Toxxus

So you basically haven't had a party for decades now.

When I came up with Stupid Rogue Tricks for the thief in the party of my Fantasy Hero game, I gave him some martial arts moves (mostly evasive, with a blind) to simulate his ability to avoid damage and move around the battlefield safely, then some pre-built powers he could buy sort of like talents.  One of the things I liked most in Aaron Allston's 4th edition Ninja Hero book was the stuff at the end where he showed how to build powers for super martial arts tricks and I've been using that idea ever since.
 
Here's how I built backstab when I did that game, not sure I'd do it the same any longer (there was a non-lethal version that could be learned as well)
 
Backstab
This maneuver is simply a method of striking a target with particular skill and accuracy, from surprise.  It is used with lethal weapons only and requires preparation and concentration to succeed
POWER: Ranged Killing Attack 1d6
MODIFIERS: OIF (weapon) (-1/2), Extra Time Delayed Phase (-1/4), Linked to weapon damage (-1/2), Concentrate ½ DCV (-1/4), Side Effect: alerts victim and -1 DCV (-1/2), Must be behind target (-1/2), No Range (-1/2), Requires a Stealth Skill Roll (-1/2)
Active Cost: 15   Real Cost: 4   END Cost: 1
 
Some other stuff I made:
 
Distract
Makes a noise in an area that tends to draw attention.
POWER: Images vs sound, -3 PER
MODIFIERS: Extra Time Full Phase (-1/2), OIF small thrown object (-1/2), Range based on STR (-1/4), Instant (-1/2), Only very simple effects (-1/2)
Active Cost: 19   Real Cost: 6  END Cost: 1
 
Escape
The rogue uses any distraction or momentary inattention to disappear from view.  This does not remove any restraints and only fools sight.
POWER: Teleport 10m
MODIFIERS: Imperceptible to sound and sight (+3/4); Only to places you can reach in a phase (-1/2), Not if under direct observation (-1/2), Requires Stealth Roll (-1/2), No Noncombat  movement (-1/4) 
Active Cost: 17   Real Cost: 7   END Cost: 2
 
Hamstring
Causes opponent to move slower.
POWER: Drain 1D6 Running
MODIFIERS: Extra Time Delayed Phase (-1/4), Gradual Effect one turn (-1), Only if weapon deals body damage (-1/4), OIF (weapon) (-1/2), Linked to weapon attack (-1/4) [-2 3/4]
Active Cost: 10   Real Cost: 3   END Cost: 1
 
The Ole Shuffle
A maneuver that moves an opponent in combat, trading places.
POWER: Teleport 2m; Teleport 2m, Position shift
MODIFIERS: Requires DEX roll (-1/2), Extra Time Full Phase (-1/2), only to specific location (trade places) (-1/2)
MODIFIERS (teleport other): Usable as an attack (+1 1/4), linked to teleport (-1/4)
Active Cost: 6   Real Cost: 2   END Cost: 1
 
I have some other little stuff I did, but this gives an idea.  Basically it gives roguey types something to build toward and distinguish them, while making it feel more like games they're familiar with.

American politicians mostly.
 
Americans in general are appalled and disgusted by the prison system and complete lack rehabilitation that occurs therein.
 
Trump, nutty as he is, is the first president in a long time to start making real efforts to get people OUT of prisons.  His First Step and Second Step programs are going to result in a large number of people who got crushing / overkill sentences based on stupid drug war era mandatory sentencing guidelines back into the work force.
 
God forbid someone who has done their time could actually get a job and have to resort to crime and return to prison.

Just read the whole thing.  It's great.
 
It could benefit from a little artwork, but content wise it is excellent.  I will share with my groups immediately.

American politicians mostly.
 
Americans in general are appalled and disgusted by the prison system and complete lack rehabilitation that occurs therein.
 
Trump, nutty as he is, is the first president in a long time to start making real efforts to get people OUT of prisons.  His First Step and Second Step programs are going to result in a large number of people who got crushing / overkill sentences based on stupid drug war era mandatory sentencing guidelines back into the work force.
 
God forbid someone who has done their time could actually get a job and have to resort to crime and return to prison.

Speed is strong, but the perceived value of speed is even stronger.
 
I had one of my teams encounter a big bad and his team of mercenaries.  The enemy bard did an AoE Aid Speed 1pt and the entire party focus fired him down as though the big bad and the healer were no threat at all.

That's okay. No snark detected.
 
And I suppose not.  Whether you're hunkering down behind your faithful shield or slapping arrows aside while charging . . . it all boils down to "I don't get an owie".
 
 
/salute

Based upon my experience of playing Hero since 1982, I disagree with everything you said here.

Fantasy Hero Basic_6thed.pdf
 
Hi Brian.
 
I've uploaded my beginners guide for fantasy hero.
 
Feel free to use any, all, or none of it for your own group.
 
Cheers.

I use them in my Fantasy Hero campaigns and they are reasonably deadly. 
 
They also make plain that highly offensive maneuvers that reduce DCV (haymaker, multiple attack, bracing for archers/mages) make you vulnerable in ways that can be dire.
 
I also like that a standard issue goon with a 2d6k can stay dangerous even in higher level campaigns.
 
My Wednesday night table is in the section of the book designed for 14th level D&D characters.  They are handling it pretty well, but they had less trouble with the Behir (lightning dragon basically) than they did with the 20 hobgoblins in plate and chain.  The sheer number of arrows flying at them resulted in a couple crits and one guy took an arrow to the helmet that moderately wounded him and KO'd him on the spot.

I use them in my Fantasy Hero campaigns and they are reasonably deadly. 
 
They also make plain that highly offensive maneuvers that reduce DCV (haymaker, multiple attack, bracing for archers/mages) make you vulnerable in ways that can be dire.
 
I also like that a standard issue goon with a 2d6k can stay dangerous even in higher level campaigns.
 
My Wednesday night table is in the section of the book designed for 14th level D&D characters.  They are handling it pretty well, but they had less trouble with the Behir (lightning dragon basically) than they did with the 20 hobgoblins in plate and chain.  The sheer number of arrows flying at them resulted in a couple crits and one guy took an arrow to the helmet that moderately wounded him and KO'd him on the spot.

My experience is that players who struggle with remembering to-hit mechanics are frequently doing so because they're feeling overloaded with information.  Giving them another number to keep track of has been counterproductive. 

This link puts it as AD&D 2nd edition when it was put in as an optional rule because it was a popular house rule. I remember playing with critical hits a long time before that but I no longer have any of my books and don't remember if the rule came from them or if it was something our original DM brought over from his previous group. When he showed up he already had the original Chainmail, the original 1974 wood-grain D&D boxed set with the three pamphlets and charts, the "Gods, Demigods, and Heroes" pamphlet supplement from 1976, and the 1st edition AD&D Monster Manual and the Player's Handbook (which Wikipedia says came out in 1977 and 1978 respectively). I went with him to the store to buy the Dungeon Master's Guide when it came out in 1979.
 
https://songoftheblade.wordpress.com/2015/12/14/a-short-history-of-critical-hits-in-dd/
 
It's cool when you can randomly hit harder on occasion than be bad guys and comes in handy if your group is often facing off against outnumbered foes.
 
But when the foes in the campaign consistently outnumber you, critical hits suck. They suck so hard.

I'm going to disagree with you here.  For the Champions game I tried last year, I asked them what they wanted and made the characters for them.  It would have completely fallen apart if I'd tried to hand them the books or even HD and had them create their own.  Too many options.  I'd say that pregens are probably best, followed by asking them what they want and building it for them.
 
 
This, for sure.  In a state of madness on Friday morning I ran to the dollar store and bought several bags of classic green and tan plastic toy soldiers (plus their assorted vehicles); those worked exceedingly well for a military game.  

This is true, but I'm trying to balance the effectiveness of the move against Dive for Cover which in action economy terms and combat vulnerability is VERY expensive.
1-  You abort your turn.
2-  It may not work.
3-  You end up prone (1/2 DCV) until your next phase.  If you just aborted that's closer to two phases.
 
They've made it intentionally difficult to avoid AoE damage and that's probably there to prevent Captain DCV from avoiding too many forms of damage.
 
The tank on my Wednesday crew is in full plate armor with a large shield and with hits martial arts and combat skill levels he's usually at 12 DCV.  Standard attacks rarely hit and when they do the damage is heavily mitigated.  He's like the Tick.  Nigh invulnerable.
If I let him further mitigate AoE damage by hiding behind shields...  That steps on the toes of the vulnerable low-armor high-dex types who make up for their fragility with mobility.
 
I'll agree with you that it is a pretty iconic fantasy trope - hiding behind the shield to avoid dragon breath damage - but if its too easy to pull off or too effective you'll put game balance at risk.
 
How would you handle it?
 
 

My current group of roughly equivalent to D&D level 13 characters are an even mix of speed 3 and speed 4.
 
I introduced the idea of a schtick (I believe I got that off of Scott Ruggels) and am now contemplating whether nor not to allow the party rogue to hit speed 5.
 
It's 20 character points though so I'll probably allow it if he has the points to pay for it.
 
So far the majority of encounters between enemies has been with speed 3 opponents and only some of the faster and more powerful creatures hit speed 4.  Speed 5+ is rare indeed in the bestiary.
 
Probably will save that for vampire lords, demons and creatures of unparalleled physical prowess.
 
I consider speed 5 to be on the cusp of superhuman.  Speed 6+ is not possible for humans - full stop.

America expected to achieve energy independence in 2020.    Natural gas FTW.

That looks like the speech itself must have been hilarious. I'll have to try to find the whole thing on YouTube.

My current group of roughly equivalent to D&D level 13 characters are an even mix of speed 3 and speed 4.
 
I introduced the idea of a schtick (I believe I got that off of Scott Ruggels) and am now contemplating whether nor not to allow the party rogue to hit speed 5.
 
It's 20 character points though so I'll probably allow it if he has the points to pay for it.
 
So far the majority of encounters between enemies has been with speed 3 opponents and only some of the faster and more powerful creatures hit speed 4.  Speed 5+ is rare indeed in the bestiary.
 
Probably will save that for vampire lords, demons and creatures of unparalleled physical prowess.
 
I consider speed 5 to be on the cusp of superhuman.  Speed 6+ is not possible for humans - full stop.

1- Below Normal (medical problem)
2- Normal (Standart)
3- Trained 
4- elvish (here for human eyes, something look strange)
5- Magical intervention 
6- Vampire (Very powerful, demi god etc etc)

I just enforce the Normal Characteristic Maxima rules, making Speed above 4 cost double. No one who understands what they're doing will come to the table with a Speed of 2, and on a Standard Heroic point budget, paying 20 points to go from 4 to 5 is too expensive. Thus, you naturally get characters at 3 and 4 Speed. That works fine for me, because my take on the interpretations of the numbers is that Speed 3 is typical for people with combat experience/training, and Speed 4 represents those people who are either highly trained/experienced, or just naturally very fast. My interpretation of Speed values is something like this:
 
1: Below normal; this character is either non-human or has a medical problem
2: Normal but untrained human; someone who isn't used to combat and tends to hesitate or freeze up
3: Trained and competent but unexceptional soldier/warrior/police/etc.
4: Beyond basic competence; a special forces soldier, or someone else who stands out among competent professionals
5: Faster than "normal people" achieve but not superhuman; Jackie Chan in his prime
6: Almost unbelievably fast; the characters that Jackie Chan played on screen
7+: Literally superhuman; NO unmodified human being is this fast.

I think the biggest problem with most weapons laws is that they aren't actually effective in addressing the issue they claim to be addressing, and lawmakers know this. I think for some, the goal is simply political currency. For others, particularly private organizations, the end goal is total disarmament, with incrementalism being the tool, so any regulation is good enough. I don't find either of these motives particularly savory.
 
Sociotard mentioned early knife laws, such as bans on Bowie knives. The thinking there is the same as the bans on switchblades: They're the weapons of thugs, so they need to be banned. I'm pretty sure that these laws have never actually reduced the amount of thuggery, but, hey, the government did something.
 
 

If I can badly paraphrase an old software development axiom:
 
Your players won't care whether or not you've memorized the rules.  They will care whether or not they've had fun.
 
Get a story going - get them engaged.  The rules are there to facilitate fun.

It is a trope, but Steve needs to take Red Skull over the cliff where Thanos threw Gamora as part of Steve sacrificing his life, to get rid of a greater evil. Would be apt and would be a shoutout to Holmes taking Moriarty over the falls. Tony needs to sacrifice himself to bring Peter back, I think. Looking at Peter being the future and not himself.
And after watching preview, they can, once again, just take my money.

The plague should also be avoided like the plague but now we're back to the Ebola story where the conversation started....