LoneWolf

Many Fantasy Hero games do not allow frameworks, so a multipower might not be an option.  If the character has to purchase all the powers individually that will get very expensive. 
 
You only have to purchase the skills you want the other form to have.  I can see a character that becomes an animal losing some of his human skills because he becomes more animal than man.  That actually seems kind of fitting for a Fantasy Hero game.  If the character is actually becoming an animal instead of just assuming an animal shape losing the human skills and gaining those the animal would have seems to be more of how a druid would change shapes. 

In all honesty I don’t want combat to be simplified.  If that is what I am looking for I will play a different game.  The reason I play the Hero System is I like the tactical flexibility of the system.  I don’t want the game reduced to roll to hit, and damage.  I want to be able to dodge and block and perform risky high damaging strikes and all the other things that Hero System allows. That being said speeding up combat is a completely different issue.   To me that is what people should be focusing on.   Since the math seems to be the main thing that slows down combat speeding that up is where we should be focusing.     
 
Rolling dice and figuring the results seems to be one of the biggest time traps in the game.  Working with larger numbers usually slows down people's calculations.  For most people it is easier to figure out 7-5 than it is 37-12.   When you add in multiple steps it gets even worse.   Rearranging some of the formulas can speed things up.  The formula to figure out the odds of hitting is OCV +11 – DCV, but if we change it to OCV- DCV +11 it will speed thing up for most people.  For example, if I have an OCV of 15 and my opponent has a DCV of 12.  Using the traditional formula, you get 11+15 =26, 26-12=14.  Using the one I suggest you have 15-12=3, 3+11=14.   The end result is the same, but you are using smaller numbers.  If your players have had a few drinks or are tired helps even more.
 
How you count dice can also speed things up.  Figuring out the BODY does not need to be complicated.  Just roll the dice and ignore everything but 1 and 6.  Count the entire die that have 1 or 6 and find the difference.  If there are more 1 subtract that amount from the number of dice you rolled, if there are more 6 add it.  After that start sorting the dice in groups that equal 10.  For example, pair a 6 with a 4 and set those slightly apart.  Continue doing so until you have nothing left that can be added together to equal 10, and then count the rest. Now you simply count the number of groups and add the last result.
 
When dealing with the targets DEF a way to speed it up is to count out the targets DEF and then count what goes over.   This can be combined with the method above.  Doing this you would still sort the die in groups of 10 until you get to near the targets DEF and then use individual die to equal the DEF.  After this count the remaining and that is what the target takes.   For example, if the target has 12 DEF and took a 10d6 attack, pull off 12 (probably a group of 10 and a die with 2), then start grouping the remainder of the die by groups of 10.  Count the groups by 10 and add the remaining die.
 
Many of you are already doing these things, but someone new to the system might not be.  This sounds complicated but in reality, it is very simple.  This works best if all the stats are known to both player and GM.  If you GM likes to keep the stats of your opponents a mystery or is using some other method for combat it does not work as well, or the GM needs to do all the work.    
 

I have to agree with only allowing prewritten powers for any VPP.  That is the only way I will allow a character to VPP that can be changed during combat.
 
The best way to speed up combat is for the GM to be organized.   Having the needed information on the combatants so you don’t have to go digging around for it when something takes a hit is a good start.  Using tools to do much of the work can also speed things up.   Spreadsheets and small programs to handle the details can be a valuable resource.  
 

Its amazing anyone learns to play D&D based on that standard.  The truth is, all games look complicated and confusing when just reading the rules.  But when you sit down and start to play, they fall into place easily enough.  That's how 99.99% of us learned how to play ANY of these games: a buddy invited us to play and we dove in, learning as we went.  Almost nobody learns to play a game by reading the rules and thinking them over.

I have to agree with Ninja-Bear on this just figure out how much STR it would take to break a tree and use that.  If this is a beast using brute STR you don’t have to worry about trying to replant or otherwise keep the tree alive.  More than likely the tree is going to break near the roots when someone tries to pull it up.  There will be some root structure with the tree, but the majority will still be in the ground.  

What exactly is uprooting trees and what is it doing with them?  Depending on what you want to do you might not even need to worry about the STR needed to uproot the tree.   If this is some mythical creature that can use trees as weapons you could use trees as a inaccessible focus for the attack power.
 
This is also the Hero System discussion forum.  Assuming the question is for a Champions game is not a given unless specified.  This could just as easily be a Fantasy Hero game and be about a giant instead of a superhero.     

Does a character that is dead take BODY from attacks?  The rules state that a character is dead when he reaches negative BODY equal to his starting BODY score.  But does the character still take BODY after they reach this point.   The reason I am asking is because of the resurrection add on for regeneration.  
 
Let say a character has 15 BODY and has 1 BODY regeneration per day with resurrection.   The way the regeneration works is that the character gains 1 BODY per day.  If the charter was hit with an attack that did 35 BODY or takes enough damage in attack to reduce him to -20 BODY.  The Character dies at -15 BODY, but for regeneration purpose is he at -15 or -20?  
 
As the GM I have defined the resurrection as having the same rate as his normal regeneration.  So the character heals 1 BODY per day.  How long would it take for the character to come back from the dead?  Also does further damage delay his return?  
 

Weaponmaster seemed the most appropriate, as her most impressive damage is done with a bladed weapon, either a katana or naginata.
 
In a battle on a cliffside against four pretty tough-seeming opponents, she bisected one of them (separating the top and bottom of an armored foe on screen with much blood shown). With a die or two in Weaponmaster and the right martial arts maneuvers, I’m thinking she gets up to 4d6 HKA or so. I’m also still inclined to go with 3d6 and an Armor Piercing naked advantage.
 
The tree cutting was something she did as part of her practice and focus training during one downtime scene. She didn’t cut through a tree every time. Most of her cutting was through enemies.

I could see using Deadly Blow for this.  I would consider objects only a very limited circumstance.  While objects are fairly common the need to attack them is not that great.  At 12 points per die, it is somewhat expensive, but then again you probably only need one die.  The character can still use martial arts maneuvers, skill levels and even deadly blow with this.   
 
This would probably not be something seen on a beginning character.  They have enough stuff to purchase that affording this is hard to justify. 
 

Technically you would need to affects real world.  Doing it this way will be complicated, confusing and expensive.  There are a lot of ways that are easier and cheaper to do.
 
It also depends on what you want to stop.  Since Clinging uses ground movement to move up the wall you could target that with Change Environment.    -1m or movement is only 1 point.  30 points would get you a -30 to ground movement which is probably enough to stop anyone from climbing.  This would not stop someone from clinging in place, but would prevent the target from moving on the wall.  If I were GM and the character bought enough movement to stop any upward movement I would probably allow it to stop someone from clinging in place.  This also works well if you just want to make the wall difficult to climb.   
 
Instead of a suppress clinging you could use dispel clinging.  Put it in a damage shield and it affects anyone touching the wall.  Dispel is fairly cheap and 10d6 would only cost 30 points before the damage shield.  
 

Why should this be completely reliable?  Does the character always cut through trees and people with each blow?  I have not watched the show so cannot say, but I don’t see something like this as being 100% reliable.  The probability of rolling less than 15 on 5d6 is about 22%, on 6d6 that drop to about 6%.  
 
This ability is supposed to represent a character so skilled they can cut down their foes with ease.  That should not be something that is automatic.  The character should have a chance to miss and also have a chance that they do not instantly kill their opponent.  As a GM I would veto any power that killed an opponent with no chance of failure.  
 

An impairing wound is when you take ½ or greater of your body before or after the multiplier.  Disabling is if you took full body before or after the multiplier. This rule is the same in 6th edition as it was in earlier editions.  It is also suggested that unimportant thugs and NPCs should be considered dead if they receive a disabling wound for faster game play. 
 
I would consider a disabling wound to the head to have decapitated an unimportant NPC.  For a PC or important NPC they are only decapitated if they roll a 6 on the disabling chart and fail the CON roll.  If any character is outright killed by a head shot they could be considered decapitated. 

While greater height can mean greater strength that is not always the case.  I am a lot taller than my brother in-law, but he does a lot more physical work than me.   When we moved to a new hose he was able to move stuff a lot easier than I could.  If you think just because you are taller you are stronger than someone who engages in hard physical labor you are mistaken.  Historically the average height has gone up because of better nutrition and medical care, but that does not translate into stronger people.  Obesity has also dramatically increased from the past.   The average modern man is probably weaker than the average man in the past.  The modern athlete on the other hand is probably a lot stronger than those in the past.  

One of the things to consider is that in the in the comic books a character is often more powerful in their own comic than they are in someone or when they are part of a team. Often they will come up with a reason but as a rule a character is always more powerful in their own stories.  A good example of this is in a Dr. Strange comic Dr. Strange beat Wolverine in hand to hand combat.  The justification was that Wolverine was possessed by a magic spirit that caused him to fight less efficiently.  If I remember correctly Strange did not use his magic on Wolverine because the sprit gave Wolverine protection vs magic.   
 
That means when you are basing your character on a concept from the comic books you need to base it off the character as they are in team comic or another character's comic.   If you want to play the Flash you need to play the one character in the JLA comic, not the one in Flash.   
 

Technically you would need to affects real world.  Doing it this way will be complicated, confusing and expensive.  There are a lot of ways that are easier and cheaper to do.
 
It also depends on what you want to stop.  Since Clinging uses ground movement to move up the wall you could target that with Change Environment.    -1m or movement is only 1 point.  30 points would get you a -30 to ground movement which is probably enough to stop anyone from climbing.  This would not stop someone from clinging in place, but would prevent the target from moving on the wall.  If I were GM and the character bought enough movement to stop any upward movement I would probably allow it to stop someone from clinging in place.  This also works well if you just want to make the wall difficult to climb.   
 
Instead of a suppress clinging you could use dispel clinging.  Put it in a damage shield and it affects anyone touching the wall.  Dispel is fairly cheap and 10d6 would only cost 30 points before the damage shield.  
 

Would a desolid wall have to take affects real world so that people couldn't just walk through it?

The uses the OP is talking about are from the APG.  The rules are in 6E2 page 287.

The uses the OP is talking about are from the APG.  The rules are in 6E2 page 287.

I may have missed something, but I have not seen anything that gave any indication that the intention was that all healing caused knockback.  I did a quick search and could not find anything from the OP stating that this is how they wanted their world to work.  I did see in the original post where they wanted to build a spell that healed their allies and knocked back undead.  If they do want this to become a standard feature of their world then using a disadvantage is the right way to go.  If on the other hand, they are just looking for this particular spell to function that way a disadvantage is the wrong way to do it.

Sure, but the rules as written state that if a power doesn't normally do body, then you count it as a normal attack.  This would mean healing -- a power that does not normally deal body -- wound calculate any theoretical knockback it does by counting the body on the dice as if it were a normal attack.  So while the rules don't normally allow you to buy does knockback on healing, they do describe how you would do so, if you did.

Making spells is a great way to learn the system.  I think I speak for everyone on the forums when I say that we will always be ready to lend a hand in helping to create anything someone wants to.  
 
Having prewritten spells is always helpful.   I have often stolen an idea from many different sources.  For me I still want the ability to create my own or to modify them so the fit my ideas.  
 
One bit of advice I would give anyone looking to run Fantasy Hero is to sit down and look the rules over and modify them to fit your setting.   One thing I do is to establish some classes of minds.  The ones I use are Animal, Mortal, Immortal, Construct, and Undead.  Animal is pretty much unchanged.  Mortal is similar to human, Immortal are Angels, Demons, Dragons etc., Construct are golems and Undead should not need any explanation.   
 

In the Nerd Tradition of applying logic to fantastical constructs, if jumping forward ages the wine 100 years, won't you also age 100 years (and does the reverse hold true, in which case you would not be able to go back far enough to obtain these items)?

Nah.  There is no aggro, just a lack of things to talk about, so we grip onto interesting topics and squeeze them to death.
 
If we were too considerate and accommodating, there would be even fewer things to read on the forums.
 
It is very rare there is real antagonism and discord.
 
Doc

When I build this power as two separate powers, I am usually finding it cost less points because I don’t need some of the advantages on the healing and can put more limitations on the blast.  Also, as two separate powers I can also use the unified power limitation on both of them.   
 
The end result works the same pretty much the same.  Technically it does require two separate rolls, but a GM can easily hand wave that and allow it to use the same roll.   From the players standpoint they roll 4d6 and heal their allies and then roll to knock back any undead in the area.   How is it any less cool for the player when built as two powers.   
 
To me powers should avoid bending the rules as much as possible.  I understand that sometimes the GM may need to allow some flexibility to the rules, but that should be a last resort.  The reason for this is once you start doing that too often the players start to expect it, and this can cause problems.  Also doing this makes it easier when you come back to a character years later and wonder how the hell this power work.  
 
I have to agree with Doc on not getting upset, I for one am enjoying the discussion.