Kintara

No, I believe you (I don't have my book, so I have to anyway). It doesn't change my opinion, though.

Well, that sure sounds stupid. Maybe I just don't get it.

Eh? Not even if it's just extra levels, not the entire characteristic? What if it was bought as No Figured Characteristics, and then he bought the figured characteristics seperately to the level he wanted?

Yeah, workable. Of course the problem I have with it is the inelegance of it. That's why I would stand by the levels the system spits out, and tweak the characteristics as necessary to keep the skills appropriately set (or do the voluntary nerf I mentioned).

Well, 30 Dex is fantastically gifted. I kind of like the fact that someone who is essentially preternaturally agile doesn't ever need to worry about plebeian levels of skill. If Spidey can be average or "kinda good" at something, then maybe he isn't preternaturally agile. I'd agree with the idea of lowering the characteristic and tweaking the skill levels that way. But I think, more honestly, that although Spidey isn't known for his Stealth, he probably does pretty well at it. I'll agree that it might be moderately inflexible, but I don't mind the limits it is imposing. The best solution I can give to extend the flexibility is to do the thing where the character takes a penalty that they aren't really "refunded" for. By that I mean, just buy the skill to the default, then lower it to a number you like. Combine it with the idea of a disadvantage, and they even get reimbursement that is essentially legal, rules-wise. You should be careful with the math though. Make sure the disadvantage is balanced to the penalty inflicted, of course. I would imagine a 5 point disadvantage would require a hefty amount of skill lowering.

Well, I'm a newbie, and I don't know how many times I've seen the FREd origin discussion played out. I suppose that's ironic for a game known for its superheroics (or is it simply appropriate?). (Edit: Yeah, I'm going with "appropriate" instead. It ain't ironic.)

The sense groups. That gave me pause. The freebies from each group (Edit: The Simulated Sense Rule, that's what it's called) aren't explicitly listed in the book, correct? I think that needs clarity.

Well, I'd agree Yamo. Of course, if it's not a big deal, and a case could be made for it being Inobvious, then it still isn't a big deal. But I do agree that the Disguise thing comes off as too particular (which I what I'm assuming you mean). Anyway, Yamo, that towel thing sounds like a good idea for a thread. Someone throws out random normal stuff, say a bed, and the next poster stats it out in extensive detail.

Bah, you can take clinging. Just define the effect as being related to the same "force of will" effect that allows you to not fall through the floor.

Well, yeah. That's why I said "almost always". Say you take a STUN Only EB that usually does enough to knock you out on your Aid (let's say) Ego. If a Mind Controller enemy tries to take you over, just knock yourself out! It's better to be knocked cold than be a puppet. It's still a major limitation to have a power that knocks you out, but it ain't always bad.

I don't understand why you think that Monolith. If you get massive dibilitating headaches that often knock you out when you fail to use your budding TK power correctly, then why would you force a smaller relative limitation? The power is obviously more limited if it does more damage to you, regardless of the power's AP. Why should the side effect be 1/4 on a 1d6 TK, and higher on more expensive versions? Explain to me an abusive use. The only ones I can come up with are side effects that could have benefits for the player. But side effects should almost never be beneficial.

Hmm, I'm a newbie, so maybe this isn't right, but wouldn't a Required Skill Roll be more appropriate? It's supposed to scale with EGO anyway, right?

Aloha fellow islander, I live over in Kailua, on Oahu. Why is CON your choice? I don't have my book with me, but doesn't a CON drain kill? I would have thought so.

Here buuuuuddy. Go to the FAQs section and read through the Rules Questions. That's where this Q&A is from. Q: If a character uses Images to create light (as described on 5E 122), what happens if someone fails the PER Roll? Will the light negate the Sight PER Roll penalties for normal darkness, and if so, will they negate them only within the defined area of effect? A: Regarding the “missed†PER Roll, in this case the effect desired doesn’t depend on the target failing a PER Roll — the roll becomes irrelevant, because the character wants everyone to see the Image for exactly what it is. The same would apply, for example, to an entertaining illusion that makes no pretense of being “real.†Regarding the effects of the light, within the defined area of effect, the light would negate the penalties for normal darkness (and allow a character to read, and so on). The effect wouldn’t stop dead at the boundary of the area of effect though; special effects, common sense, and dramatic sense tell us that. Beyond the edges of the area affected, the darkness penalties would quickly return, though there’d probably be a little “bleed†from the light (maybe 1†away the darkness penalty is only -1, 2†away it’s -2, 3†away it’s -3, and at 4†and beyond it’s at full). Of course, as with any other visible phenomena, it may be possible for other characters far away from the actual area of effect to see the power in use, even if it doesn’t benefit/harm them. If a character carries a powerful flashlight (let’s call it Images 2â€) through a field at night, characters dozens of inches away can see the light (assuming unobstructed LOS), they just derive no benefit from it.

Hmm, thanks for advice about Entangle and consideration of mental powers. My friend was already considering the change to SPD anyway. It fits pretty well with the desired effect; it's cheaper (we can halve the cost and keep a decent AP limit, and not be ineffective); now it also helps affect mental abilities. Plus, all this Entanglation makes me noodle burn.

Here's how we ended up doing it. HKA 1d6 for the bite. Drain DEX 6d6, No Normal Defense (LS: Immunity; +1/2), Delayed Return (1 AP/Min; +1/2) (120 Active Points), Limited Effect: Affected Proportionately by Mass (-1/4), HKA Must do BODY (-1/2), Charges (8; -1/2), Linked (-1/4). Real Cost: 48 points. The Limited Effect is bought to simulate the fact that a poison doesn't work as well against larger targets. It works better on lighter ones, but generally size correlates with power, so we figured it worked out to a minor limitation. We're thinking we might buy more charges because we're not sure that that's enough effect total. Or perhaps SPD Drain is too much more effective.

Eh? Was my post deleted? I thought it was valid and on topic advice. Maybe it's a glitch.

I don't necessarily agree with your GM, buying all those levels of microscopic seems pretty pricey to be that restrictive. Regardless, remind him that lots of targets will have metal on them. How many experienced fighters won't have a piece of shrapnel embedded in their abdomen, eh? Or at least pocket change, firearms, and a lighter. So bonuses will be frequent.

Well, Combat sense requires a roll every phase you use it, and only allows you to establish a HtH target. Plus, you'd need more than Range. I'd say Detect HtH & Ranged Target is a larger class of Detect, but it makes sense just to get Detect Enemy. So, add Ranged, Sense (unless you want to pay the 1/2 phase), larger Class, and possibly a larger arc. Then you'd probably want to buy the roll up to something decent. So it isn't as cheap as that. But I don't think that your power should be unallowed.

Well, you could buy a power that Suppresses Darkness, invisibility and such. But using an unusual sense seems to be the best way. The problem is that it would be nice to know how the character does it, instead of what it can do. Since it's an elemental descended ability, is it magic? If so, then abilities that affect magic will work. Actually, in the right campaign, a magic sense is a not uncommon ability, so a flash or darkness to it isn't unreasonable to buy (a sorcerer with it has great surprise power). It might actually be rather useful at times, depending on how the GM constructs others' abilities. From my experience with HERO so far, I've learned that absolute abilities aren't really condoned. There should always be a work around that is reasonably common.

Hah, oops, I got my SPD and CV mixed up. Yeah, that sounds right. Ignore me.

I'd say that "3" is a "30".

Right . . . . Well, let's just get it out of the way and use a major Transform as well.

Hmm, I didn't get the impression that Supress could even do that. I'll look into it.

Hmm, so I would use the STR table for normal damage, in reference to CON instead. But can't characters use other sources of damage to bust out of a normal Entangle? Also, where is Vs. Con listed?