Hi again!
On the topic of combat supposedly taking longer in Hero, I'll point out that much of this perception may have to do with the power level of Champions. Run a combat between two small parties (4-8 characters each) of epic or near-epic level characters, all with their full complement of magic items and sneaky tricks, and see if that doesn't take as long as a typical Champions-level Hero combat. Or run the epic crew against a goodly horde of 6th-8th level characters analogous to the pile of Viper/Genocide/Terror Inc. agents that a Champions crew will often be facing, and see how long that takes.
Posted by Michael Tree:
Try to make a shapeshifter elegantly, and without costing 500 pts for only moderate capability.
Yeah, dealing with polymorphing is simple; that's why it's never had to be revised in any game...what? Oops...
Shapeshifting is supposedly one of the things that gets some substantial reworking in Hero 5. However, under the old rules, Shapeshift, the size-alteration powers, and movement powers and Life Support bought usable only in appropriate form would simulate the equivalent of a Polymorph Self spell adequately. For shifters who get all powers of any form they can shift into, a Variable Power Pool will of course be necessary, just as it is for power-mimickers who don't change their shape.
Posted by Michael Tree:
Try to elegantly create a character who can summon black force which he can move and form into any shape, like Marvel's darkforce. This is a simple enough concept, but is a nightmare do implement. In the end I made it a power pool, and had to precalculate 6 or 7 pages of different effects.
Hmm, don't remember all the effects of the nebulously-defined Darkforce, but my stab would be a Power Framework with Darkness (duh), Telekinesis and Force Wall (for the "solid darkness" objects), Flight with Usable on Others and Area Effect (for riding on solid-darkness platforms), and perhaps Ego Attack or some form of Drain for the Darkforce's spirit-weakening properties. For those who want Cloak's "movement through the Darkforce Dimension" trick, Extra-Dimensional Movement or Teleport, bought Usable on Others.
Posted by Michael Tree:
Try to create a character who can freeze time, like in the time stop spell. For fairness he can't harm anything while time is frozen, but he can move objects or himself.
This sounds like Teleport, Usable against Others, Area Effect, Selective. He stops time, and when he starts it again, things are in effect instantaneously moved. Some form of Clairsentience or other perception power seems appropriate too, to represent the looking around he can do while time is stopped.
Posted by Michael Tree:
Try to create a character who can manipulate metal, and shape it into mechanical or mobile form.
To create personal gadgets would simply be a Gadget VPP, with instant shifting, and limitations reflecting the requirement to have metal on hand and any limitations on the types of gadgets he could build with it. To create golem-like animated creations, use the Summon power. To do both, just get the Gadget VPP and define the Summon as something as a power that can be stuck in the Pool.
Posted by Michael Tree:
These are superhero powers, but no doubt there are numerous spells in the PH that would be very difficult to implement as powers in champions. Polymorph other and shadow evocation and conjuration come to mind.
Polymorph Other is a Transform, with whatever customization the buyer feels is necessary - Variable Special Effects is a likelihood, to represent the many possibilities. Shadow Evocation is an EB or RKA with reshapeable Area Effect and Variable Special Effects, and extra damage dice that don't work if the victim makes a PER roll. Shadow Conjuration is a Summon with summoned critters constructed so that they get weaker to those making a PER roll against them.
Posted by Michael Tree:
I as a GM like to reward this kind of quick creativity. However, by the Hero rules, each would be making completely seperate attacks, and the combination wouldn't do a thing unless they had previously bought it as a power combination. This kind of strict mechanical determinism bugs me.
Um, no. It's pretty clear that the GM can indeed simply rule that this works, just as characters can pick up a fallen Viper agent's gun and use it for the duration of a combat without paying points for it (assuming they have appropriate Weapons Familiarity). It's only the stuff that characters use regularly and reliably that is expected to be noted on character sheets and paid for; if your players try to abuse this leniency, you are well within your rights as GM to spend their earned XPs for them on the abilities that they are trying to get for "free". Hero has never expected people to pay for relatively minor, rarely-used side bennies of their powers' chosen special effects.
There are powers and abilities Hero has trouble with; they tend to be "absolute" abilities (like the gravity-control debate in one current thread on the Hero Games boards). Too often, though, "Hero System can't do my simple concept!" really means "Hero System is making me pay points for my simple but incredibly useful and versatile concept commensurate with its versatility!".
