

I don’t think being a mutant qualifies as a special effect; it is more of a background. If you allow this for mutants you should allow it for all other backgrounds. If my character is a dragon then I should be able to apply it to almost everything on my character. To drain all mutant powers at the same time will require the Expanded Effect advantage. You cannot simply buy drain mutant powers. You cannot take a limitation for something that is an advantage for the attack power. If this did work any drain that hit the character would drain all his powers at the same time. The reason being is that any power could be a mutation, since this is true any drain could work on a mutant if it has that power. Since the Unified Power limitation states that if you drain any power all of them with the limitation are also affected, this means any drain will drain mutant powers.

If all you want is the accuracy you could use the require roll with the roll being an attack. This would still use charges, END and any other prep for the power. The attack roll may need to take a penalty based on active points, but you could purchase skill levels to compensate. You could possibly use the trigger advantage with the trigger also being the attack roll. I would say you would need to be able to define the trigger with each use, you would also need the automatically reset, and probably the can expire as well. This may allow not to spend the charges or END. It would of course be a GM’s call, but may work.

If your power is based on sight don’t forget about the simulated sense group rule. Enhanced Senses (Unusual or otherwise) automatically acquire some or all of the following Sense Modifiers for no additional cost when assigned to a Sense Group: Discriminatory (to whatever degree indicated in the descriptions below), Range, Sense, Targeting. You did forget to take the tracking adder on the detect so if your power is based on sight it cost 10 pts. Without the tracking adder you can locate, but not follow tracks. You could also see about simply purchasing the tracking adder for your sight, but that would be a GM call. The character will still want to purchase the skill tracking so that he can hide his tracks from other using tracking on him.

This could also be done by requiring the character to take a hunted. Since every casting of a spell does automatically draw attention this is probably more accurate. It would probably be infrequently, more powerful, and harshly punishing. That works out to be about 15 points. Noisy just means that nearby creatures with magical sensitivity can notice you when you cast a spell. If the villain is half a world away the penalty on perception is going to mean he never notices.

Maybe indirect would work. I believe that was how smart guns were done in a previous edition. Not sure if it was 5th edition or 4th edition.

How does damage negation work vs an attack with the advantage explosion? For example I have a character with -3DC of damage negation. The villain throws a 10d6 Blast with the advantage explosion at a character 6m away from my character that does not have damage negation and hits. The rules for damage negation state that you roll the dice for the character with the most damage negation which would be my character, but the rules for explosion state that you remove the highest dice first. How is this handled? Obviously the character in the center of the explosion will take 10d6, while my character will take 8d6 (adjusting for the explosion advantage). How are the dice rolled? If the 8d6 is rolled vs my character first then the subsequent dice may not be the highest. If the 10d6 is rolled first which dice do I take off for my character?