Steve Long

Re: What is the proper skill for intimidation? Generally speaking, there is no such Skill -- you use a Presence Attack. However, TUS/HSS 205 offers an optional rule for using Interrogation as a general "Intimidation" Skill.

Re: Variable Advantage and Stretching - 2 questions 1. I’m not 100% certain I understand what you’re asking, so I’m going to rephrase the question. If I get it wrong, please post a follow-up. Q: If a character has Variable Advantage on an HA or HKA, when applying the Adding Damage rules from 6E2, do you use the full value of the Advantage, or the value of the Advantage applied via Variable Advantage? For example, if a character has HKA 2d6, Variable Advantage (+½ Advantages; +1), do you use the +½ column or +1 column on the Damage Class Quick-Reference Tables to determine how much damage is added? A: In this situation, use the value of the Advantage applied to the power, not the full value of the Variable Advantage Advantage. So, using the example of HKA 2d6, Variable Advantage (+½ Advantages; +1), and a character with 25 STR, the attack would do HKA 3d6 damage. 2a. If a character has Stretching and performs a Throw-based maneuver at “range,” he can choose to throw the target back toward where he’s standing. 2b. For the rule on where a thrown person/object lands, see 6E2 81.

Re: MHI info in Hero Designer? I've got someone lined up to create a Character Pack for the MHI RPG. I'm sure that if he needs to create any new templates to handle the work (as opposed to using existing ones), he'll include those in the Pack for everyone to use.

Re: Invisibility only usable in shadows or darkness In published materials I've usually assigned it a value of -1/2, but it depends entirely on how common shadows and darkness are in the campaign setting.

Re: Dispel and "Instant Duration" Powers This does seem like a better Discussion topic, so I've moved it, but I will point out there are rules for using Dispel to intercept incoming attacks on 6E1 193.

Re: Dispel and Area Effect It would affect the Power it’s defined as affecting on all targets within the Area. In the event a target has more than one ability built with that Power, the GM picks which one is affected (or can permit the attacker to choose, if he would have the knowledge to do so). Example: Trogdor the Dispellanator has Dispel Blast 12d6, Area Of Effect (8m Radius). He uses it on an Area in which there are four targets. Each target suffers a Dispel 12d6 of his Blast power. One target, however, has two Blasts — an eyebeam he can project, and a raygun he carries. For him, the GM chooses whether the eyebeam or pistol is the power affected.

Re: MYTHIC HERO: What Do *You* Want To See? In other news, making good progress on Egyptian mythology -- got about 12,000 words so far. Still lots of research to do though.

Re: MYTHIC HERO: What Do *You* Want To See? That is certainly my general approach, particularly as I have limited capacity to provide bells and/or whistles. Technically speaking, there is a "do the best you can with however much people pledge" option -- it's called IndieGoGo, which is like KS but the money is taken as soon as you pledge. It's not nearly as popular as KS, though, for obvious reasons. I'd rather go the KS route; I wouldn't feel good about taking people's money unless I'm sure I can provide them with something for it.

Re: MYTHIC HERO: What Do *You* Want To See? I appreciate the suggestion, Zeph (not to mention the pledge! ), but I really don't want to release MH just as a PDF. Not doing it as an actual book just seems wrong somehow. I want something I can hold in my hand and flip through. My thought, actually, go the other way: how could I make MH a full-color hardcover? Given that so far I haven't even been able to finance a softcover b&w book, color is a real pipe dream -- but hey, what's life if you don't dare to dream a little?

Re: How to Build: Entrapment Spell (Generic / Fantasy Hero) using Hero 6E I do something similar in parts of the MHI RPG that I'm currently working on. For example, rather than try to provide a whole stat block for a Ward Stone, which would require Power Modifiers that aren't in the Basic form of the rules, I just say, "assume that all creatures of such-and-such type are automatically Susceptible to this damage, at such-and-such a rate." It's not common enough for the monsters to deserve a Complication for it, but it's a great way to explain what a Ward Stone does without introducing any new rules. I can easily see a GM instituting similar rules for his own campaign to save time and trouble.

Re: How to Build: Entrapment Spell (Generic / Fantasy Hero) using Hero 6E Glad to help. Basically the spell is just a Change Environment, "create an area that takes advantage of demons' Physical Complication." It's easy enough to whip up your own version if you don't want to get the Grimoire, but I think you'll find the HSG handy.

Re: How to Build: Entrapment Spell (Generic / Fantasy Hero) using Hero 6E Well, I can tell you how I do it in published books. All demons have a Physical Complication that they're subject to being trapped by pentagrams and the like. These can be created with the Summoning Circle spell (HSG 72), which costs 12 Active Points, 1 Real Point. That same Physical Complication could be extended by default as a campaign ground rule to elementals and many other types of beings. It all depends on how you want the magic to work in your campaign setting.

Re: Mimic Pools Whether Cosmic should be included is up to the individual player or GM, based on how you want the Mimic Pool to work. Some published examples don't have it because I didn't want 'em to -- but your take on how you want them to function may differ.

Re: MYTHIC HERO: What Do *You* Want To See? Ndreare -- I have, but I don't think it's feasible for a couple reasons. One, as you note, is that it increases the page space. Two, as you also note, it adds work for me, particularly since I don't necessarily know those game systems well and would have to learn 'em. What would be more likely, if I ever get MH done, would be to at some point prepare a *second* book where I re-stat the same material for Some Other RPG, and try to sell it separately to SORPG's customers. That entails extra work for me, and of course more printing costs, but the bulk of the work and the art would all have been paid for. Alternately, I could just do that as a PDF and avoid the printing costs altogether. But anyhow, it's all academic unless and until I can find a way to publish the book in some form in the first place.

Re: MYTHIC HERO: What Do *You* Want To See? I can't say for certain, but I don't believe that was really the problem. One of the most heartening things for me about the MH Kickstarter was how much enthusiasm the backers had for it, and how much effort they put into letting people know. As a one-man operation who has to get some work done around managing a Kickstarter (which takes more effort than you might imagine), it was doubly appreciated! There's nothing more encouraging than having people tell you how much they're looking forward to your book. The factor that makes me consider taking one final stab at an MH Kickstarter isn't that the word didn't "get out" about the first one, because for the most part I think it did. It's that in the intervening year Kickstarter's become even better known and more accepted by society in general, and gamers in particular. There are lots of gamers who didn't know about or weren't paying attention to KS this time last year who are following it closely now. Is that enough of a difference that I might succeed if I tried again? I don't know, but it's possible. Is it likely I'd succeed in a major way, bringing in enough money to do the book up right in full color and whatnot? Well, that's considerably less likely (if not virtually impossible), but I suppose you never know what might capture the public's imagination. The other thing I have going for me now is that I've done a year's more work on the book. I now have enough material where I could post a small "free sample" to encourage backers. I don't know if that would be a good idea or not. It might help; it might just lead to pointless arguments and ill-informed criticisms by the Hero elite. It's hard to say -- but at least now I have the option.

Re: Pulp Magazine Cover Generator There are definitely plenty of title selections, etc. My complaint is that they're pretty much all slanted toward Pulp Science Fiction. I'd love to see the options expanded for doing covers more appropriate for Indiana Jones-type globetrotting exploration, Doc Savage-style high adventure, Shadow- or Spider-style crimefighting, and so on. I doubt that'll happen given the site owner/creator's obvious subjects/themes of interest, but hey, dare to dream.

Re: MYTHIC HERO: What Do *You* Want To See? In other news, the Egyptian Mythology chapter is coming along well -- I've barely gotten started and I'm already up to about 8,000 words. If all goes well I'll have enough Egyptian gods that I'll be prepared to run "Mythic Hero Smackdown" at MystiCon (Roanoke, VA, Feb 22-24) and other cons I'm attending this year, if there's any demand. It's a hardcore Hero fan sort of game, though, so it's probably not something I could pull off at a small local con.

Re: MYTHIC HERO: What Do *You* Want To See? Perhaps, but now I can't have a Darrell K. Sweet cover.

Re: MYTHIC HERO: What Do *You* Want To See? I appreciate that. Believe me, I wish I could find another 300-400 people who would do the same, since that's definitely how I'd like to do MH -- as a full-color hardback with all original art (there simply isn't any public domain art for most of the gods I'm writing up, though there's probably plenty for the Greek and Norse mythoi). But that'd cost at least $60,000 if not more -- it's hard to say until I know how long the book is and how much art it would need.

Re: Short Term Time Travel The best, easiest way to do what you want is with the Replay optional power on p. 40 of The Advanced Player's Guide II. Trying to do it without that in 6E/5E would be extremely difficult, I think, and probably even harder with 4E.

Re: Randall Irons No worries, glad to help. +2 with Firearms is a Combat Skill Level (6E1 69-71) -- specifically, it's two CSLs with a Large Group of attacks (Firearms). +2 vs. Range Modifier is a Penalty Skill Level (6E1 84-85). Hope that helps!

An awesome resource for your PH games. http://thrilling-tales.webomator.com/derange-o-lab/pulp-o-mizer/pulp-o-mizer.html

Re: MYTHIC HERO: What Do *You* Want To See? mega -- I'm not sure how big it would be so far, since it depends in part on things like illustration density, font type and size, whether there are sidebars, etc. -- but it certainly won't be a small book, that's for sure. By comparison Champions 6E is about 185,000 words/300 printed pages, FH 6E is about 330,000 words/480 pages, Dark Champions is about 240,000 words/380 pages. I have a bunch of ideas for the layout and design of the book, but I'm not sure if they're good enough to pursue, whether I could pull them off myself or would need help, and so on.

Re: Shape Shift and "Tells" What each GM wants to do is up to him, of course, but as a rules default Shape Shift with Imitation doesn't cover behavior or mannerisms, only appearance. If a character wants to act like the person he's imitating, he should use Acting.

Re: Alternative Necromancy When I used to play Sa'akiv as a PC, I kept insisting to people that Necromancy wasn't inherently evil. All my undead servants and stuff still creeped out the other PCs, though.