Derek Hiemforth

I think Transform or Mind Control are the best ways to go. NND's, EGO Attacks, STUN Drains, etc. all lower the STUN stat, which isn't really what you're after. And some of the other proposals, like the EGO Entangle, don't necessarily include anything that justifies the target being asleep. Overall, I think Transform is probably best. That way, you don't have to deal with Mind Control breakout rolls, either. The way to reverse the Transform would simply be to wake the person up. Since this is such an easy and obvious way to "cure" the Transform, I might even give you a small Limitation for that if I was the GM. To me, the hardest question is whether this would be a Major or Minor Transform. Objectively, it should probably be Minor. Changing the target into itself, but asleep, isn't that profound a change in "real life." But in game terms, it would also mean that the target might then be easily slain, making it a more Major effect. If I was running, I'd probably rule that it was a Minor Transform, but also rule that all the normal means of waking up applied (definitely including being awoken by loud noises, combat around you, or falling down while asleep. Therefore, if you tried to put someone to sleep in the midst of combat, they'd just wake up again when they fell down. You'd get more mileage out of it if you used it more subtly...

Whew! Now I won't be joining Veruca Salt in the garbage chute. I do too, generally. (Or H5E.)

I was actually working on a conversion system for Icon System to HERO System a while back. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a response from anyone at Wizards Of The Coast (who now presumably own the rights to the system) regarding publishing such a conversion system anywhere. However, I do have permission from Decipher for a Coda System to HERO System conversion. Now I just need to find time to write it. Maybe I need to post less around here...

I actually like "Fantastic Roleplaying Encyclopedia by DOJ." Here's a more complete history that I wrote for the Haymaker APAzine a while back...

I generally don't incorporate "real life" events into my games. Maybe I'm just worried that if I incorporate a specific real world terrorist attack or something into my game world, then Doctor Destroyer will appear in the real world and start trying to take over...

According to the Spacedock netbook for LUG's version of the Trek RPG (written by our very own Steve Long), the Galaxy-class ships like the Enterprise D have a standard complement of 25 shuttles, 12 shuttlepads, 3 shuttle bays (the main shuttlebay in the saucer section, and two smaller bays in the engineering section), plus a "Captain's Yacht."

Wow! That's really cool of you, John! I'll have to at least buy you lunch or something!

Well, the 2nd Edition screen was two pieces... one with the Speed Chart and old Hero Games logo on the panel with "Gamemasters Screen for Champions," and one with two people fighting on that panel. So it may have just been the 2nd edition screen...

Well I'll be damned! I'd looked for years for a 1st Edition screen, even to the point of buying two items advertised as such from online out-of-print dealers, both of which turned out to be 2nd Edition screens! The stock number didn't clear up the confusion, unfortunately. 1st Edition Champions came out in 1981, and 2nd Edition in 1982. The GM Screen is stock number 05, which places it between Escape From Stronghold (1981), and Enemies II (1982). So there was no way to tell from that. And the 2nd Edition screen does not have a copyright date on it. All that taken together, plus the fact that I had never even seen a 1st Edition screen, made me think there was none. But that Strength Chart difference clinches it... my 2nd edition screen does not list a KDamage column. Thanks, Doug! I'll update my HERO System Products List to reflect this info. (Then I'll start hunting for a 1st Edition screen again. ) ('Course, tracking this stuff would be a lot easier if the guys hadn't re-used the same stock number for different versions of the same product... mumble, mutter... )

Sorry... I didn't notice that each panel had the same verbiage on it. Okay, does it have the yellow "Revised Edition" splash on the other panel, where it says Gamemaster's Screen for CHAMPIONS on that one?

On the panel where it says Gamemaster's Screen for CHAMPIONS" and shows the two guys facing off against each other, is there a yellow splash panel after the word CHAMPIONS that says "2nd Edition?"

By and large, I think it depends on SFX. A knife and a shotgun are both "visible," but one of them is a lot easier to use quietly.

Well, two points... One, that would require +2 in Advantages on Summon, so it would be very expensive. You'd need the +1 for Specific Being and the +1 for Any Type of Being. If you only bought Specific Being, it would literally be only 1 specific being... you could only Summon the one particular person you had defined when you bought the Power. Two, any GM who allowed you to buy a Power to Summon anyone whenever you wanted to would have to be asleep at the switch. As the description of Summon in H5E says, you should normally only use Summon to call specific beings if they are deceased, or you have some way of precisely pinpointing their location. So you shouldn't be able to Summon The Midnight Bomber -- even you paid your +2 -- unless you know exactly where he is. Summon shouldn't include a free worldwide Detect power.

Re: How much of a change? Both a lot and a little. 4th Edition characters still work very easily with 5th Edition. There have been a few cost changes, and a few mechanics changes, but not too many. So you wouldn't need to make a lot of changes to a 4th Edition character to use them with 5th. However, you would almost certainly want to make changes, because the biggest thing 5th Edition does is give you lots more options for ways to simulate an even wider range of abilities. I've converted a fair number of characters to 5th Edition, and in every single case, there were new 5th Edition items that helped me define the character better than they had been defined in 4th. Every single person I know who plays HERO System games has switched to 5th Edition. As the current release, it's the standard for Hero players. If you encounter new Hero players, they're almost certainly going to be playing 5th Edition. And that scenario will only increase over time...

As far as I know, there was no 1st Edition GM screen. I believe the first one was for the 2nd Edition of Champions.

You have to buy some things in HERO (like Characteristics) that aren't affected by levels in D&D. That is to say, the main thing that separates most 1st level characters from 0-level characters in D&D is that 1st level characters have better ability scores. (In practice, even if they shouldn't in a straight 3d6-six-times theory.) If I really wanted to capture the flavor of a D&D-style character, I'd probably start the characters with about 40 points that had to be spent on their Characteristics. Then I'd give them another 10-15 points to spend on their first "class" abilities. (A mage's first spell, a warrior's first couple of Weapon Familiarities and maybe a Combat Level, a thief's first couple of thiefly Skills, etc.) After that, every 10-15 points would equate to another "level," as the mage buys another spell or two, the warrior buys another Combat Level or buys a physical CHA up a little bit, etc.

The first suggestion is still the best, IMO. Use Variable Limitations. The power either has Incantations or Increased END Cost.

Just buy extra PRE with the Limitation, Only To Protect Against Presence Attacks (-1). See the sidebar on page 92 of HERO System Fifth Edition for an example. Alternately, since they're zombies, you might want to consider building them as Automatons, which would make them immune to Presence Attacks. (See page 310 of HERO System Fifth Edition.)

Or since they're going to be opposing criminals, why not simply "Anti-Crime Team?"

Re: Campaign Assistance Needed How about P.L.O.T. (Paranormal Law-enforcement Officer Team)? She could work for the police or the city or whatever (whoever will oversee this new agency) and she gets recruited into the new team when her powers manifest.

If you don't mind buying a few extras along with it, there's a lot of Champions books on Ebay right now that includes To Serve And Protect. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3119507300&category=2548

I actually would give you an extra -1/4 Limitation if the Power was exceptionally visible. It seems analogous to the Fantasy Hero Limitation, Noisy (-1/4).

I just sent an updated PDF to Ben, so hopefully it should be available shortly.

No need, Dynamo. I've already sent Ben an updated PDF.

If you want it to work on nearly everyone who isn't a Jedi or racially immune, then you're going to need a whole lot more Mind Control than the paltry 5d6 you have listed above. The two big examples of the mind trick in action we see in the original trilogy (Obi-Wan convincing the Stormtroopers to leave them alone and let the droids go, and Luke convincing Jabba's aide to take Luke to see Jabba) are both things that the targets would normally be against doing. (Stormtroopers would normally be against freeing people they'd been ordered to look for, and Jabba's aide would normally be against breaking Jabba's orders and bringing a Jedi within lightsaber range.) That's an EGO+20 effect. To get an EGO+20 effect on even someone with a 10 EGO and no Mental Defense, you'd have to roll all 6's on a 5d6 Mind Control, making your chance of success virtually nil. Lets' assume that the mind trick can't be used to make people do things they're violently opposed to (no EGO+30 effects). To be reasonably assured that you could get EGO+20 effects on people up to 15 EGO or so (above which you might start running into Jedi and potential Jedi), and get them without failing very often, you'd need to have about 14-15d6 of Mind Control. (You need to roll 35 for the desired level of effect on a target with a 15 EGO and no Mental Defense, plus you want to be sure you'll roll 35 almost all the time. At 14-15d6 of Mind Control, you'll succeed in rolling 35 or more about 98% of the time. If you're willing to drop that to about 95%, you could go with 13d6.)