Talon

It sounds like more than just Clairvoyance, because the character doesn't seem to need any particular sense for it to work (for example, it sounds like he could tell what's inside a dark box). N-Ray vision with appropriate SFX sounds closer to me. It also sounds like a power that could very easily be abused.

Under the normal rules, if a character has any rDEF, they get to apply their total DEF (resistant and non-resistant) against the STUN of the KA. Since you apparently don't do this, isn't it the case that characters with low resistant and high non-resistant defenses will take more STUN than per the normal rules?

I think one of the points made in this discussion is that having KAs do lots more STUN damage isn't exactly making them "more killing". I actually like this idea because it simplifies the system -- taking two methods of rolling damage and reducing them to one is a powerful way to make the system easier to learn. Unfortunately, you then get into some messy areas -- why shouldn't HKA and HA work exactly the same, for example.

Clearly the Se'Ecra are using this thread for covert communications.

I'd require a Sense (Clairvoyance probably) in order to create the Duplicates in a particular spot to which the character does not have LOS. And yes, looks full of twinked-out-goodness.

Yeah. Just don't ever go see Terry Brooks in person...shudder.

One of the reasons I became disenchanted with the STUN Lotto was that players starting purchasing killing attacks so they could take down the big bad guys. Their reasoning was that an average roll on an EB did little to nothing, and EBs don't deviate much from average -- while a KA does. So they were willing to sit through a few Phases of poor STUN multipliers in order to get the 4s and 5s. When I realized this was a reasonable strategy, I started considering alternatives for the STUN multiplier.

Note than a rules-standard 4d6 KA will do more BODY (4 on average) but less STUN. +0 Advantage is definitely the most cost-balanced way to price this house rule -- I like it because it's simple, but I don't like that it removes the "more BODY, less STUN" tendency of KAs.

Either a fixed x3 stun mod or (on a d6) 2,2,3,3,3.

The rule is "A Limitation which doesn't restrict the character isn't worth points" [paraphrase]. Since the Immortality is almost always going to be on, Linked shouldn't be worth anything. If, for some reason, the GM knows that Immortality Drains are common (and that losing Immortality won't flat out kill the character), then maybe it's worth something.

Just read the whole thread (or at least most of it)...yikes. Thoughts in no particular order: 1) If I was playing Hero right now I would certainly be able to provide an example of Rapid Fire being abusive in a game. I have used Sweep to devastating effect, without having PSLs or any equivalent. 2) In theory, Rapid Fire /looks/ abusable to me, again even without adding PSLs. It concerns me enough that I would want to house rule it or at least warn against it before the start of a campaign. 3) One solution that came to me: Rapid Fires against a single target are less effective, all hits after the first do half damage (after defenses). For a superheroic campaign this feels like it would achieve the proper effect, but it's just an idea. Actually limits NNDs more than normal attacks. 4) Part of the advantage of Rapid Fire (over Autofire and in general) is that anyone can do it, with any attack. As several posters have mentioned, it's a great way to finish a downed or immobilized enemy, and you don't have to design your character a certain way to take advantage of it. 5) 1/2 DCV is a serious penalty, but it's quite easy to minimize that penalty through proper tactics (or high defenses): Aborting, knowing there are better targets, etc. 6) Multiple-AOE attacks, whether Autofire or Rapid Fire, are definitely abusive and I've seen their abusiveness more than once. My house rule is that such attacks provide extra area but not extra damage; i.e., you can't take damage more than once per Phase from such an attack. If someone really complained I might give a Limitation for this, but more likely I would just make them buy expanded area instead. 7) I like the advantage-synergy idea, but for some reason it seems too radical to implement unless Hero actually adopts it for v6. I do agree that "Advantage Happy Syndrome" is a flaw in the system as written.

The problem I see with Bestow is that it doesn't take Limitations into account. For example, the Bestow for Improved Invisibility (doesn't end when the character attacks) would be the same.

Posting a writeup of how you arrived at the cost would be helpful. I would make upping the duration at least a +1/2 Advantage.

A Multipower is definitely the traditional way to go, since most of the time you just pull one weapon out and start fighting. If you plan to use multiple weapons at once, make sure the pool is appropriately large enough. Since you can never use different EC slots together in an attack, an EC doesn't offer much advantage over a MP, and will probably cost more.

TE definitely meets your criteria. If anything, it's a bit lacking in specific detail; I don't think you could run a TE game from the book without doing some prep work first. It's a good setting, and I definitely recommend it.

Spidery Sentries: The spell creates a number of 6" spiders which crawl over the caster, biting anyone who makes contact with the caster's person. The caster can command some of the spiders to crawl onto another person, who is then similarly protected for the duration of the spell. 1/2d6 RKA, Continuous, Damage Shield, UOO (+1, usable by self and 4? others), 0 END Persistent, Duration 1 minute (-0), Gestures, Incantations, OIF Expendable (spider eggs, -1/2), 22 points. Poisonous OptionAdd 1d6 END Drain, same advantages and limitations plus Linked (-1/2). Cost 18 points. Word of Slowness: By uttering a single word of power, the caster slows time for all within range, providing a tremendous advantage. Note that allies are affected as well. Suppress SPD 7d6 (standard effect: 2 SPD), AOE (14" Radius, +1 1/2), Personal Immunity, 0 END, Uncontrolled (uttering the counter-word, or 1 minute), multiple uses do not stack (-1/2), Incantations, Concentration (1/2 DCV, -1/4), 65 points.

My "solution" is to make armor it's own penalty -- due to DEX penalties, noise, encumbrance, and social effects, characters only wear armor in appropriate circumstances. Most mages won't have bought the STR and DEX to make long-term armor usage appropriate; if they do, more power to them.

For HeroDesigner input, I'd suggest making an Export Template that spits out the information you want to import in a format that is easy for you to import. You can do text files easily, and the Combat Record feature will let you spit out summary information for an entire group. If you're doing a Phase Tracker, here's what I'd like to see: Quick (one-key) access to: -- next character in order; -- current character is Stunned -- current character is -11 or below (recovers Post 12) -- current character Holds -- any character Aborts Warnings at the end of a Segment for Holding characters who are about to lose their action. Ability to apply "effects" to a character -- Entangles (note BODY, can decrement) -- Adjustment Powers (auto-decrement either Post 12 or 12 Segments later) -- other (just notes that apply to the character)

Given the existence of a 60 point MP and the fact that it doesn't apparently require much in the way of Limitations (Gestures, Extra Time, etc.), I assume that this is a fairly high-powered game. Given that assumption, it seems like a reasonable power.

I would also make some rulings / house rules on the effectiveness and reliability of poisons: how long they stay on a weapon, etc. If you don't want poisons in your game, moving away from cinematic poison rules (where poison is applied instantly, always works when hitting an opponent, etc.) is a good start.

Heh, forgot about that one. IMO that maneuver is totally abusive, official or not, and I'd never allow it. Conversely of course, all of my characters would take it if the GM said it was allowed.

I use per-Turn movement rules, so that if you want to move faster in combat, you buy up movement, and if you want more actions in combat, you buy up SPD. My long-distance travel rules are based on LTE loss, so that if you want to travel farther over long distances, you buy up your REC.

I'd probably allow 3 DFs, one for metal skeleton, one for being a mutant, and one for general appearance. I rarely grant DFs for costumes in a superheroic game unless costumed supers are really rare. I might fold the skeleton & mutant DFs into one if I felt that each separately wasn't going to occur that often...but since metal detectors are so common that's not likely.

Identity-specific disads: Since the guy isn't actually changing, you can probably get away with lowering the Frequency of the disads as appropriate. (Many of them should be low anyway, since presumably the character can swap IDs if a particular Hunted shows up.) Powers: You can easily swap these using a Framework unless they are complicated. I'd probably allow a Multipower within a VPP in a circumstance like this, where the exact composition of the Multipower is known beforehand, but other GMs may not agree. Perks: I'd require buying all the Perks, maybe with a minor cost break if it's really a problem for the character to assume the ID needed for that Perk. Persona: This sounds like something done consciously by the character rather than being imposed by the swap. As such, it's a roleplaying thing (Acting might be a good skill to have!) and doesn't really affect the writeup of the character. Overall this requires a lot of judgement by the GM, since the fact that you can pro-actively switch IDs to avoid disads and gain Perks can make a huge difference in the character's effectiveness. If the character can switch IDs at the drop of a hat, this stuff should be a lot more expensive than if ID switches took time (or even weren't under the character's control).

For the "either you have it or you don't" powers, I'd recommend buying the power for each creature with the limitation "only in presence of enabling Sliver" (value based on how rare the enabling Sliver is). For powers that stack (increased STR, damage, etc.), you could either buy the maximum possible value for each creature with a limitation as above, or you could buy it for the enabling creature only with UAA, AOE Selective, Continuous, Persistent, with a limitation "Selective can only be used to target all Slivers". Then buy Sense Sliver, only for use in targeting the AOE, at an 18- roll. Technically, you could do AOE, "only vs. Slivers", but that's not really a Limitation.