Hallo. I'd like to mention a few disclaimers before I proceed. (This might take a while; feel free to skip over, but I've been yelled at before for not mentioning things like these right out.)
I came over from the Champions Online forum (the one run by Cryptic), and there from City of Heroes, and I'm probably as much of a newbie at the HERO System as can reasonably be. I bought the books (in PDF format, being that I have no more shelf space) about a week ago, and spent a lot of that inhaling all 592 pages of the 5ER rulebook. (More precisely about 572 pages, not counting table of contents and the index.)
My experience with superheroic concepts generally comes from the anime/manga direction; not high-speed ninja battles or martial arts, but more of the magical girl genre. In short, not Bleach, but definitely Slayers. So if there's a reference to "like So-and-so comics character", I might need a simpler explanation. (On the other hand, if it's "like So-and-so anime character", chances are I'll get it almost immediately.)
I'm not in a game. I've never been in a game using the HERO ruleset in any form. I know of nobody in my area (Singapore) who is interested in running or organizing a Champions game. (I've had a look at the other settings, and while intriguing, I really like the Champions metaplot.) Therefore, when the rules tell me to ask my non-existent GM, I have no idea what to do. Using my own judgement requires experience in the system, of which I have none.
Okay, disclaimers over.
I've succumbed to a sort of mild insanity which compels me to create characters ostensibly to familiarize myself with the HERO System ruleset, even though these serve no ultimate purpose, since, well, no game. Each character takes me about three days of hard work, which I usually avoid. In this endeavour, I came across a few questions I'd like cleared up.
First, the background: the character in question is supposed to be a Magical Girl, who magical-girls into a brick-type. She wields a really, really big sword. I tried (and mostly succeeded) in keeping myself to Standard Superheroic in terms of character points given.
For a brick with the Armour power, is it better to pump points into Armour and leave the un-Armoured PD/ED low, or the other way around?
Are there any restrictions spelled out in the rules (as opposed to GM rulings) on Reduced Endurance 0? Or can I apply that Advantage to everything and end up paying only for Strength? If I apply Reduced Endurance 0 to my Flight power, do I still spend endurance to fly?
I'm handwaving her sword to be magical, and so even though I'm using a greatsword as a base, it can do Normal damage instead of only HKA. However, I was wondering: is there a way for it to do Stun-only damage while still applying Strength? I'm not sure if I should use NND, since then I'd have to define it as "NND (Any Defense)", which kind of defeats the purpose.
To signify her boosts in stats when she transforms, I'm using Multiform. (The alternate form also keeps to Standard Superheroic 200-point 150-Disadvantages.) The net effect is that she's essentially the same person, but her physical stats get boosted, and she gets to use more powers. Is this acceptable, or are there other, better methods for a magical girl transformation?
Only In Heroic ID mentions that it should be taken instead of Focus if the Focus never seems to be lost. However, my character's abilities come from a magical ring which can be lost (her rival, in fact, states outright that she aims to obtain it for herself by any means necessary). Along with the bit about having some powers only in her alternate form (via Multiform) and not in her true form, does this count as OIHID? Or should I just forget about OIHID altogether?
The character has a crush, whom I'm defining as a DNPC (Normal, Unaware of Secret Identity, Useful Non-Combat Skills). The DNPC gets into a lot of trouble, resulting in the character's Magical Girl form saving him. The character's civilian form, however, doesn't have that Disadvantage, since the DNPC doesn't notice her in civilian form, and she's too shy to approach him. (Her Shyness is a Common Strong Disadvantage, actually.) In short, heroic identity has the DNPC Disadvantage, regular identity does not. Is this acceptable rules-wise? (Remember, no GM.)
Assuming a Magical Girl story on a Standard Superheroic scale, requiring the characters to blast away at Monsters Of The Week, what sort of Active Point limits are considered normal? I've managed to keep almost everything to 60 Active Points at most, except for Multiform at 75 Active Points (70 for a 350-point alternate form, plus a 5 point Adder for Instant Change). Would a hypothetical Average GM find this reasonable?
Any help and advice received much appreciated.
