Character Creation and House Rules

[Bjorn]

Characters should be made based on yourself, about now.  HERO system, 30 CP base, and you automatically get the Normal Human Characteristic Maxima disadvantage for 20 CP (as in, you get the 20 points, so you effectively have a 50 CP base).  You automatically get an Everyman skill package consisting of:

English

Basic driving skill

Basic computer proficiency

You do not have to purchase Knowledge Skills for the real world -- we are going to work on a system of "if the player can remember it, so can the character," with the honour system being used to prevent people from just using Google (unless you could in game, of course).  If you do purchase a KS in a field, it implies that you are an expert in it.

This rule obviously weakens the value of the Scholar talent.  So Scholar not only gives you the usual benefits, it also allows you the use of one free Google per game session. ;)

The following disadvantages are not appropriate: Reputation, Dependent NPC, or Poor (the last might become relevant later in the game; if that happens, you'll have the opportunity to take it then).

[Bjorn]

Non-combat house rules

The Scholar talent gets you a free Google per session (as above).

Combat house rules

Rapid Fire and Sweep have a cap of double your speed for the number of attacks you can make in a phase. (From tDaT)

You CAN apply your natural PD and ED to the STUN of killing attacks IF you have armor that deflects some (any) amount of the killing Body. You cannot take less Stun than Body, however. (From tDaT)

Every 10 CP spend on Martial Arts skills gives you the equivalent of an 8-point CSL for use with your Martial Arts skills alone.  Purchasing skill levels in a weapon does not automatically give you the appropriate Weapon Element martial art skill.  (This is different from tDaT.)

A successful Martial Block means that the blocker will always attack before the blockee's next action, as long as the blocker has an action still remaining in the appropriate Turn.  Block works as per the rules.  (Also from tDaT)

[Bjorn]

Spending CP

There are two basic ways to spend CP.

I. Character advancement

You can spend CP as normal to improve your character.  Doing so requires, obviously, that you have well-established IC reasons for improving.

You can also go for sudden advancement.  You spontaneously improve or develop new abilities, seemingly out of the blue.  This can be done at any time, up to and including in the middle of combat.  However, anything obtained via sudden advancement costs twice the normal CP cost, and needless to say, I am reserving GM veto powers.

II. Heroism

This wouldn't be much of a story if you didn't have some potential for heroic feats, right?

Reroll Something gone wrong?  You can reroll by declaring this before any consequences have been narrated, and then spending 2 CP.

Pushing  You can Push at the Heroic level at the cost of 1 CP.  For 3 CP, you can push at the Superheroic level.

Power stunts  Power stunts are one-off uses of an existing power to emulate another power: the example given in the manual is using incredible strength to compress coal into a diamond.  The use of a power stunt costs 1 cp per 10 AP of the emulated power.

I might add more here; costs may also be adjusted as we testplay these.

[Bjorn]

Since this just came up?

Heroic Campaign or Superheroic Campaign?

There's a few rules in HERO that are different depending on whether we're using a Heroic or Superheroic campaign.  I'm going to be deciding which rule applies on a case-by-case basis.  The general rule of thumb I'm going to apply is: if the only skills/stats that apply are your "real-world ones," then we choose the Heroic rule.

[Bjorn]

Revisions to spending CP

I thought I'd written this down somewhere, but I seem to have forgotten.

The rules stated above are for advancement in your "base self."  They do not apply to skills or powers that you have acquired in the Dream world.  You may purchase, at any time and for the base cost, any skill that your Dream-self would know -- if you're in doubt, run it by me, and I'll let you know.

Power purchases are entirely unchecked -- again, at book cost and may be purchased at any time.  Go nuts.