Derek Hiemforth

I recommend keeping your life simple... Have an END Reserve for the Powers that cost END to use, as per usual. Then, for the smaller Powers that don't technically cost END to use, but that you can't use if the suit's batteries are dead, take a -¼ Limited Power Limitation: "Doesn't Work if Suit's Batteries Are Dead." Easy-peasy lemon squeezey. Of course, this presumes that the GM agrees that the suit will have dead batteries often enough to warrant a -¼ Limitation...

That might also explain the giants' motivations (since, as @archer mentioned, they don't need human stuff in general, like orcs do). If the humans occupy the lands that the giants once held, then that means the ancient and sacred places of power for the giants, which might hold the keys to a return to dominance, are in human possession. Perhaps the giants have a leader who seeks to return them to prominence by retaking those places and reclaiming their lost secrets...

Agreed.

Armadillo's "palm blasters" form a single attack. Note the following from his Powers/Tactics description: "Armadillo’s powers all derive from his suit of battle armor, which comes equipped with three different blasters (located in the palms, on the wrists, and on the shoulders)..." (Champions Villains Vol. 3, pg. 18) So although the character sheet refers to "Palm Blasters," "Wrist Blasters," and "Shoulder Blasters" each in the plural, there aren't actually two of each. He has "three different blasters" (palm, wrist, and shoulder). Each is a fixed slot in the Blaster Array Multipower, so he can only use one of these on any given Phase before having the chance to change slots to a different one.

Sorry I forgot to prepend my post with "in my opinion..." Yes, Hero is designed with many ways to accomplish various effects. However, that doesn't mean you or your GM won't prefer (or even require) one particular way. I, as a GM, would probably not allow this affect to be built as extra OCV specifically for Multiple Attack unless I heard a very compelling justification. Most characters in my games don't have extra OCV for fighting multiple mooks. They can just fight multiple mooks well because they're really good (i.e., they have a high OCV in general). And if they do have some special ability for fighting multiple mooks well that isn't based around "being really good," then OCV seems to me like an odd way to model it anyway, because I think of OCV as being a measure of how good you are at hitting things in combat. If that's not the SFX, then another approach seems better to me (such as a Selective AoE attack).

I like this solution, too.

Agreed on both counts. Most characters don't have extra OCV for fighting multiple mooks. They can just fight multiple mooks because they're really good. If you feel like you can't get your OCV high enough to be as effective against mooks as you should be, maybe the campaign ceiling on OCV needs to be raised. For characters who really do have some super-ability to take out multiple mooks (a speedster is the immediate example that comes to mind), I think a Selective AoE attack is a much better solution than Multiple Attack anyway (for one thing, it won't take a Full Phase or cut your DCV in half, neither of which seems all that appropriate for speedster vs. mooks).

Pages 43-50 of the documentation:

Buy a higher base OCV and apply a Limited Power Limitation Only to Offset Multiple Attack Penalties. I know this sounds like it's bypassing the spirit of the rules (and maybe it is), but note that to get +6, as in the example above, it would be a base cost of 30, not 12. As a GM, I would probably only give the Limitation a value of -½. Being able to frequently use Multiple Attack without sacrificing accuracy is very useful (especially when combined with Rapid Attack). That makes the Real Cost of +6 to offset Multiple Attack penalties come out to 20 points instead of 12, and I think that seems about right.

For the magic skill, the easiest solution is just to choose Custom Skill in Hero Designer, and set the cost to what the cost should be. For example, if you have the skill with two +1s to it, set the cost to 11. You can add a new skill with the cost structure you describe, but it requires creating and editing a custom character template, which is a lot more involved. You might find it less hassle to just use Custom Skill. For the stat maxima, you can set the value before cost doubles under Current Character > Campaign Rules > View/Edit Campaign Rules > Characteristic Maxima. However, that will just double the costs after 20 (assuming you enter 20 as the value that triggers doubling). There's no built-in way to add additional levels of doubling. For those, you'd need to take the CHA as a Power, and use Custom Adder to make the cost what you want it to be.

Interesting. How would you determine levels of effect? Or countermanding "orders?" For example, if controlling a target's body without controlling their mind, their mind could also try to tell their body to do something different (resulting in some kind of almost "Skill vs. Skill" contest). How would you determine who wins?

I like the idea of "beefing up" Heroic Action Points (HAPs) a bit, and tying them to Complications. I use these rules: Starting HAPs: GM option, based on the nature of the campaign. For most games, one or two should be plenty to start with. Gaining HAPs: After play begins, characters gain new HAPs in two ways. First, they gain 1 HAP per game session they participate in. Second, they can gain a HAP when their Complications come into play. The GM will typically bring a Complication into play (and award a HAP accordingly) only when it's driven by issues beyond the player's/character's control (such as a Hunted or an Accidental Change). This is called “Compelling a Complication.” Most HAPs are earned by players bringing character Complications into play themselves (called "Invoking a Complication"). To Invoke a Complication, the player must accept the appearance of the Complication in the story; they cannot, for instance, attempt to make an EGO Roll to override their Psychological Complication, then take a HAP for playing the Complication after they fail the EGO Roll. They have to forego the EGO Roll. For example, a character with the Psychological Complication Sticks Foot In Mouth is undercover at a fancy party. His player might note, "You know... Bob is pretty likely to say something innocuous-but-completely-inappropriate to the hostess while making small talk." By bringing that Psych Comp into play, roleplaying the exchange and accepting the consequences into the flow of the story, Bob's player has Invoked a Complication, and receives a Heroic Action Point. HAP rewards are intended to encourage creative and appropriate use of Complications; they're like rewards for seeking out chances to make the story more interesting. HAPs won't be awarded absolutely every time any Complication comes up, just because it comes up. For example, if a character has Psychological Complication Code Against Killing, they don't gain 1 HAP every single time they refrain from killing every opponent. But if they refrain from killing (say) even the murderer of their parents, and refrain without attempting not to refrain... then they get a HAP. Using HAPs: Spending a HAP also involves a Complication. The player chooses what they want to use the HAP for, and then (if it's not immediately obvious how the proposed action relates to the Complication) describes how this ties together with one of their Complications. HAPs can be spent in three ways: Establish A Story Detail. Allows the character to have something in the story be the way he or she wishes it to be, within reason. This could be something relatively tangible, like having a desired object nearby, or more esoteric, like knowing a fact or a person. The effect could be considered similar to a single level of Luck. You "just happen" to find the right thing, or have read just the right book, or bump into a friend of the family who can help you out, etc. Add +3 to a Success Roll. Pretty much what it sounds like. For example, a doctor in need of +3 to their attempt to stop severe bleeding might invoke their Psychological Complication: Hippocratic Oath, spend 1 HAP, and add +3 to her attempt. Re-Roll a Success or Effect Roll. Again, pretty straightforward. Here, our doctor might use Hippocratic Oath to explain spending a HAP to re-try a failed Paramedics roll.

As a GM, I'd probably give it -1 (equivalent to a Limited Power Limitation where a Power loses about half of its effectiveness).

Thanks, Chris! I knew about that one; it was one of the first spotted, and I have an email exchange between me and Jason about it back in Oct. 2012, but I didn't have on my list. I guess my brain wants to keep forgetting that rule. I'll add it for sure.

It's there. Pages 32 and 155.

To the best of my knowledge, they're the same. Certainly, my PDF of the book is the same as my hard copies. I'm not 100% certain that nothing was ever changed in the PDF or in later printings, but I haven't heard that anything did.

Prompted by finding an embarrassingly-significant mistake in Champions Complete's description of Pushing in Heroic campaigns (noted below 🤦🏼‍♂️) , I'm putting together a list of errata for CC. A few known issues are listed below; no need to report these again. But if you've noticed others, please comment below or shoot me a PM, and I'll include them in the list I'm compiling. Known Errors: p20: For Pushing in Heroic campaigns, the second sentence should say, "The character gains 5 CP to the ability if the EGO Roll succeeds, +1 more CP per point he makes the roll by." p91: Should specify the value of the "Gate" Limitation for Teleport (-1/2). p97: Area Of Effect (Line) should read: "Covers a straight line 2m wide, 2m tall, and up to 16m long. Each additional +1/4 Advantage doubles the width, the height, or the length of the Line. The target point is the center of the short edge of the Line (i.e., where the Line "begins")." p102: Costs Endurance to Maintain can also be applied to Aid and Drain (to create Boost and Suppress), to Multiform (to make it cost END every Phase to remain in an alternate form), and to other Powers with lingering effects, including Dispel, Flash, Summon, and Transform. p110: Mental Defense Adds to Ego can also be applied to Transforms that work against EGO. p112: Only Works Against [Limited Type of Attack] also applies to Absorption and Reflection. p129: Vulnerability Table. Where it says "1x damage or effect," that should be "1 1/2x damage or effect." When reporting errors, I'm basically looking for two kinds: Places where CC gets a rule wrong (such as Pushing in Heroic campaigns) or leaves out a key bit of information (such as the value of the Gate Limitation) Simple typos (such as the dropped "to" in the description of Affected As More Than One Sense on p96) I don't mean things where you think a rule should work a different way; I only mean things where you think a rule does work a different way. 🙂 When it seems like I've collected enough (or when submissions slow down), I'll compile the list and make it available in various places (here, the Facebook Hero System group, etc.) Thanks!

Prompted by finding an embarrassingly-significant mistake in Champions Complete's description of Pushing in Heroic campaigns (noted below 🤦🏼‍♂️) , I'm putting together a list of errata for CC. A few known issues are listed below; no need to report these again. But if you've noticed others, please comment below or shoot me a PM, and I'll include them in the list I'm compiling. Known Errors: p20: For Pushing in Heroic campaigns, the second sentence should say, "The character gains 5 CP to the ability if the EGO Roll succeeds, +1 more CP per point he makes the roll by." p91: Should specify the value of the "Gate" Limitation for Teleport (-1/2). p97: Area Of Effect (Line) should read: "Covers a straight line 2m wide, 2m tall, and up to 16m long. Each additional +1/4 Advantage doubles the width, the height, or the length of the Line. The target point is the center of the short edge of the Line (i.e., where the Line "begins")." p102: Costs Endurance to Maintain can also be applied to Aid and Drain (to create Boost and Suppress), to Multiform (to make it cost END every Phase to remain in an alternate form), and to other Powers with lingering effects, including Dispel, Flash, Summon, and Transform. p110: Mental Defense Adds to Ego can also be applied to Transforms that work against EGO. p112: Only Works Against [Limited Type of Attack] also applies to Absorption and Reflection. p129: Vulnerability Table. Where it says "1x damage or effect," that should be "1 1/2x damage or effect." When reporting errors, I'm basically looking for two kinds: Places where CC gets a rule wrong (such as Pushing in Heroic campaigns) or leaves out a key bit of information (such as the value of the Gate Limitation) Simple typos (such as the dropped "to" in the description of Affected As More Than One Sense on p96) I don't mean things where you think a rule should work a different way; I only mean things where you think a rule does work a different way. 🙂 When it seems like I've collected enough (or when submissions slow down), I'll compile the list and make it available in various places (here, the Facebook Hero System group, etc.) Thanks!

Yep. I think that was the first erratum I saw in CC, found almost as soon as I opened my author's copy of the book. 🤦‍♂️

(Not really a question, but this forum seemed like the best place to provide feedback.) To quote Popeye the Sailor, "Garsh... this is embarasskin'!" 😳 So, I uh... I was using Champions Complete last night, and happened to notice a not-inconsiderable error I made in it, lo those many years ago... On page 20, when describing Pushing in Heroic campaigns, it says, "Pushing in Heroic campaigns requires an EGO Roll ... The character gains 1 CP to the ability per 1 point he makes the roll by, to a maximum of +5 CP." That is just flat-out incorrect. That second sentence should read, "The character can add up to 5 CP to the ability if the EGO Roll is successful, +1 CP for each point he makes the roll by." Sorry everyone!

I didn't think the question was about whether or not the bike should be paid for with CP. I thought it was about whether it's okay to just buy it as Running with a Focus instead of buying it as a full-blown Vehicle using the vehicle rules. Did I misunderstand?

I wasn't connecting it being a Tron cycle to whether it's a Universal or Personal Focus. I was just saying that, unless it can make a right-angle turn on a dime like a Tron cycle, it should have a Turn Mode (unlike normal Running).

It would as long as it's a Universal Focus. I think the build fine, but unless it's like a cycle from Tron or something, I'd probably require it to take Turn Mode (-¼).