Pattern Ghost

It could be because he's holding one of them upside down and they don't cotton to no upside down signs in Texas.

I first read this as "In rare move, school librarian fights back in court against conservative archivists," which I was thinking would make a cool action movie. Nicolas Cage would star, of course.

All of which is readily available in PDF now. Or at least was, the last time I looked. I haven't played anything in a while, and those were all online or PBEM games that fizzled too fast to really get into.

I think the big question is: Are we making a PC or an NPC? Because an NPC is going to get a greater percentage of their character points spent on things like buffing powers than a PC. It's just not fun for a lot of players to be (to borrow an MMO term) a "buff bot." Build point total matters too. I think 5th and 6th default build point suggestions leave room for these kinds of things, but it's something to consider.

Contact seems like a good fit for the Green Beret. Hard to picture as a DNPC because the character has extensive knowledge that's useful for the PC as well as their own network of contacts, which is something I forgot that I was going to list earlier. These guys are in a brotherhood, and usually have large numbers of contacts within their community, even in retirement.

Ooooh, I want these! Just the ticket for keeping the noisy neighbors in line.

I forgot about Talents earlier. I don't think any particular Talent is endemic to all SF soldiers, but I'd say the most common would be Lightsleep. It'd probably be appropriate to take one or two Talents to add flavor to the character, and give them something unique.

"Always think of different numbers than the ones you're pressing when entering your PIN, because telepaths are a thing."

DNPCs don't need stats from the player. That's the GM's job, if they're needed at all. (Not everything needs to be statted out in Hero.) You can just give the GM the backstory for the DNPC. So, the female DNPC can be sketched out for the GM narratively. I'd check with the GM on what level of detail they require there. For many GMs, what you've given is plenty to provide enough character hooks for play. The stats for the Green Beret likewise are up to the GM, not the player normally. So, first thing I'd do is talk to the GM about the character in terms of their role in your PC's story and how they'd fit in the game. That said, I'll tell you what I know about Green Beret types, having served in the Army in my misspent youth, and known a few along the way. This is all very second hand, and an actual Green Beret will likely counter most of this, so take it all with a grain of salt. The first time I ran into Green Berets in the Army was during language school. NCO students ran barracks details, and PT. Most of the SF guys were easy to get along with, personable, and . . . ohmyhgodnoisoneofthemrunningPTtoday??? . . . yeah, physically, these guys were all beasts. I hated running with them. Army physical training is based primarily on calisthenics and running. Endurance is valued over physical power in the military, because you have to have enough juice left to fight when you get where you're going. That aside, most of these guys were there picking up their second or third language. So, if your NPC has a functioning mind, "can't do normal Green Beret stuff," may need to be more refined as a descriptor. These guys are intelligent, and highly, highly trained. You can do a search for something like "what do Green Berets do" to get details on what the current or more recent doctrine is. A quick glance I did shows that things have changed drastically since the late 80s in that regard, so I'm a bit dated there. However, I can safely say they're going to have a HUGE chunk of the Hero System skills list. I'll just list everything I think every Green Beret should have on their skills list. I wouldn't recommend trying to pick up every skill here for an NPC build, though. Just focus on a few the character excels in and let the rest be under "PS: Special Forces Soldier," or something. (Note: I'm using 4th Edition, b/c I don't know where my FRED went. Skills are basically the same, and this list will be too long anyway.) I bolded the skills I think should be mandatory-ish. Most of these are common soldiering skills that SF guys usually have at a higher level. Skills - Combat: Probably a few Combat Skill levels. Will be trained in hand to hand combat, but bulk of skills will be with modern weapons. Martial Arts: I'd drop 15-20 points on maneuvers, including some type of strike, a disarm, and a grappling technique as a minimum. Ranged Skill levels: These offset range penalties. Weapon Familiarities: Modern Military Weapons and Knives should cover it. Improvised if the campaign uses it. I'd probably load out something like this for Combat skill levels: +2 with Ranged Combat (10 pts) +2 with Martial Arts (6 pts) This might not seem like a lot for a Green Beret -- and it may not be -- but things will get expensive fast, to I wouldn't go too much more here. Adventuring Skills: Animal Handler - Possible, but probably unusual/unlikely Demolitions - Possibly, and would suggest taking at least a Familiarity (FAM) with it Disguise - Possibly, based on ability to blend in with local cultures, a FAM would work here too Electronics - If taking Demolitions, I'd take it too, at same or lesser level Gambling - unlikely, would leave off unless based on character background outside of SF Lip Reading - unlikely, would leave off unless based on character background outside of SF Mechanics - Not a core skill, would leave off unless based on character background outside of SF Mimicry - Not a core skill, would leave off unless based on character background outside of SF Navigation - Yes Shadowing - Yes Survival - Yes, and I'd pick at least two terrains/biomes Ventriloquist - Not a core skill, would leave off unless based on character background outside of SF Weaponsmith - Yes, for military small arms Bugging - Possibly, but not likely Computer Programming - Not a core skill, would leave off unless based on character background outside of SF Concealment - Yes Criminology - Possibly, depending on team's role Cryptography - REMF job Deduction - Possibly, depending on team's role Forensic Medicine - Unlikely, but might justify it based on team's or character's role Inventor - Not a core skill, would leave off unless based on character background outside of SF Paramedic - Yes, all soldiers have basic life saving training and all infantry and SF have advanced life saving training Security Systems - Possibly, depending on team's role Systems Operation - Possibly, depending on team's role Tactics - Yes Tracking - Possibly, depending on role Acrobatics - Not a core skill, would leave off unless based on character background outside of SF Breakfall - Yes, part of jump training, combatives training, so used in different contexts Climbing - Yes Contortionist - Not a core skill, would leave off unless based on character background outside of SF Combat Driving - Strong maybe, will be trained in driving under adverse conditions for sure, but whether to the level of RPG combat driving, wouldn't be a generalized skill Combat Pilot - Unlikely, unless from prior career Lockpicking - Yes Riding - Not a core skill, would leave off unless based on character background outside of SF Sleight of Hand - Not a core skill, would leave off unless based on character background outside of SF Stealth - Yes Acting - Not a core skill, would leave off unless based on character background outside of SF Bureaucracy - Strong possibility to have points here, increasing with rank Bribery - Possibly, as it can be useful in some cultures Conversation - Strong possibility High Society - Not a core skill, would leave off unless based on character background outside of SF; some will be better at rubbing shoulders with the brass than others, though, so possible. Officers might consider taking it. Interrogation - Possibly, though this also falls under its own MOS Oratory - Possibly, as SF frequently train others, so a star trainer may have some points here Persuasion - Possibly Seduction - Not a core skill, would leave off unless based on character background outside of SF Trading - Strong possibility Teamwork - Yes Transport Familiarites should include military light ground vehicles, and parachuting at a minimum

I think most people would consider a death spiral mechanic more of a drawback than a benefit, but YMMV. It could be good for really gritty games, I suppose.

I'm not up to speed on 6th Edition: Did the rule about only being able to apply Advantages and Limitations to 5pt and higher skill levels change?

I don't think we disagree in general on that issue. My example was entrapping someone in a sphere, which would allow more freedom of movement than the rules assume, so worth a limitation, IMO.

Drive Thru seems to have the original available at least. That's something.

Here's what 6E, p. 215 says in the Entangle description: So, regardless of the description of Tunneling, I'd say it's still falls under GM fiat based on SFX. If your tunneling was bought as vibrating your whole body instead of digging with claws, for example, the GM might allow it. Spinning? Probably impossible to build momentum when restrained. The Entangle is a sphere entrapping someone or otherwise loosely restrains them (with appropriate Limitation, since that's a mechanical change)? Then Tunnel away. I'd just go with the general principles that SFX can sometimes impact game play, and that it's your game to run as you see fit. 99.9% of SFX combination wouldn't logically allow Tunneling to be used by the character entrapped by an Entangle anyway. The error is with the book in making an absolute statement in the Tunneling entry, IMO. Another Hero axiom is no absolutes, right?

Going all the way back to 4th Edition, this is RAW accurate, but it's a little counter-intuitive, especially since the description (again from 4th and carried through to 6th) compares it to passive sonar and seeing through walls. I guess that begs the question of how much range do you get for "no range"? Would that be just the hex the character is in or the hexes bordering the hex the character in (which isn't exactly no range)? How much area do you allow Spatial Awareness to cover as GMs? I've never seen the power actually used in game by anyone or used it myself, so now I'm curious.

Two routes to go for me: If the characters simply need a base as window dressing, because that's the setup for the campaign, then it's free. If they want more control over what resources the base provides, then they can pay for it, or if it's the characters' idea. I don't like the idea of mandating points being spent on a base.

How did a moron like that end up with that IP? Even if the racism wasn't known, there's no way that the person who penned that garbage has any legit publishing credits or reputation.

Hero doesn't have an elegant way to do "only X can lift this." Since it's pretty unique to Mjolnir in the source material, I'd tend to just leave if off of PCs instead of pound my head into a brick wall trying to shoehorn it into a rules system that doesn't like absolutes in the first place.

Oh! Thanks for the heads up.

Yeah, that's what I figured would be the case here. Just noted it b/c there were a lot of comments on the CGI in the trailers.

I'm surprised nobody's commented on She Hulk yet. Saw the first episode last night. Liked it. CGI looked better in the show than the trailers, IMO.

I'd have an uncharacteristic bout of indecisiveness.

I read the second link first, and agree in reverse.

I'm a little conflicted. On the one hand, it would be horrible if he sold that kind of information to anyone. On the other, if convicted, he could potentially go visit the Rosenbergs.

We need to send MREs. They'll likely defect to Ukraine for them.