Derek Hiemforth

Re: What should be DROPPED from HERO?
 

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.  

Re: 5th Edition vs 6th Edition
 
Yes. Hero Designer is a Java app, and will work on any platform that supports Java 6 (which Mac OS X does).

The last paragraph in the description of Costs Endurance on 6E1 p374 is an accidental holdover from 5E, when Powers that cost END were perceivable by three sense groups by default (see 5ER, p98 and p289). Disregard that paragraph.
 
In 6E, as stated on 6E1 p124, whether a Power is perceivable does not depend on whether it costs END. If you want an otherwise-invisible or inobvious Power to both cost END and be more perceivable, take both the Costs Endurance and Perceivable Limitations.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, it will sometimes depend on the SFX involved. For example, if the effect is atmospheric (e.g., the Range Penalty is increased because visibility in the area is bad), then shooting through the area is just as bad as shooting into or out of the area. But if the effect is, say, magical, then that might not be the case; instead, perhaps it's a curse that only affects people within the area. In other words, it might affect X attacking Y, but not Y attacking X or Z attacking A. So as always, SFX are a key determinant.
 
However, in general, yes, a line of fire passing through a Change Environment will usually have to deal with the applicable effects of the CE (if any). So Y-X would be affected, and Z-A would be affected. Whether Y-A would be affected, I'm going to leave to a GM call based on how pinpoint precise they want to be about areas of things. Typically, if Y-A's line of fire is just outside the CE area, then it would not be affected, and if it's just inside the CE area, then it would be.
 
As a final side note, I'll observe that I don't think that, as a GM, I'd personally approve Only versus attacks based on sight group for a -½ Limitation, given that, for almost all characters, Sight is their only Targeting sense for ranged attacks anyway. If non-Sight Targeting senses are unusually common in the game, I might give it -¼, but this Limitation seems like it usually wouldn't affect play.  🙂

Change Environment is also better than Darkness for this purpose because Darkness doesn't penalize perception... it prevents it.  I would use Change Environment with the PER penalties bought per Sense Group, but instead of the Sense Group being defined as "Sight" or "Hearing" or the like, the Sense Group would be "Scrying Senses."  This eliminates the need to guess whether the scrying power is built using Clairsentience or Mind Scan (or whatever other sense, as long as the special effect is "scrying").

Also, Time Limit is IMO being used improperly, unless there's more going on.  Aid has a lingering effect, but the fade rate is 5 points per turn.  Therefore, it'll be gone in 4 turns...less than a minute.  Time Limit as a Limitation is for powers that have no clear-cut termination point.  With Instants, that allows it to be applied to something like an Entangle.  Sure, it often won't last, but if the poor sot can't break out, it will.  

That sounds like a really disgusting recipe

Build it as a vehicle.  Vehicles can have skills, labs, libraries, etc. 

I agree with IndianaJoe.  This is well established in the military.  One sheet with some signals:
 

 
I also agree that you can use the language skill, and set up a couple different levels if you want to go that deep.  For simplicity, 1 or possibly 2 point language would work just fine, I'd think.

Apologies for the rambling, I find that if I take the time to write down a topic question I frequently already know the answer. But this time I'm not sure if I do.
 
There was a stretch in the oughts' and early teens' where I was bouncing back and forth between HERO and GURPS semi-regularly. This has messed with my understanding of both, I'm sure. Regardless... There's a rule in GURPS, primarily for combat, called "Readying". The idea is that you have something held or carried such that you can use it pretty much immediately, with no fiddling. To use HERO terminology, it's strongly related to the "STR Min" and somewhat related to the "Required Hands" of the weapon. Por ejemplo:
Something like a knife or a short sword is almost impossible to Unready, while a polearm or great sword held with one hand would require great strength to maintain Ready after an attack. Marching in formation with your rifle against your shoulder means its more available than if it were slung on your back, but Unready for combat -- you need to shift it to either a shoulder or hip position to effectively fire it. For an out of combat example, you could carry a big Maglite flashlight like a mace, and that would make it Ready for combat, but Unready for you to turn it on/off. Likewise, if you held it close to the top, with your thumb resting on the switch, you can turn it on/off very quickly, but now it's Unready to use in combat.  
And yes, I know that it only takes about a second to shift grips and take something from Unready to Ready, but GURPS runs on 1-second turns, so that means "you don't get to do anything this round but get ready for the next one."
 
On a cursory look through Fantasy Hero and the Equipment Guide, the closest thing I could find was Extra Time for reloading. STR Minimum gives penalties to OCV and DCs, but says nothing about taking longer to hit. Weapon Length mentions Initiative Penalties, and I feel that's the closest I'm going to get. I think the fact that it's harder to fully Disarm someone in GURPS than it is to Unready their weapon (seconds count) might have something to do with this -- Unreadying is a more realistic, less cinematic effect, and HERO prefers a more cinematic, less realistic vibe.
 
Does anyone have thoughts on this?

Its implicit in the system, takes a half phase to ready a real weapon as opposed to some superheroic thing.

I think the Knowledge Skill is sufficient in itself.  I think this effect is only worth a Complication if it means that people would know these things without a Skill.  In other words, it would be kind of similar to a low-grade version of Social Complication: Public Identity.  It's not that everyone knows your biographical details or other personal information, but everyone knows these traits about you.
 
Imagine it with vampires.  If I have KS: Vampires, then I know what vampires can do and what their weaknesses are, whether they have a Complication to that effect or not.  However, if a vampire has something like Social Complication: Stereotypical Vampire, because its abilities and weaknesses match the classic cinematic traits, then even people who don't have KS: Vampires know what this vampire can do and what its weaknesses are.

My strongest opinion on this is that it definitely should not be a Limitation on all 4d6. Even at only -¼, that would drop the cost to 48. That's barely more than the cost of 3d6, and getting to roll 4d6 and keep the best 3 is way better than just a regular 3d6.
 
I think @dougmacd nailed it.  The right way to think about this is as 3d6 with a kicker... not as 4d6 with a Limitation.

THERE we go...  I just didn't think to use the word stereotypical...  So this would only make sense for things that are common knowledge...  Part of Everyman Knowledge...

I think the Knowledge Skill is sufficient in itself.  I think this effect is only worth a Complication if it means that people would know these things without a Skill.  In other words, it would be kind of similar to a low-grade version of Social Complication: Public Identity.  It's not that everyone knows your biographical details or other personal information, but everyone knows these traits about you.
 
Imagine it with vampires.  If I have KS: Vampires, then I know what vampires can do and what their weaknesses are, whether they have a Complication to that effect or not.  However, if a vampire has something like Social Complication: Stereotypical Vampire, because its abilities and weaknesses match the classic cinematic traits, then even people who don't have KS: Vampires know what this vampire can do and what its weaknesses are.

Every forum I use has seen a drop in activity (hopefully not because I’m a member…), there are simply too many alternatives. Despite Discord’s chatroom style steam being singularly unsuitable as a forum substitute it does appear to suit what a lot of people like, so it draws folks away. Same with Reddit and the rest.

This really seems like a build question more suitable for the HERO System Discussion forum, as there's not really a rules question here.  A post there should generate plenty of worthy commentary and ideas.  🙂

Man, I want to game with your GMs!  I don't think I can remember ever awarding, or seeing awarded, more than 6 or 7 bonus dice...

Man, I want to game with your GMs!  I don't think I can remember ever awarding, or seeing awarded, more than 6 or 7 bonus dice...

I like this suggestion. Buy the base power, and apply Mental Power Based on PRE (-¼) to that per APG1.  Then figure out the maximum number of bonus dice you envision it being able to give you from the PRE Attack Modifiers table, and buy those, applying a Limitation like Only Up to the Amount of PRE Attack Bonus Dice Awarded (-½).
 
This would also have the plus that you wouldn't have to worry about a less-than-great PRE Attack actually making you lose dice (which doesn't seem too much in keeping with the idea of a "super-Interaction Skill" type effect).

I think you'd have to buy it as the base power then bonus dice, based on presence attack modifiers. At least that's how I would build it.

All of the rules in the Advanced Player's Guides are optional, including Mental Power Based on PRE, so ultimately, it's a GM call on how they want to handle it, assuming they allow the optional Advantage at all. That applies to the following answer as well; GMs should feel free to change or ignore this (even more than they should feel free to change or ignore anything if it would make their game better):
 
The description of Mental Power Based on PRE makes it pretty clear that the intent of the Limitation is to allow you to use Mental Powers to make superhuman versions of Interaction Skills (APG1 p69). A Presence Attack is not an Interaction Skill, and does not work the same way an Interaction Skill does (it's an Effect Roll, not a Success Roll). Therefore, no, the PRE Attack modifiers do not apply to Mental Powers bought with Mental Power Based on PRE.
 
If you want suggestions on how to price an Advantage that would allow this, you should post in the HERO System Discussion forum. I think it warrants a lot of careful consideration, because adding and subtracting actual effect dice from a Power (especially a Mental Power) is a much different thing than just modifying a PRE Attack, and might significantly change the power levels of an ability pretty easily. I wouldn't want to venture an opinion without giving it a lot more thought.

Probably the most fun convention game that I had a part in running was the Champions 30th Anniversary that I co-ran with Dave Mattingly at Origins 2011. In addition to the 6 slots for regular players (playing the Champions), there were 3 special players: Steve Long playing Robert Caliburn, Darren Watts playing Doctor Silverback, and Jason Walters playing Caveman Cortez (from Lucha Hero). Steve, Darren, and Jason chose which of their characters they’d play. 
 
Foxbat had come to the conclusion that he was a character in the Champions RPG and traveled back in time to Origins 1981 to kidnap the game’s creators and have them rewrite the universe to make him a hero.
 
In the rewritten universe, the Champions were now Foxbat’s Amazing Friends and the players had a lot of fun with the idea that Foxbat was now the world’s greatest hero. Meanwhile, in Vibora Bay, Robert Caliburn sensed the rewritten universe and along with Caveman Cortez, who had just finished helping him wrap up an adventure, headed to Millennium City. 
 
The heroes eventually figured out what was going on and thanks to the genius of Doctor Silverback, they all headed back in time to Origins 1981. There they found Foxbat and a team of villains from Enemies 1 that had not yet appeared in another Hero book standing over the unconscious bodies of the Guardians. The heroes defeated the villains, preventing the kidnapping of George MacDonald, Steve Peterson, and Ray Greer and restoring the timeline.
 
 

I think this is a great idea, @Franklin W. Cain!