Derek Hiemforth

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.

23 minutes ago, Ninja-Bear said:

That’s not really important. Hero system is designed so (as you know) you build how you want it. Here as is implied is the game specifics. Outside of the game specifics it doesn’t matter if You build it X, I build it Y, Steve Long builds it Z. Fwiw I use published materials all the time for ideas. However there is a big difference between saying “if seen it done this way” versus”everyone does it this way so you must too”.  

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).

2 minutes ago, Dr.Device said:

My solution, as a GM, is to extend the spreading rules to HtH attacks. If you've got a punch that can do meaningful damage to the big bad, it should be able to do a pretty good job on three of their minions at -2DC. 

 

Balance-wise, I don't see a good justification for only allowing ranged attacks to be spread.

I like this solution, too.   

1 hour ago, Ockham's Spoon said:

So if this is just to simulate the ability of Daredevil or Batman to be able to take out crowds of mooks, just buy a high OCV (or generic levels with combat or martial arts).  The mooks are more combat trained than the average normal, but they shouldn't have a high DCV, which is why the superhero can take on several of them at a time in the first place.  The hero can't do that in the climatic battle against the boss, because the boss has a combat value on par with the superhero.

[snip]

If you want your character to be really good at taking on a mob, buy an Area Effect attack, with the special effect that it is rapid bunch of individual attacks.

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:

5 hours ago, Sketchpad said:

how does one offset the penalties of Multiple Attack? Can it be done? 

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.

23 minutes ago, Christopher R Taylor said:

Manipulate Object is a variant of Mind Control that affects a target’s function rather than mind and is purchased and used the same way.  For example, MO can be used to cause a computer to run programs, a radio to play a station, or a television to show images without touching it or manipulating its controls.  The power could also be used to control a target’s physical and biological functions without affecting their mind or movement of their body: turn on and off powers, breathe faster, and so on.  Manipulate Object works especially well for objects with no moving parts for telekinesis to affect.

 

Manipulate Object is purchased to target the body of the intended object, not its ego.  The type of target must be chosen when purchased: inanimate or animate.  For a +¼ advantage, it will work on both types

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
    

22 hours ago, dmjalund said:

on a side note, what would be the limitation on dice of Aid, only to increase the maximum?

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

4 hours ago, Chris Goodwin said:

I don't know if this counts as errata, but in CC ("The Madder I Get, The Stronger I Get!" on p. 211) the Increased Maximum Effect Advantage is applied to Aid, when in 6e1 it's specified that the only way to increase the Aid maximum is to buy more dice. 

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.  

14 minutes ago, Ninja-Bear said:

I believe Weapon Element isn’t in CC. Was that intentional?

It's there.  Pages 32 and 155.   

18 minutes ago, Echo3Niner said:

Is this centered around the PDF or hard copy, or both?  Are they the same?

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:

1. 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)
2. 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:

1. 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)
2. 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!

7 hours ago, Ninja-Bear said:

@Derek Hiemforth speaking of minor errors. Did you notice that Vulnerability is listed as x1 but (combat name the villain right now) has it listed at the correct x1 1/2?

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. 🤦‍♂️

2 hours ago, Nekkidcarpenter said:

Could a competent person help me out here and post a gif of the ancient booer uh, booing?

 

(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!   

31 minutes ago, Echo3Niner said:

This reminds me of the smartphone conversation; to me, totally depends on how the player uses it.

 

If it's like reality, and the device is just something they have, used as a prop basically (quick searches for basic info, getting from point A to point B, etc.) - then to me it really doesn't matter; everyman device.

 

The second they want an AI more powerful than "Siri" or the bike to do something cool IN the game (Ghost Rider anyone?); then it's a power and should be paid for...

 

My ought two...

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?

30 minutes ago, Ninja-Bear said:

it does not  have to be a Tron Cycle to be Personal Focus. He could have a special kill switch or AI that stops if he isn’t on it.

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).  

On 6/1/2021 at 7:40 AM, BoloOfEarth said:

One issue I see is that, if your PC's motorcycle can be taken and used by anyone, the Motorcycle-as-Power (MaP) writeup as shown wouldn't work.

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).

Although there are concrete Combat Value penalties for being unable to perceive your attacker, there are no similarly concrete Combat Value penalties for being able to perceive your attacker, but unable to perceive the attack.

However, 6E2, page 58 does offer this regarding attempts to Block:

Quote

Generally, a character cannot Block an attack he cannot perceive (or, at best, can only Block with OCV 0). That means the GM has to decide on a case-by-case basis whether a character can “perceive” an attack. If the attack is Fully Invisible (including the source of the power), then a character probably has no chance to Block it. On the other hand, if the character can’t perceive the attack but can perceive his attacker gesturing at him or initiating the attack, the GM might simply apply the penalties for fighting an invisible attacker, or maybe a Surprised modifier, to the Block attempt.

This offers us some guidance on how GMs should handle the situation in general. Often, the defender will be Surprised by an invisible attack and, if so, the normal penalties of being Surprised apply (see 6E2 page 50). We know from 6E2 page 58 that a character can't Block an attack they can't perceive.

In the specific situation you describe, character A uses a fully invisible attack on character B while they argue over a beer (presumably not in combat), which would almost certainly result in character B being Surprised, and therefore at ½ DCV and taking 2x STUN (plus character A gets halved penalties for Placed Shots if using those rules).

However, you said that King Caribou is familiar with the Cauthon's superpowers.  That changes everything.  Now, King Caribou has every reason to be wary, and will almost certainly not be Surprised by the Cauthon's attack (unless the Cauthon attacking would be wildly out of character or something). So no ½ DCV, no halved Placed Shot penalties, and no 2x STUN.

That said, King Caribou still can't perceive the attack.  So he still can't Block it (as noted above), and it seems very appropriate to give the Cauthon a Surprise Move bonus per 6E2, page 51 (note the following text from 6E2, page 51 below [added emphasis mine]).

Quote

A Surprise Move is any maneuver a character makes that startles an opponent, tricks an enemy, takes advantage of a foe’s unperceptiveness, or involves an unexpected action that provides
him with a new angle of attack.

When the target literally cannot perceive the attack, even though they can perceive the attacker, that seems worth at least a Surprise Move bonus to the attacker's OCV.  Exactly how much of a bonus is up to the GM, depending on the particulars of the situation, but is generally +1 to +3.

• If you're the GM, and you agree that OIHID and Focus are separately limiting for this character, then ignore the general rule about OIHID and Focus, and allow both. 
• If you're not the GM, see if you can persuade the GM that they're separately limiting and that both should be allowed.  If that works, see above.
• If it doesn't work, then I agree with @Oruncrest's advice above.

Characters using Desolidification cannot use Mental Powers to affect solid targets unless those powers are purchased with the Affects Physical World Advantage (6E1, pg. 191)

This applies to Dr. Ka's astral self form as well. When Dr. Ka projects his astral form, it can be intangible, invisible, etc., but it does not have to be (it is 0 END and Persistent, but not Always On). Clearly, he sometimes has it off (hence the Astral Toughness Multipower, which gives him Damage Reduction when semi-tangible).

As written, the Mental Powers of his astral form only work vs. solid targets when the astral self is not using Desolidification.

No.  To accomplish that effect, you'd need to take Variable Limitations (-¼) on the MP, and therefore define a -½ Limitation on each slot.  Then you have the other slots meet the required Limitation with OIF, but have the slot in question meet it with some other -½ worth of Limitations.