Practically all Role Playing Games rely on some degree of combat to resolve encounters,
and come with various rules describing how to accomplish this within the confines
of that game. Indeed, many RPG's consist of little else besides how to make a character,
things to fight with them, and how to do so.
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Many RPG's combat system's suffer from a certain abstractness or disconnect from
reality. Frequently it seems likely that the game designers that designed the combat
resolution mechanics for a particular game had no idea how violence works in the
real world, and as such combat in those systems lacks verisimilitude, fails to allow
for strategic or tactical decisions to matter, and otherwise result in a system
that is only meaningful and useable in a metagame exercise of exploiting it's peculiarities.
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The HERO System, fortunately, is not such a game though there is some degree of
abstractness, consistent with the system's practice of dividing Special Effect from
Game Effect, and a "cinematic realism" slant that favors non-lethal damage.
Overall the HERO System's highly granularized combat model supports a wide range
of combat actions with a high degree of verisimilitude. Not only is it very possible
to employ actual tactics that result in real benefits, the system actively encourages
it.
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However it has been my experience that despite the richness of expression permitted
in the HERO System most players and GM's I've had contact with over the years seem
to be either entirely unaware of it or incapable of capitalizing upon it.
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I've often been baffled by this behavior; but after lengthy conversations and prolonged
observations it finally dawned on me that the reason often is that many players
and GM's do not understand the basic principles of tactics and / or how to apply
them to a RPG. This article collects some of my thoughts in an attempt to perhaps
illuminate the matter for interested parties.
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TACTICAL PRINCIPALS
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Easy to learn but difficult to master, the basics of Tactics are simple ideas and
they are few in number. It all boils down to being aware of several things; most
significantly to a RP environment are:
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- Know the Game System
- Know your character
- Know your enemy
- Know your terrain
- Maintain Situational Awareness
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KNOW THE GAME SYSTEM
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Even in it's most verbose form (5th Edition Revised), the core mechanics of the
HERO System combat rules occupy about six pages of actual text eliding various illustrations.
This covers all the key concepts of how the SPD chart works, Aborting, Holding,
and other timing considerations, and actual to-hit resolution.
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The remainder of the Combat section describes things ranging from how movement works,
how senses work, how damage works, various things that make combat more difficult
like Encumbrance and the Environment, and copious explanations for how various Maneuvers
work.
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DONT BE LAZY
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In it's entirety the Combat & Adventuring section is a mere 84 illustration
and example laden pages, plus a few useful charts and a sample combat. This is the
core of the game, and yet it seems that most players and even some GM's are completely
unfamiliar with entire sections of it. Don't be one of them.
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READ THE DAMN BOOK!
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If you are a player that doesn't own the main rule book you could pick up the
HERO System Combat Handbook, which reprints Chapter 2 Combat & Adventuring
of the main rulebook plus various expanded options and exposition from the genre
books.
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If you plan to play the game more than a couple of times, it will be time well spent.
In particular pay attention to the Standard and Optional Maneuvers. If you are a
player you can hold off on mastering the Martial Maneuvers until you decide to play
a character with some Martial Arts (at which time you're going to want the Ultimate
Martial Artist anyway).
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MANEUVERS AND OPTIONS
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In particular consider various options like Multiple Power Attack, Sweep & Rapid
Fire, Move By & Move Thru, Haymaker, and Grab. These are all very useful tactically
to expand a character's effectiveness.
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Also, pay special attention to Block, Dodge, Roll with a Punch, and Dive For Cover.
Additionally, though not mentioned specifically, a character can stand up as part
of an Abort ("Get to one's feet" being a 1/2 Phase Maneuver that has the
defensive benefit of improving the character's DCV from 1/2 DCV for being Prone).
Understand the pros and cons of each defensive Manuever and when to use them. The
ability to take defensive actions out of initiative order is a hallmark of the HERO
System and a major enabler of good tactics.
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KNOW YOUR CHARACTER
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Even if you understand the way the combat system works, to employ good tactics you
must first understand your own character. You need to comprehend their strengths
and their weaknesses, and how their abilities work.
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Putting aside personality and other roleplaying considerations, a character sheet
represents a finite collection of capabilities that interact with the larger game
system. It is not unreasonable to expect the players of such characters to read
the sections of the rules pertaining to their character's particular abilities and
assimilate not only how they work independently, but how they work together.
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Comprehending if the character is set up to take advantage of particular combat
options, where their odds of success are best and worst, the particular advantage
they gain from assignable resource such as Skill Levels or Framework allocations,
and other such granular considerations inform tactical decisions greatly.
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ROLEPLAYING CONSIDERATIONS
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Aside from understanding the mechanics behind the character, also give thought to
the personality of the character and how you visualize them in your mind. If you
think of your character as being in a movie, then think of yourself as being the
Special Effects team responsible for making it possible for the character to jump
around, fight, and do larger than life cinematic things. If you can't imagine it,
then your character isn't going to be able to portray it.
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So visualize how the character moves, the kind of things they are good at, signature
stunts, and whatnot. Play thru some scenes across your mind's stage; conduct thought
experiments about how a scenario would play out, daydream, or whatever means you
prefer to ignite your imagination. Einstein came up with the theory of relativity
in his head, you should be able to figure out how Thunor the Barbarian uses Block,
Sweep, and Move By to good effect in yours.
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Once you have the idea in your mind's eye look at the character's sheet and figure
out how to use the rules to portray the events you imagined. When you get around
to actually executing the idea in game not only will your tactics be improved (assuming
you execute in an appropriate circumstance), but the detailed description you give
will enhance the imagery of the scene for everyone else, and if done correctly enhances
the realization of the character's roleplaying portrayal.
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ABILITY CATEGORIES
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There are four major categories for character abilities. Consider how your character's
abilities fall into these groups:
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- Offense
- Defense
- Mobility
- Utility
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OFFENSE
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Obviously, anything intended to harm or hamper opponents is an Offense. Be aware
of all of your character's offensive capabilities; both those on their sheet and
those built into the system and readily accessible such as Standard Maneuvers, Presense
Attacks, Knockdown / Knockback, Falling and other Environment damage, and using
objects as weapons.
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DEFENSE
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Anything that can prevent your character from coming to harm, or else mitigates
harm is a defensive capability. What is and isn't a defense isn't always obvious;
in addition to clear-cut defenses such as Armor it is possible for both Mobility
and Utility abilities to serve as defenses situationally, such as Desolid and Flight.
Block, Dodge, Roll with Punch, and Dive For Cover are all very important considerations
in this regard, as are some key Skills and Talents such as Defense Maneuver, Breakfall,
and Combat Luck.
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Frequently overlooked or mismanaged, a character's Defensive Combat Value is of
key importance. Understanding how to manage one's current DCV intelligently is a
crucial aspect of HERO System tactics. As part of this give all due consideration
to using Maneuvers that reduce a character to 1/2 DCV, as well as the utility of
actions that result in an opponent dropping to 1/2 DCV.
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MOBILITY
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This category includes both the obvious abilities such as Flight and Running, and
less obvious abilities such as Acrobatics, Leaping, and Clinging. Use your character's
movement abilities intelligently; for instance I've seen a surprising number of
players forget that heightened STR grants extra Leaping, and I've seen several players
with a character that has Clinging (or Flight Only in Contact With A Surface) fail
to think in three dimensions.
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As a side note, many players don't seem to realize that you can mix movement. All
too often I've seen things like a character 1/2 Phase Run to the base of a wall
and then stop, waiting until their next action to start climbing or flying or swimming,
etc.
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Get used to thinking in terms of 1/2 Moves, and using movement to position the character
intelligently on the battle field to take advantage of terrain, cover, concealment,
to maintain distance from dangerous HtH opponents, to force opponents to waste actions
closing, and to set up for an attack in a later Phase.
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If you have the option of standing still + doing something or half moving + doing
something then do the later. Unless your character is in a particularly advantageous
place, standing still just gives opponents time to assimilate your position and
maneuver around you or pin you down.
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UTILITY
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The obligatory catch all category, any abilities your character has that do something
besides hurt others, protect themselves, or move them about are Utility abilities.
That's not to imply that they are undesirable; far from it in fact.
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Things like Enhanced Senses, beneficial Adjustment Powers, some Body Affecting Powers,
and almost all Skills, Talents, and Perks fall into this category. Though Utility
abilities rarely have much of an impact on Tactics, being more Strategic or situational,
every now and then a clever use of a Utility ability will have interesting tactical
ramifications.
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KNOW YOUR ENEMY
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Due to the nature of roleplaying games, you really aren't supposed to know your
enemy too well since it detracts from the fun of the game. Some players or GM's
even go so far as to claim that using tactics to defeat opponents in-game is an
exercise in metagaming, i.e. manipulating the rules of the game rather than using
in-game logic to drive their actions, but I personally think that's just a cop op
to defend their inability to envision the scene in their minds and / or use their
character's intelligently.
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It is completely reasonable that characters can and should use observations gained
in game to inform their decisions intelligently, both pre-combat and during combat.
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Obviously if an opponent carries a big gun it communicates a need for different
tactics than if they were laden with lots of sharp pointy things, and it's not unreasonable
for a character having observed this fact to act appropriately. The semblance may
be a ruse or later prove to be misleading, but it's just good thinking to proceed
as if what the character is sensing in the game is true until proven otherwise and
act accordingly.
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Similarly as a combat progresses, characters observe things like the relative speed
or strength of an opponent, that they favor a particular maneuver, have a distinctive
SFX that presages a certain type of attack, and so forth. It is not unreasonable
for a character to use this new found knowledge of their opponent to take appropriate
action. Out of game this results in metagame thinking to consider and employ well
chosen tactics to defeat the opponent, but its not out of character
as it is simply using information gained by the character in-game.
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Far from detracting from the verisimilitude of the game, asking the GM to fully
describe the SFX, any "wind up" for various maneuvers, various "tells"
required by activation Limitations on their abilities, and similar in-game details
pertaining to the opponents' actions not only informs tactical decisions, it also
results in a much better described and higher quality mental picture of an encounter.
And that's just beneficial to good roleplaying, plain and simple.
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Similarly that amount of detail makes opponents far more memorable and is particularly
advantageous and enriching to the game in the case of reoccurring NPC's.
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KNOW THE TERRAIN
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The terrain is either your greatest ally or your greatest enemy. More battles have
been affected by terrain and environment than any other consideration. Pay attention
to the details of the battleground du jour, taking full advantage of sight lines,
cover, concealment, avenues of approach, useful objects, and high ground. Use it
to your own advantage, deprive advantages to the opposition, and be mindful of hazards.
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Ask the GM to describe the scene in detail and if not playing on a battlemap, draw
a quick abstract sketch and ask the GM if it's accurate. Understanding where things
are at in relation to each other is very important, particularly for highly mobile
characters.
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MAINTAIN SITUATIONAL AWARENESS
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Pay attention to events in play. Be aware of where characters are in relation to
each other, who has yet to act in a Phase, who has acted in a Phase, and be particularly
alert to unexpected opportunities that transpire.
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TIMING
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Combat is all about timing. Doing the exact same move with the exact same rolls
can be brilliant or stupid, all based upon timing. Assuming you Know the System,
Your Character, Your Enemy, and the Terrain, you have a plethora of tools in your
character's toolbox at your disposal, but without understanding when it is a good
idea to use which one it amounts to naught.
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Some players have a tendency to find one or two actions that work for them and then
just blindly apply them to every situation regardless of whether it is appropriate
or not. Don't get hung up on a particular stunt or trick. It's not a question of
Holding, or Aborting, or Maneuvering, or Alpha-striking, or what have you. All are
good options for characters of various designs, but only when timing favors them.
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Similarly some players have abilities that are only useful in certain circumstances,
but they try to use them in situations where they are not appropriate, or success
with them is not auspicious. Growing frustrated by failure, the player then disregards
the ability and never uses it again. It's like getting frustrated when a wrench
fails to drive a screw, and subsequently never using the wrench even when presented
with a bolt that needs to be tightened.
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A good chunk of solid tactics is simply using the right tool at the right time.
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RISK MANAGEMENT
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An important corollary to tactics is managing your character's risk. Blindly charging
about doing dangerous things without a commensurate potential for payoff only works
for so long. It's all well and good to take risks, but remember to Cover Your Ass
(CYA). Understand when the situation is conducive to employing an all out attack,
when it is conducive to holding back, when an all out defense is necessary, and
when you should gain space to recover.
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In a larger sense you should also consider risk to your character's teammates and
allies, if any. Sometimes the best thing to do in the bigger picture is to "take
one for the team" to protect a crucial teammate, or to set another teammate
up.
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OPPORTUNISM
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Sometimes events occur that are irregular, unplanned for, unpredictable. It is often
worth extra risk to capitalize on these unexpected opportunities. In militaristic
jargon this is known as "targets of opportunity".
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When opponents unexpectedly lower their DCV, turn their back to the character, suffer
a fumble, take an action early in a Phase (and thus briefly lose their ability to
Abort), have to change clips, or otherwise suffer a momentary impediment it is tactically
sound to exploit the opportunity. Characters with "Code of the HERO",
"Honorable", and similar Disadvantages may not be able to capitalize on
such boons, but other characters certainly can.
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TACTICAL TENANTS
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Tactics are essentially fluid and situational so it is basically impossible to codify
them into inviolate strictures without rendering them counterproductive. For
tactics to remain viable they must remain flexible and agile.
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However, there are some general rules of thumb that will serve you well in a HERO
System combat.
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DONT BE A ROCK EM SOCK EM ROBOT
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Do not have your characters just stand around hitting and getting hit. Not only
is this boring, it uses like 1% of the Combat System. You might as well just roll
dice randomly to kill time, if that's all you want to do.
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Move around, use Manuevers, Abort to defensive actions intelligently, use things
in play to springboard off of, get creative. Combat doesn't have to be a race to
the last hit point.
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HOLD YOUR PHASE 12
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All HERO System combats start on Phase 12. This gives everyone a chance to go in
the same Phase and prevents slower characters from getting bent over a barrel before
they get a chance to do anything.
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It is all too tempting to start off the combat with a bang and rip loose with an
all out attack, but unless you can totally devastate the opposition or have defenses
that are so good you can weather the return fire it is a mistake.
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Hold your action and be prepared to take evasive / defensive action if necessary.
Let your opponent show their hand first, and if possible counter punch after they
have committed themselves to something.
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EXCEPTION: PREEMPTIVE STRIKE
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If your character happens to know that the opposition has an attack that is so powerful
allowing them to use it results in something between an unfavorable trade and total
catastrophe, then by all means take them out first even if it means going in Phase
12.
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EXCEPTION: HIGH ENDURANCE COST ABILITY
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If your character has an attack that has a non-negligible Endurance cost, then use
it before the end of Segment 12 if possible so that the free Post Segment 12 REC
will help defray it's cost.
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ONE IN THE HAND IS WORTH TWO IN THE BUSH
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aka "Kick em when they are down"
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A lot of players are used to games without a clean "STUN" concept, and
once opponents go down they stay down. Not so in the HERO System. While "agents"
or "mooks" might stay down at the GM's option, notable characters get
Recoveries and will stand back up again if allowed to regain their composure. It's
amazing how even players that have been playing HERO's for a while seem to forget
this.
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When a tough opponent gets staggered or goes below 0 STUN hit 'em again to make
sure they stay down (unless it runs against your character's roleplaying of course).
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LOW DCV = SWEEP, HIGH DCV = OTHER OPTIONS
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Once they are exposed to the idea and see how it works, many a player becomes enamored
of Sweep and Rapid Fire (same mechanic), and proceed to use the Maneuver every chance
they get without recourse to the consequences. This is a mistake that they are easily
made to pay for as their DCV drops to half and they subsequently get drubbed by
return fire.
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Which isn't to say that Sweep and Rapid Fire aren't good options. They are fantastic
options in general, but they favor characters that have lower DCV and higher OCV
via combat levels. The lower the character's DCV to begin with, the less impact
dropping to 1/2 DCV is.
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Characters with high DCV should pursue other options to increase their volume of
attacks such as Multiple Power Attacks, Autofire, or taking advantage of Two Weapon
Fighting to reduce the DCV penalty of Sweep / Rapid Fire.
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For some characters Spreading is another useful option for affecting more than one
opponent, but this has bigger ramifications and is discussed independently below.
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SEGMENTS (1, 5 ,7, 11)
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According to the Speed Chart that drives combat's flow, fewer SPD values get actions
on Segments 1, 5, 7, and 11 making these Phases ideal for taking Held Actions, particularly
if your character has a follow-up action in the Segment immediately following.
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Its also useful to set up Haymakers to end in 5, 7, and 11 (not so much 1 due to
crossing Post-Segment 12). Hold to the end of 4, 6, or 10 and start a Haymaker,
and let it land in 5,7, or 11.
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TWO-FOR-ONE SPECIAL
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Using one action to take out two opponents, particularly in a case where one is
adjacent (in HtH range) and the other isn't, is a very effective tactic. There are
several ways to do this.
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KNOCKBACK RICOCHET
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Not in the main rulebook, but clarified in the Rules FAQ and later publications
(such as the aforementioned Combat Handbook), a character can Knockback an opponent
in such a way as to hit a third character. This requires a to-hit roll using only
the attackers base OCV vs. the third character's DCV.
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PITCHING ENEMIES
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Similarly, though not as efficiently, it is possible to throw an opponent that has
already been grabbed in a previous Phase at another character.
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SHOVE
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The Martial Maneuver Shove is quite useful in this regard -- you can Shove one character
some distance and into another, also gaining some movement yourself. It is also
one of the easier ways to move opponents around against their will, and all in all
a very under utilized Maneuver.
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MARTIAL MANEUVERS AND MULTIPLE POWER ATTACKS
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Martial Maneuvers built on different bases can be used together as a Multiple Power
Attack to pull off very efficient actions like Nerve Strike + Take Away + Leg Sweep
and other such devastating combos. If one is prone to watching Kung Fu movies, a
lot of the crazier stunts seen therein are most closely modeled in the HERO System
via creative combinations of MPA'd Martial Maneuvers.
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SPREADING
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A frequently overlooked gem of a rule, Spreading allows a character to either trade
damage classes for extra OCV, or more commonly to trade damage classes to make a
non-AoE attack into a small AoE. I've seen innumerable players with characters that
could spread their attacks never use the option.
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There is even an option to allow characters to Spread their Strength, which is a
very useful trick. Beg your GM to allow it, but beware the opposition using it on
you.
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KEEP YOUR ENEMIES WHERE YOU CAN SEE THEM
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aka "don't turn your back on a loaded gun"
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If possible, try to position your character so that no enemies are behind them,
particularly if the character has a high DCV and lower defenses.
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DEFENSE MANEUVER
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Failing that, if it is at all justifiable for your character's concept, get Defense
Maneuver IV. It's just about the best spent 10 points you'll likely have on your
sheet.
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TARGETABLE FOCI
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aka "How many points did you save with that Focus again?"
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Don't forget you can target Foci. Even if a Focus is indestructible (most aren't),
you can knock it loose if it's Accessible and thus deprive an opponent of whatever
abilities were purchased via the Focus.
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CONCEALMENT
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When using the Terrain to ones own advantage, Concealment is often available. Use
it.
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SHIELD OF OPPORTUNITY
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If the situation presents itself and your character is taking ranged fire, feel
free to rip up or grab some appropriately useful object and use it as a Tower Shield
to provide concealment and if the GM is kind some extra DEF.
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INTERPOSING
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In a situation where some opponents are close in to fight in HtH, and other opponents
are standing off to use Ranged attacks try to maneuver in such a way to keep the
closer HtH opponents between your character and the ranged opponents.
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DROPPING PRONE
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When receiving ranged fire, and assuming no opponents are inconveniently close to
melee range, don't forget that you can Drop Prone as a 0 Phase Action, which is
combinable with an Abort to Dodge or similar. This is not exactly the same as Dive
For Cover, though you do go to 1/2 DCV for being prone.
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The advantages of doing so are three fold; first off unlike D4C there is no DEX
Roll involved, secondly if you don't abort to it but do it on your own Phase it
can be combined with other Actions (such as Full Move, Drop Prone), and finally
you benefit from any Concealment which can either impose an OCV penalty on a shooter
or even prevent them from firing at your character at all if they can no longer
see you.
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AERIAL SUPERIORITY
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Ideally you want to keep enemies on the ground and your character or allies that
have the capability off the ground. It is almost always a smart tactical move to
ground an opponent or to get oneself or an ally off the ground.
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ALTITUDE
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An efficient tactic for characters able to gain altitude via some fashion is to
get above an opponent and shoot from above them, seeking to do downward Knockback.
This gains three things if successful; firstly the opponent takes damage from the
initial attack, secondly they lose altitude at a disfavorable rate (it takes 2"
to go up 1" for most forms of movement, but Knockback is 1 for 1), and thirdly
enough Knockback will put them into the ground for more damage (and if they are
Flying, Gliding, or Swinging they take an extra d6 of Knockback).
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FMOVE IS YOUR FRIEND
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Full Move (FMove) Maneuvers are great because they frequently allow your character
to take three or more 1/2 Phase Actions in a single Full Phase. That's just good
Action Economy no matter how you slice it.
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The three FMove Standard Maneuvers (Move By, Move Thru, and Grab By) are all decent,
but the FMove Martial Maneuvers are all worth their weight and several are among
the best Maneuvers in the game.
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Whether your character has the Martial versions or must rely on the Standard ones,
get familiar with them and apply that knowledge liberally.
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CLUSTER****
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This probably goes without saying, but if your character has a respectable AoE or
Autofire and several opponents clump together in nice tight little kill radius,
it might be a good idea to shift gears from what you were planning on doing that
Phase and taking advantage of the opportunity to punish them for it.
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CHANNELING
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Similarly, it is possible to arrange a battlefield to force opponents to clump up
for AoE's, and it is also possible to push them together over time via intersecting
lines of fire that leave a seemingly safe pocket somewhere. The opposition naturally
finds their way into this pocket and then blammo.
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In games with more unusual abilities this can also be accomplished by using abilities
like Force Wall, Darkness, and Change Environment to render areas undesirable or
off limits, forcing foes to group up. Knockback and Throws can also be used to cluster
opponents; several allies could all deposit an opponent into a tight area to set
a blaster or equivalent up for a big finish, for instance.
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SWITCH UP
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Often a GM will present a group of opponents that are individually well suited to
facing off against one or more PC's. If the GM then engages the PC's individually
with these mini-nemesis and the PC's get stuck in with them accordingly, it can
make for a long fight.
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Let the GM have a little fun, but after about a TURN or so consider having your
character deliberately disrupt the pairings. Cheapshot an opponent that is giving
a comrade a hard time of it, freeing your ally to either finish them off or in turn
helping out another ally (maybe even you).
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This is good tactics (it's never smart to fight your enemies battle), but on the
other hand it can be frustrating to the GM, so use responsibly.
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DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO
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If for some reason you aren't sure what to do, or no particularly worthwhile target
is presenting itself then 1/2 Move and Hold a 1/2 Phase. Consider it your filler
action of choice.
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If you frequently find yourself with nothing to do it's possible you need to reevaluate
the character and either get an ability that takes time to use like Find Weakness
or Aid so that you can translate all those extra actions into something useful,
or perhaps lower your SPD and recoup some points.
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Alternately you might just be indecisive, which you are on your own to resolve.
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