Derek Hiemforth

Have you talked to the GM about your concerns? If I was the GM in a campaign where OIHID was being abused, I would institute two "house rules" related to it: All characters must have private lives or other circumstances that require them to not be in hero ID at least half the time. If they're not out of hero ID at least half the time in their daily life, then they can't take the Limitation. There must be some way to prevent the change into hero ID, whether by stopping Billy Batson from yelling Shazam or whatever. Once these two parameters are established, I can then ensure that the Limitation comes into play. People can be theatened or captured in secret ID and prevented from changing. Once they see that OIHID will actually affect them sometimes, they should hopefully go back to applying it only to those characters for whom it makes sense. Ultimately, it's up to the GM to address this issue. If he doesn't want to, then there's not a whole heck of a lot you can do, other than maybe redo your character with a cheesy OIHID just so you don't get penalized for better character building.

Nope. Steve has made pretty clear that CLOWN would not be returning. There was a thread about it in the Company Questions area on the old boards.

As a companion to the motivations thread ("Because I Must!"), here's my take on the classic origin types. Any thoughts or additions? The Mutant: This character was born with powers (or the potential for powers) not native to others of his species at large. The most common explanation is some kind of "x-gene." (Examples: Storm, Cyclops) The Non-Human: This character has powers because it is normal for his species to have powers. "Species" in this sense may be loosely defined ("vampires," for example). The key is that he would be considered a "normal" among his own kind, and other members of his "species" would be expected to have similar powers in similar circumstances. He's only considered a super because of the comparison to normal humans. (Examples: Superman, Many Members of The Legion Of Superheroes) The FocusMan: This character gets his powers from fantastic gadgetry or weaponry of some kind, often (but not always) of his own invention. He may also be incredibly skilled in using it (such as a marksman character). Aside from his device(s), he is usually a normal person. (Examples: Iron Man, Green Lantern) The Intensely Trained Normal: This character is the result of intense dedication and training rather than superpowers. Theoretically, other normal people with similar drive and devotion could achieve the same kinds of things. However, since we are talking about comic books, the definition of "normal" in this case may be very cinematic. (Examples: Batman, Daredevil) The Lucky Survivor: This character has survived some incredible freak occurance, scientific experiment, or radiation accident, and gained superpowers as a result. (Examples: Spider-Man, The Flash) The Mythic Figure: This character is (or claims to be) a legendary god, hero, demon, etc. Whatever the truth of his claim and the history behind it, he usually closely resembles the legend and has the appropriate abilities. (Examples: Thor, Hercules) The Mystic: This character is a practitioner of the mystic arts, and gains his powers from magic. In some ways, this is the most poorly defined of the archtypes. If learning magic is possible for everyone, then The Mystic may just be another kind of Intensely Trained Normal. If it isn't, then The Mystic may be an example of The Mutant, The Non-Human, or The Mythic Figure. However, the lines seem blurry enough that it's easiest to separate The Mystic into its own archetype. (Examples: Doctor Strange, Zatanna)

I don't think the problem is that severe, personally. Let's take a little higher benchmark (15 AP is pretty low) and see what we get. 50 Active Point Attack (10d6EB and 3d6+1KA) 25 DEF (assuming some of it is resistant) 18 CON The EB will average 35 STUN, doing 10 STUN per hit. Over the course of six hits, it will never Stun the target, but will pile up 60 STUN after defenses. The KA will average 11 BODY, and assuming average STUNx rolls over the course of six hits, it will do 57 STUN after defenses (0, 0, 0, 8, 19, and 30). It will Stun the target two times in six, but will also do absolutely nothing three times in six. That doesn't seem all that unbalanced to me.

Re: DC Heroes Well, those aren't ALL from DC Heroes. I don't really see Unwanted Power as a separate motivation. I think characters that seem to have that could be classified under other motivations, depending on how they reacted to having power thrust upon them. Some would easily go to Responsibility of Power, others might seek to rid themselves of their power, which would fall under Works For A Goal, and still others might just try to gain acceptance, which could be Personal Gain. To me, Unwanted Power is more of an origin type than a motivation.

I use a spectrum of 10 motivations. The first three apply virtually exclusively to heroes, the middle four can apply to either heroes or villains, and the last three apply virtually exclusively to villains. Upholds Good: This character is a hero because it's The Right Thing To Do. They are deeply concerned about their fellow man, and will do everything in their power to promote the common good, preserve order, and generally make the world a better place. They almost always work within the law, because they feel lawlessness breeds its own problems. Even if they didn't have superpowers, this character would do everything they could to "fight the good fight." Example: Superman Responsibility of Power: With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility, and this character knows it. Similar in some ways to a character that Upholds Good, the primary difference between them is that a character with Responsibility of Power would be more like a normal person -- less idealistic and more flawed than an Upholder of Good -- if their powers hadn't thrust upon them the choice of how those powers would be used. Having chosen to use them responsibly, they now must do the best they can to balance their commitment with their need for a "normal life." Example: Spider-Man Seeks Justice: This character feels that, whether the system is up to it or not, whoever stands in their way, by whatever means necessary, Evil Must Be Punished. Frequently, these characters are vigilantes because their pursuit of wrongdoers that the system has missed forces them over the lines of legality. Some of these driven, often grim, heroes draw the line at killing ... others do not. Example: Batman Thrill of Adventure: This character is in the supers game (on whichever side) for the sheer Thrill of Adventure. This may mean the exhilaration and danger of superpowered fighting, or the more cerebral challenge of matching wits with a brilliant enemy. Example: Mr. Mxyzptlk Works For A Goal: This character is involved in superdom almost incidentally while pursuing a particular objective. This is usually something specific, such as trying to find something or trying to get somewhere. However, Works For A Goal can also be used for characters whose "goal" is to follow the orders and/or precepts of an organization such as an army or a superagency (like VIPER or U.N.T.I.L.). Example: The Hulk (Banner is seeking a cure.) Personal Gain: This character dons the cape-n-tights to gain some personal reward. Most often, this is simply money, or perhaps fame. But other "rewards" are possible, such as respect or companionship. Personal Gain is, of course, very common among greed-driven villains. It also makes a good "catch-all" for characters who don't seem to fit another Motivation. Almost any personal reason for supering could conceivably be called Personal Gain. Example: The Penguin Wants Revenge: This character is out to avenge a wrong done to him or his -- usually by some opposing character or group. They won't rest until vengeance has been exacted. For campaign purposes, it's best if the target of their vengeance is either so powerful that vengeance will be very difficult to achieve, or so amorphous (like a large agency) that the fight can go on and on without ever actually destroying the group. Otherwise, the character could be left in mid-campaign without a reason to continue. (Of course, this might make an interesting campaign plot twist in and of itself...) Not surprisingly, this is a more common Motivation for villains. Example: Silver Age Lex Luthor (Sought revenge against Superman for making him bald.) Power Lust: This character intends to take control. Of whatever he can get. It may be military power, political power, economic power, or some combination. But whatever the case, they plan to be the one calling the shots. This thirst can spring from chortling megalomania or from a genuine belief that their rule would be better for all. Regardless, they want everyone dancing to their tune eventually... Example: Doctor Doom Psychopath: This character is dangerously and horribly insane. Unpredictable and frequently brilliant, these characters can make the most deliciously disturbing villains. Most characters described as "pure evil" would be Psychopaths. Example: The Joker Nihilist: This character wallows in death and destruction. Placing no value on their own life, their goal is simply to cause as much obliteration of everything as possible. They may hate humanity for some reason, or their ultimate motive may be more obscure. This Motivation is fairly rare, but when it does appear it can result in some extremely dangerous high-stakes adventures. Example: Doomsday

Yes, there was a sequel... Edge of the Sword, Vol 1: Compendium of Modern Firearms, published by R. Talsorian Games. It was also written by Kevin Dockery, the same guy who wrote The Armory. Both books are listed in my list of All Hero Books that's linked in my signature.

Check local game stores, Ebay, other online retailers, etc. until you can track down a copy of AD&D's World Builder's Guidebook. It proposes seven possible approaches to assembling a fantasy world, and advantages and disadvantages of each. It also covers topics like putting terrain together realistically, how to avoid making ecosystems too predator-heavy, the effects of magic on all this, etc. It's certainly not the be-all and end-all of fantasy world creation, but it is an excellent primer to the issues you have to consider.

True, but the original point was to destroy it by utopia... not necessarily destroy it quickly. Immortality and universal harmony sound very nice... until you combine them with no population control and a limited amount of room and resources.

Add to this a big Transform to give the whole world a Psych Lim that they fervently believe in the same religion. Doesn't matter which one, as long as you pick one that disallows birth control. Now, not only will fewer people be dying by violence (because they all largely share the same values and worldview), but the overpopulation problem will become even more dire, as the populace can neither die of old age or infirmity, nor slow the rate of population expansion by birth control.

You can also mine other games for material, of course. Possibilities include SJG's GURPS Cliffhangers, ICE's Pulp Adventures, White Wolf's Adventure!, Flying Buffalo's Mercenaries, Spies, and Private Eyes, West End Games' The World of Indiana Jones, Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu, and Otherworld Creations' Forbidden Kingdoms.

No I didn't. The Adventurer's Clubs aren't books; they're magazines. If I list them, then I would logically also need to start trying to find and list Hero-related articles in all magazines, and that's a hornet's nest I don't want to get into.

No, there was no Star Hero for 4th Edition. The only Star Hero prior to the current one was a standalone game (in the style of Danger International or Justice, Inc.) that would have corresponded to the 3rd Edition of the system rules. It was the last major book to be published before 4th Edition was released, which drastically affected its usefulness, IMO. You bought the book, and then it was obsolete just a couple of months later.

Mine was actually an out-of-game slip of the tongue. I had created a new character -- an android whose abilities centered around communication with and control of machines. His name was going to be "Interface." So I'm telling my buddies about this new character, and the words are tumbling out faster than my brain can keep them organized. I tried to say, "My new character is an android named Interface." It came out, "My new character is an anderfish." Somehow, the character was never played.

There's a ton of possible answers. The real question isn't how to make the target sick. The real question is what do you want the sickness to do? If you want it to kill them, then it might be a Gradual Effect Killing Attack. If you want it to make them stand motionless clutching their stomach, it may be a DEX Drain. If you want it to disfigure them, it may be a COM Drain. Start from the effect and work back to the cause.

He's saying that if your SPD is higher than theirs, you can Dodge on all of theirPhases and still smack them in your remaining one(s).

IMO, there's nothing wrong with the Speed Chart. When issues of metagaming and predictability arise, it's due to people using player knowledge vs. character knowledge, and not roleplaying their characters faithfully. The characters don't know that Segment 12 is always the best time for a Pushed Haymaker. We've tried a couple of alternative methods for SPD, and found that they were always worse than the Speed Chart. We tried the straight "roll 1d12 and if you roll your SPD or less, you act" method. The problem was that you could have Turns where a character with a 4 SPD got 10 Phases, and Turns where a character with a 7 SPD got 1 Phase. And while this of course didn't happen every Turn, it happened way more often than we wanted to see. So then we tried Steve Perrin's version, where you add 1 to the roll every time you miss. The problem with that one (especially if you're not expecting it) is that it drives up the amount of actions you get. If you've got a 6 SPD, then under that system you will (over time) be going much more than 6 times per Turn. This happens because there will be plenty of times when you make the roll without the bonuses, and when you do, there is no penalty that corresponds with the bonus. In other words, there's a bonus to help you go next time when you fail a roll, but there's no penalty to help keep you from going next time when you succeed with a roll. So your 6 SPD will end up behaving as more like an 8 SPD or something. Also, both dice methods negatively impacted character cooperation. It's nearly impossible to do things like Coordinated Attacks, because you have no idea when your teammate will get an action again; you may end up standing there for half a Turn waiting for them to be able to coordinate with you. We also tried rolling the Phases at the beginning of the Turn and noting when they would occur, so that you always went a number of Phases equal to your SPD, but which Phases varied from Turn to Turn. The problem with that one was that it didn't really solve any of the supposed problems with the Speed Chart. You still knew in advance when you were going to have actions... it just wasn't the same from Turn to Turn. In the end, we realized that the Speed Chart wasn't really the problem.

*blush* Thanks, guys! I always love doing CotSF, and I'm really glad it's so well received. Since this last run, I've got a couple of ideas that I hope might help make it even better, so we'll see how they go. {evil grin}

There were 17 official convention games using Hero System, and of course many, many more in open gaming. There were (by a fairly wide margin) more Hero System games than any other system except D&D3.

Without meaning to sound like a jerk, the best advice I can offer about a Rule of X is, "Don't use one." No formula will prevent all abuse, and any formula will end up excluding something that actually isn't abusive. You don't need a Rule of X. You need a GM who has a clear vision of how he or she wants things to relate and work in their game world, and players who want to participate in that. If you have those, you're set. This doesn't mean that all "caps" are bad. But trying to have a single "master formula" that balances everything has never worked, in my experience.

It has potential, but I think it would need to be handled carefully. For any Disad that has a commonality modifier, the value will change from campaign to campaign; not all things are equally common in all campaigns. You wouldn't want to see players insisting on getting "x" number of points "because the book said that's how much its worth." I think a more useful and interesting approach would be a comprehensive look at what kind of obstacles heroes in fiction often face, how these classic themes translate into Hero mechanics, and how GMs and players can decide on how common and severe they are.

5th Edition Ultimate Martial Artist is of similar quality to 4th(unsurprising, since it's the same author). It's more focussed on crunchy martial arts rules goodness since it doesn't have to contain any sample campaign material. There are a fair number of new options in it. If martial artists play much of a role in your games, I definitely recommend it. The 5th Edition Hero System Bestiary is vastly improved over 4th. No comparison. The write-ups are more extensive and useful, the art is much better... it's just a much better product overall. 5th Edition Ninja Hero is probably more useful to running martial arts games than 4th was, simply because there's so much more material in it. The 4th Edition book was shorter, and then on top of that, it had to contain all the martial arts rules stuff that's now split out into The Ultimate Martial Artist. So the new Ninja Hero probably has five times as much genre material in it. And Michael Surbrook clearly knows his stuff. Aaron Allston is a tough act to follow, but Susano doesn't suffer in the comparison, IMO. And again, better art, better production values, etc. etc.

I should have added that, of course, it is possible for an organization to be paranoid enough that all of its members have both Subject To Orders and Watched. (Intelligence agencies might fall into this category for example, as might criminal agencies like VIPER).

Another spin would be to say that the Social Lim generally represents the restrictions of being in a hierarchically-structured group, and adding a Watched means that your "chain of command" or what have you is monitoring you more closely than normal for some reason. For example, all police officers might have Subject To Orders, while only those suspected of being loose cannons or bribe-takers have Watched by police. All of the Greek gods might have Subject to Orders (from Zeus), while only Ares has Watched by Zeus (because he isn't trusted), and so on.

Our group has used some special cards for this sort of thing. They're just done up in a word processor and printed on cardstock. Usually, a small number of cards are given out at the start of a campaign, and future cards have to be earned. You earn cards for things like particularly heroic actions, outstanding roleplaying, unusually clever tactics or problem-solving, and so on. They're given aside from and in addition to regular experience points. Each card is only good once; when played, it's turned over to the GM. The cards exist metagame... on the player level, not the character level. So if a player has characters in more than one campaign using the same type of cards, he or she can use their cards with any characters, not just the character they were playing with when they earned the cards. Players can also trade cards, or give cards to other players if they wish. In my current Champions game, there are several different types of cards, each on a different color cardstock: Super Card: This is the default card, and the most common. You are as likely to get a Super Card as you are all the other types combined. When played, you get +2 (or equivalent) to any action. (+2 to CV, +2 DC, +2 to a Skill Roll, etc.) All of the cards below are more specific. They give a larger bonus, but can only be applied in certain situations. However, they can each also be used as a Super Card. Hero Card: This card allows you to immediately take an action (just as if you had a Phase coming up right then). However, you can only play it if you are directly trying to save the life of another. Clue Card: You play this card when stuck in an investigation, puzzle-solving, or tactical situation, and the GM provides a useful piece of information. Combat Card: This card grants a +5 to any combat action. (+5 OCV, +5 DCV, +5 DC, etc.) People Card: Play this card to receive as favorable a reaction as reasonably possible from any NPC. Skill Card: This card grants a +5 to any non-combat action. (+5 to any Skill Roll, etc.) - Derek