Pattern Ghost

Toadmaster: I can't believe you noticed KS's avatar with Black Rose's right above it.

No, you can't build an attack with Gestures being the attack action. I believe it says so under the description for Gestures.

The STR table lists the max weight a character can barely get off the ground and stagger a few steps with, so I'd say that since you don't have to get the weight off the ground, that the same chart can be used to get the character's max dragging weight. I'd just use the STR chart for dragging.

Instead of Desolid, you could always use Damage Reduction to model "semi-solid" and possibly add a limitation that it doesn't work against certain forms of attack that disrupt the field. Then buy a vulnerability or a suceptability to the same FX. You could also buy DCV only levels, and define the FX as the holo-PC neutralizing the attack by making that part of his body insubstantial. I can't remember if the holodoc can walk through walls or not. I seem to recall him using the door, or being transmitted from the holodeck to the sick bay. That'd seem to indicate a solid body for the most part.

Then I say. "No."

I'd just say you can't have reduced penetration and penetrating on the same attack.

Without crime, you still have natural disasters, alien invasions, science gone amok and lots of other fun stuff to deal with.

Basically, the penetration rule says one stun through per normal BODY rolled on the dice, and the standard effect rule says you get one BODY per die. So, yeah, I'd say 12 STUN too.

Another way to put it: In Hero, skills are cheap. They're cheap because they're trivial in comparison to Powers, for superheroic and cinematic games. Vampire has always struck me as a game where the powers are trivial to the character interaction, so recosting things isn't out of order.

I don't really see a problem with it if you're porting over Vampire, and if everyone has an equal opportunity to do it. I'm not sure I'd use normal Hero price structure on powers that convert at that high of a level. I'd probably just build them so that I know how the powers interact with the rest of the world on a mechanics level, then cost out the blood pools and the powers individually. The same kind of problem comes up converting DnD over: Some of the first level spells, when costed out in Hero terms come out to be WAY more expensive than a starting FH character can or should have. They're built unbalanced on purpose in DnD, and don't translate well. As long as you cost the blood pools and the disciplines in scale to their usefulness in the campaign, you can really charge whatever you want for them. In a Vampire game, a 3 point contact may be WAY more useful than a 40 point energy blast. (Not that you need to scale things back that far, but still. Why have characters tallying up hundreds of pts of powers when you can shorthand it?)

1. Same as any EB would interact would be my guess. 2. Yes.

I'd buy one of those huge 64 oz. double-walled plastic mugs with a spill proof lid. I wouldn't buy one with the Heroman logo from the front of Fred on it, though. That guy's proportions are just off, and he looks silly.

Also, according to the FAQ, Penetrating gets you 1 BODY through automagically on a 1 pip KA. Makes this rather fun: 1 pip RKA, Pen x2 (or more), Autofire, 0END (or a lot of charges). Then buy a boatload of levels in OCV for the attack. Slap an OAF on the attack, and you can have one nasty little bugger of an attack for a very low real point cost.

Also, isn't blood pool size based on age? I suppose that could be a Perk.

You could just use the Blood Pool system more or less as-is. Just have the dicipline write ups in Hero terms, declare that you won't be using END for disciplines, and then use a standard effect Transfer to fill the blood pool.

I don't know what you're talking about. First, you assert that you can't do partial healing in a literary context, not a gaming context, then the only example you can think of to support this claim is that of a gaming context. I said you can have partial healing in a literary context and make it work. I didn't say aything about the gaming context you put it in, in your example. As for healing taking away from the heroic nature of the sacrifice, I agree. Full healing does more to that end than partial healing. There are all kinds of justifications for partial healing, if you allow healing at all. They can depend on the system of magic used, or the circumstance, or be as mundane as having the same requirements for recovery time as any modern life saving surgery would have. The needs of the plot and the setting should determine what kind of magical healing is available. I personally prefer magic to be more of a special thing. It's hardly magical if it's as commonplace as it is in, say, the Forgotten Realms. I'd prefer to read about the quest to haul our hero or supporting character off to a hotsprings blessed by a dead saint and all the trials the journey itself entails than have Bob the Cleric wave his holy symbol at the character for 500 gp, for example.

I kinda look at it like this: Strength has a real world benchmark. So, deadlifting over about a ton is probably a superhuman level of STR. Say anything over 30 or so is clearly superhuman. The other stats don't really have a real world benchmark that's so clearly defined. So, having a 35 DEX just means you have more DEX than the guy with a 30 DEX (or a 34 DEX). The only benchmark for stats other than STR is going to be the in-game benchmark. In my tiny little brain, I tend to put Spider-Man up around 35 or so DEX, just b/c. So, if I were playing in a game where Spidey was the standard for a high level of superhuman DEX, I'd probably say non-enhanced human DEX ended around 30 or so, which would leave a little space for super but not Spidey, and let there be a bit of space above Spidey for REALLY high DEX, but still within a few DCs of the rest of the world. OTOH, Spidey might have a lower than superhuman DEX and a bunch of powers to simulate his Spidey feats. Guess it depends on how you build him. Too big of a CV range is problematic, so that's really what needs to be limited more than DEX. Going first, and having a gonzo skill roll aren't big deals. Not being touchable in combat IS a big deal, and you can do that with a 10 DEX and a buttload of CSLs too. Having a huge CV and attacks near the campaign max is also a no-no, IMO. CON, I don't worry about too much. I hardly ever see anyone go over 30, and most folks are in the 20's. Just not enough of a biggie to worry about it. Same for BODY, nobody buys it up anyway. The mental stats aren't tangibles anyway, and they don't affect figureds, so I say go wild with 'em if you want to burn the points. On the secondaries, I can see a "normal" with a PD/ED up to around 15. Considering a normal (regular normal, not comic book super-normal) can get six to eight dice on an Offensive Strike, that's 21 to 28 STUN on average. The super-normal should be able to soak up a couple hits of this level, so 15 seems OK. You'd be darn spiffy compared to most normals, though. SPD has the same concerns as DEX. You don't want too huge of a spread or it gets a bit hard to balance things out. I think the CU defaults are OK. Here's how my tiny little brain breaks it down: SPD 2. Joe Blow man on the street, with no physical skills. SPD 3. Some kind of training in athletics or combat. SPD 4. Pretty darn spiffy combat training or really spiffy natural response times. SPD 5. Really spiffy combat training, or slightly enhanced response times if untrained. Also a highly-trained combatant who has some experience. SPD 6. Dedicated fighter with a lot of experience, or some level of superhuman ability. Low-level speedsters might fall here. SPD 7. Best of the Best dedicated fighters. You can still be "normal" at this level, but you're one of a very select few. Most characters at this speed are supers with speed/reflexes part of their schtick though. SPD 8. Speedster land. Anything past 8 is going to be tough to play with. I'd say a spread of 5-7 with the occasional 4 or 8 is a playable range of SPDs, including normal speed ranges from 2-4 for mooks to elite agents. REC: 10 seems like a good "human" limit, though the super-normal might go as high as 15 w/out straining my brain too much. END and STUN cap out at 50 even with NCM, and I rarely see either of those exceeded except by bricks anyway, so no issues there. Basically, I'm pretty easy. The only stats I watch are DEX and SPD, but more due to keeping things balanced out in combat than enforcing my ideas of someone's origin. If someone turns in a DEX 35 archer, and claims that they're just highly trained, I'm not going to make them resubmit the character with a lower DEX and a bunch of CSLs and Combat Reflexes just so it fits my conception of the "normal" range --- comics just ain't normal. "Normal" in the comics and movies far exceeds anything actually achievable outside the comic panel or movie frame that it's silly to argue too much. Now, in a non-comics and non-cinematic reality-level game, I'm not going to let people max out too much on stats. I can see allowing up to one primary and one figured at a high level, so if Thug the Barbarian wants a 25 STR and a 10 PD, he can go for it as long as he pays the points. If Speedy the Elf Ranger wants a 23 DEX and a 5 SPD, then go for it. Chances are at lower point levels, the players aren't going to dump too much into over 20 stats anyway, so why not let them be special? Same goes for non-fantasy. How strong is Jaws from James Bond? Guy has HKA in his teeth, for crying out loud. He's got his schtick, in other words. No need to stomp on that. Just my .02 on the subject.

Regen from Death? Since light should have a low BODY score, shouldn't take too much time to recreated a new holo. The thing that stops it is destroying the computer.

I agree. Base it off of "Only vs. Men/Women" for -1.

You're right. He took Anubis out with a sign and a gas pump.

Oh, yeah, in Conquerer Worm, Van Klempt lights him up with enough electricity to "light up Hamburg" but it doesn't seem to have any effect other than to cause him severe pain. As soon as Roger drains the generator, he pops up and goes at it with the ape. Probably would extend his Dmg Reduction vs. Fire to more general energy, and/or bump his REC up some.

I dunno. Seems like 4 would be enough for most of what he does in combat. I favor bumping the DEX to 18 to account for some of his OCV with the pistol. That'd obviate the need for the CSLs I mentioned earlier, which after reading several stories commenting on him being a lousy shot, would probably be out of flavor. Since he seems to hit pretty regularly despite the commentary, though, that extra CV level will give him a decent boost against lower CV targets. I'd guess the frog guy was DCV 4, for example. The difference between a CV 5 and CV 6 would be 12- vs 13- to hit, which is more or less 9%. Good question. Let's see... On one mention of his charms, he comments that the opponent must be pretty tough b/c the charms usually protect him. I'd say that's just part of the SFX for his other defenses. Another time, he whups on big Anubis using a charm as a fist load, then little Anubis goes yelping away. He also uses an herb to get rid of the ectoplasm creature. I think those last two might be Dispels vs. Summoning? That would assume that both cases were built with Summon somehow, of course. In the second case, it's a pretty good case of the guy having gone too far and summoned something too powerful. Why the dog turns into Anubis in the other story isn't mentioned. It's possible that Anubis was summoned, or used its own EDM to get there. Maybe a general purpose Dispel What Ails Him, with a low activation roll. He doesn't rely too much on digging charms out (no more than he does grenades, really), so maybe an 8- activation roll on a versitle Dispel?

Fred, p. 257. He can't decide to Haymaker with his Offensive Strike.

Boo-ya! Now I've got a whole pile of Hellboy collections from the library. Quotes: Should probably add: "I'm gonna be sore in the morning." That one seems to be a favorite of his. What about his pockets full of charms? From his narration, they seem to give him some benefit just from being there, and he busts one out every now and then (fight w/Anubis). Looking at the fight against frog-Sven in Seed of Destruction, where he gets slammed into the ceiling and lands on his feet, it'd seem a decent Breakfall roll is in order. Might bump his DEX to 18. Judgement call there, but the corpse in "The Corpse" seems to be really impressed by his speed, and he is pretty agile. A 16 is pretty darn impressive to a normal, though. Then again, with a 4 SPD, the DEX is probably fine. EDIT: Deduction skill should probably be bought as a full skill instead of a FAM. He is a "world-renowned occult investigator" afterall. Investigating calls for a little Deduction, and he does seem trained in it.

Maybe you can't, but there's absolutely no reason a literary character can't benefit from partial healing.