Rule Clairifications

The purpose of this document is to go over the rules (as opposed to background) governing the campaign. I have used the following conventions throughout this document:

Color Coding:

• Items listed in blue are rules clarifications. Specifically, they are spelling out how I intend to interpret certain rules during the campaign.
• Items listed in red are House Rules.

Abbreviations:

• 5ER – Hero System 5^th Edition Revised (the core rulebook)
• DC – Dark Champions
• FH – Fantasy Hero
• PH – Pulp Hero
• UB – The Ultimate Brick
• UMA – The Ultimate Martial Artist

Rules:

• For 5ER (the main rule book) all the normal rules can be considered in play unless otherwise stated in this document. If a rule is marked as ‘optional’, ‘GM’s discretion’ or similar, it is not in play unless explicitly identified in this document.
• For all other hero books, only rules explicitly mentioned in this document will be in play. All other rules should be considered out of play. If you see something in another book you would like to bring into the game, contact me first, with plenty of lead time for me to go over the rule. If it’s in a book I do not own, it will not be in play at all.

The following Optional Rules will be in effect for this campaign:

• Attacking Large Targets (FH 154): Using the Hit Locations option.
• Block (FH 155): Only using the rules regarding blocking an Armed Opponent while Unarmed.
• Disabling (5ER 417)
• Disarm (FH 155): Using both optional rules in this section.
• Expanded Hit Locations (DC XXX)
• Expert Skill Modifier (DC 84)
• Groundfighting (FH 157): These penalties cannot be removed through a PS: Groundfighting roll. Rather, in order to keep consistency with the mechanics regarding other environmental/situational penalties, you have to purchase Penalty Skill Levels to overcome the -2 OCV penalty for fighting while prone.
• Hit Locations (5ER 414): Due to the potential power of Head and Vitals shots, a hard campaign limit of 4 Penalty Skill Levels vs. Hit Locations exists.
• Heroic Pushing (5ER 427): For further clarification, a character can make an EGO check to get +5 to STR or any Endurance-Using power. For every 1 point by which the EGO Roll is made, an additional +1 may be added. Pushing costs 1 additional END for every +1 used. Finally, the rule that "characters can only use Pushing for crucial, heroic or life-saving actions" will be enforced.
• Ignoring Opponents (FH 157)
• Impairing (5ER 416)
• Increased Strength Damage Differentiation (UB 8)
• Knockdown (5ER 417)
• Resource Points (DC 150): Characters start with pools of: 20 Equipment, 10 Contact/Follower and 10 Vehicle/Base. Also, these pools are for mundane non-combat equipment only. Weapons and anything magical, high-tech or otherwise out of the ordinary must be paid for in Character Points.
• Super Skills (DC 106)
  

Critical Success and Failure

On any Attack/Characteristic/Skill/etc. roll, if the dice come up triples, the roll is a Critical. If the total rolled would normally succeed, then it is a Critical Success. Otherwise, it is a Critical Failure. On a Skill Roll or Characteristics Roll, the GM will devise an appropriate benefit/penalty according to the situation. In the case of a successful Critical Attack, 3 Damage Classes are added to the Damage of the attack (typically 3 dice for a normal damage attack or 1 die for a killing attack). This damage ignores the damage doubling limit that normally applies to weapons. Attacks that Critically Fail are subject to GM whim and whimsy, but the guidelines on FH 159 give an idea of what may be possible.

For example: Clint’s character has a Climb skill of 11-. His character attempts to scale a wall and rolls 3-3-3 for a total 9. This is a Critical Success and he makes it up the wall in record time. Later, his character climbs back down the wall and rolls 5-5-5 for a total of 15. This is a Critical Failure (hope he bought Breakfall).

Taking the Average

On any Effects roll, the average may be taken before the Effect dice are rolled. In this situation, it is assumed that all of the effect dice will roll a 3 and the appropriate results applied. Yes, this is technically less than average, but that’s what you get for wimping out.

Skills

Non-Familiar Skills: If a non-familiar skill roll is even possible (sorry, but if you haven't studied Astrophysics you really shouldn't get a roll) an appropriate characteristic roll will be called for with a minimum penalty of 6.
Familiarities: A 1 point Familiarity in a skill grants a skill roll of (Characteristic Roll - 3) or 8-, whichever is better.
Background/General Skills: A 2 point general skill has a skill roll of (Characteristic Roll - 1) or 11-, whichever is better.
All other skills: All other skills are treated as normal.

Stabilizing Bleeding Characters

When characters have been reduced below 0 Body, a Paramedics Roll may be made to stabilize them. Rather than the normal penalty of -1 per negative 2 Body (which penalizes high-Body characters), the penalty will be based on the following:

* Based on the value of the Physical Limitation chosen

Example: Jonna has a 12 Body. The Paramedics roll penalty for her is -1 at negative 3 Body, -2 at neg. 6, -3 at neg. 9 and -4 at neg. 12. Felyx has a 15 Body. The penalties for him are -1 at neg. 4, -2 at neg. 8, -3 at neg. 11 and -4 at neg. 15.

Segment Order

For the purposes of determining who goes first in a given Segment, the order will be based upon Initiative (DEX + Lightning Reflexes), then SPD and finally INT. If two characters are still tied at that point, they will roll-off to determine who goes first.

Example: Joe (DEX 14/SPD 3/INT 18) will act before Mike (DEX 14/SPD 3/INT 10) when they act in the same phase.
Example 2: Kendrick and his brother, Merrick, both have DEX 16/SPD 3/INT 15. Therefore they will have to roll off to determine which of them acts first.

In addition to the Hurry and Snap Shot maneuvers, there is another way of improving your Initiative for a single Phase. Combat Skill Levels may be used to gain points of Initiative at a cost of 2 CSL per +1 Initiative. Skill Levels used in this fashion may only be used to improve the Initiative of actions to which they would normally apply. Skill Levels to be used for this purpose must be announced on or before the beginning of the Segment in which the action will take place. However, the Skill Level allocation does not take place until the character's new Initiative value is reached.

‘Mere Mortal’ Disadvantage

While this is an NPC-only Disadvantage, it is listed in this document as it will have an impact on how Players approach combat. Anyone with the 'Mere Mortal' disadvantage will take double BODY from any attack that penetrates their defenses. In addition, they never roll for Hit Locations in combat. Instead, all attacks they make will always hit the Chest. Finally, whenever a 'Mere Mortal' is attacked, the player has a choice, roll Hit Locations as normal, or automatically hit the chest. The ‘Mere Mortal’ Disadvantage defined as follows:

Physical Limitation: Character takes x2 BODY from any Attack damage that penetrates defense and cannot hit any location other than Chest; Frequently (10); Fully (10).

Example: Joe (a thug) is hit for 5 BODY and 15 STUN. He’s wearing a light vest (3 DEF) and has a 3 PD of his own. As a result he’ll take (5-3) x2 = 4 BODY and (15-6) = 9 STUN. If he hadn’t been wearing the armor he would have taken (5-0) x2 = 10 BODY and (15-0) = 15 STUN.

This simulates how weak normal folks are in comparison to the PCs. Important combatants (all PCs and some NPCs) will not have this Disadvantage. Watch out for your DNPCs, and Contacts.

Luck

Roll your Luck Dice at the beginning of each Episode and add the total to your Luck Pool. Luck Points can be saved between Episodes. The maximum number of points that may be in the Luck Pool is the maximum that could be rolled on the character’s Luck Dice (eg. for 3d6, the maximum is 18 points). Each character receives 1d6 Luck as an every-hero ability.

Ground Rules:

1. In the case of re-rolled dice, the person spending the Luck Points gets to choose which roll to keep.
2. Luck may be spent to modify the die roll of any character working in direct opposition to your character (i.e. attempting to shoot your character or being on the other side of an opposed skill test).
3. Luck may be spent to modify the die roll of any other character not covered by case #2 above (within reason as determined by the GM) for +1 to the base cost.

Uses For Luck Points:

Re-Rolls & Outcome Changes:

• 1pt to add 2 dice to any Power or Attack with an Active Cost of 5 per die or less.
• 1pt to add 1 die of any Power or Attack with an Active Cost of 10 per die or less.
• 1pt to modify any other type of die roll by +/- 1.

Lucky Dodge:

• 1pt per +1 to your DCV vs. one specific attacker. If you are performing a Defensive Action then the DCV bonus applies to all attackers.

Catch a Second Wind (may be done while unconscious):

• 1pt to abort to Recover from being Stunned.
• 2pts to abort to a Recovery phase.
• 3pts to immediately Recover from being Stunned without having to wait for or lose your next action.
• 4pts to immediately take a Recovery without losing an action or having your DCV set to zero.

Escape Certain Death:

• 12pts to escape with minor injuries only. (i.e. If your character is pushed off of a cliff they may manage to land in the branches of a tree and take a few scrapes and bruises.)
• 9pts to escape with serious injuries. (i.e. The tree branches slow your fall rather than absorbing it so you might end up with a broken arm in addition to the scrapes and bruises.)
• 6pts to escape with severe injuries. (i.e. The tree only slows your fall a bit and you end up with several broken bones and probably unconscious but able to make a full recovery.)
• 3pts to be left at death’s door (i.e. There’s no tree and you hit the ground with full impact. You manage to survive with several serious and possibly permanent injuries. In addition you’re in a coma and will wake up when the GM feels like it.)

_{Hero System 5th Edition, Dark Champions and Vibora Bay are copyright Hero Games}

Revised on April 14, 2009 by Deric Page.