Gideon

There is a problem with the power the OP has said he wants that I had initially overlooked. Yes, you can have a dispel against all powers with Advantage X. That isn't the problem. The problem is that you cannot by RAW dispel an instantaneous effect. So, while there is no issue with the build part of the power, there is a problem with the SFX of the power. The OP stated that he wanted a power that could break enchantments, curses and the like. The issue with this is that the traditional curse of "I turn you into a frog" is a transform. So regardless of how the dispel is built, if the transform is not built with continuous (which would be a waste IMO), it fails. In other words: unless the OP's GM is willing to house rule Dispels, it doesn't matter how the dispel is built. It can never target Aids, Drains, Entangles, Flashes, Mental Illusions, Mind Control, Summons, Transfers, or Transforms. There is one exception to this rule (according to the book), and that is if the character has a held action, he can stop the power before it has an effect. But again... if one of the powers I listed has already effected someone dispel won't fix it.

Re: Need help with character Names: not sure, and short on time to think. So I'll post later. Disads: If either his Uncle or Secretary don't know he's a superhero, then they are worth an extra 5 points. Why is his rogues gallery less powerful? Considering the simple fact that the disad encompasses several characters (I would guess 4-5 at least), I would count the Hunted as More Powerful. Also because any single character characters in the group could have NCI or could be more powerful than the hero himself I would up the points by 5. Does he have a Code Vs Killing? Remember it doesn't have to be total, you can buy it at lower values. He could also have protects innocents, or honorable as Psychlims. And last (and I know that these are almost filler disads) but he could have a tattoo (5 point distinctive feature), wear glasses (10-15 point physical limitation), or have an allergy (such as to dogs or shellfish, 5-25 point physical limitation). Hope these suggestions help.

Re: how do you deal with guns and superheroes in your campaign Everyone else commented on the other parts of your question, so since I play a "gunguy", I thought I would try to answer this one. First, I loath characters like Punisher, but not because he uses guns. Its because of his attitude and blatant killing. My character, Gideon actually, is an old west pulp style gunslinger. He was patterned after characters like Lone Ranger, Jonah Hex, Bat Lash, and The Two Gun Kid. He caries an enchanted gun that can change a normal bullet into a non-lethal bullet (bought as a multipower, two slots: 1 RKA, 1 EB). Because of his style, he tries never to shoot directly at people with lethal force. Instead the RKA is used on vehicles, machines, and foci. When he does shoot someone with the RKA, it is generally because he thinks he really needs to, and his attack does generally hurt people. Having the character on a team has, at times, caused conflict. Many of the characters in the game world (both PC and NPC) who are Superheroes don't agree with the use of a gun. They believe that a superhero should be above gun use, and do his/her best to use non-lethal force. The game is very four color. Because of this, Gideon has stated (and does firmly believe) that he is not a "super" hero, he is simply a hero. He Doesn't wear a mask, or a costume (although his normal mode of dress makes him look like an extra from 3:10 to Yuma), and firmly believes that some of the "rules" that "super" heroes conform to don't apply to him. He is a hero. He will save people from danger, and fight villains. He is altruistic, kind, generally trustworthy, and tries to upholds the ideas of truth and justice. He is just willing to use methods and tactics that (as far as he is concerned) "Super" heroes should not. He is a cheat, a con, gambler, huckster, and maverick, and is not above using his talents to screw with a villain. So I think a "gunguy" can work as a character, as long as he is played right. He can't be a totally normal guy. He needs morality, and a code of ethics. And he needs to know that shooting someone with his gun is not in and of itself heroic.

Re: Dispel, not a single power but a single Adv. Ok, I understand now. The problem with this (as Killer Shrike already pointed out), is that not every continuous power is uncontrolled. Change Environment, Drain, Mind Control, Mental Illusion, Transfer and Transform do not need to be bought with the Uncontrolled advantage, but they are still continuing effects that require neither concentration nor continued end. So while I would say that it is possible to buy a dispel VS powers with the uncontrolled advantage, I think it is a waste. You need to pick a specific (even if broad) SFX for your dispel to work against for it to be of any real use. I would pick magic personally, because I don't see the power you are talking about being able to dispel napalm (built as uncontrolled, continuous, Sticky, RKA) or bio-energy leeching (built as transfer end to end).

Re: '70s TV Supers In the live action shows yes, but remember, there were more than a few cartoons of the same era that featured superhero teams. And while the power level of those characters was significantly higher than that of their live-action counterparts, the storytelling style, themes, plots, and ideals shown were significantly similar.

Re: Dispel, not a single power but a single Adv. well, to be honest I'm not sure I understand what the use of such a power would be. Is the idea to make an uncontrolled power controlled? I'm not sure how that would work, if it is legal, or what the point of it would be. Please explain more.

Um, you don't need it to be a linked attack. My suggestion was to buy it as a completely separate power. And this way if your teleport is in an EC or naked, you can have your "Drop stuff on people" attack power in a multipower along with other similar teleportation tricks. You simply buy: Dropped Objects: Energy Blast: 8d6 Indirect (always from above target; -1/4), OIF (Object of Opportunity; -1/2) Limited Range (185"; -1/4) 50AP 28RP You can even have two different versions of the power, one an EB and the other an RKA. If you define the above power as "blunt objects", you can describe an RKA as "sharp objects", and have this power also: Dropped sharp objects: RKA 2d6, Indirect (always from above target; -1/4), OIF (Object of Opportunity; -1/2) Limited Range (185"; -1/4) 37AP 21RP You don't need to have an extra teleportation with tons of extra capacity to use this (unless your GM says so), and the SFX is you move over to a car and aport it (teleport it) above your target's head. If you want to be able to teleport really really big things (like a trawler) buy the power (or a separate version of the power) Area of Effect (one hex or radius as needed).

Re: '70s TV Supers I love the idea. As far as power level goes, I would simply be very strict on what I would allow as powers/builds. I would also encourage the purchase of skills and talents (although for this game I would be very strict on how high skills could be, and I would definitely disallow the Ultimate Skill rule for default skills).

Re: Teleport Tactics I would build this as an indirect BE or RKA, just like the "Environmental Mayhem" under Luck Powers in the Until Superpowers Database (page 130). 8d6 indirect physical energy blast. If you want to use really big object, I would add AoO. ok, turn mode should matter here. I would, however also buy this as a power (probably built as a martial throw or something simliar). I don't understand the second question. Sorry I would say RKA. You can just grab by. You don't need to build this as a separate power.

Re: Modeling world of "Girl Genius" Please do not take this as offensive, but do you actually read Girl Genius? Bangladesh is not a spark (or inventor of any kind). She also loves to stab and cut people with her very normal (and sometimes poisoned) Kris knife. She would never allow a machine to get in-between her and the person she is trying to kill (even if she made it herself) because it wouldn't be as much fun.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... Last week at the Live Action game I play (LARP): Sunday morning, everyone is downstairs in the Inn, getting on line for Breakfast (its a weekend long boffer combat fantasy game). Sasha (a cat girl warrior) shows up with none of her armor on. (the character was in full makeup, including a cat suit, wearing baggy period pants and a tank top) John Owens (a human warrior) turns to her from the other end of the line and says: "Sasha, where's the rest of your cloths?" Sasha: "Well Falasar is upstairs, and I don't know where the rest are." After a moment of shock, everyone in the room turns to her and looses it laughing. Sasha: "What's so funny, didn't you want to know where the rest of Ultor (the barony she is a member of) is?" John: "No, I asked where the your clothing is..." Falasar (human wizard) walks into the room (having not a clue what's been going on, and looking dead to the world tiered). John: "apparently speaking of which..." Everyone looses it again. Falasar: "Did I miss something?"

Re: Magic Teleport Mirror something tells me that because the Mirror doesn't move you need to put UOO on it. For the Clairsentience: First, you can't have 0 end and OAF. Second, as far as Range goes: Why not just buy up the range as per the rules of the power? For a total of 70 Active Points you can increase the power to x1024 Range which means 20APx5"=100" 100"x1024=102400" 102400"= 34,133 meters 34133 meters= 34.133 Kilometers I know it is double the active points you initially wanted, but it does remove the problem without creating a rules issue.

Re: A Simple rule about 5th edition material in long running campaigns When all is said and done, the flexability of the Hero rules, and the way people on these boards handle themselves talking about builds are two of the main reasons I post here. There was a point in time that I posted regularly on the D&D boards. And I remember getting into a debate (as usual) over rules. The one I remember is the "Slashing Blades" class feature from the Dervish prestige class. The ability reads: "A Dervish treats a scimitar as a light weapon (rather than a one handed weapon) for all purposes, including fighting with two weapons." And the feat Power Attack reads: "... You can't add the bonus damage from Power Attack to the damage dealt with a light weapon, even thought the penalty on the attack rolls still applies" Well I interpret this as meaning that a character who becomes a Dervish looses the ability to use the Power Attack feat with scimitars. Other people (basically because it means that they waisted one of their few feat selections) tried to give reasons who I was wrong. The thread (as usual) turned into a screaming flame war between myself (and the people who agreed with me) and those people who didn't agree. And this happened mainly because (it seems) that the people who post on the D&D boards generally want to run the game RAW, and know that changing a rule can cause a cascade effect that ruins the game. Needless to say I don't really go to those boards anymore because all rule discussions seem to lead to screaming flame wars. On the other hand I posted a build question here (one of the first posts I ever made) about how to build a six-shooter that could fire different kinds of bullets while using the rapid shot maneuver. I got TONS of good input and people trying to be helpful. Yes occasionally I had to post something along the lines of: "I'm sorry but you are misinterpreting what I want the power to do. Please let me try to clarify.", but that happens. Some people posted RAW builds and others posted suggestions for house rules to allow what I wanted for the character. Even other people posted house rule builds for the power, and it was always clear which suggestion was which. The point is the thread didn't ever really derail, and while I ended up scraping the idea and going in a different direction with the character, it never felt like a screaming match.

Re: A Simple rule about 5th edition material in long running campaigns I like RAW. That doesn't mean that House Rules are bad though. When I post, I try to make it clear when I am discussing a house rule version of something VS a RAW version of something. Mind you, the Hero games I play in stick very close to RAW. Most of the house rules are things like "you must buy at least 1 die of a KA", or "You cannot put advantages on perks" and not actual changes to the system. The difference between here and the D&D boards that I've seen is that most people here will preface something with "In my game we..." or "My house rule is..." on those boards people post things that are house rules (IE: skill checks always fail on a roll of a 1) as if they are RAW. A large number of the people over there don't seem to have ever read the book, and when the ask a rules question it turns into an argument (and lots of page quoting) when they (or another poster) finds out that the rule their GM uses is not in the book. Remember in Hero there may be 30+ different ways to achieve the same effect, and all work RAW. In D&D there is only one way to build something RAW and 30+ interpretations on how it "should" work.

Re: Heroes Who Mess-Up This is a second hand story from a very old Marvel Super Heroes game: One of the characters was named Ninja. Aside from being flashy and completely non-ninja-like in attitude and attire, he was a mystic martial artist and minor gadgeteer type. Well, one day Ninja decided to make a nock-out gas grenade device. The player rolled somewhere in the Shift Y category (I believe. It could have been as high as Shift Z though.). Basically the power was huge enough to put someone in coma for years. A couple of weeks later, the group was being honored at a retirement home for saving the residents. During the assembly some agents attacked (I believe it was either Hive or AIM). Wanting to be as non-lethal as possible (and get as many agents as he could) Ninja proceeded to toss his sleep gas into the middle of the room (did I mention that he was immune to it and never made an antidote?). Needless to say, not a single person had evacuated yet. The combat ended right there. All the agents fell, as well as every last person in attendance that wasn't a super-hero. The luckiest of them being put in a coma for 5 years.

Re: Tar I didn't actually know that. i have never used the Ultimate Skill book. I think that the highest skill should either be the broadest of the group or the one he is most focused in. So I guess that it does work.

Re: Tar OK, first things first, without having taken more than a cursory glance at the sheet... Why does your Geneticist character NOT have Science Skill: Genetics?!?

Re: Heroes Who Mess-Up I had a character named Freefall. He had gravity powers, but had some problems with controlling some of them (mainly his flight). The characters were fighting a villain in an apartment building. Freefall decided to do a move-by on him while his gravity-based density increase was at full power, and (after missing) he tried to stop before hitting the outside wall of the building. Well.... he did stop moving forward, as his flight shut off completely, and his 220,000 pound butt slammed straight down into the floor. Needless to say he didn't stop till he hit ground in the basement, and after that and a shot at the building's wall by the villain the entire building started collapsing. The team had to let the villain get away so they could save the people in the tenement, but when all was said and done the building collapsed and 30 families were out of homes do to him.

Re: How would you write this up? Personally, considering the character has no control (and the player may not either), along with the fact that RAW Accidental Change wears off I would build the character this way: I think Distinctive Features: Noticed and Recognizable, Easily Concealed And here's the strange one: Physical Limitation: Suffers the Butterfly Effect, Infrequent, Greatly I picked Physical Limitation because you can use it as justification (that is rules legal) for suddenly changing ANYTHING about the character from stats, to powers to disadvantages. I would build the characters powers (regardless of what they are) using a VPP, because that way you need to do less work and less math figuring out what she can or cannot do at any given time.

Re: No combat respect I have to agree with Ghost-Angle and CrosshairCollie on this one. There are very few things i can think of to "improve" your character, And to be honest I don't even think these are all necessary, but here's what I came up with: 1) buy up the ED portion of his forcefield to 20, 2) buy up his Con to the 18-20 range. 3) buy his Rec up to 7 or 8 4) buy his Stun up to the 32-36 range 5) buy up his DCV by 2-3

Re: Skills for a Geneticist? i don't necessarily see genetics as an apropriate science specialization for this character. Genetics is mostly the study of heredity, and and DNA. So unless the character's DNA needs to be altered in order to use the suit I don't see it. I see Biology and physiology as being appropriate specializations for the character. I would give him: Scientist SC: Biology SC: Physiology SC: Molecular Biology SC: Xenobiology (The suit is an engineered organism of sorts, possibly inorganic in nature) SC: Neurology (the suit "reads intent") SC: Biomimetics (the application of biological systems to technology) SC: Metallurgy (needs to knowhow metals work if the suit is made out of it) SC: Biochemistry SC: Bioenergetics (the study of energy flow through living systems) SC: Genetics (if you think it is nesicary for creating the suit) SC: Medicine SC: Surgeon (book says its a science not a profession) PS: Doctor Computer Programing Engineering Paramedics

Re: Help with a name Lantern Jack Knight-Haunt Hallow Hop-tu-Naa Hollantide Barmbrack Scarecrow guiser

Re: How would you build this power? braincraft:Darn you and your logic! Ok. Well I think I need to better define my idea. There are really two ways to define the power: 1: the easy way: Even though his sight and hearing are psychic (clarvoyant) in nature he still "sees" through his eyes and "hears" through his ears. Or at least for the most part. So a physical object based flash would effect his sight (sludge in the face) because he believes he is seeing through his eyes, but a bright light based flash would do nothing. His hearing would work the same way. 2: the more complicated way: Even though his point of perception is his eyes and ears, that he perceives via his entire body. No sight or hearing flashes would work. Only blocking light from contacting his body (or blocking sound from contacting his body) would blind or deafen him. Remember the concept is sight and hearing through the use of clairvoyance and ESP. Maybe I could start out with option 1 and have him "grow" into option 2?

Re: How would you build this power? Sean Waters: He can "see" and "hear" when he is alone, yes. Clairsentience I found out yesterday doesn't work. It says under the description of senses that you cannot establish LOS with clairsentience. Since he is a mentalist (and needs to establish LOS to, say, ego attack someone) that doesn't work. The detect may be a good way of building it. I will ask my GM which he prefers. braincraft: Earplugs, earmuffs, and similar technically shouldn't work on him, his ears don't function. The same goes for blindfolds or other eye coverings. He has no working optic nerves, corneas, or retinas. However it only applies to objects covering those areas. He can't see in room with no light etc...

Re: I need help with math The problem is that you are making a mistake in your formula. The formula is AP/ (1+the sum of all limitations). So a 15 point power with one -1/2 limitation and two -1/4 limitations is calculated as follows: 15/ (1+.5+.25+.25)= 15/2= 7.5 (which rounds down) Answer: 7 real points For your second example... Step 1: take the base points of the power. Step 2: Calculate the active points of the power by multiplying in all advantages. Step 3: Calculate the real points by dividing the AP by all the disadvantages (as shown above) Advantages are calculated with the following formula: AP* (1+the sum of all advantages) 75*(1+.25)= 75*1.25 = 93.75 (which rounds up) Answer: 94 active points 94/ (1+.25+.5+.5+.5+.5)= 94/ 3.25= 28.92 (which rounds up) Answer: 28 Real Points