Mr. Gridlock

Re: Super Shield Aw, Sean, don't let reality get in the way of your good superhero fun! If that were the case, then the whole shield concept is busted because you couldn't directly block Grond's punch. You'd have to define the Block as getting out of the way of the punch, not directly countering it. I mean, Grond is what, 256x more powerful than Cap? That would be like standing in front of a moving car (at the least) and then we're not even talking about action-reaction, i.e. KB. So, I gotta go with comic book physics!

Re: Mental awareness for inactive powers AFAIC, Mental Awareness just tells you when mental powers are in use, not what kind. For that, take Discriminatory. CrosshairCollie has it right for what Garlic wants, IMO.

Re: Telepathy Power Ideas I'm going with SBarron's idea to ditch the TP altogether and just go with the suite of "extras" as the idea I was going for was more of a passive TP--not having to attack everyone around to read their thoughts. In essence, it is that passive TP that gives him his edge.

Re: Super Shield The only problem I see is that by defining a block as a FW with 12 PD is that Cap couldn't effectively block an attack by a brick with >60 STR (doing on average 12 or more Body). That's why I like CSLs with the Block maneuver. You can block any HTH attack you like, regardless of damage. Plus, if you blow the FW down, you negate a lot of the Body, but not enough of the Stun even for something like a 10d6 attack. The Questionite Shield as defined in the Gadgets book is built on 105 points for a 16 PD/ED FW, but I don't know any GMs who would allow it as it's significantly over the AP ceiling.

Re: OIHID or Multiform? He could easily have 100 points in skills, contacts, perks, etc. to make a nice tasty 100 pointer. It might actually be better suited to play a SPD 3 with nothing but his training who has to take the time to transform (if you make it take any more time than what's built into the power). Plus, in his other form, he could have different disads based on his form, something that you can't really replicate with OIHID. And there's nothing to track with Multiform. Just create the two different forms, pay the cost for the altered form in the base form, and you're done. I've played many Duplicators as well as Multiform types and it really is straightforward.

Re: What defines Hero ID I'm not sure I agree that this is worth an OIHID limitation. It takes him practically no time to put his mask on and release the gas from his buckle. Certainly taking it off is next to impossible if he were unconscious without special knowledge of the solvent. So it's not a Focus and I don't feel it's enough of a hindrance to be worth the OIHID lim. For me, OIHID has to be able to be stopped somehow. Question just never gets into a situation where this is an issue. The movie version of Iron Man is an OIHID. And it works in Tony's favor just as much a hinderence to have to take so long to get into (out of) the suit. Sometimes you just have to chalk it up to your definition as to how long these things take. There's no set answer. Just as if you define your EB as electrical or fire. Each case gets benefits and hindrences to/by the environment. You have to work out the time it takes for the change at the time of character creation with your GM (or your player if you're the GM). Pick something that sounds reasonable. Obviously if you're playing the movie version of Tony, then there is no changing into Iron Man if he sees something going down while he's sipping his latte on the sidewalk; he has to get back to his lab for the assist, He becomes a strategic character, not a tactical one. Really, it's all just SFX. Just as defining a gun as an OIF rather than an OAF because the guy's just so good, it's that much harder to take away from him. You pay for that (by not saving the points by taking it as an OAF).

Re: Close Your Nose A Force Wall sounds way too expensive for this. Why not just take Smell/Taste Group Flash Defense? That would protect from Flashes as well as AVLD attacks. Or am I missing something?

Re: Weapons and weapon Techniques I don't think you need anything special here. The armor would have a Def score of its Active Points/5 or it's Armor score, which ever is higher. If you do more damage to it than its Def score--one point of Body or more--it loses one power. It's destroyed when it has no more powers. So if it's Armor and that's it, then once you exceed its Def, it's done. Unfortunately, there's no specific rule for creating a hole per se. Of course if you simply want to bypass the armor you could buy the Indirect Advantage, and I suppose if you bought it as a Naked Advantage and then applied Usable Simultaneously...though I'm not sure if too many people would allow this. Indirect (Same origin, any direction; +1/2) for up to 45 Active Points of HKA, Usable Simultaneously (up to 4 people at once; +3/4) (38 Active Points).

I'm thinking this would probably not be Mind Control but a Major Transform with a Trigger. You apply the Transform ("compelled to follow my orders to the letter" or some such thing) and have it take full effect, though it's actually dormant until the trigger (a phone call or someone walks by and says the stimulus word or phrase). Does this seem in the ball park? Post Hypnotic Command : Major Transform 5d6 (You into my Slavishly Loyal Follower, Chemical detox clears the drug from your system), Trigger (Activating the Trigger is an Action that takes no time, Trigger requires a Turn or more to reset, Character does not control activation of personal Trigger; Requires the character to hear the phrase "kilo india lima lima"; +1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (131 Active Points); Extra Time (1 Week, Full regimen of brainwashing; -4 1/2), OAF Fragile Expendable (Easy to obtain new Focus; Brainwashing drugs; -1 1/4)

Re: Weapons and weapon Techniques They're two separate "powers" so you'll need to buy Reduced END for each. Buying the sword to 0 END makes sense. Buying your END down on your STR is not a bad idea, if you have the points for it. For 35 STR it'll cost you 9 points for 1/2 END bought as a Naked Advantage.

Re: Weapons and weapon Techniques It's 1 END per 10 active points, and you round in your favor if at the half mark, so 35 STR (35 active points) rounds down to 3 END. A couple of things to consider: You can only double the base attack with extra strength, so the max you can add is an additional 2d6K. Because of Advantages, you have less STR to add, so a 2d6K attack with a +1/2 Advantage (e.g., AP) you now have a 3d6+1 AP HKA (instead of a 4d6K without the Advantage). If your GM will allow the Sweep maneuver, you might think about buying two-point skill levels with that maneuver to be able to attack multiple oppponents rather than buying it as an Area of Effect. IMO, Sweep is more flexible, but it's an optional maneuver, so you can't rely on it always being allowed. Ask your GM. Consider buying your weapon down to 0-END. Then you only have the END from your STR to consider when you want to add it. If it's an actual item, e.g. a Focus, it probably shouldn't be costing you any END to use (aside from any STR you choose to add). But that's not a rule, just a suggestion. Unless you have buckets of END, throwing 6 END per attack plus any from movement gets fatiguing.

Re: How to present combat to new players Just use a dice roller! The one that comes with Hero Designer is nice. Boy, does it speed up play. If they stick with Champs, then over time you can introduce the dice back and slowly get their comprehension up. But in the beginning, just get them playing. Let them move around things like levels and the like, but I wouldn't waste time on calculations...it can be off putting.

I was toying with the idea of creating a fanbase for a popular hero. 6 Reputation: Famous, well-liked Hero (A large group) 14-, +2/+2d6 I was debating whether to create it with Followers or Summon. 19 Fans: Summon 8 10-point Noteworthy Normal characters, Friendly (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Persistent (+1/2) (38 Active Points); Arrives Under Own Power (-1/2), Summoned Being Must Inhabit Locale (-1/2) Would the Persistent advantage allow for the GM to activate this on behalf of the player if the hero is KO'd? For 2 points less (17) you can create the same number of 10-point Followers. Who are far more loyal, which is not necessarily what I'm after. Followers seem like a regular crew of helpers, like Holmes' Baker Street Irregulars. But it doesn't have to be, does it? Can they be "rotating/random" followers? I'm looking for a mechanic that would allow for the scenes in the Spider-Man movies where the crowd pelts Gobby with food (and distract him), or where they stand up to Doc Ock (and allow Spidey to recover a little). On a smaller scale due to point constraints, naturally. Just looking for a way to (more than likely) have the GM let some normal folks help the hero out in small ways.

Re: Telepathy Power Ideas Bueller?... Bueller?... Bueller?

Re: Super Shield

Re: Super Shield That's why my original build included bonuses to Block. Someone with wicked pointy bits coming after ol' Cap gets blocked, period. There's no point in trying to suck it up with def. Rarely, if ever, does Cap even feel the attack because the Vibranihoozit sucks it up and shunts it into the Clutch Zone.

Re: Super Shield Formidable. For SFX purposes, since the shield is so light, is the extra knockback really justified? Don't the +2 OCV with any two categories of combat (HTH and Ranged) (8 Active Points) need to be 5 point levels to take Limitations? What do you think about One Hex AoE (Accurate) for the Shield Bash to simulate it being easier to hit someone due to size?

Re: A temporary universal portal Well, one could enter at a time, but you could have 4 people in the tunnel at any one time.

Re: Super Shield I think I would take slightly less Armor (13/13) and Hardened x2 rather than dropping the Armor to (10/10) and 4x Hardened. It's all a gamble, I s'pose.

Re: Super Shield This is one swingin' write-up. My first rep point given!

Re: A temporary universal portal I'll try my hand at this: 48 Teleportation 10", x4 Increased Mass, Area Of Effect (One Hex; +1/2), Usable Simultaneously (up to 4 people at once; +3/4), Continuous (+1) (97 Active Points); Gate (-1/2), Increased Endurance Cost (x2 END; -1/2) See pg. 234 of the 5th ed. rev. for the full description of the Gate Limitation.

I want to build a character who has Telepathy in a kind of always on fashion. NOT in a limiting way, however. So here's the base power. I'll follow with some of the ideas for how Telepathy helps him. 14 Telepathy 8d6 (Human class of minds) (40 Active Points); Receive Only (-1/2), Language Barrier (-1/2), Surface Thoughts Only (-1/2), Does Not Provide Mental Awareness (-1/4), Plus 9 Telepathy 8d6 (Human class of minds) (40 Active Points); Only to Achieve +20 Undetectable Level (-1), Receive Only (-1/2), Language Barrier (-1/2), Surface Thoughts Only (-1/2), Linked (Mind Reading; -1/2), Does Not Provide Mental Awareness (-1/4) Supplemental powers: 25 Telepathy Edge:+5 with Interaction Skills 8 Telepathic Anticipation:Lightning Reflexes: +5 DEX to act first with All Actions 3 I Heard that Thought:Lightsleep 13 Detect Mental Traces: Retrocognitive Clairsentience (Mental Group) (40 Active Points); Retrocognition Only (-1), No Range (-1/2), Time Modifiers (-1/2) I bought this instead of Mind Scan for a number of reasons: He doesn't have any others powers to attack with, I want it to be undetectable by the target, and this also gives him the Combat Sense Talent. 32 Detect Minds: Detect Human Minds 17- (Mental Group), Discriminatory, Increased Arc Of Perception (360 Degrees), Sense, Targeting, Telescopic: +20 I think I need some help with this one. The concept being that he couldn't detect a bomb placed in his car, but he would be tipped off if a couple of assassins were coming for him. 18 Danger Sense (immediate vicinity, out of combat, Function as a Sense, Intuitional) (27 Active Points); Only If Human Class mind is Presenting the Danger (-1/2) 17- Or would this be better: 30 Detect Hostile Intent 17- (Mental Group), Discriminatory, Increased Arc Of Perception (360 Degrees), Sense, Targeting Any other nifty power ideas?

Re: Super Shield I get where the Indirect comes in vs. the Damage Shield, but I don't see what the Personal Immunity provides against the Damage Shield.

Re: Comment on this character I have a question: is buying Lockout legitimate when you're already using all of the reserve in one of the slots? In Hyper-Man's Whammo Shield, the Frisbee throw uses all 60 points of the 60 point reserve. Doesn't this already "Lockout" the rest of the slots? I thought Lockout would be used if you could still use another slot, e.g. 100 point reserve. 60 point EB slot, 40 point Armor slot. You could use both since you have enough in the reserve. But if you bought the EB with Lockout, then you couldn't use the Armor slot.

Re: Comment on this character Thanks for all your input. Here's the updated version. I'm sticking with an OIF because I feel since he's supposed to be good with his shield, an OAF would leave him too vulnerable to Grab's or it being targeted by a ranged attacked. I removed the 1 Recoverable Charge (since the idea was just to eliminate the END cost). I got rid of Danger Sense and went full Defense Maneuver. I bought single level of DCV with the OIF Limitation to reflect that he can always seemingly move the shield around making himself harder to hit. With EP I can bump that up so it's more of a passive protection. Still does nothing if he's targeted by an AoE, but then there's always diving for cover. I dropped his DEX a point and bought Lightning Reflexes. I think it would be best if he could go first. I bumped his INT to 18 and dropped his EGO to 14 and bought Mental Defense. With a Shield punch he can generate 12d6, which I think is decent. He could take out 3 agents per phase Sweeping, or hit multiple targets at range with Rapid Fire and his thrown shield. Granted, it's only 8d6 at range, but I see him excelling at fighting multiple agents rather than taking on the big bad. I did buy the Overall levels, something I've never bought before, always feeling they were so expensive, but since I had decided to make this guy very skilled, it seemed like the best way to go. Again, thanks, and I think I'll do this again. Without input, I just get so stuck in my own little world. Valiant Val Char Points Total Roll Notes 20 STR 10 20 13- HTH Damage 4d6 END [2] 26 DEX 48 26 14- OCV 9 DCV 9 23 CON 26 23 14- 12 BODY 4 12 11- 18 INT 8 18 13- PER Roll 13- 14 EGO 8 14 12- ECV: 5 20 PRE 10 20 13- PRE Attack: 4d6 16 COM 3 16 12- 10 PD 6 10/26 10/26 PD (0/16 rPD) 10 ED 5 10/26 10/26 ED (0/16 rED) 6 SPD 24 6 Phases: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 10 REC 2 10 46 END 0 46 37 STUN 3 37 6" Running 0 9" 2" Swimming 0 2" 4" Leaping 0 6" Total Characteristics Cost: 157 Cost Powers END 27 The Shield: Multipower, 40-point reserve, (40 Active Points); all slots OIF Unbreakable (-1/2) 1u 1) Shield Bash: Hand-To-Hand Attack +4d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (30 Active Points); Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2), OIF Unbreakable (-1/2) 0 3u 2) Thrown Shield: Energy Blast 8d6 (40 Active Points); OIF Unbreakable (-1/2) 4 2u 3) Armor (13 PD/13 ED) (39 Active Points); Requires A DEX Roll (-1/2), OIF Unbreakable (-1/2) 0 2u 4) Missile Deflection (Any Ranged Attack), Adjacent Hex (+1/2) (30 Active Points); OIF Unbreakable (-1/2) 0 3 +1 with DCV (5 Active Points); OIF Unbreakable (The Shield; -1/2) 2 Strong Willed: Mental Defense (6 points total) (3 Active Points); Nonpersistent (-1/4) 0 1 Leaping +2" (6" forward, 3" upward) (2 Active Points); Requires An Acrobatics Roll (-1/2) 1 6 Running +3" (9" total) 1 Freeform Fighting 4 1) Block: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +2 DCV, Block, Abort 4 2) Disarm: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, +1 DCV, Disarm; 40 STR to Disarm 4 3) Escape: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +0 DCV, 45 STR vs. Grabs 4 4) Evade: 1/2 Phase, -- OCV, +5 DCV, Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort 3 5) Legsweep: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, -1 DCV, 7d6 Strike, Target Falls 4 6) Punch / Elbow Strike: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +2 DCV, 8d6 Strike 5 7) Side / Roundhouse Kick: 1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, +1 DCV, 10d6 Strike 2 Weapon Element: Default Element (Empty Hand), Off Hand, Shield 8 +2 HTH Damage Class(es) Perks 1 Money: Well Off 1 Fringe Benefit: License to practice law 2 Reputation: Upstanding Hero (A medium-sized group) 11-, +2/+2d6 Talents 6 Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED) 3 Lightning Reflexes: +2 DEX to act first with All Actions Skills 20 +2 Overall 6 +2 with Martial Maneuvers 3 Acrobatics 14- 3 Breakfall 14- 3 Bureaucratics 13- 3 Climbing 14- 3 Concealment 13- 3 Conversation 13- 3 Criminology 13- 3 Deduction 13- 10 Defense Maneuver I-IV 3 Interrogation 13- 3 KS: Criminal Law and Procedure 13- 3 KS: Police Procedure 13- 5 PS: Prosecuting Attorney 15- 4 Penalty Skill Levels: +2 vs. Sweep with Martial Arts 3 Persuasion 13- 5 Rapid Attack (HTH) 3 Shadowing 13- 3 Stealth 14- 3 Streetwise 13- Total Powers & Skills Cost: 193 Total Cost: 350