BobGreenwade

Dr Lucky has the correct info -- or you can use this direct link. To clarify things for RadeFox and Kristopher, the Online USPD is a collection of powers contributed by fans, along with a few that couldn't make it into the book or that Steve came up with after publication. The most recent update is July 1; I did send in a collection more recently, but I'm starting to think it didn't arrive (it wouldn't be the first time).

Besides the wonderful list of Cyberkinetic Powers in the printed USPD, there are several good ones in the online version. (I just sent Steve a new batch a week or so ago, but either he didn't get it -- I had a similar problem with the previous batch -- or he's been too busy trying to get the new VIPER book in place.)

Don't worry; I've already finished off a starship which I'll be sending in next week (after I've had the chance to check it over for boo-boos), and I'll have a lot of stuff to follow up with that. And I know Monolith's also said that he has a big bunch of stuff to contribute....

Try this as an experiment. Do you have a copy of 3rd Edition Champions? If you do, hold that book up and compare it to what Aaron Allston wrote in last year's tome. That should give a general basis of comparison for what the new Fantasy Hero will be like, compared to the first one.

Actually, if your character is fear-based, I'd put both into a Multipower. (Or, possibly, make the PRE into a 12d6 Succor.) You could also add a fear-based Mind Control and a few other powers for little cost.

Well, first, those 15 points in PRE will actually net you a 5d6 PRE Attack (base 10 PRE + 15 PRE for 15 points), which will average 17.5 on the dice, compared to 3.5 on the PRE Drain with Range. Also, the +15 PRE will also affect your performance with Interaction Skills, and help defend against others' PRE Attacks. That said, your own PRE Attack (and Interaction Skills) will only affect your interaction with whatever target (or targets) you choose. The PRE Drain will affect your target's interactions with others, including PRE Attacks, defending against others' PRE Attacks (including your own, your friends', and others), Interaction Skills, and so forth. It will also last for a while. Also, it's actually quite rare, outside certain heroic-level games, to buy only 15 points worth of an Attack Power.

I tried to figure out a good way to change this without dramatically changing the way HERO System combat works. I did try to include an optional "segmented movement" rule someone suggested during the writing phase, but apparently Steve didn't care too much for it (or maybe it got cut out for some other reason... I really don't recall offhand).

Re: If you don't mind a House Rule... This looks pretty decent, though with one fairly minor caveat: since I was able to build the ability for 45 points at 15", I'd call the basic Advantage (trading locations only) a +1/2, and the trading of facing and velocity an additional +1/2.

Hm... I looked at it twice and it looked like a Base, but then I looked just now and saw the SPD Characteristic. What threw me, I think, was the lack of a Size characteristic. Even looking further down (going on the assumption that this was using the old Vehicle format) I couldn't find any reference to Size. I don't see DEF either. You've probably accounted for them, since the cost appears to be figured into the Characteristics Cost, but they're not on the sheet as of this writing. Also, even in a heroic game, a Vehicle always pays for its equipment, with the sole exception of other Vehicles. As minor quibbles, multipliers for extra individual pieces of equipment (like the x4 guns) are purchased separately fromt he main power, without any Advantages or Limitations; and you misspelled "diesel."

You might consider the -1/4 level of the Restrainable Limitation instead. A simple Heavy Physical Limitation (plus, I think, selling off both basic inches of Swimming in exchange for an inch of Knockback Resistance) would work out the mass problem.

Bases don't move. Even though it's treated as a base, your submarine should be built as a Vehicle.

Has anyone yet consulted the Bodyjacking power from USPD pages 151-152? It may not be quite what's being sought here, but it may be something to look at....

Actually I'd do these as follows: Hulk: unskilled repair. He uses his STR to manipulate the boulder, but no Skill Roll or special ability is needed. Spider-Man: Special application of his web-based Entangle. No Skill roll or special ability is needed. Superman: The Welding power, as described in the Online USPD (under Fire And Heat Powers).

By interesting coincidence, I just watched Treasure Planet on DVD this past weekend. Overall this looks good. I don't recall the "cannot swim" problem ever being mentioned in the film, though; is this just extrapolation?

Things are actually a little simpler than that. Y'see, pretty much the same process as what you describe is experienced when making a science-fiction TV series, a superhero comic book, an action-adventure movie, or even a Broadway musical. Every detail is carefully planned to make sure each part seamlessly contributes to the whole. However, the process for an RPG is considerably different. It's more like a "reality" show than any of the above -- yet plenty of funny stuff happens on those "reality" shows (I'm a big fan of The Amazing Race and The Mole). With movies, TV, and the like, the writers and director have to deal with an audience of millions. With an RPG, the audience consists mostly of the people sitting around the table, so the only real requirement is that everyone "gets" the genre.

That's exactly what's so beautiful about this book. Any other SFRPG book you buy and read because you want to run a SF game. This is the first SFRPG book I've encountered where you buy the book first just out of interest, and then you want to run the game. (Admittedly, I did want to run the game first and then bought the book; but my interest in running a TE game came from what I'd heard about the book, and I really got excited about it after I got it. Heck, it's good enough to convince me to switch from Champions, so you have to know it's good.)

Sorry; I should have specified: I was meaning that only as a guiding reference. Personally I'd go with -3/4 for the query at hand.

Re: Re: Spacer's Toolkit Online... Uh... you're referring here to the printed Spacer's Toolkit, right? ('Cause there's nothing in the online version yet....) Oh, and Ben... yes, I'm going to have plenty to offer for this (comparable to what I've done to Steve with the USPD online), though it may be a while. Let's let some of the other kids have a chance for a while....

Under Invisibility (FREd page 123), the Limitation Only When Not Attacking is listed as -1/2.

While going over the top physics-wise is certainly an option, there are viable ways to run this type of thing (what I call Saturday Morning Hero) in a game. Two examples of team dynamics in a toon world include USAcres (a companion piece to the old Garfield cartoon; I don't know whether it came from a strip or not) and the Mighty Heroes. Both have a certain amount of "cartoon physics" (one episode of USAcres, in fact, was a treatise on cartoon physics), and both involve members of a group working together for a common goal. Even the Warners of Animaniacs fame were a classic team effort, especially when they deemed someone their "special friend." Also, as mentioned above, one need not go over the top with cartoon physics. Mighty Heroes, Hong Kong Phooey, Scooby-Doo, Wacky Races, and many other programs only used bits of cartoon physics. And some of my examples above show that, while blending standard Saturday morning fare is quite legitimate, it's not necessary. USAcres and Wacky Races are both really good examples of standard cartoon fare that would work really well in a normal RPG environment (assuming, of course, that the players could keep interest).

I would love to do exactly that. I've even made a couple of proposals to Steve, but he's turned them down for various reasons (the most promising of which is that he's planning to include some serial killers in the first Dark Champions enemies book). Apparently, a book devoted to investigative procedures is just not in Hero's foreseeable future -- though I am collecting several notes, most of which will be left to my own reference (though bits and pieces may become Digital Hero articles).

First, go check the Online USPD, under Miscellaneous Powers. "Matter Eater" should give you the kind of Life Support you're looking for. As for swallowing characters whole, a version of the Wraparound ability from page 216 of the published USPD should give some ideas: Entangle up to the character's own DEF and BODY, Suffocating, Stops Senses, no Lockout, and adjust further as need be. Also, if the character does chew through tough substances, I'd still recommend the HKA on his teeth just to make sure.

This is, by far, the most requested thing for the Star Hero genre. Steve's already said, more than once, that HG has no plans for a book of starship blueprints, nor to start the practice of including blueprints in books with starships in them. Most of us (myself included) are disappointed but still understand about the whole cost-and-time-investment thing, and are mollified somewhat by his statement that something like that might be included in Star Hero Battlegrounds if they do such a book. Based on the above, I have a feeling that SHB will pop up early on the 2005 schedule....

Going back to a part of the original question that doesn't seem to have been addressed (except by Lord Liaden's citation of Dean Shomshak's take), I don't think serial killers in a superpowered world would necessarily have to be superpowered themselves. I have several reasons for thinking so. First, I think back on the old Superman TV show (with George Reeves) and recall how none of the criminals on that show had superpowers. Supes could be completely stymied by a bit of good planning, though of course that only went so far (since he had to be able to catch the bad guys at the end of the program). Second, a serial killer might tend to not attract the attention of superpowered detectives unless he either exhibited superpowers himself, or was pretty successful at eluding the non-super authorities (like the Green River Killer was until relatively recently). This depends on how such things work in the super-world in question, of course, but it's worth considering. Third, serial killers tend to think outside the "commit crimes but don't get caught" paradigm usually seen among criminals. They may be compulsive killers, compulsive rapists or pedophiles who kill to eliminate their victims as witnesses, have dlusions of superiority (or even delusions of superpowers, though this may be more or less frequent in a world with actual superpowers), or have some other mental illness that leads them to kill without considering the implications of a superpowered investigator. So I think the proportion of serial killers with superpowers to those without would probably be roughly the same as in the general population, or at most only slightly higher. That's not to say that a team of superpowered investigators wouldn't run into many superpowered killers; if they're given the toughest cases, most if not all of those they pursue could be superpowered.

Most excellent! Good work there, Geoff. On a side note, for Steve: would use of the Adders and other Modifiers listed above be acceptable for Online USPD submissions?