Talon

Re: Nanotech / magical self-growing structure

If they are really intelligent and independent, then Summon seems like the way to go. A creature with defenses, Growth, and STR to provide the necessary size and support, plus Shape Shift with a lot of Extra Time, would probably do the trick.

If there are a set number of existing ones, then Automatons would be just as good...

Re: 6E What happened to HKA?

As Folded pointed out, it's the cost structure that is problematic (apart from realism/heroic fiction modeling/etc.). A character can convert their STR to killing for almost no cost -- and this has particular benefit for bricks, since it is giving them another top-level attack for that cost.

I would have preferred to see the doubling rule remain the default.

Re: Do you think this use of Personal Immunity is reasonable?

Yup, need more information. Darkness that all of one team can see through and everyone else cannot seems a bit problematic, but even that depends on circumstance.

Re: Hero In Two Pages - Complete

I will be replacing my old "what is Hero" handout with this next GenCon...

Re: Why would I want an Accurate AoE?

Use the Absolute Effect rule.

Re: Hero In Two Pages - Complete

If only the board had technology to make certain posts always appear at the top.

Re: Transmit Smell

I would go with the pheromone thing...Transmit Smell would let you create a series of smells which could be used for communication, but not to disguise yourself (that would be Shape Shift).

Re: Scaterable Mine field

I would treat the minefield as a Continuous (probably Uncontrolled 0 END) AOE attack, with a Limitation which applies the chance of stepping on a mine (using whatever rules you feel are appropriate). Minesweeping or other removal methods would be the way to negate the Uncontrolled.

Re: Rules of thumb for the "challenge level" of bad guy creation?

I agree that it's a judgment call -- with as many options as Hero presents, for both the PCs and NPCs, it much harder if not impossible to get a single numeric measure of combat ability. (There have been some attempts in the past, mainly centered around "Rule of X" type measurements, that at least used to be in this forum somewhere.)

For many PCs against one target, you need to think about how much damage and other effects the target is going to take over time -- even if his attacks are super nasty, he can get overwhelmed by a number of attacks that pick away at his STUN. Conversely, when building a character with many more points than the PCs, you have to make sure his defenses aren't so high that the PCs can't touch him. (In your example, it would be easy to give a 525 point character complete defense against 175 point PC attacks.)

Re: Obfuscation and Unbreakable Vows...

For the "give your word" power, is the subject aware that they are making an Unbreakable Vow, or can someone get caught in a promise they may not have intended to make?

For the obfuscation effect, I would consider Darkness with Invisible Power Effects -- the SFX being that you get "nothing suspicious" -- and limited so that appropriate subjects (people and/or recording devices she wants to work) are not affected. (In general I consider such a Limitation -0, or might even require an Advantage a la Selective, since it is beneficial in nature.)

Re: House Rules

As to the cost, that actually isn't the case. Officially from Steve if you want to buy for instance 20PD and 20ED and want both to be Resistant and Hardened you have to buy them like this:

 

18 18PD (20 total with your base)

18 18ED (20 total with your base)

10 Hardened (+1/4) for 20PD/20ED

25 Resistant (+1/2) for 20PD/20ED Hardened (+1/4)

 

For a total of 71 points. The same cost as buying 20PD 20EP Resistant Protection (Hardened (+1/4), after you sell back your innate 2PD/2ED.

 

And there is no reason that you can't buy multiple instances of Resistant Protection on one character. A 5rPD/5rED suit of Armor along with a 15rPD/15rED force field and a mind shield with 10rMD could easily be three separate Powers rather than just one big one.

I will note that the Resistant Advantage section in 6E directly contradicts this -- I understand why Steve did it that way (hence the house rule), but I would rather disallow such uses of the Advantage than break one of the fundamental principles of the Hero System.

Re: House Rules

Use the Resistant Protection power instead of the Resistant Advantage whenever possible.

Re: House Rules

Probably house rules for me:

• When using a weapon with STR Min above your STR, you do full damage but pay END for the full STR used (and suffer the normal OCV penalty)
  
• Involved house rules for exhaustion (penalties for being at 3/4, 1/2, 1/4 END) and long-distance travel
  
• Flying Dodge (and most FMove manuevers) are under strict scrutiny (and may well be disallowed)
  

I would also like to experiment with allowing characters to move after an attack (i.e., Attack actions do not automatically end your Phase).

Re: Hostile guidance system

Yeah, I would definitely ignore what 6E says and do this with Reflection, Ranged, Any Target, Requires a Roll. APG mentions this as an option.

That, or:

Hostile Guidance System: +4 with Ranged Combat (32 Active Points); Side Effects (Guidance system reaches out and smacks character; -1/4)

Re: The HERO System 6th Edition

Question: my PDF copy of 6E1 has a bookmark issue -- all of the powers are under the "POWER EXAMPLES: ABSORPTION" header. This isn't the largest problem in the world, but if there's an updated version of the PDF I'd love to get it.

Re: linked powers and multipowers

A single multipower slot can contain multiple powers as long as they are Linked, so you could buy the Flash effect as linked to the main Grenade effect, as long as the total active cost of the two powers does not exceed the multipower point limit.

Re: Why would I want an Accurate AoE?

Hm, my bad, misread the rather obvious text.

Re: Why would I want an Accurate AoE?

You cannot Dive for Cover from an Accurate AoE...this can make a big difference. Bzzt, thank you for playing (see below).

Re: which forum is most appropriate for my posts?

I would say the Fantasy Hero board is the more appropriate place, except for stuff which is really rules-based. "How do I build X" is fine for this forum, but "here are all the FF spells converted to Hero" is definitely FH material.

Re: Traveling in your typical modern day sewer: what rolls for illness?

I would have a couple handsome yet scruffy normals down there looking for someone named "Angel"...

Re: Proportianal to remaining power...

What Hugh said. Estimate the average loss of functionality, apply Limited Power based on that value. I have similar experience with combat durations for superheroic games, so -1/4 seems right assuming that genre.

Re: Real Life into Hero.

In real-life, "not used to combat" is the norm...but in most RPGs, the opposite is true. I often use a "Noncombatant" Psychological Complication for NPCs who flinch and otherwise have a hard time acting in a fight (for example, Kaylee from Firefly).

Re: Real Life into Hero.

The real question is, did you create a "human sized hole" when you hit the target.

Re: Traveling in your typical modern day sewer: what rolls for illness?

I have to admit that in nearly every campaign I've played in, no roll would be required unless a character had a specific Complication (or Unluck and the GM was feeling mean). The consequences are not particularly heroic or interesting to roleplay, so I'd prefer they were skipped.

OTOH, I might ask the players to make CON rolls (with no consequence unless someone rolls an 18 maybe) just to emphasize how icky it is. Players will happily have their characters march through all kinds of unpleasantness...but make a CON roll, that's nasty!

Re: How would you cost this VPP limitation

I would think along the lines of the Lockout Limitation and start at -1/2.