TEXT: Steven S. Long
  
  Hero SystemTM ® is DOJ, Inc.’s trademark for its roleplaying system.
  Hero System © 1984, 1989, 2002 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. All rights reserved.
  Champions © 1984, 1989, 2002 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. All rights reserved.
  Fantasy Hero © 2003 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. All rights reserved.
  Dark Champions © 2004 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. All rights reserved.
  The HERO System Equipment Guide © 2005 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. 
  All rights reserved.
  Star Hero, Justice Inc., Danger International, Dark Champions, Pulp Hero, 
  Western Hero © 2002 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. All rights reserved.
  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, 
  electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or computerization, or by 
  any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the 
  Publisher:  DOJ, Inc., 1 Haight Street, Suite A, San Francisco, California 94102.
  Printed in Canada. First printing June 2005
  Produced and distributed by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games.
  Stock Number:  DOJHERO111 • ISBN Number:  1-58366-055-0
  http://www.herogames.com
  A Sourcebook for the Hero System
  Author: Steven S. Long
  Editing & Development:  Allen Th omas
  Layout & Graphic Design:  Andy Mathews
  Cover Illustration:  Andy Mathews
  Interior Illustration:  Brett Barkley, Nate Barnes, Storn 
  Cook, Andy Cremeans, Keith Curtis, Jonathan Davenport, 
  Jeﬀ  Hebert, Nick Ingeneri,  Eric Lofgren, Cara Mitten, 
  Erik Roman, Scott Ruggles,  Greg Smith, Chris Stevens, 
  Derrick Th omas, Erich Von Haus, Patrick Zircher
  
    TABLE OF CONTENTS
  INTRODUCTION ................................4
  CHAPTER ONE: 
  FANTASY EQUIPMENT
  WEAPONS ........................................6
  WEAPONS TABLES .......................6-8
  Explanation Of Hand-To-Hand 
  Weapons Table ............................9
  Explanation Of Ranged 
  Weapons Table ..........................11
  MAKING WEAPONS ........................15
  Basic Weapon Creation Rules And 
  Guidelines ................................15
  Advanced Weapon Creation Rules 
  And Guidelines ..........................19
  WEAPON SIZE AND LENGTH ...........23
  Weapon Length ...........................23
  Weapon Size And Shape ..............25
   ARMOR ..........................................26
  TYPES OF ARMOR .........................26
  Explanation Of Armor Table ..........26
  Sectional Armor ...........................28
  USING ARMOR ...............................32
  Balancing Armor Use ...................34
  Wearing Multiple Armors ..............35
  Armor Breakage ..........................35
  SHIELDS .......................................36
  CHAPTER TWO:  
  MARTIAL ARTS EQUIPMENT
  MARTIAL ARTS WEAPONS ..............38
  NOTES AND KEY ............................38
  WEAPONS TABLES ...................39-43
  MASTER LIST OF WEAPONS ...........44
  MARTIAL ARTS ARMOR ..................57
  CREATING MARTIAL ARTS 
  EQUIPMENT ................................58
  CHAPTER THREE:  
  MODERN WEAPONS
  FIREARMS ......................................62
  FIREARMS BASICS .........................62
  AMMUNITION ................................63
  Standard Firearms Ammunition ....63
  Shotgun Ammunition ...................71
  Firearms Cost/Upgrade Tables ....76-93
  FIREARMS ACCESSORIES ...............94
  Standard Firearm Accessories ......94
  Shotgun Accessories ...................98
  FIREARMS MODIFICATIONS 
  AND CUSTOMIZATION ...............101
  Disguised Weapons And Gadgets ..103
  FIREARMS TABLES ..................104-15
  OTHER WEAPONS .........................120
  HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT 
  WEAPONS ................................120
  EXPLOSIVES ................................120
  Incendiaries ..............................123
  RESTRAINTS AND NON-LETHAL 
  WEAPONS ................................125
  WEAPONS OF MASS 
  DESTRUCTION ............................127
  CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL 
  WEAPONS ................................127
  Biological Weapons ...................127
  Chemical Weapons ....................128
  NUCLEAR WEAPONS .................131
  POISONS ......................................136
  USING POISONS ..........................136
  POISONS IN THE CAMPAIGN .........137
  EXAMPLE REAL-WORLD POISONS ..138
  EXAMPLE FICTIONAL POISONS .....143
  CHAPTER FOUR:  
  MODERN EQUIPMENT
  ACQUIRING EQUIPMENT ...............146
  Obtaining Equipment In The 
  Campaign World .....................146
  Obtaining Equipment In 
  Game Terms ...........................150
  DEFENSIVE EQUIPMENT ...............152
  BODY ARMOR .............................152
  COMBAT WEAR ...........................153
  Headgear ..................................153
  Holsters ....................................155
  Tactical Vests And Clothing .........155
  SENSORY EQUIPMENT .................157
  COMMUNICATIONS GEAR .............157
  SIGHT ENHANCEMENT GEAR ........159
  BUGS AND BUG DETECTORS ........161
  MISCELLANEOUS SENSORY 
  DEVICES ...................................163
  MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT .....165
  COSTUMED VIGILANTE GADGETS ....165
  SECURITY DEVICES ......................167
  SPY GADGETS .............................169
  Real-World Spy Gadgets ............169
  Cinematic Spy Gadgets ..............169
  UNDERWATER EQUIPMENT ..........170
  CHAPTER FIVE:  SCIENCE 
  FICTION EQUIPMENT
   SCIENCE FICTION WEAPONS .......172
  MELEE WEAPONS ........................172
  RANGED WEAPONS .....................173
  MILITARY TECHNOLOGY ...............180
  SCIENCE FICTION DEFENSES .......183
  OTHER TECHNOLOGY ...................186
  COMPUTERS ...............................186
  ROBOTS ......................................190
  BIOTECHNOLOGY ........................194
  NANOTECHNOLOGY .....................195
  POWER AND ENERGY 
  TECHNOLOGY ...........................196
  TELEPORTATION ..........................199
  MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT ......200
  Survival Devices ........................200
  Medical Devices ........................201
  Communications And Sensor 
  Devices ..................................202
  Tools ........................................203
  
  4 
  Hero System 5th Edition
  INTRODUCTION
  N
  o matter what type of campaign or charac-
  ter you play, the chances are that weapons 
  and gear play an important part in it. In 
  many cases characters practically obsess 
  over their gear, paying attention to every little detail 
  and paying top dollar in the game for the best, most 
  cutting-edge stuﬀ . But even if the PCs themselves 
  don’t care about equipment, their enemies prob-
  ably do. Aft er all, it usually doesn’t take much in the 
  way of ﬁ repower to make even the lowliest thug or 
  goblin a match for the most powerful hero!
  Th e HERO System Equipment Guide is your 
  one-stop shopping place for just about any sort of 
  weapon or gear you can imagine. It reprints equip-
  ment from several HERO System books, including 
  Th e Ultimate Martial Artist, Star Hero, Fantasy 
  Hero, and Dark Champions. Leaving aside some 
  of the imagined technologies for Science Fiction 
  games, the book focuses on “real world” equipment 
  most oft en found in Heroic campaigns. If you want 
  science-defying comic book-style super-tech, Hero 
  Games publishes another book, Gadgets And Gear, 
  that has everything you need.
  WHAT THIS BOOK CONTAINS
  As mentioned above, the Equipment Guide 
  mostly contains equipment reprinted from other 
  books. Except where noted below, it doesn’t have 
  any new material — it simply collects existing 
  weapons and gear and compiles them in one place 
  for easy reference. Where appropriate, page refer-
  ences have been changed to refer to the 5th Edition, 
  Revised rulebook.
  Chapter One, Fantasy Equipment, covers 
  weapons and armor from Fantasy Hero, includ-
  ing rules about how to construct such equipment. 
  Chapter Two, Martial Arts Equipment, provides 
  weapons and armor from various Asian cultures, 
  suitable for use not only in Ninja Hero campaigns 
  but Fantasy games with an Oriental feel.
  Chapters Th ree and Four, Modern-Day Weap-
  ons and Modern-Day Gear, reprint the weapons 
  and other gear, respectively, from Dark Champions. 
  Th ey also include various types of ammunition, 
  ﬁ rearms accessories, and the like. Chapter Th ree 
  includes some new material:  weapons of mass 
  destruction (a nuclear bomb; chemical and biologi-
  cal weapons) and poisons.
  Chapter Five, Science Fiction Equipment, 
  includes the weapons and other technology from 
  Star Hero for use in Science Fiction games.
  WHAT THIS BOOK DOESN’T CONTAIN
  It’s also important to note what this book 
  doesn’t contain.
  First, as mentioned earlier, it doesn’t include 
  superhero gadgets or equipment, such as those in 
  Champions and Gadgets And Gear.
  Second, it includes only personal equipment 
  — the sorts of weapons and devices characters 
  might carry themselves on their adventures. It 
  doesn’t have any vehicles, siege engines, or the like.
  Th ird, the Equipment Guide doesn’t feature any 
  setting-speciﬁ c equipment, only the “generic” gear 
  found in various genre and Ultimate books. Th us, 
  if you want the weapons list for the Terran Empire 
  setting, you should refer to Terran Empire and Th e 
  Spacer’s Toolkit, not this book.
  Fourth, except where necessary to explain how 
  equipment functions in the game, or the like, this 
  book doesn’t have any rules for using equipment in 
  the game. For example, for the most part it lacks price 
  lists — they tend to be campaign-speciﬁ c things (see 
  the appropriate genre books for guidelines about cre-
  ating price lists, and sample price lists). It also doesn’t 
  have rules for technology levels, special maneuvers for 
  use with weapons, or the like. Th e Equipment Guide 
  is just an equipment locker; for other rules, see the 5th 
  Edition, Revised rulebook or the various books from 
  which this equipment was taken.
  
  FANTASY EQUIPMENT
  Chapter One
  
  6 ■ Fantasy Equipment
  Hero System 5th Edition
  WEAPONS
  E
  xcept in some martial arts-oriented cam-
  paigns, Fantasy combat usually involves 
  lots of weapons:  swords, axes, bows, dag-
  gers, and many, many more. This section 
  has expanded weapons lists, plus rules for build-
  ing and using weapons. You may also want to 
  refer to Chapter Two of this book, which has an 
  extensive list of Asian and martial arts weapons.
  WEAPONS TABLES
  Th e accompanying weapons tables — one 
  for HTH Combat weapons and one for Ranged 
  Combat weapons — provide HERO System statis-
  tics, write-ups, and notes for dozens of weapons 
  appropriate to Fantasy Hero and similar genres. Th e 
  tables are similar to those on pages 481-83 of the 
  HERO System 5th Edition, Revised rulebook; where 
  these tables diﬀ er from those in the rulebook, these 
  tables take precedence, at least for Fantasy games.
  FANTASY HERO HAND-TO-HAND WEAPONS TABLE
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  Damage STUNx STR Min BODY DEF 
  Mass A/R Cost Length Notes
  Axes
  Axe, Battle 
  0 
  2d6 
  0 
  13 
  6 
  4 
  1.6 
  45/15 
  M 
  1½H
  Axe, Francisca# 
  0 
  1½d6 
  0 
  12 
  5 
  4 
  1.2 
  44/16 
  M 
  Can Be Th rown
  Axe, Great 
  0 
  2d6+1 
  0 
  16 
  8 
  4 
  2.1 
  52/15 
  M 
  2H
  Axe, Hand (Hatchet)# 
  0 
  1d6 
  0 
  6 
  3 
  4 
  0.6 
  26/9 
  S 
  Can Be Th rown
  Axe, Small 
  0 
  1d6+1 
  0 
  8 
  4 
  4 
  0.9 
  30/11 
  M
  Hammers And Maces
  Hammer# 
  0 
  1d6 
  +1 
  10 
  5 
  4 
  1.3 
  26/9 
  M
  Hammer, Small# 
  0 
  1d6-1 
  +1 
  8 
  4 
  4 
  1.0 
  21/8 
  M 
  Hammer, War# 
  -1 
  1d6+1 
  +1 
  13 
  5 
  4 
  2.0 
  35/10 
  M 
  1½H
  Mace 
  0 
  1d6+1 
  0 
  10 
  5 
  5 
  1.5 
  30/11 
  M
  Mace, Great 
  0 
  2d6 
  0 
  15 
  6 
  5 
  2.0 
  45/13 
  M 
  2H
  Mace, Small 
  0 
  1d6 
  0 
  8 
  4 
  5 
  1.3 
  22/8 
  M
  Maul# 
  0 
  1½d6 
  +1 
  18 
  5 
  5 
  2.5 
  44/12 
  M 
  2H
  Picks
  Pick* 
  0 
  1d6 AP 
  0 
  11 
  4 
  5 
  1.3 
  30/11 
  M
  Pick, Great* 
  0 
  1½d6 AP 
  0 
  14 
  6 
  5 
  1.5 
  50/15 
  M 
  2H
  Pick, Military* 
  0 
  1d6+1 AP 
  0 
  13 
  5 
  5 
  1.4 
  40/13 
  M 
  1½H
  Pick, Small* 
  0 
  1d6-1 AP 
  0 
  8 
  4 
  5 
  1.0 
  24/9 
  M
  Clubs
  Baton/Shillelagh 
  0 
  3d6 N  
  — 
  8 
  4 
  3 
  1.2 
  22/7 
  M
  Club 
  0 
  4d6 N 
  — 
  10 
  5 
  3 
  1.5 
  30/9 
  M
  Club, Great 
  0 
  6d6 N 
  — 
  15 
  7 
  3 
  2.0 
  45/11 
  M 
  2H
  Club, War 
  0 
  5d6 N 
  — 
  12 
  6 
  3 
  1.8 
  37/11 
  M 
  1½H
  Stick 
  0 
  2d6 N 
  — 
  5 
  3 
  3 
  0.9 
  15/5 
  S
  Swords And Knives
  Cinquedea, Long 
  0 
  1d6+1 
  0 
  13 
  5 
  5 
  1.3 
  31/12 
  M
  Cinquedea, Short 
  0 
  1d6 
  0 
  11 
  5 
  5 
  1.2 
  23/9 
  M
  Dagger/Dirk# 
  0 
  1d6-1 
  0 
  6 
  3 
  5 
  0.8 
  21/8 
  S 
  Can Be Th rown
  Falchion 
  +1 
  1d6+1 
  0 
  14 
  4 
  5 
  1.5 
  35/13 
  M
  Knife# 
  0 
  ½d6 
  0 
  4 
  2 
  5 
  0.4 
  17/7 
  M 
  Can Be Th rown
  Main Gauche 
   
   
   
   
  3 
  5 
  0.8 
  Text 
  S 
  Text
  Blade 
  0 
  1d6-1 
  0 
  7
  Hilt 
  0 
  2d6 N 
  — 
  7
  Rapier 
  +1 
  1d6 
  0 
  10 
  5 
  5 
  1.0 
  27/10 
  M
  Scimitar/Tulwar 
  0 
  1d6+1 
  0 
  11 
  5 
  5 
  1.1 
  30/11 
  M
  Stiletto& 
  0 
  ½d6 AP 
  0 
  5 
  3 
  5 
  0.7 
  22/9 
  S 
  Can Be Th rown
  Sword, Bastard 
  0 
  1½d6 
  0 
  13 
  6 
  5 
  1.7 
  37/12 
  M 
  1½H
  Sword, Broad/Long 
  0 
  1d6+1 
  0 
  12 
  5 
  5 
  1.2 
  30/11 
  M
  Sword, Great 
  +1 
  2d6 
  0 
  17 
  7 
  5 
  3.5 
  50/15 
  M 
  2H
  Sword, Short 
  0 
  1d6 
  0 
  10 
  5 
  5 
  1.1 
  22/8 
  M
  
  7 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter One
  FANTASY HERO HAND-TO-HAND WEAPONS TABLE
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  Damage STUNx STR Min BODY DEF 
  Mass A/R Cost Length Notes
  Swords And Knives (cont’d)
  Sword, Small 
  0 
  1d6-1 
  0 
  8 
  3 
  5 
  0.9 
  18/6 
  M
  Polearms
  Awl Pike* 
  -1 
  1d6+1 AP 
  0 
  14 
  5 
  3 
  2.0 
  55/16 
  L2 
  2H, Set
  Glaive 
  0 
  2d6+1 
  0 
  16 
  6 
  3 
  2.1 
  59/17 
  L 
  2H, Set
  Guisarme 
  -1 
  2d6 
  0 
  16 
  6 
  3 
  2.1 
  52/13 
  L 
  2H, Set, Unhorse
  Halberd 
  0 
  2d6+1 
  0 
  17 
  6 
  4 
  2.3 
  59/17 
  L 
  2H, Set, Unhorse
  Javelin# 
  0 
  1d6+1  
  0 
  8 
  4 
  3 
  0.8 
  35/13 
  L 
  Can Be Th rown
  Military Fork 
  0 
  1½d6 RP 
  0 
  13 
  5 
  3 
  1.8 
  44/13 
  L 
  2H, Set
  Partisan 
  0 
  1d6+1 
  0 
  9 
  5 
  3 
  2.0 
  37/11 
  L 
  2H, Set
  Pike 
  -1 
  2d6+1 
  0 
  15 
  6 
  3 
  2.2 
  67/19 
  L2 
  2H, Set
  Pole Axe 
  -1 
  2d6 
  0 
  13 
  5 
  4 
  2.2 
  52/14 
  L 
  2H
  Ranseur 
  -1 
  2d6 
  0 
  13 
  5 
  3 
  2.0 
  52/14 
  L 
  2H, Set
  Spear, Long 
  -1 
  2d6 
  0 
  13 
  6 
  3 
  2.2 
  60/17 
  L2 
  2H, Set
  Spear, Medium# 
  0 
  1½d6 
  0 
  10 
  5 
  3 
  2.0 
  51/18 
  L 
  Set, Can Be Th rown
  Spear, Short# 
  0 
  1d6+1  
  0 
  8 
  4 
  3 
  1.7 
  35/13 
  L 
  Set, Can Be Th rown
  Trident# 
  -1 
  2d6 RP 
  0 
  13 
  5 
  4 
  1.5 
  59/17 
  L 
  Can Be Th rown
  Voulge 
  -1 
  2d6+1 
  0 
  15 
  4 
  3 
  1.0 
  59/15 
  L 
  2H, Set, Unhorse
  Flails
  Flail# 
  0 
  1d6 
  0 
  9 
  4 
  4 
  2.0 
  27/10 
  M 
  Flail
  Flail, Battle  
  0 
  2d6 
  0 
  18 
  5 
  4 
  2.2 
  56/15 
  M 
  2H, Flail
  Flail, Bladed 
  0 
  1d6+1 
  0 
  13 
  4 
  4 
  2.0 
  37/13 
  M 
  Flail
  Flail, Large 
  0 
  1½d6 
  0 
  16 
  5 
  4 
  2.3 
  46/15 
  M 
  Flail
  Flail, Military 
  -1 
  1½d6 
  0 
  15 
  4 
  4 
  2.0 
  46/13 
  M 
  1½H, Flail
  Flail, War# 
  0 
  1d6 
  +1 
  13 
  4 
  4 
  2.6 
  32/11 
  M 
  Flail
  Flail, War, Large# 
  0 
  1d6+1 
  +1 
  18 
  4 
  4 
  3.0 
  44/14 
  M 
  Flail
  Morningstar 
  0 
  1½d6 
  0 
  15 
  4 
  4 
  1.5 
  46/15 
  M 
  Flail
  Unusual Melee Weapons
  Lance, Light 
  0 
  1d6+1 
  0 
  10 † 
  6 
  3 
  4.0 
  48/13 
  L2 
  Only on horseback
  Lance, Medium 
  0 
  1½d6 
  0 
  13 † 
  7 
  3 
  6.0 
  52/15 
  L2 
  Only on horseback
  Lance, Heavy 
  0 
  2d6 
  0 
  15 † 
  9 
  3 
  8.0 
  60/16 
  L2 
  Only on horseback
  Quarterstaﬀ  
  +1 
  4d6 N 
  — 
  10 
  4 
  3 
  1.0 
  35/11 
  M 
  2H
  Whip 
  0 
  ½d6 
  0 
  5 † 
  2 
  2 
  0.3 
  Text 
  Text 
  3” Range, can Grab
  Adding Damage:
  #:  Add +1 DC of damage per full +6.25 points of STR used 
  above the STR Minimum.
  *:  Add +1 DC of damage per full +7.5 points of STR used 
  above the STR Minimum.
  &:  Add +1 DC of damage per full +8.75 points of STR used 
  above the STR Minimum.
  KEY
  1½H:  One-And-A-Half-Handed Weapon
  2H:  Two-Handed Weapon
  AP:  Armor Piercing
  Can Be Th rown:  Th e weapon has the Range Based On STR 
  (+¼) Advantage.
  E:  Energy damage
  Flail:  Can perform the Flail Combat Maneuver (Fantasy 
  Hero, page 169) (i.e., it has Indirect (+¼))
  N:  Normal Damage (all other weapons do Killing Damage), 
  bought as a Hand-To-Hand Attack (but to which characters 
  add damage only by exceeding the STR Minimum)
  No horse:  Characters cannot wield this weapon while 
  mounted (a -¼ Limitation)
  Only on horseback:  Characters can only wield this weapon 
  while mounted (a -½ Limitation)
  RP:  Reduced Penetration (-¼)
  Set:  Characters can use this weapon to perform the Set 
  Versus Charge Combat Maneuver (see Fantasy Hero, page 
  156)
  Text:  Refer to the text for information.
  Unhorse:  Characters can use this weapon to perform the 
  Unhorse Combat Maneuver (see Fantasy Hero, page 156)
  †:  STR Minimum Doesn’t Add To Damage
  All HTH Combat weapons are built as HKAs (or HAs) with 
  the Advantage Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) and the Limi-
  tations OAF (-1), Real Weapon (-¼), and Strength Minimum 
  (varies). Many also have the Required Hands Limitation.     
  OCV: Th is is applied as a bonus or penalty against all attacks 
  made with the weapon. OCV bonuses are bought as 5-point 
  Combat Skill Levels with the OAF, Required Hands, and Real 
  Weapon Limitations. OCV penalties are a minor Side Eﬀ ect 
  (automatically occurs; -½) for the weapon.
  STUNx: Th is is the STUN Multiplier for Killing Damage 
  weapons (a 0 means “no modiﬁ cation”; use the standard 1d6-
  1 STUN Multiplier). Apply the STUNx modiﬁ er to the STUN 
  Multiplier roll (or to the STUNx for the Hit Location struck, 
  if the campaign uses Hit Location rules). For example, if a 
  character with a War Flail (STUNx +1) hit an opponent in the 
  Head, the total STUNx would be 6.
  STR Min: STR Minimum. See pages 478-79 of the HERO 
  System 5th Edition, Revised for rules. Remember to apply the 
  rules in Adding Damage, page 9, when using STR to increase 
  the damage of a weapon bought with Advantages.
  BODY:  Th e weapon’s BODY.
  DEF:  Th e weapon’s DEF.
  Mass:  Th e weight of the weapon in kilograms.
  A/R Cost:  Th e Active Point/Real Point cost of the weapon.
  Length:  Th e weapon’s length — Short, Medium, or Long. L2 
  indicates a weapon with 2” Stretching that a character can use 
  to strike from the second rank. See page 23 for more informa-
  tion on weapon lengths.
  Notes: Th is catch-all category includes any information not 
  listed elsewhere.
  
  8 ■ Fantasy Equipment
  Hero System 5th Edition
  FANTASY HERO RANGED WEAPONS TABLE
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Damage 
  STUNx 
  STR Min BODY 
  DEF 
  Mass 
  Shots Max Range A/R Cost Notes
  Bows
  Bow, Very Light 
  0 
  0 
  1d6-1 
  0 
  5 † 
  2 
  3 
  0.9 
  10 RC 
  75” 
  15/4 
  2H, Conc
  Bow, Light 
  0 
  0 
  1d6 
  0 
  8 † 
  2 
  3 
  1.0 
  10 RC 
  95” 
  19/4 
  2H, Conc
  Bow, Medium 
  0 
  0 
  1d6+1 
  0 
  9 † 
  2 
  3 
  1.0 
  10 RC 
  125” 
  25/6 
  2H, Conc
  Bow, Heavy 
  0 
  0 
  1½d6 
  0 
  10 † 
  2 
  3 
  1.1 
  10 RC 
  155” 
  31/7 
  2H, Conc
  Bow, Very Heavy 
  0 
  0 
  2d6 
  0 
  13 † 
  2 
  3 
  1.2 
  10 RC 
  185” 
  37/9 
  2H, Conc
  Longbow, Light 
  0 
  +1 
  1d6+1 
  0 
  10 † 
  3 
  3 
  1.1 
  10 RC 
  140” 
  28/6 
  2H, Conc, no horse
  Longbow, Medium 
  0 
  +1 
  1½d6 
  0 
  12 † 
  3 
  3 
  1.2 
  10 RC 
  170” 
  34/8 
  2H, Conc, no horse
  Longbow, Heavy 
  0 
  +1 
  2d6 
  0 
  15 † 
  3 
  3 
  1.3 
  10 RC 
  200” 
  40/9 
  2H, Conc, no horse
  Longbow, Very Heavy 0 
  +1 
  2d6+1 
  0 
  18 † 
  3 
  3 
  1.4 
  10 RC 
  235” 
  47/10 
  2H, Conc, no horse
  Crossbows
  Crossbow, Light 
  0 
  +1 
  1d6+1 
  0 
  12 † 
  4 
  4 
  1.6 
  10 RC 
  140” 
  28/6 
  2H, Conc, ‡1
  Crossbow, Heavy 
  0 
  +1 
  1½d6 
  0 
  14 † 
  5 
  4 
  6.4 
  10 RC 
  170” 
  34/7 
  2H, Conc, ‡1
  Arbalest 
  0 
  +2 
  2d6 
  0 
  16 † 
  6 
  4 
  8.0 
  4 RC 
  150” 
  36/8 
  2H, Conc, ‡2
  Slings
  Sling 
  0 
  -1 
  1d6+1 
  +1 
  8 † 
  2 
  2 
  0.3 
  10 RC 
  150” 
  30/6 
  2H, Conc
  Sling, Small 
  0 
  -1 
  1d6-1 
  +1 
  6 † 
  1 
  2 
  0.1 
  10 RC 
  90” 
  18/4 
  2H, Conc
  Staﬀ  Sling (Fustibal) 
  0 
  0 
  1½d6 
  +1 
  10 † 
  3 
  2 
  0.4 
  10 RC 
  185” 
  37/9 
  2H, Conc
  Thrown Weapons
  Shuriken/Darts 
  0 
  0 
  ½d6 
  0 
  5 
  1 
  5 
  0.4 
  9 RC 
  RBS 
  12/4
  Th rowing Club 
  0 
  0 
  3d6 N 
  —  
  8 
  3 
  3 
  0.4 
  Text 
  RBS 
  Text
  Th rowing Knife 
  0 
  0 
  1d6 
  0 
  7 
  2 
  5 
  0.5 
  4 RC 
  RBS 
  15/4
  Gunpowder Weapons
  Handcannon, Small 
  0 
  -6 
  1d6 AP* 
  0 
  13 † 
  3 
  5 
  2.0 
  6 
  110” 
  22/3 
  Act 8-, Conc, ‡T, 2H
  Handcannon, Large 
  0 
  -4 
  1½d6 AP* 
  0 
  14 † 
  5 
  5 
  2.6 
  6 
  185” 
  37/5 
  Act 9-, Conc, ‡T, 2H
  Matchlock Riﬂ e 
  0 
  -3 
  1½d6 AP* 
  0 
  13 † 
  5 
  3 
  1.6 
  6 
  185” 
  37/5 
  Act 11-, Conc, ‡T, 2H
  Matchlock Pistol 
  0 
  -4 
  1d6 AP* 
  0 
  12 † 
  4 
  3 
  1.0 
  6 
  110” 
  22/3 
  Act 11-, Conc, ‡T
  Wheellock Riﬂ e 
  0 
  -3 
  1½d6 AP* 
  0 
  12 † 
  5 
  3 
  1.5 
  6 
  185” 
  37/5 
  Act 12-, Conc, ‡T, 2H
  Wheellock Pistol 
  0 
  -4 
  1d6 AP* 
  0 
  11 † 
  4 
  3 
  1.0 
  6 
  110” 
  22/3 
  Act 12-, Conc, ‡T
  Other Weapons
  Blowgun 
  0 
  0 
  1 point 
  -1 
  2 † 
  2 
  2 
  0.1 
  10 RC 
  30” 
  6/1 
  2H, Conc, ‡
  KEY
  2H:  Two-Handed Weapon
  Act:  Activation Roll
  AP*:  Th e weapon has a naked Advantage, Armor 
  Piercing, with the Limitations OAF, Real Weapon, 
  Required Hands, Concentration, Extra Time, and 
  Only Works Against Low-Tech Armors (-¼)
  Conc:  Concentration (½ DCV “throughout” the 
  loading and/or ﬁ ring process, see text; -½)
  N:  Normal Damage (all other weapons do Killing 
  Damage)
  No horse:  Characters cannot ﬁ re this weapon 
  while mounted (a -¼ Limitation)
  RBS:  Range Based On STR
  RC:  Recoverable Charge
  †:  STR Minimum Doesn’t Add Damage
  ‡:  Extra Time (Full Phase to use; -½)
  ‡1:  Extra Time (1 Phase to reload between 
  shots; -¾)
  ‡2:  Extra Time (2 Phases to reload between 
  shots; -¾)
  ‡T:  Extra Time (1 Turn; -1¼)
  Ranged weapons are built as RKAs with some or 
  all of the following Limitations:  Focus (OAF; -1), 
  STR Minimum, Required Hands, Real Weapon, 
  Beam, and Charges (indicating the number of 
  rounds of ammunition the average user carries).
  OCV: Th is is applied as a bonus or penalty against 
  all attacks made with the weapon; see the Hand-
  To-Hand Weapons Table for more information.
  RMod: Th is represents a modiﬁ er to the weapon’s 
  accuracy at Range. Positive values (bought as 3-
  point Penalty Skill Levels versus the Range Group 
  with the Focus and Required Hands Limitations) 
  help to oﬀ set the standard Range Modiﬁ er; nega-
  tive values (a minor Side Eﬀ ect (automatically 
  occurs; -½)) add to it. RMod can never raise a 
  character’s base OCV, it can only negate penalties.
  STUNx: Th is is the STUN Multiplier for Killing 
  Damage weapons (a 0 means “no modiﬁ cation”; 
  use the standard 1d6-1 STUN Multiplier). Apply 
  the STUNx modiﬁ er to the STUN Multiplier roll 
  (or to the STUNx for the Hit Location struck, 
  if the campaign uses Hit Location rules). For 
  example, if a character with a Sling (STUNx +1) 
  hit an opponent in the Head, the total STUNx 
  would be 6.
  STR Min: STR Minimum. See pages 478-79 of the 
  HERO System 5th Edition, Revised for rules. Most 
  muscle-powered ranged weapons do not allow 
  characters to add damage from STR; for such 
  weapons, the STR Minimum indicates the STR 
  needed to hold, draw, and/or cock the weapon.
  BODY:  Th e weapon’s BODY.
  DEF:  Th e weapon’s DEF.
  Mass:  Th e weight of the weapon in kilograms.
  Shots:  Th e standard amount of ammunition car-
  ried by a user of the weapon. Typically a character 
  can only ﬁ re/throw/shoot one round of ammu-
  nition in a Phase; thereaft er he must reload his 
  weapon (or ready a new one). Reloading/readying 
  may or may not take time; see the text.
  Max Range:  Th e weapon’s maximum Range in 
  game inches (hexes). Of course, its eﬀ ective range 
  — the range over which it’s likely to hit a target 
  — is much less, thanks to the Range Modiﬁ er.
  A/R Cost:  Th e Active Point/Real Point cost of the 
  weapon.
  Notes: Th is catch-all category includes any infor-
  mation not listed elsewhere.
  
  9 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter One
  Explanation Of Hand-To-Hand 
  Weapons Table
  Most melee weapons are well-known to the 
  average gamer and require no explanation. Th e text 
  below provides information on some of the more 
  obscure or unusual ones, as well as other useful 
  data. Readers interested in learning more should 
  consult some of the books in the non-ﬁ ction sec-
  tion of the Bibliography.
  ADDING DAMAGE
  Th e table explains how to calculate the amount 
  of damage a character can add to a weapon with 
  STR. For most weapons, which have no Advantages, 
  each full +5 STR used with a weapon above that 
  weapon’s STR Minimum adds +1 Damage Class. 
  (Note that this doesn’t include the Reduced Endur-
  ance (0 END) Advantage applied to every weapon; 
  do not consider that when calculating damage 
  added by STR.)
  For weapons marked with a pound sign (#), 
  which have a +¼ Advantage, each full +6.25 STR 
  used with a weapon above that weapon’s STR Mini-
  mum adds +1 Damage Class. 
  For weapons marked with an asterisk (*), 
  which have +½ worth of Advantages, each full +7.5 
  STR used with a weapon above that weapon’s STR 
  Minimum adds +1 Damage Class. 
  For weapons marked with an ampersand (&), 
  which have +¾ worth of Advantages, each full 
  +8.75 STR used with a weapon above that weapon’s 
  STR Minimum adds +1 Damage Class.
  Note that a character must use the full amount of 
  STR listed to increase a weapon by +1 Damage Class. 
  Do not round the listed STR amounts down. Charac-
  ters cannot add “half a Damage Class.” For example, 
  a 16 STR character wielding a Longsword (STR 
  Minimum 12) does not get to add a Damage Class 
  from STR, because he can’t use a full +5 points of STR 
  above the weapon’s STR Minimum. Similarly, a char-
  acter wielding an awl pike (with STR Minimum 14 
  and the Advantage Armor Piercing) must use STR 21.5 
  (or, in eﬀ ect, 22) to add +1 DC — just having STR 21 
  is not suﬃ  cient, because it’s not a full 7.5 points above 
  the weapon’s STR Minimum.
  For Normal Damage weapons, built with 
  Hand-To-Hand Attack, characters only add damage 
  if their STR exceeds the STR Minimum. Th ey do 
  not add the dice directly to their STR damage dice, 
  as they would for abilities built with HA.
  WEAPON DESCRIPTIONS
  This section provides descriptions of weap-
  ons which require them. Weapons that need no 
  description (such as most swords and daggers) 
  are not described.
  Axes
  Axes consist of a wooden handle with a heavy 
  chopping blade at one end. Characters can wield 
  most of them eﬀ ectively in one hand, though the 
  battle axe works better in two hands, and the great 
  axe requires two. Th e francisca and hand axe are 
  both weighted for throwing.
  Hammers And Maces
  Hammers and mauls are simple weapons — a 
  metal or wooden haft  with a blunt mass of metal on 
  the end. Sometimes the “hitting end” is spherical, at 
  other times it’s shaped more like a hammer used to 
  drive nails. Th e war hammer, which is of the latter 
  type, also has a short blade projecting from the 
  back of the hammer, with which the wielder can 
  more easily pierce armor if necessary. Th anks to 
  their heavy impact, hammers have a +1 Increased 
  STUN Multiplier.
  Maces are similar to hammers, but more pow-
  erful. In place of a single mass of metal they usu-
  ally have four to six metal ﬂ anges, or sometimes a 
  spiked ball. Th is gives it greater hitting and armor-
  penetrating power than a hammer.
   Picks
  Similar to axes, picks are metal- or wooden-
  haft ed weapons with a single blade that looks some-
  thing like a dagger or sword-point projecting from 
  one end. Some versions are picturesquely known as 
  “crow’s bills” because of this. Th e heavy, sharp head 
  and force of the swing provide excellent armor-pen-
  etrating power (i.e., the Armor Piercing Advantage).
  Clubs
  Clubs are heavy wooden weapons, the rela-
  tively primitive precursors to hammers and maces. 
  Th ey range from batons and shillelaghs easily 
  wielded in one hand, to the two-handed great clubs 
  favored by ogres and their ilk.
  If necessary, the GM can use the statistics for 
  clubs for various “impromptu” weapons characters 
  acquire. For example, if a character in a barﬁ ght 
  uses a stool to smash someone, the GM could con-
  sider that the equivalent of a Club (perhaps with -1 
  OCV because it’s an awkward object not designed 
  as a weapon).
  Swords And Knives
  Th e most common and signiﬁ cant weapons 
  in the Fantasy genre are swords, daggers, and other 
  bladed weapons. Most are so well-known that 
  they need no explanation. Th ey come in literally 
  thousands of varieties, with many diﬀ erent lengths, 
  blade widths, curvatures, point styles, and preferred 
  methods of use. If you don’t ﬁ nd a speciﬁ c type of 
  sword listed, adapt the nearest equivalent weapon 
  on the table and use its statistics. For example, if 
  you want your character to carry a large kukri knife, 
  you might use the write-up for the Short Sword.
  Th e cinquedea is an Italian weapon from the 
  early 1500s; its name means “ﬁ ve ﬁ ngers,” the blade’s 
  width at the hilt. It comes in both short sword and 
  broadsword lengths. Although a little heavier than 
  comparative blades, it’s also a little sturdier; if you’re 
  using the weapon breakage rules (page Fantasy 
  Hero, page 189), give both versions +1 BODY (this 
  costs +1 Character Point; see page 22).
  Th e falchion comes in two varieties:  a heavy 
  chopper-like blade that’s wider near the tip than at the 
  hilt; and a more narrow version, equally wide through 
  its length, with a slight backwards curve and a clipped 
  point. Although not much longer than a short sword, 
  it has excellent slashing and stabbing power.
  WEAPON 
  PENALTIES
  As noted in the weapon 
  tables, inherent penal-
  ties to OCV and/or 
  the Range Modiﬁ er are 
  built into weapons as a 
  Side Eﬀ ect:  a minor or 
  trivial eﬀ ect that auto-
  matically occurs (and 
  thus worth a -½ Limita-
  tion). Until the penal-
  ties on a weapon reach 
  the 30 Active Point 
  level (which is highly 
  unlikely to ever occur), 
  the Side Eﬀ ect remains 
  at this value. Even if a 
  weapon has both OCV 
  and RMod penalties, 
  it takes only one Side 
  Eﬀ ect until the penalties 
  exceed 30 points.
  
  10 ■ Fantasy Equipment
  Hero System 5th Edition
  Th e main gauche is a fencing dagger. It has 
  a heavy hand-guard (6 DEF on the hand holding 
  it) and extra-long quillons. It is especially good at, 
  and so receives an extra +2 OCV for, maneuvers 
  with the Bind, Block, Disarm, and Takeaway (Grab 
  Weapon) maneuver elements.
  Cost Power
  6 
  Main Gauche:  Multipower, 18-point 
  reserve; all OAF (-1), STR Minimum 
  (7; -½), Real Weapon (-¼)
  1u 
  1) Blade:  HKA 1d6-1 (plus STR), Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½); OAF (-1), 
  STR Minimum (7; -½), Real Weapon (-¼)
  1u 
  2) Hilt:  HA +2d6 , Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½); OAF (-1), Hand-To-Hand 
  Attack (-½), STR Minimum (7; -½), Real 
  Weapon (-¼)
  4 
  Hand Armor:  Armor (6 PD/6 ED); OAF 
  (-1), Only Protects Th e Hand Used To 
  Grasp It (-2)
  4 
  Skillful Weapon:  +2 with Block, Bind, 
  Disarm, and Takeaway; OAF (-1), Only 
  Applies To Th e Four Listed Maneuvers (-½)
  Total cost:  16 points.
  Th e rapier is a long, narrow stabbing sword, a 
  fencing weapon popular with “swashbuckler” type 
  warriors and other light ﬁ ghters. Fast and relatively 
  light, it oft en has and elaborately-shaped and deco-
  rated hilt, guards, and other furniture.
  Th e scimitar (or shamshir) is a curved Middle 
  Eastern sword meant for slashing (particularly 
  from horseback). Th e tulwar is an Indian version 
  of the same weapon. Some tulwars are heavy and 
  thick-bladed; increase their BODY by +1 and their 
  STR Minimum to 12.
  A bastard sword is somewhat longer and 
  heavier than a longsword, with a longer hilt as well. 
  A swordsman can wield it one-handed, but for best 
  eﬀ ect uses two.
  Broadsword, or longsword, typically refers to 
  straight-bladed, double-edged swords of the type 
  popular in Europe and depicted in countless Fan-
  tasy illustrations. Most had blades from 61 to 90 cm 
  (25-35 inches) long; a few had only a single edge or 
  other variations.
  A greatsword, or two-handed sword, is the 
  largest sword of all. Requiring two hands to 
  wield, it usually has a dull ricasso (the part of the 
  blade right above the guard) so the fighter can 
  grasp it either entirely by the hilt, or with one 
  hand on the hilt and the other on the ricasso. In 
  the latter mode, it could be used almost like a 
  short staff, giving it a great deal of offensive flex-
  ibility — in addition to making broad, sweeping 
  strokes if necessary, the wielder could stab, jab, 
  block, trip, or even smash his opponent with the 
  pommel. Examples include two-handed Scottish 
  claymores, the German zweihander, and many 
  similar blades.
  Short swords are similar to longswords, but 
  have shorter blades — typically from 40 to 60 cm 
  (15-24 inches) long. Examples include the Roman 
  gladius, the Greek/Iberian kopis/falcata, and some 
  Celtic and Greek leaf-bladed swords.
  A smallsword is a short dueling weapon fash-
  ionable among European gentlemen of the sev-
  enteenth and eighteenth centuries; it’s sort of the 
  “short sword version” of a rapier. It would make a 
  good weapon for light ﬁ ghters and in “swashbuck-
  ling” campaigns.
  
  11 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter One
  Polearms
  Polearms are various weapons with long (up to 
  2-3 meters) wooden shaft s tipped by various blades 
  and points. Th e diﬀ erences between them are oft en 
  minor, based on the shape, nature, and number of 
  blades, axe-heads, spikes, barbs, and spear-points 
  attached to the “business end” of the weapon. Th e 
  most popular polearm, and in fact one of the most 
  popular weapons of all, is the spear, which unlike 
  most polearms can usually be thrown.
  See page 23 for more information on the use 
  of Long weapons.
  Flails
  A ﬂ ail has three parts:  a metal or wooden haft , 
  two or more chains attached to one end of the haft ; 
  and metal balls or weights attached to the end of 
  the chains. Th e diﬀ erences between various types of 
  ﬂ ails depend mainly on the number and length of 
  the chains and what’s attached to them. One well-
  known type, the morningstar, has a single chain 
  with a large, spiked metal ball on the end.
  Th e beneﬁ t to ﬂ ails is not only that the chain-
  and-weight arrangement allows the wielder to 
  obtain extra momentum and power for strikes, 
  but that the chain can arc around a shield to hit 
  the target behind it. To use this Flail Maneuver, 
  the wielder takes a -1 penalty to his OCV, but may 
  then ignore the target’s DCV bonus from a shield 
  (the target still gets the beneﬁ ts of any Combat 
  Skill Levels he has assigned to DCV). Th e OCV 
  penalty eﬀ ectively makes the Flail Maneuver point-
  less against a small shield (which only provides +1 
  DCV), but the maneuver becomes quite eﬀ ective 
  against larger shields.
  Th e ability to perform the Flail maneuver is 
  bought as a naked Advantage:  Indirect (+¼) for the 
  Active Points in the ﬂ ail, with the Limitations OAF 
  (-1), Required Hands (varies), Real Weapon (-¼), 
  and Side Eﬀ ects (-1 OCV, always occurs; -½).
  Unusual Weapons
  Th e lance is a large, heavy, spear-like weapon 
  with a long wooden shaft  and a large double-edged 
  blade on the end. It’s designed for use on horseback 
  (in fact, only mounted persons can use it, a -½ 
  Limitation). It requires WF: Lance, which encom-
  passes all forms of the weapon. With the force of 
  a charging horse behind it, the lance is a powerful 
  weapon indeed!
  Th e quarterstaﬀ   is a thick cylindrical piece 
  of wood about ﬁ ve to six feet long. It requires two 
  hands (and WF: Staﬀ s) to wield, but can strike 
  lightning-fast ﬂ urries of blows (a form of Sweep). 
  Furthermore, a character who loses or breaks his 
  staﬀ  can easily make another one out of an appro-
  priate sapling or branch.
  Th e whip is a long, braided length of leather, 
  sometimes studded with bits of metal and having a 
  metal tip. By ﬂ icking it forcefully at a target within 
  3”, the wielder can inﬂ ict painful wounds and welts. 
  Wielders can also use it to grab objects, or even swing 
  across small gaps. It does relatively little damage to 
  armored foes (in fact, it has the Reduced Penetration 
  Limitation), but against exposed ﬂ esh is a vicious 
  weapon (one oft en favored by Evil characters).
  Cost Power
  7 
  Whip:  Multipower, 15-point reserve; 
  all OAF (-1)
  1u 
  1)  Whip Slash:  RKA ½d6; OAF (-1), Limited 
  Range (3”; -¼), Reduced Penetration (-¼), 
  Real Weapon (-¼), Strength Minimum (5; STR 
  Minimum Doesn’t Add To Damage; -¾)
  1u 
  2)  Whip Grab:  Stretching 3”; OAF (-1), 
  Always Direct (-¼), No Noncombat Stretching 
  (-¼), Cannot Do Damage (-½)
  Total cost:  9 points.
  Explanation Of Ranged 
  Weapons Table
  Th e following sections discuss the use of vari-
  ous Ranged weapons. You should also check the 
  Combat Maneuvers section for any other relevant 
  information (such as regarding Rapid Fire, which 
  as a campaign default doesn’t apply to most Ranged 
  weapons in Fantasy Hero games).
  CHARGES
  Th e number of Charges listed for each weapon 
  reﬂ ect the number of arrows (or the like) easily 
  carried, the number commonly issued to soldiers, 
  the standard unit packaged for sale, or similar 
  considerations. Since characters in a Heroic-level 
  game like Fantasy Hero don’t pay Character Points 
  for their weapons, the number of Charges doesn’t 
  really matter too much; an archer with enough 
  money can buy and carry 50 arrows if he wants 
  — he’s not restricted to 10 simply because that’s 
  what the table says.
  RANGED WEAPONS AND FOCUS
  Bows, crossbows, and slings are all OAFs, but 
  they use the multiple Focus rules on page 295 of 
  the HERO System 5th Edition, Revised rulebook 
  because they require two objects to work:  the pro-
  jecting device (bow, crossbow, sling); and the pro-
  jectile (arrow, bolt, sling stone). Th ey do not receive 
  any extra Limitation for this.
  Because the component Foci are separate, 
  characters can aﬀ ect them separately. It’s possible, 
  for example, to ﬁ re an enchanted arrow with a 
  mundane bow, or a normal arrow with a magic 
  bow... or to have a magic bow and magic arrows 
  whose mystic eﬀ ects add together. (See Fantasy 
  Hero, pages 285-86.) Similarly, if you apply an 
  Advantage to the attack (such as Armor Piercing to 
  reﬂ ect particularly sharp arrows), it only aﬀ ects one 
  part (the arrow/bolt), even though it applies to the 
  overall attack. Th ere’s no such thing as an “armor-
  piercing bow” that makes every arrow it ﬁ res 
  Armor Piercing; eﬀ ects like that generally depend 
  on the ammunition used, not the ﬁ ring mechanism.
  A more complex, but more technically “cor-
  rect,” way to build a bow or crossbow is as two 
  diﬀ erent Foci, each providing a diﬀ erent ability:  
  the arrow/bolt (an HKA) and the bow/crossbow 
  (a naked Ranged Advantage allowing the user to 
  use the arrow/bolt against targets at range, plus 
  bonus HKA dice for “heavier” bows to increase the 
  
  12 ■ Fantasy Equipment
  Hero System 5th Edition
  damage the arrow/bolt does). Th e naked Ranged 
  Advantage would have to be bought to cover 
  enough Active Points to deal with armor-piercing 
  arrows and the like.
  Similarly, you could deﬁ ne a sling as a bullet/
  stone (an object with deﬁ ned DEF+BODY that a 
  character can throw with his STR) plus the sling 
  itself (extra STR, only to increase throwing damage 
  and distance). Again, that’s far more complex than 
  necessary for most game purposes.
  BOWS
  Bows are curved lengths of wood (and/or 
  other materials) that use tensile strength to ﬁ re 
  arrows (long shaft s of wood with a sharp stone or 
  metal arrowhead on the front, and feathers or other 
  materials on the back to provide balance, stability, 
  and accuracy in ﬂ ight). A bowstring connects the 
  two ends of the bowshaft , and the archer nocks an 
  arrow to the string, draws it back (bending the bow 
  in the process), and then releases it. Th e bowshaft , 
  as it returns to its normal “shape,” propels the arrow 
  toward the target with great force.
  Th e stiﬀ er (stronger) the material(s) used to 
  make the bow, the more strength the archer needs 
  to draw it into ﬁ ring position, and the greater force 
  the bow ﬁ res the arrow with (and hence the more 
  damage it does). Th e weapon’s STR Minimum 
  reﬂ ects this; a weak man lacks the muscles to use 
  the heavier bows eﬀ ectively. An archer cannot 
  increase the damage his bow does by having more 
  STR than the STR Minimum.
  Bows come in numerous shapes, including 
  curved, recurved, double-curved, asymmetric, and 
  B-shaped. Th e simplest are made just of wood, but 
  more advanced versions (“composite” or “com-
  pound” bows) are made of two or more materi-
  als (typically wood [in one or more layers], horn, 
  bone, and sinew). Composite bows are sturdier and 
  stronger than simple bows; at the GM’s option, they 
  add +10” to a weapon’s maximum range.
  Archers normally carry their bows unstrung, 
  since keeping a bow strung for a long time stretches 
  and weakens the string. Stringing a bow requires 
  a Full Phase Action, though a character with Fast 
  Draw (Bows) can reduce this to a Half Phase 
  Action if he succeeds with a roll. At the GM’s 
  option, for each full hour a character keeps a bow 
  strung, reduce the damage it does by 1 point (-1 
  point aft er one hour, -2 points aft er two hours, and 
  so forth until damage reaches 0 and the bowstring 
  becomes useless).
  Firing A Bow
  Loading a bow — drawing an arrow (from a 
  quiver or other container) and nocking it to the 
  string — requires a Half Phase Action (unless the 
  character succeeds with a Fast Draw (Bows) roll, in 
  which case it becomes a Zero-Phase Action). Firing 
  a bow — pulling the string back, aiming quickly, 
  and releasing the arrow — is an Attack Action.
  If a character has (and uses) 5 or more points 
  of STR above the STR Minimum of a bow, he may 
  load and ﬁ re a bow as an Attack Action (without 
  the need for a Fast Draw roll) if he accepts a -2 
  OCV penalty for rushing. Th is allows him to move 
  and then ﬁ re his bow, but does not eliminate the 
  half DCV penalty described below. Fast Draw 
  cannot reduce the time required for this.
  Firing an arrow accurately requires an archer 
  to stand still and focus on what he’s doing. Th is 
  halves his DCV until his next Phase. (In game 
  terms, bows have the Limitation Concentration (½ 
  DCV; -¼).) At the GM’s option, a character who 
  has the capacity to move (i.e., who’s not using up 
  his entire Phase loading, pulling, and ﬁ ring his 
  bow) may ﬁ re his bow defensively. Th is eliminates 
  the half DCV modiﬁ er, but imposes a -4 OCV 
  penalty on his arrow shot (reﬂ ecting the fact that 
  he’s dodging around and not fully concentrating on 
  accurate archery).
  At the GM’s option, an archer can use the 
  Rapid Fire Combat Maneuver with a bow to ﬁ re 
  a maximum of two shots. Normal rules for Rapid 
  Fire apply (but remember that a character’s DCV 
  can only be halved once, and it’s already halved due 
  to the bow’s Concentration Limitation). Th e GM 
  may impose restrictions on this ability, such as only 
  allowing characters with the Rapid Archery Talent 
  to use it.
  Characters can use normal bows (sometimes 
  called shortbows) from horseback without dif-
  ﬁ culty. Longbows, on the other hand, are too large 
  for mounted archers to use; they take a -¼ Limita-
  tion to reﬂ ect this. Firing from horseback incurs 
  the normal -2 OCV penalty (see HERO System 5th 
  Edition, Revised page 369), though characters may 
  buy the Mounted Warrior (Ranged) Talent (Fantasy 
  Hero, page 106) to counteract this.
  CROSSBOWS
  Th e crossbow, a more technologically 
  advanced weapon than the bow, consists of a riﬂ e-
  like stock with a bow mounted horizontally on 
  the front. Th e bow is made of wood, composite 
  materials, or even steel; it’s thick and strong, and its 
  string likewise, allowing for high tension and thus 
  excellent range and penetration capabilities. Th e 
  crossbowman ﬁ res it from the shoulder, similar to a 
  modern riﬂ e, making it quite accurate. An arbalest 
  is a large, heavy crossbow requiring a mechanical 
  wheel-crank or like mechanism to pull because of 
  its extremely high tension.
  A crossbow ﬁ res a missile called a bolt, or 
  sometimes a quarrel. Bolts are similar to arrows, 
  though usually shorter and oft en a bit thicker of 
  shaft . Some hunting crossbows ﬁ re small pellets 
  instead (these typically do ½d6 Killing Damage).
  A crossbow is always strung, but it’s nor-
  mally not carried already drawn and loaded with 
  a bolt — it’s too easy for the bolt to fall out of the 
  groove that holds it in place, or for the weapon 
  to discharge accidentally. (Carrying a crossbow 
  readied for long periods of time can also warp the 
  weapon, ruining its accuracy; permanently reduce 
  its RMod by -1 for every hour it’s carried loaded.) 
  If a character carries a loaded crossbow, the GM 
  should have him make a DEX Roll whenever he 
  experiences any unusual or drastic physical action, 
  including moving at Noncombat speeds, trying to 
  ARMOR 
  PIERCING AND 
  BLUNT ARROWS
  Some arrows are built 
  with sharp, chisel- or 
  needle-like points so 
  that they penetrate 
  armor more easily. In 
  HERO System terms, 
  they have the Armor 
  Piercing Advantage.
  If you want to ﬁ gure 
  the Active and Real 
  Point cost of a bow with 
  armor piercing arrows, 
  you can simply apply 
  Armor Piercing to the 
  weapon as a whole. For 
  example, a Medium 
  Longbow with armor 
  piercing arrows would 
  cost 47 Active Points, 
  11 Real Points. If you 
  want to derive the cost 
  diﬀ erence for the armor 
  piercing arrows, just 
  subtract the Active and 
  Real Point costs listed 
  in the Ranged Weapons 
  Table from these num-
  bers (thus, the arrows 
  alone “cost” 14 Active 
  Points, 3 Real Points).
  On the other hand, 
  some arrows have 
  blunted heads so they’re 
  less likely to cause seri-
  ous injury. In HERO 
  System terms, these do 
  the same number of 
  DCs of Normal Damage 
  as the arrow normally 
  does of Killing Damage; 
  the Character Point cost 
  is typically identical.
  However, since in 
  Heroic genres char-
  acters buy equipment 
  with money rather than 
  Character Points, what 
  really matters is not the 
  diﬀ erence in points, but 
  the diﬀ erence in cost. 
  Th at way a character 
  could, for example, 
  buy a quiver of normal 
  arrows, but then pay 
  extra for three armor 
  piercing arrows to use 
  in emergencies. See 
  Fantasy Hero, page 144 
  for a suggested price for 
  armor piercing, blunt, 
  and regular arrows.
  
  13 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter One
  mount a horse, getting hit by an attack, making an 
  attack with another weapon, Dodging, Blocking, or 
  falling. Th e roll has a penalty of -0 to -5, depending 
  on how drastic and violent the action is. If the roll 
  succeeds, the crossbow remains loaded and ready 
  to ﬁ re. If the roll fails by 1-3, the bolt falls out, but 
  the crossbow remains cocked. If the roll fails by 4 
  or more, the crossbow discharges; if necessary, have 
  the character make a roll at 0 OCV to see if he hit 
  anyone in front of the weapon.
  Firing A Crossbow
  Loading a crossbow — pulling back and 
  cocking the bowstring, and then putting a bolt 
  in the groove in front of it — requires a Full 
  Phase, or two Full Phases for an arbalest (the 
  weapon has the Extra Time Limitation to reflect 
  this). A crossbow’s STR 
  Minimum represents the 
  STR needed to pull the 
  string back. This involves 
  putting the crossbow on 
  the ground bow-first, 
  holding it in place with 
  one foot, and drawing 
  the string up with the 
  hands. If a character 
  has a mechanical aid 
  (belt-and-claw, goat’s-
  foot lever, cranequin, 
  or the like), reduce the 
  STR needed to ready the 
  crossbow by 3. (Arbalests 
  require mechanical aids, 
  and do not benefit from 
  this rule; the STR Mini-
  mum represents the STR 
  needed to operate the 
  mechanism quickly and 
  use the heavy weapon 
  properly.) A character 
  can fire a loaded cross-
  bow properly with a STR 
  3 less than the listed STR 
  Minimum.
  While drawing and 
  loading a crossbow, a 
  character is at half DCV. 
  However, this penalty does 
  not apply to a character 
  ﬁ ring a loaded crossbow. 
  Th is is simulated with the 
  Concentration Limitation 
  (½ DCV, but reduced by 
  ¼ because the penalty 
  doesn’t apply once the 
  weapon is loaded; -0).
  At the GM’s option, if 
  a character has (and uses) 
  5 STR more than the STR 
  Minimum of a crossbow, 
  he may load it as a Half 
  Phase Action if he suc-
  ceeds with a DEX Roll 
  (if the roll fails, he has 
  wasted a Half Phase). Th is also eliminates the half 
  DCV penalty described above. A character with 
  Fast Draw (Crossbows) who succeeds with a roll 
  can load a crossbow as a Half Phase Action with no 
  DCV penalty, but must have a STR of at least the 
  STR Minimum -5 to do so (or STR Minimum -8 
  if he has a cocking mechanism). (For an arbalest, a 
  successful Fast Draw (Crossbows) roll lets a char-
  acter load it as a Full Phase Action, but does not 
  eliminate the DCV penalty.)
  Firing a loaded crossbow requires an Attack 
  Action. Characters cannot Rapid Fire crossbows. 
  Characters can ﬁ re crossbows from horseback (at 
  the usual -2 OCV penalty), but cannot draw and 
  load them while mounted.
  RANGED ATTACKS QUICK REFERENCE TABLE
   
  Time
  Action 
  Required 
  OCV* 
  DCV
  Bow, ﬁ ring normally 
  Full Phase 
  — 
  ½
       Drawing/nocking arrow 
  Half Phase 
  — 
  ½
       Pulling/ﬁ ring arrow 
  Attack Action 
  — 
  ½
  Bow, ﬁ ring with Fast Draw roll 
  Half Phase 
  — 
  ½
       Drawing/nocking arrow 
  Zero Phase 
  — 
  ½
       Pulling/ﬁ ring arrow 
  Attack Action 
  — 
  ½
  Bow, loading and ﬁ ring with +5 STR 
  Attack Action 
  -2 
  ½
  Bow, ﬁ ring defensively* 
  Full Phase 
  -4 
  —
       Drawing/nocking arrow 
  Half Phase 
  — 
  —
       Pulling/ﬁ ring arrow 
  Attack Action 
  -4 
  —
  Bow, ﬁ ring with Rapid Fire* 
  Full Phase 
  -2 
  ½
       Drawing/nocking arrows 
  Half Phase 
  — 
  ½
       Pulling/ﬁ ring arrows 
  Attack Action 
  -2 
  ½
  Bow, ﬁ ring from horseback 
  Full Phase 
  -2 
  ½
       Drawing/nocking arrow 
  Half Phase 
  — 
  ½
       Pulling/ﬁ ring arrow 
  Attack Action 
  -2 
  ½
  Bow, stringing 
  Full Phase 
  — 
  —
  Bow, stringing with Fast Draw roll 
  Half Phase 
  — 
  —
  Crossbow, loading 
  Full Phase 
  — 
  ½
  Crossbow, loading with +5 STR*# 
  Half Phase 
  — 
  —
  Crossbow, loading with Fast Draw* 
  Half Phase 
  — 
  —
  Arbalest, loading 
  Two Full Phases 
  — 
  ½
  Arbalest, loading with +5 STR*# 
  Full Phase 
  — 
  ½
  Arbalest, loading with Fast Draw* 
  Full Phase 
  — 
  ½
  Crossbow or arbalest, ﬁ ring loaded 
  Attack Action 
  — 
  —
  Crossbow or arbalest, ﬁ ring from horseback Attack Action 
  -2 
  —
  Sling, loading 
  Half Phase 
  — 
  ½
  Sling, loading with Fast Draw 
  Zero Phase 
  — 
  ½
  Sling, ﬁ ring 
  Attack Action 
  — 
  ½
  Sling, ﬁ ring from horseback 
  Attack Action 
  -2 
  ½
  Th rown weapon, throwing 
  Attack Action 
  — 
  —
  Gunpowder weapon, loading and ﬁ ring 
  1 Turn 
  — 
  ½
  Gunpowder weapon, loading and ﬁ ring 
    with Fast Draw 
  2 Full Phases 
  — 
  ½
  Gunpowder weapon, ﬁ ring loaded 
  Attack Action 
  — 
  ½
  Gunpowder weapon, ﬁ ring loaded from 
  horseback 
  Attack Action 
  -2 
  ½
  Blowgun, loading and ﬁ ring 
  Full Phase 
  — 
  ½
  Blowgun, loading with Fast Draw 
  Zero Phase 
  — 
  ½
  Blowgun, ﬁ ring loaded 
  Attack Action 
  — 
  ½
  Blowgun, loading and ﬁ ring from horseback 
  Full Phase 
  — 
  ½
  *:  Th is rule is used only at the GM’s option.
  #:  Also requires a DEX Roll.
  
  14 ■ Fantasy Equipment
  Hero System 5th Edition
  SLINGS
  A sling is a simple but effective method 
  of increasing throwing power and distance to 
  the point where small, round missiles become 
  potentially lethal. It consists of a small leather 
  pouch with two strings attached, one of which 
  has a loop on the end. The user places the mis-
  sile in the pouch, whirls the sling around to build 
  up force, then releases the unlooped string to 
  “throw” the missile. To improve power, accuracy, 
  and range, the slinger could attach his sling to a 
  rigid handle, creating a staff-sling (a fustibal).
  Th e missiles “ﬁ red” by a sling are called bullets; 
  they’re made of lead and are ovoid-shaped. If nec-
  essary, a slinger can substitute appropriately-shaped 
  stones instead. Th e damage listed for slings assumes 
  bullets; if a character uses sling stones instead, 
  reduce the damage by 1 DC.
  Loading a sling requires two hands, but whirl-
  ing and ﬁ ring it only one. Loading it requires a 
  Half Phase Action (or a Zero-Phase Action, if the 
  slinger succeeds with a Fast Draw (Slings) roll; this 
  does not eliminate the DCV penalty). Firing a sling 
  counts as an Attack Action. Th e slinger has to stand 
  still and concentrate on what he’s doing, so he has 
  only half of his DCV until his next Phase. A char-
  acter cannot use a sling to Rapid Fire, but can load 
  and ﬁ re one from horseback.
  THROWN WEAPONS
  In addition to spears and javelins (perhaps the 
  most common hurled weapons in most Fantasy set-
  tings), thrown weapons include darts and shuriken, 
  throwing knives, and throwing clubs.
  Th rowing knives are knives forged and shaped 
  for throwing rather than HTH Combat (unlike 
  daggers, which are meant for melee ﬁ ghting but 
  can easily be thrown). Th ey have a sharp front 
  point, but dull edges and little (if any) hilt. Th ey’re 
  built with RKA, but at the GM’s option characters 
  can use them in HTH combat to do ½d6 Killing 
  Damage at a -1 OCV penalty.
  Throwing clubs include war boomerangs 
  and similar weapons — clubs designed for 
  throwing as much as for HTH Combat. They’re 
  built as a Multipower:
  Cost Power
  5 
  Th rowing Club:  Multipower, 15-point 
  reserve; all OAF (-1), Real Weapon (-¼), 
  STR Minimum (8; -½)
  1u 
  1)  HTH Club:  HA 3d6 (add damage via 
  STR Minimum); OAF (-1), Hand-To-Hand 
  Attack (-½), STR Minimum (8; -½), Real 
  Weapon (-¼), 
  1u 
  2)  Th rown Club:  Energy Blast 3d6; OAF 
  (-1), Range Based On STR (-¼), STR Mini-
  mum (8; -½), Real Weapon (-¼), 1 Recov-
  erable Charge (-1¼), Lockout (cannot use 
  either slot until Charge is recovered; -½)
  Total cost:  7 points.
  GUNPOWDER WEAPONS
  Some Fantasy Hero campaigns may take place 
  in settings where people have invented gunpowder 
  and ﬁ rearms. In the real world, crude gunpowder 
  weapons ﬁ rst began appearing in the early to mid-
  1300s, and by the late 1500s had largely replaced 
  bows and crossbows. In a Fantasy Hero campaign 
  setting, the commonality of gunpowder weapons, 
  and the extent to which people know about them, 
  is up to the GM; to many folk, they may seem as 
  magical as any wand or enchanted blade.
  Th e earliest ﬁ rearms — handcannons, match-
  locks, and wheellocks — were all smoothbore (non-
  riﬂ ed), muzzle-loaded ﬁ rearms. Th ey were slow and 
  diﬃ  cult to load and ﬁ re (in game terms, Extra Time 
  (1 Turn) for each shot, plus Concentration (½ DCV 
  throughout; -½), prone to failure (Activation Roll), 
  and inaccurate (Side Eﬀ ects for Range Modiﬁ er 
  penalties). Th ey suﬀ ered from numerous other dif-
  ﬁ culties, such as not working if the powder got wet, 
  and “cook-oﬀ s” of powder if the weapon got too hot 
  from repeated ﬁ ring (making the weapon explode 
  in the user’s hands, a GM-imposed Side Eﬀ ect).
  Most early ﬁ rearms were riﬂ es. Handcannons 
  begin appearing around the mid-1400s, with true 
  pistols developed in the late 1400s-early 1500s.
  A matchlock weapon uses a smoldering 
  “match” (a small twist of thick string, basically), 
  which the trigger mechanism lowers into a pan of 
  priming powder. Th e need to keep the match lit 
  makes the weapon diﬃ  cult or impossible to use in 
  rainy or windy weather, as well as slow to ﬁ re when 
  ﬁ rst used. A wheellock generates a spark for the 
  priming powder by striking pyrite against steel; it’s 
  a more technologically advanced, easy to use, and 
  expensive weapon.
  At the GM’s option, a character who succeeds 
  with a Fast Draw (Early Firearms) roll can reduce 
  the time required to load and ﬁ re a gunpowder 
  weapon to two Full Phases. Firing the weapon 
  constitutes an Attack Action. Characters can ﬁ re 
  gunpowder weapons from horseback (though the 
  noise may spook the animal), but cannot load them 
  while mounted.
  BLOWGUNS
  Th e blowgun, a weapon common to many 
  early cultures, consists of a long, hollow tube and 
  darts. Th e user ﬁ res the darts by inserting them in 
  the back end of the tube, aiming, and then blowing 
  into the tube. Th e darts themselves do little damage, 
  but the user normally tips them with a poison or 
  disease-causing agent.
  Loading and ﬁ ring a blowgun takes a Full 
  Phase. At the GM’s option, a character who suc-
  ceeds with a Fast Draw (Blowguns) roll can load 
  the weapon as a Zero-Phase Action, and then ﬁ re it 
  as an Attack Action. Characters may use and reload 
  blowguns while riding mounts.
  BOWS VERSUS 
  CROSSBOWS
  Th e HERO System 
  statistics for bows and 
  crossbows tend to reﬂ ect 
  the “dramatic real-
  ity” common to genre 
  adventure ﬁ ction, which 
  usually emphasizes and 
  favors bows. Th ey also 
  reﬂ ect standard HERO 
  System rules about 
  calculating range and 
  so forth. However, this 
  doesn’t necessarily sim-
  ulate “reality” as well as 
  it might for gamers who 
  prefer a high degree of 
  “historical accuracy.” 
  Although scholars diﬀ er 
  and quibble about vari-
  ous aspects of bows and 
  crossbows and how they 
  measure up (especially 
  given the wide range 
  of types of the vari-
  ous weapons), you can 
  generally accept the 
  following as historically 
  correct.
  Th e crossbow has, on 
  the average, a longer 
  range than the Eng-
  lish longbow. A heavy 
  steel-bowed crossbow’s 
  maximum range was 
  around 380 yards (360 
  meters, or 180”), while 
  that of the longbow was 
  around 280 yards (255 
  meters, or 127.5”). Of 
  course, both weapons’ 
  eﬀ ective ranges were 
  much shorter than this, 
  and variations in equip-
  ment could aﬀ ect these 
  results.
  Th e greater range of the 
  crossbow implies greater 
  force of impact at eﬀ ec-
  tive ranges (meaning, in 
  game terms, that cross-
  bows should do at least 
  a little more damage 
  than bows).
  Th e longbow requires 
  more training to learn 
  to use eﬀ ectively. An 
  English saying states 
  that to train an archer, 
  you begin by training 
  his grandfather. On the 
  other hand, training 
  someone to use a cross-
  Continued on next page
  
  15 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter One
  MAKING WEAPONS
  Players oft en like to create special weapons 
  for their PCs, and some GMs want to expand the 
  weapon lists, build enchanted weapons to give 
  PCs, and the like. Th is section includes various 
  expanded and optional rules for building weapons 
  using the HERO System rules.
  BALANCING WEAPONS AND ARMOR
  When creating weapons and/or deciding what 
  weapons PCs can take in the campaign, the GM 
  should consider the balance between “oﬀ ense” and 
  “defense,” along with related issues like how fast he 
  wants combats to run.
  Unless you want combats to end quickly, with 
  lots of wounds delivered in just a few Phases, some 
  parity should exist between the average DCs of 
  damage done by weapons (including bonuses to 
  damage from STR, Combat Skill Levels, Maneuvers, 
  and the like) and the DEF provided by armor. An 
  attack that does roughly average damage should 
  inﬂ ict a slight wound, or even no wound, on a 
  character with average defenses. For example, if the 
  average Resistant Defense in the game is 5 (based 
  on characters wearing mostly leather and chain 
  armors), then the average weapon should probably 
  do about 5-7 DCs of damage. Th at means an aver-
  age of about 5-7 BODY damage per attack from a 
  Killing Damage weapon, or 0-2 points of BODY 
  actually inﬂ icted on the average target.
  If you prefer a quicker game, restrict the types 
  of armor available, or boost the damage of weapons. 
  If the average DEF is 5, but the average weapon does 
  7-9 DCs, the average Killing Damage hit inﬂ icts 2-4 
  BODY, with the potential to do signiﬁ cantly more. 
  Th at brings ﬁ ghts to an end much more quickly. On 
  the other hand, if you want to favor defense over 
  oﬀ ense, decrease the damage weapons do, or make 
  heavier armors (chain and plate, or magical enhance-
  ments of lesser armors) more readily available.
  Basic Weapon Creation 
  Rules And Guidelines
  HTH Combat weapons that do Killing 
  Damage are built as HKAs with the Advantage 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) and the Limita-
  tions OAF (-1), Real Weapon (-¼), and Strength 
  Minimum (varies). Many also have the Required 
  Hands Limitation.
  HTH Combat weapons that do Normal 
  Damage are built as HAs with those same Limita-
  tions. Characters using them add damage with STR 
  according to the STR Minimum rules; they do not 
  add their STR dice to the HA dice directly.
  Ranged weapons that do Killing Damage are 
  built as RKAs with some or all of the following 
  Limitations:  Focus (OAF; -1), STR Minimum, 
  Required Hands, Real Weapon, Beam, and Charges 
  (indicating the number of rounds of ammunition 
  the average user carries).
  Ranged weapons that do Normal Damage are 
  built as Energy Blasts with those same Limitations.
  Ranged attacks have the standard range 
  indicated by the rules — 5” x Active Points. If 
  you want to vary this (such as for thrown weap-
  ons), apply the Advantages Ranged or Range 
  Based On Strength, or the Limitations Limited 
  Range or Range Based On Strength.
  COMBAT VALUE AND RANGE MODIFIERS
  Most weapons do not provide any sort of 
  bonus to, or impose a penalty on, the wielder’s 
  OCV or Range Modiﬁ er. However, some weapons 
  allow for great ﬂ exibility of use or striking power 
  (reﬂ ected by an OCV bonus), or have greater than 
  normal accuracy over range (reﬂ ected by a bonus 
  that counteracts Range Modiﬁ er penalties). On 
  the other hand, some weapons are awkward to use, 
  or not as accurate as normal, leading to OCV and 
  RMod penalties.
  Fantasy weapons that provide a bonus to 
  OCV rarely, if ever, have more than a +1 OCV 
  bonus. You can build this bonus as 5-point 
  Combat Skill Levels with the OAF, Required 
  Hands, and Real Weapon Limitations.
  Fantasy weapons that provide a bonus to 
  RMod rarely, if ever, have more than a +2 RMod 
  bonus. You can build this bonus as 3-point Penalty 
  Skill Levels versus the Range Group with the Focus 
  and Required Hands Limitations.
  OCV and RMod penalties are deﬁ ned as a Side 
  Eﬀ ect Limitation on the weapon. Th is is a minor or 
  trivial eﬀ ect worth a base of -¼, doubled because 
  it automatically occurs when anyone uses the 
  weapon, for a total of -½. Th is same value applies 
  until the total penalties on a weapon reach the 30 
  Active Point level (calculate the cost using nega-
  tive Combat Skill Levels and Penalty Skill Levels) 
  — something that’s highly unlikely to ever occur.
  Gamemasters should be wary of building 
  Fantasy weapons with too many OCV or RMod 
  bonuses, for several reasons. First, they’re not 
  appropriate if you want to stress even the slightest 
  amount of “realism.” If one weapon were inher-
  ently much more accurate than any other, everyone 
  would have long ago adopted it and abandoned all 
  others — and history shows that never happened. 
  Second, too many positive modiﬁ ers can unbalance 
  the game. If characters can hit their foes too easily, 
  combat loses a lot of its suspense and becomes a 
  simple bloodbath, with the outcome determined 
  mainly by who attacks ﬁ rst.
  Similarly, don’t impose too many penalties on 
  weapons — if a weapon is too badly hindered, no 
  one wants to use it. While fairly heavy RMod penal-
  ties are appropriate for some weapons (like early 
  ﬁ rearms), in most cases you should keep the OCV 
  penalties at no more than -1, and the RMod penal-
  ties at no more than -4.
  DAMAGE
  There’s no specific formula for establish-
  ing the Damage Class rating for a weapon. 
  Some of the factors that affect the calculation 
  include:  size of the striking part of the weapon; 
  the momentum the wielder can develop while 
  delivering a blow; speed of use; and dramatic 
  Continued from last page
  bow is relatively quick 
  and simple.
  Th e longbow has a 
  greater rate of ﬁ re. A 
  trained archer could ﬁ re, 
  on the average, about 
  six aimed arrows per 
  minute, or twelve with-
  out signiﬁ cant aiming. 
  A crossbowman, on the 
  other hand, could ﬁ re 
  one bolt per minute 
  if he had to cock his 
  crossbow by hand, or 
  up to four per minute if 
  he had a mechanical aid 
  such as a belt-and-claw.
  To represent these dif-
  ferences in game terms:
  1.  Alter the damage 
  ranges on the weapons 
  so that an arbalest does 
  RKA 2½d6, and the 
  other weapons scale 
  down from there.
  2. Aft er allowing for 
  the altered Active Point 
  totals, use Increased 
  Maximum Range and 
  Limited Range to adjust 
  the weapons’ ranges to 
  the proper maxima.
  3.  Add Extra Time 
  (Extra Phase; -¾) to all 
  bows, and Extra Time 
  (1 Minute; -1½) to all 
  crossbows. You can then 
  deﬁ ne mechanical aids 
  like goat’s-foot levers as 
  buying the Extra Time 
  for crossbows down to 
  1 Turn.
  4. Make “Bows” a 2-
  point Weapon Familiar-
  ity of its own, separate 
  from Common Missile 
  Weapons, but keep 
  Crossbows as a 1-point 
  WF.
  
  16 ■ Fantasy Equipment
  Hero System 5th Edition
  interpretation of the weapon’s effects. The lists 
  in this book attempt to reasonably balance all 
  these factors, but some GMs may prefer different 
  approaches. Some possibilities include:
  Realistic Damage
  Some GMs may want more “realistic” weapon 
  damage numbers. Since there’s no deﬁ ned, objective 
  way to measure the cutting, smashing, and piercing 
  eﬀ ects of Fantasy weapons, any attempt to alter the 
  tables for pure “realism” is likely to prove frustrat-
  ing and ultimately fruitless. If you want “realistic” 
  weapons damage, the best way to achieve this is to 
  do a lot of research on the subject yourself, then 
  come up with a set of weapon write-ups that suit 
  your own informed opinions and beliefs on the 
  subject. Th e Bibliography lists many good books 
  you can start with.
  Equal Damage
  Gamemasters who are concerned about char-
  acters choosing weapons based solely on their 
  perceived game beneﬁ ts (see Fantasy Hero, page 
  184) can eliminate the problem by making all 
  weapons virtually the same in most respects. For 
  example, perhaps every weapon, regardless of size 
  or conﬁ guration, does 1d6 Killing Damage (or 3d6 
  Normal Damage) and has a STR Minimum of 10. 
  Or, perhaps the GM groups weapons into three 
  size categories — Light (STR Min 8), Medium 
  (STR Min 13), and Heavy (STR Min 18) — with all 
  weapons in each category doing 1d6+1, 1½d6, and 
  2d6 Killing Damage, respectively (or the equivalent 
  amount of Normal Damage).
  Th e rationale behind this approach is simple:  
  it’s just as easy for a character to die when stabbed 
  to death with a dagger as it is when he’s jabbed with 
  a spear or slashed in two by a greatsword. Fantasy 
  roleplaying games tend to assume that the larger 
  the weapon, the bigger the wound it inﬂ icts and 
  thus the greater chance of death. While there’s some 
  logic to that, the fact remains that a small dagger 
  wound can kill a man as quickly and easily as a 
  massive sword-thrust. What really matters is the 
  skill with which the character wields the weapon, not 
  its size or conﬁ guration.
  Under this system, characters who want 
  to inflict more than 1d6 damage have several 
  options. First, there’s STR; the more powerful a 
  character’s muscles, the more powerful the blows 
  he can deliver. Second, characters can take the 
  Deadly Blow Talent (Fantasy Hero, page 105), 
  typically at the 7 or 10 Character Point level. This 
  reflects their skill with the weapon with a direct 
  damage bonus that counts as base damage. Third, 
  they can take other abilities that represent their 
  skill with weapons. For example, a few Targeting 
  Skill Levels makes a seemingly puny dagger-
  wielding rogue deadly dangerous — because he 
  can target the Vitals or Head with ease.
  Bashing, Slashing, And Piercing Damage
  To add a little variety to the weapons chart, 
  some GMs like to group weapons into three catego-
  ries, based on the way they inﬂ ict damage:  Bashing; 
  Slashing; and Piercing.
  Bashing weapons inﬂ ict damage by crushing and 
  mashing ﬂ esh and bone with a more or less blunt sur-
  face. Th ey include hammers, maces, and clubs.
  Slashing weapons inﬂ ict damage by slicing, 
  chopping, or cutting through the target’s body with 
  a sharp edge. Many swords and daggers (particu-
  larly curved-bladed ones) are designed to do Slash-
  ing damage, as are axes.
  Piercing weapons inﬂ ict injury by piercing and 
  penetrating the target’s body with a sharp point. 
  Arrows, picks, and spears do damage this way, as 
  do swords and daggers when used to thrust rather 
  than cut.
  It’s possible for some types of weapons to 
  do more than one type of damage. Many swords 
  can both Slash and Pierce, for example, and some 
   THROWING AIDS
  Several cultures that 
  relied on javelins and 
  thrown spears devel-
  oped devices to improve 
  their warrior’s ability to 
  throw. Examples include 
  the atlatl of the Aztecs 
  and the woomera of the 
  Australian Aborigines, 
  and the amentum, a 
  cord tied to the spear-
  shaft  by the Romans. All 
  of these devices had the 
  eﬀ ect of “lengthening” 
  the thrower’s arm so he 
  could throw his weapon 
  further.
  In HERO System terms, 
  you can build one 
  of these devices this 
  way:  +5 STR (5 Active 
  Points); OAF (-1), Only 
  To Increase Th rowing 
  Distance (-1) (total cost:  
  2 points).
  THROWING NORMAL 
  WEAPONS
  Characters may some-
  times want to throw 
  ordinary melee weap-
  ons, such as clubs, battle 
  axes, and greatswords. 
  With the GM’s permis-
  sion, they may do so, 
  but at a -3 OCV penalty. 
  Th e range is based on 
  throwing STR, and the 
  character also suﬀ ers 
  the -4 unbalanced, non-
  aerodynamic addition to 
  the Range Modiﬁ er.
  If a character takes a 
  1-point Weapon Famil-
  iarity with throwing a 
  speciﬁ c type of melee 
  weapon — WF: Th rown 
  Swords, WF: Th rown 
  Axes, WF: Th rown 
  Polearms, and so forth 
  — he can eliminate the 
  -3 OCV penalty. He still 
  suﬀ ers from the Range 
  Modiﬁ er penalty and 
  balance/aerodynamic 
  penalty, however.
  
  17 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter One
  battle axes and war hammers have a sharp spike 
  on the back side that lets them do Piercing damage 
  (though perhaps less than their full DCs with 
  Slashing and Bashing damage, respectively).
  To make these classes of damage meaningful, 
  the GM needs to distinguish between them in some 
  way. Here are some suggestions:
  ■ Bashing damage weapons:  weapon automatically 
  has +1 STUN Multiplier (or an additional +1) if the 
  wielder succeeds with a STR (or DEX) Roll when 
  he attacks; leather and plate armors only provide 
  half DEF against Bashing weapons
  ■ Slashing damage weapons:  weapon gains +1 DC 
  (which counts as base damage) against targets with 
  no Resistant Defense (or when it hits a Hit Loca-
  tion with no Resistant Defense) if the wielder suc-
  ceeds with a STR (or DEX) Roll when he attacks; 
  leather armors only provide half DEF against Slash-
  ing weapons
  ■ Piercing damage weapons:  weapon is automati-
  cally Armor Piercing if the wielder succeeds with 
  a STR (or DEX) Roll when he attacks (if weapon 
  is already Armor Piercing, it becomes double AP); 
  chainmail and like armors only provide half DEF 
  against Piercing weapons
  Similarly, characters can buy some forms of 
  defense as more eﬀ ective against one or two types of 
  damage. Some of the undead creatures in the HERO 
  System Bestiary have greater resistance to certain cat-
  egories of damage, for example. A defense that only 
  protects against two types of damage generally gets a 
  -½ Limitation; a defense that only protects against one 
  type of damage generally gets a -1 Limitation.
  STUN MULTIPLIER
  Killing Damage weapons have a STUN Mul-
  tiplier. Most use the standard STUN Multiplier 
  — 1d6-1 — which is indicated in the weapons 
  tables as “0” (meaning no modiﬁ cation). However, a 
  few take the Increased STUN Multiplier Advantage 
  and add +1 to the STUN Multiplier. Th is usually 
  represents a very heavy, solid weapon, or one that 
  strikes with a particularly forceful impact.
  Gamemasters should be wary of adding more 
  than a +1, or at most +2, STUN Multiplier to a 
  weapon. Page 160 of Fantasy Hero discusses the 
  problems with STUN damage in Fantasy Hero 
  games, and high STUN Multiplier bonuses only 
  make it more likely such problems will arise.
  A weapon can take the Decreased STUN Multi-
  plier Limitation, though none of the weapons in the 
  tables do so.
  STRENGTH MINIMUM
  Th e STR Minimum deﬁ nes the amount of STR 
  required to wield a weapon eﬀ ectively, as deﬁ ned by 
  the rules on pages 478-79 of the HERO System 5th 
  Edition, Revised. Most Ranged weapons, and even 
  a few HTH weapons, also apply the STR Minimum 
  Cannot Add/Subtract Damage additional Limita-
  tion, signifying that the nature, construction, or use 
  of the weapon prevents wielders from doing any 
  extra damage because of high STR.
  Setting the STR Minimum on a weapon is an art 
  more than it is a science, requiring careful thought 
  and an awareness on the GM’s part of how he wants 
  to simulate various weapons. While common sense 
  and an appreciation for game balance dictate that 
  high-damage weapons generally shouldn’t have 
  low STR Minima, and low-damage ones generally 
  shouldn’t have high STR Minima, even that guideline 
  doesn’t always apply. Th ere’s no one particular factor 
  that deﬁ nes what a weapon’s STR Minimum is or 
  should be. Some of the things you should consider 
  when setting a STR Minimum include:
  Weight And Conﬁ guration
  Th e ﬁ rst thing most gamers think about when 
  it comes to establishing a STR Minimum is a 
  weapon’s weight. Most medieval weapons weighed 
  roughly two to ﬁ ve pounds (approximately 1 to 2.3 
  kg) (some were lighter, some heavier, of course). 
  Th at’s enough to provide signiﬁ cant striking power, 
  but not enough to tire the wielder out too quickly. 
  Aft er all, some battles lasted for hours, so a warrior 
  had to keep swinging his weapon again and again, 
  and if it were too heavy, he’d soon lack the strength 
  to do that!
  However, while a weapon’s weight should deﬁ -
  nitely inﬂ uence its STR Minimum, it’s far from the 
  only consideration. Th e weapon’s size, shape, and 
  materials — its conﬁ guration, in other words — are 
  also important. A weapon with its center of mass 
  on one end (such as with most hammers, maces, 
  and battle axes) is oft en harder to hold up and 
  wield than one that distributes its mass more evenly 
  throughout (such as some swords and spears). An 
  oddly-conﬁ gured weapon may not actually weigh 
  more than an evenly-conﬁ gured weapon... but it 
  oft en feels like it does.
  Game Balance
  Since the STR Minimum rules are part of a game 
  system, you should keep game balance in mind when 
  using them. If you set the STR Minimum too low 
  on a high-damage weapon, it becomes too attractive 
  to power-gamer type players, and they’ll have their 
  characters use that weapon regardless of whether that 
  makes sense (common or dramatic). On the other 
  hand, if you set the STR Minimum on a weapon too 
  high, it may discourage players from having their 
  characters use that weapon even when it would make 
  sense for the character to do so.
  Th e Light/Medium/Heavy system described 
  above under “Equal Damage” provides an example 
  of a game balance-inﬂ uenced system of STR 
  Minima. Th e STR Minima for the diﬀ erent types of 
  weapons are set so that a character tends to do the 
  same amount of damage with a weapon no matter 
  what his STR. For example, a STR 18 character 
  does 2d6 Killing Damage with any weapon. Th us, 
  while fair in a game balance sense, this system (and 
  others like it) also tends to be bland.
  Game balance should never be the sole con-
  sideration for establishing a STR Minimum. It’s 
  not possible to mathematically model reality that 
  precisely, and it defies common sense and one’s 
  sense of “realism” to give a light-weight weapon 
  a high STR Minimum solely to balance it against 
  SILENT WEAPONS
  None of the Ranged 
  weapons in this sec-
  tion are bought with 
  the Advantage Invisible 
  Power Eﬀ ects (Hearing 
  Group) to make them 
  silent, so they’re still 
  noisy enough to attract 
  attention. But at the 
  GM’s option, a skill-
  ful character can make 
  some weapons — bows, 
  thrown blades and darts, 
  and blowguns — harder 
  to hear. (Crossbows, 
  gunpowder weapons, 
  and thrown clubs all 
  make too much noise to 
  overcome this way.) Th e 
  character makes a DEX 
  Roll at -1 for each DC 
  in the attack (including 
  any DCs added by STR, 
  Combat Skill Levels, or 
  other means). If he fails, 
  the attack is as audible 
  as normal. If he suc-
  ceeds exactly, attempts 
  to hear the weapon in 
  use are at -1 to PER 
  Rolls; for each 1 point by 
  which the roll succeeds 
  beyond that, increase 
  the penalty by -1.
  
  18 ■ Fantasy Equipment
  Hero System 5th Edition
  other weapons. Setting STR Minima based on 
  some sort of “formula” (such as some percentage 
  of the Active Points in the weapon) is also likely 
  to result in ridiculous outcomes such as some 
  weapons with such high STR Minima that almost 
  no character can wield them properly. Game bal-
  ance should guide the STR Minimum decision, 
  but never dictate it.
  WEAPON LENGTH
  Weapons are deﬁ ned with four Length catego-
  ries:  Small (S), Medium (M), Long (L) and Extra 
  Long (L2). Small and Medium weapons have no 
  extra cost associated with them. A Long weapon 
  provides +1” of reach, bought this way:  Stretching 1”, 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) (7 Active Points); 
  OAF (-1), Always Direct (-¼), No Noncombat 
  Stretching (-¼), Only To Cause Damage
  (-½), No Velocity Damage (-¼) (total cost:  2 points). 
  An Extra Long weapon has +2” of reach, bought the 
  same way (15 Active Points; total cost 5 points).
  For information on the eﬀ ects and use of 
  weapons of various lengths, see page 23.
  STANDARD MODIFIERS
  All weapons are built with several Power 
  Modiﬁ ers.
  Reduced Endurance
  All weapons without Charges take the Advan-
  tage Reduced Endurance (0 END), because the END 
  to wield them depends on the character’s STR, not 
  on the Active Points in the Attack Power(s) used 
  to build the weapon. However, the GM can change 
  this if he wants to make weapons cost more or less 
  END to wield.
  To make a weapon cost more END to wield, 
  take Reduced Endurance only at the half END 
  (+¼) level, or don’t apply it at all. To wield a 
  weapon like this, the character has to pay both the 
  END for the STR to wield it and the END for the 
  Power(s) used to build it. Th is would be appropri-
  ate for some large, heavy, and/or awkward weapons, 
  such as a troll’s maul (when wielded by a human).
  To make a weapon cost less END to wield, you 
  can build into the weapon a naked Reduced Endur-
  ance Advantage for the STR used to wield it. For 
  example:  Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼) for up 
  to 25 STR (6 Active Points); OAF (-1) (total cost:  
  3 points) (plus Required Hands, if appropriate). 
  A weapon like this only costs half as much STR-
  based END to wield, as long as the character uses 
  no more than 25 STR with it. Any STR used over 
  25 would cost END at the standard rate (1 END 
  per 5 STR, in a Heroic campaign). A weapon could 
  even be bought to cost 0 END to wield, though that 
  could cause signiﬁ cant game balance problems.
  Real Weapon
  Weapons require constant maintenance, or else 
  they lose their eﬀ ectiveness. Characters must clean 
  and sharpen their swords and knives, lest they become 
  too dull and rusty to cut through anything harder 
  than butter; and they must keep bowstaves and bow-
  strings in good working order. Similarly, some weap-
  ons just can’t damage some things (or only damage 
  with diﬃ  culty) — for example, it’s not normally pos-
  sible to cut through a brick wall with a knife. Th e Real 
  Weapon (-¼) Limitation reﬂ ects these sometimes 
  unpleasant realities. Here are some guidelines to help 
  GMs adjudicate the eﬀ ects of the Limitation.
  First, a character must devote time to main-
  taining his weapons, or else they’ll become fouled, 
  rusty, and hard to use. Any time a character uses a 
  weapon in battle, he must spend at least 1 Minute 
  cleaning the weapon. He can wait until the end of 
  the day and clean it once aft er multiple uses, but 
  this may take longer. For every two days that pass 
  without a character cleaning his weapon, either (a) 
  reduce its OCV by 1; or (b) reduce the damage it 
  inﬂ icts by 1 point. If the weapon ever reaches -10 
  OCV, or has so many damage penalties it could 
  never inﬂ ict damage, it falls apart or is otherwise 
  useless, and cannot be repaired. Repairing lesser 
  OCV or damage penalties requires an appropriate 
  Weaponsmith roll and at least 5 Minutes per -1.
  Second, edged weapons (such as axes and 
  swords) become dull over time if not sharpened. 
  For each full hour of combat, the weapon does 
  -1 point of damage (thus, -1 after one full hour, 
  -2 after two full hours, and so forth). The GM 
  should interpret what constitutes “an hour” of 
  combat in a narrative/dramatic sense; it does not 
  literally mean 3,600 Phases in which a character 
  strikes a blow with the weapon. Returning the 
  weapon to fighting sharpness requires the use 
  of a whetstone (or like sharpening device) and 1 
  Minute per full hour of use.
  Third, as noted above, some weapons just 
  can’t accomplish some tasks. “Cutting” through 
  a stone wall or the iron bars of a jail cell with 
  a dagger or sword is pretty much impossible 
  in a “realistic” sense, for example, regardless of 
  what the HERO System rules say. Hours of pick-
  ing at the mortar or sawing at the bars might 
  do the trick, assuming a character had the time 
  and could repeatedly re-sharpen his weapon, 
  but few adventures allow for such activity. As a 
  general guideline, when characters use weapons 
  to attack inanimate objects like statues, compare 
  the weapon’s Damage Classes to the DEF of 
  the object. If the DCs are less than the DEF, the 
  weapon cannot inflict significant damage on the 
  object — at most, perhaps 1 BODY damage per 
  full Turn of hacking at it. If the DCs equal the 
  DEF, the weapon can inflict at most 1 BODY per 
  Phase with a successful attack (roll the damage 
  normally, and reduce it to 1 BODY if the weapon 
  does more than that). If the DCs exceed the DEF, 
  the weapon can damage the object normally.
  At the GM’s option, If a character uses a 
  weapon to strike a ﬁ rm blow against a hard, 
  unyielding object — such as a stone wall, or 
  the iron bars of a jail cell — he may damage his 
  weapon. If the object’s DEF exceeds the weapon’s 
  DCs, the weapon takes 1 BODY damage. When 
  it takes all its BODY in damage, it breaks, snaps, 
  cracks, or otherwise becomes useless until repaired.
  Gamemasters should also take the shape/
  conﬁ guration of both weapons and objects into 
  account when characters use them to attack inani-
  DIFFERENT BLADES
  In a Fantasy setting, it’s 
  possible for races or 
  cultures to develop their 
  own unique versions or 
  variants of the standard 
  weapons described in 
  this section. Most of 
  these “diﬀ erent” weapons 
  are simply varieties of 
  HKA with spiky bits for 
  added coolness. Th ere 
  are some principles to 
  keep in mind, however. 
  One is that size matters 
  — a race uses weapons 
  appropriate to its mem-
  bers’ average size and 
  strength (see page 25). 
  Anatomy also factors in. 
  Long-limbed races go 
  for swinging weapons 
  like axes and broad-
  swords; short-limbed 
  species may prefer 
  thrusting weapons. It’s 
  also worth considering 
  the anatomy of what the 
  race usually ﬁ ghts. Races 
  with natural body armor 
  may develop armor-
  piercing hand weapons 
  like rapiers and daggers, 
  or whips and garrotes to 
  entangle and strangle.
  
  19 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter One
  mate objects. Chopping through a wooden door 
  with an axe is easy, given their comparative shapes; 
  slashing through one with a sword is more diﬃ  cult. 
  See Fantasy Hero, page 365, for more information.
  Advanced Weapon Creation 
  Rules And Guidelines
  Once you have the basics of a weapon in place, 
  you can think about adding to or improving it.
  ADVANTAGES
  One common way to improve a weapon, or 
  diﬀ erentiate it from similar weapons, is to apply an 
  Advantage to it. Most Advantages aren’t appropriate 
  for weapons, but some of the ones that are include:
  Armor Piercing, Penetrating:  Both of these Advan-
  tages represent weapons that have an improved 
  ability to penetrate the target’s armor. Typically this 
  indicates that the weapons has an especially sharp 
  edge or point, as with stilettos, awl pikes, and armor 
  piercing arrows. However, it can also indicate a 
  weapon that smashes the target with such force 
  that a substantial portion of the impact eﬀ ects the 
  target even though the weapon doesn’t actually cut 
  through or puncture armor. Many enchanted blades 
  also take one of these Advantages to represent their 
  ability to pierce mundane armor with ease.
  Increased Maximum Range:  Ranged weapons that 
  have the ability to travel further than indicated by the 
  standard HERO System rules take this Advantage. In 
  some cases it’s bought as a naked Advantage for the 
  weapon with Limitations like Concentration or Extra 
  Time, reﬂ ecting the eﬀ ort needed to prepare and ﬁ re 
  the weapon to attain the best range possible.
  Increased STUN Multiplier:  Another way to rep-
  resent weapons that have a particularly forceful 
  impact is to give them an Increased STUN Multi-
  plier. See above for more information.
  Indirect:  Flexible weapons, such as flails and 
  morningstars, take Indirect at the +¼ level to 
  simulate their ability to perform the Flail Maneu-
  ver (Fantasy Hero, page 169). Characters design-
  ing other weapons that incorporate chains or 
  ropes may want to apply it as well.
  Range Based On STR:  Th e Advantage form of this 
  Power Modiﬁ er simulates HTH Combat weapons 
  characters can easily throw if necessary — spears, 
  daggers, small axes, and the like.
  LIMITATIONS
  One Limitation — Focus — is required for 
  weapons, which are objects and thus can be taken 
  from their owners. Many other Limitations aren’t 
  appropriate for weapons, but a few crop up fre-
  quently. In addition to Charges for Ranged weap-
  ons, and Required Hands, they include:
  Activation Roll:  A weapon with this Limitation is 
  unreliable — it doesn’t always work. Early ﬁ rearms 
  take it; so should any other relatively complicated 
  weapon and weapons based on new technologies 
  that haven’t yet been perfected.
  Concentration:  Th is represents a weapon that 
  requires the character to focus on using it to the 
  exclusion of other actions, such as dodging or 
  moving around. It’s used for most Ranged weapons.
  Extra Time:  Many Fantasy-era Ranged weapons 
  take time to prepare. Th e user must prepare them, 
  load them, carefully aim them, and then ﬁ nally 
  ﬁ re. Extra Time simulates this perfectly; it’s oft en 
  grouped with Concentration. 
  Increased Endurance Cost:  A heavy or awkward 
  weapon might take this Limitation to increase the 
  END cost the character must pay when using STR 
  to wield the weapon. Th is is allowed even though 
  the weapon also takes Reduced Endurance.
  Limited Range:  Th e standard HERO System rules 
  give some Ranged weapons too much range. If so, 
  you can apply this Limitation to decrease a weap-
  on’s range back to reasonable levels.
  Mounted Limitations:  Being on horseback (or other 
  types of mounts, in High Fantasy games) aﬀ ects 
  the use of some weapons. A few weapons, such as 
  lances, only work when the wielder is mounted 
  (a -½ Limitation). On the other hand, characters 
  cannot use many weapons, such as longbows, while 
  on horseback (a -¼ Limitation). Some weapons, 
  like crossbows, can’t be drawn, prepared, or loaded 
  by a character who’s mounted, but can be ﬁ red 
  from horseback if already loaded; they do not take 
  a Limitation because of this.
  
  20 ■ Fantasy Equipment
  Hero System 5th Edition
  Reduced Penetration:  Some weapon designers use 
  this Limitation to represent a weapon with multiple 
  tines or striking areas that hit the target simultane-
  ously, such as tridents and military forks. It’s not 
  required, but does help to diﬀ erentiate such weap-
  ons from spears and the like.
  Side Effects:  In addition to the Side Eﬀ ect of OCV 
  or RMod penalties (see above), a weapon might 
  inﬂ ict other penalties on the user. For example, a 
  heavy, awkward weapon might also decrease the 
  wielder’s DCV by 1-2 — representing the fact that 
  he can’t dodge or move quickly while holding it, or 
  bring it into position quickly enough to parry many 
  attacks. If the weapon already has an OCV and/or 
  RMod penalty Side Eﬀ ect, the GM must decide 
  whether to fold other Side Eﬀ ects into its -½ value 
  or to apply a second Side Eﬀ ect with its own value.
  UNUSUAL MATERIALS
  Except for a few all-wooden weapons (like 
  clubs), most weapons are made at least partly of 
  metal. Even if they have wooden haft s, the striking 
  part of the weapon — the blade, point, or head — is 
  metal. In most Fantasy settings, that metal is steel.
  However, some settings — such as games 
  taking place during the Bronze Age, or in bizarre 
  worlds like M.A.R. Barker’s Tékumel, where iron 
  and steel are extremely rare — that’s not necessarily 
  the case. Even in worlds that have steel, not every-
  one may make weapons out of it. Some people may 
  lack Iron Age technology, not have a supply of iron 
  and charcoal to turn into steel, or have some other 
  reasons (religious restrictions, magic, personal 
  comfort) for preferring non-steel weapons.
  Additionally, many Fantasy settings feature 
  unusual, exotic, and even mystical metals and sub-
  stances that characters can craft  weapons with. Th e 
  mithril of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth is perhaps 
  the best known example; other possibilities include 
  star-iron (meteoric iron), dwarven steel, glasses and 
  crystals with the strength of metal, and so on.
  Th e substance used to make a weapon does 
  not aﬀ ect the damage it does, but may alter its 
  DEF. Th is generally only matters if you’re using 
  the weapon breakage rules (see Fantasy Hero, page 
  189), but may also be a part of the Real Weapon 
  Limitation. For example, some substances, even 
  when characters can forge them into workable 
  weapons, may be so soft  that they dull easily (-1 
  point of damage per 10 minutes instead of per 
  hour). Or, the GM may reduce the weapon’s DCs 
  for purposes of determining what substances it can 
  cut through when the character uses it to try to 
  hack through a wall, door, or the like.
  Th e accompanying table provides suggested 
  DEF values for substances other than steel. A steel 
  weapon has DEF 5 (for Fantasy Hero weapon 
  purposes, do not use the Focus rule that deter-
  mines DEF as Active Points divided by 5). Other 
  substances’ DEF is represented as an increase or 
  decrease of that DEF — for example, “+1 DEF” 
  means to add 1 to 5, for a total of DEF 6. In game 
  terms, a weapon with greater DEF has the Durable 
  (+0) modiﬁ er to Focus, while one with less DEF has 
  a -0 version of the Fragile modiﬁ er.
  Example:  A war hammer has a steel head, 
  giving it DEF 5. If it were made of ordinary 
  iron, it would have -1 DEF, or 4.
  A dagger made of steel has DEF 5. One made of 
  elven-silver (+1 DEF) has DEF 6 instead, while 
  a Greek hoplite’s bronze (-2 DEF) dagger has 
  only DEF 3.
  HIGH AND POORQUALITY WEAPONS
  Not every blade that comes out of the weapon-
  smith’s forge is an average weapon. Some are made 
  by master craft smen with great skill and precision, 
  turning them into weapons far better than normal 
  ones. Others are legendary blades with qualities 
  beﬁ tting a hero’s weapon. But some are badly made, 
  or have suﬀ ered such wear and ill-use that they’re 
  no longer as good as they once were.
  In game terms, characters can have fine 
  (also called “masterwork”) and poor weapons. 
  The weapons listed in the tables earlier in this 
  chapter are “average” versions — they have the 
  same Damage Classes, OCV modifiers, and 
  STR Minima for typical weapons of their type. 
  But PCs are heroes, and sometimes an “average” 
  weapon isn’t enough for an above-average PC... 
  or his greatest enemy!
  At the GM’s option, characters can use the fol-
  lowing rules and guidelines to create exceptional 
  weapons, or to represent below-average versions 
  of weapons. Gamemasters are, of course, free to 
  change the Character Point costs of these improve-
  ments (or drawbacks) to suit their campaigns, or 
  even to give them to characters’ weapons for free 
  to represent events that occur during game play. 
  Additionally, where the rules provide Character 
  Point totals for unusual abilities (such as the “reroll” 
  ability) that aren’t built using the standard HERO 
  System rules, those abilities apply only to weapons. 
  Characters may not buy them as personal abilities.
  WEAPONS MATERIALS
  Material 
  DEF
  Steel 
  DEF 5
  Bronze 
  -2
  Copper 
  -2
  Coral (magical) 
  -2
  Crystal (magical) 
  +0
  Dwarven steel 
  +2
  Elven-silver 
  +1
  Glass (magical) 
  -1
  Horn 
  -2
  Iron 
  -1
  Ivory 
  -3
  Leather (magical) 
  -2
  Stone 
  -1
  Wood (magical) 
  -1
  Wood (normal) 
  -2
  “Magical” refers to ordinary substances created or 
  augmented by mystical or alchemical processes 
  that make them strong enough to hold an edge 
  and stand up to the wear and tear of being used 
  as a weapon. Ordinary glass, crystal, leather, and 
  the like are generally useless for making feasible 
  weapons.
  
  21 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter One
  Th ese abilities do not represent enchantment 
  or magical enhancement, but rather improved 
  quality of materials, craft ing, or the like. Addition-
  ally, these abilities sometimes represent “legend-
  ary” attributes possessed by famous or noteworthy 
  weapons. Th ey’re a great way to distinguish a 
  special or wondrous weapon from typical weapons 
  without having to resort to the catch-all explana-
  tion of “magic.” But of course, they can also repre-
  sent enchantments (minor or otherwise) placed on 
  a weapon if you want them to.
   Buying Fine And Poor Weapons
  When designing a ﬁ ne or poor weapon, you 
  should use the Character Point costs listed below 
  to re-calculate the overall Active and Real Point 
  costs of the weapon. You may apply the Indepen-
  dent Limitation if the GM feels that’s appropriate 
  for a truly unique and special weapon, but it’s not 
  required; GMs usually forbid it because it may end 
  up making the improved weapon cheaper than its 
  mundane counterpart.
  Since Heroic characters don’t pay Character 
  Points for their weapons, making a weapon “ﬁ ne” or 
  “poor” generally only aﬀ ects the weapon’s monetary 
  cost (see Fantasy Hero, page 143). Th e Active and Real 
  Point costs usually just help the GM evaluate whether 
  the weapon is balanced for the campaign. However, 
  to prevent ﬁ ne weapons from becoming too common 
  in the game, the GM may require characters to pay 
  Character Points for them, using one of two methods:
  —the cost of improvements themselves, cal-
  culated as (improved weapon’s Real Point cost) 
  - (normal weapon’s Real Point cost), with some pre-
  deﬁ ned minimum cost (such as 3 Character Points)
  —a ﬂ at cost, such as 5 Character Points
  In either case, if the character loses the 
  weapon, he permanently loses the points spent on 
  it... though the GM may allow him to go on a quest 
  to regain the weapon, reforge it, or have another 
  one made, and spend the “lost” points on that.
  Example:  Wendell is running a Fantasy Hero 
  game and wants to create a special (but not 
  magical) longsword to place in a dragon’s trea-
  sure-hoard — an important reward for the PCs 
  aft er a long and grueling quest! Furthermore, he 
  wants to use the sword as inspiration for another 
  adventure or two. So he decides to create Mar-
  clave, a famous blade once wielded by the hero 
  Argandus Morgenstern. Th e inscription on the 
  blade — “Two Hands, One Heart” — refers to 
  an ancient prophecy the PCs must learn about, 
  and which will involve them in another quest. 
  To make Marclave special, Wendell decides it 
  has +1 OCV, that it does 1½d6 damage instead 
  of the normal 1d6+1 of a longsword, and that 
  its heroic qualities inspire the wielder, allow-
  ing him to strike more quickly than normal. 
  A normal longsword costs 30 Active Points, 11 
  Real Points; here’s what Marclave costs:
  HKA 1½d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  (37 Active Points); OAF (-1), Real Weapon (-
  ¼), STR Minimum (13; -½) (total cost:  13 
  points) plus +1 OCV (5 Active Points); OAF 
  (-1), Real Weapon (-¼) (total cost:  2 points) 
  plus +1 Lightning Reflexes with Marclave (1 
  Active Point); OAF (-1), Real Weapon (-¼) 
  (total cost:  1 point). Total cost:  43 Active 
  Points; 16 Real Points.
  
  22 ■ Fantasy Equipment
  Hero System 5th Edition
  Wendell chose not to apply the Independent 
  Limitation to Marclave. He’d rather reserve that 
  for actual magical weapons. If he had applied 
  it, the weapon’s total Real Point cost would be 8 
  + 1 + 1 = 10 points.
  Since a normal longsword costs 11 points, Mar-
  clave would cost (16-11) 5 Character Points if a 
  character built it for himself, or if Wendell made 
  characters pay for all ﬁ ne weapons to maintain 
  game balance. However, since Wendell’s giving 
  the weapon out as treasure, he won’t charge the 
  lucky character any points at all.
  Fine Weapons
  Fine weapons may have one or more of the 
  following abilities, or any other the GM sees ﬁ t to 
  allow. Th e GM should evaluate any improvements 
  a character wants to apply to a weapon carefully, to 
  ensure they’re balanced for the campaign.
  Accurate:  Th e weapon may grant a +1 OCV bonus 
  to the wielder (or, rarely, +2 or more), or for a 
  Ranged weapon, bonuses to counteract the Range 
  Modiﬁ er. See page 7 regarding the Character Point 
  cost for this ability.
  Advantaged:  Th e weapon is so potent that it has 
  some Advantage most weapons of its type lack 
  — such as Armor Piercing or Penetrating, or even 
  Indirect (allowing it to perform the Flail Maneu-
  ver as a way of simulating its ability to slip past a 
  target’s shield, even if it’s not a ﬂ exible weapon).
  Biting:  Some weapons do more damage than 
  normal. Typically, a fine weapon gets a +1 
  point of damage bonus (this costs 5 Character 
  Points for a Killing Damage weapon, 2 Char-
  acter Points for a Normal Damage weapon). 
  Some truly exceptional weapons may get an 
  entire +1 DC bonus (recalculate the weapon’s 
  overall cost accordingly).
  Alternately, some truly wondrous weapons 
  may allow a character to reroll poor damage rolls. 
  Th e character may reroll all results of “1” that come 
  up on the damage dice. Th at means he always does 
  at least 2 BODY per die when he rolls damage. Th is 
  costs 20 Character Points.
  Heroic Strike:  A few weapons have such great 
  accuracy that the wielder can reroll any Attack Roll 
  made with them that misses by only 1. Th is costs 10 
  Character Points.
  Alternately, some weapons may allow a char-
  acter to reroll any one failed Attack Roll per day, no 
  matter how much it missed by. Th is costs 3 Charac-
  ter Points.
  Marvelously Light I:  Th e weapon costs the wielder 
  less END for the STR used to wield it. See page 18 
  regarding the Character Point cost for this ability.
  Marvelously Light II:  Th e weapon somehow doesn’t 
  seem to weigh as much as ordinary weapons 
  — perhaps it inspires strength in the wielder, or it’s 
  made of some unknown metal. Th is lets a character 
  strike harder with it, thus inﬂ icting more damage 
  in many cases. You can buy this by decreasing the 
  weapon’s STR Minimum.
  Noble Appearance:  Th e blade inspires loyalty and 
  bravery in the wielder’s allies, fear and dread in his 
  foes. You can buy this as +5 PRE (sometimes more); 
  OAF (-1), Real Weapon (-¼), Only For Making 
  Presence Attacks While Th e Weapon Is Drawn (-
  1½) (total cost:  1 point).
  Silvered:  The weapon’s striking surfaces are cov-
  ered with silver so it can affect lycanthropes and 
  similar creatures.
  Stunning Blow:  Some Killing Damage weapons 
  strike with a mightier impact, thus doing more 
  STUN damage. Buy this as a +1 (or greater) 
  Increased STUN Multiplier (+¼ Advantage per +1).
  Sturdy:  Th e weapon is harder to break or damage. 
  It has +1 (or more) DEF or BODY, and perhaps 
  some Power Defense to resist Dispels and Drains. 
  Each +1 DEF costs 3 Character Points, each +1 
  BODY costs 1 Character Point; and each point of 
  Power Defense costs 1 Character Point.
  Swift-Striking:  Th e weapon is so light and easily-
  handled that it lets the character attack more 
  swift ly. Th is is bought as Lightning Reﬂ exes for this 
  one attack; most weapons grant no more than a +3 
  DEX bonus.
  Throwable:  Th e weapon is balanced for throwing 
  (even if it’s not normally a hurled weapon). You can 
  buy this as Penalty Skill Levels to cancel balance 
  and/or aerodynamicity penalties.
  Unreal Weapon:  Th e weapon does not have the Real 
  Weapon Limitation, meaning it always stays sharp, 
  clean, and ready for action without any eﬀ ort on 
  the wielder’s part. It may also, in the GM’s discre-
  tion, cut through walls and doors more easily than 
  a normal blade.
  Other Improvements:  Some other possible improve-
  ments, that cost no Character Points but help to 
  make a blade distinctive, include:
  ■ Ornamentation:  gilding or silvering; gems in the 
  pommel, hilt, or along the length, carved designs or 
  incised runes on the blade; and so forth
  ■ Unwavering:  when stuck in the ground, a tree, or 
  the like, the blade does not wobble or shake; it’s as 
  still as a mountain
  ■ Unrustable:  regardless of how much moisture it’s 
  exposed to, the weapon never rusts (magical rust-
  ing attacks can still aﬀ ect it, though)
  ■ Distinctive ring:  when drawn from the sheath or 
  struck against metal or stone, the weapon emits a 
  distinctive ring or tone if the wielder wants it to
  Poor Weapons
  Poor weapons may have one or more of the 
  following drawbacks (most of which are just the 
  reverse of Fine weapon qualities), or any other the 
  GM sees ﬁ t to impose.
  Some of these Poor attributes are repre-
  sented as Side Effects. If the weapon already has 
  an OCV or RMod penalty Side Effect, the GM 
  must decide whether to fold other Side Effects 
  into its -½ value or to apply a second Side Effect 
  with its own value.
  
  23 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter One
  Awkward/Heavy:  Th e weapon is unusually heavy, 
  awkward to wield, bulky, or otherwise diﬃ  cult to 
  handle. You can represent this in one or more of 
  several ways:  increase the weapon’s STR Minimum; 
  change Reduced Endurance (0 END) to (½ END) 
  (see page 18); apply Increased Endurance Cost to 
  increase the END needed for the STR to wield the 
  weapon; and/or add the Bulky Modiﬁ er to its Focus 
  Limitation.
  Fragile:  Th e weapon is easier to break or damage. It 
  has -1 (or more) DEF or BODY than normal. You 
  can represent this with the Fragile Modiﬁ er to the 
  Focus Limitation (worth -0, unless it reduces the 
  weapon to 1 DEF, in which case it’s worth -¼).
  Inaccurate:  Th e weapon is not as accurate as most 
  of its kind. You can simulate this with a Side Eﬀ ect 
  (see page 7).
  Restricted:  Th e weapon is so weak or diﬃ  cult to 
  use that it has some Limitation most weapons of 
  its type lack — such as Limited Range for a bow, 
  or Activation Roll for a sword (representing that 
  sometimes even an accurate blow does no damage).
  Slow-Striking:  Th e weapon is so diﬃ  cult to wield 
  that it slows down the character’s combat reﬂ exes. 
  Th is is a -1 (or greater) penalty to DEX only for 
  purposes of determining who acts ﬁ rst in a Seg-
  ment. You can buy this as a Side Eﬀ ect (if not 
  folded into a negative OCV Side Eﬀ ect, it’s a -¼, 
  always occurs, for a total of -½).
  Weak Strike:  Th e weapon’s blows are weak, and thus 
  far less likely to hurt those it strikes. You can simu-
  late this in one or both of two ways:  ﬁ rst, decrease 
  the Damage Classes the weapon has; second, apply 
  the Decreased STUN Multiplier Limitation.
  Other Drawbacks:  Some other possible negative 
  qualities, which save no Character Points but still 
  make a blade less enjoyable to wield, include: 
  ■ Poor appearance:  the weapon is rusty or notched; 
  has numerous visible repairs; it looks as badly-
  made as it is.
  ■ Ill repute:  Th e weapon has a poor reputation. Per-
  haps an evil man once committed foul deeds with it, 
  or it supposedly carries a curse that makes its wielder 
  accidentally slay innocent people, or the like.
  WEAPON LENGTH 
  AND SIZE
  Fantasy weapons are also deﬁ ned in terms of 
  their length and size.
  Weapon Length
  Weapons are deﬁ ned with four Length catego-
  ries:  Small (S), Medium (M), Long (L) and Extra 
  Long (L2). Short weapons include things like daggers 
  and hatchets, most natural weaponry like claws and 
  fangs, and unarmed attacks. Long and Extra Long 
  weapons include shaft ed weapons like spears, pole-
  arms, and lances, and perhaps the natural weapons of 
  creatures with exceptionally long limbs. Everything 
  else is a Medium weapon. Th e following optional rules 
  apply to the use of weapons of various lengths; GMs 
  may choose to use some, all, or none of them.
  WEAPON REACH
  A Short or Medium weapon can strike targets 
  in the character’s own hex, or in adjacent hexes. As 
  always, the GM should apply some common sense 
  when adjudicating a combat situation. If a character 
  stands on one side of a hex, and there’s a target on 
  the far side of the hex across from him, he can’t stab 
  that character with a dagger or sword — that’s not 
  really “adjacent” in any meaningful sense. A char-
  acter’s “reach” may include taking a step or two, but 
  not so many that it would amount to a Half Move.
  Long weapons have ranges of 1” or 2”. A 
  weapon with a 1” range can strike characters any-
  where in an adjacent hex, and possibly even slightly 
  into a hex beyond that depending on the relative 
  positions of attacker and target. A weapon with 
  a 2” range can strike characters anywhere in any 
  adjacent hex or the hexes beyond that, and possibly 
  even into a hex beyond that depending on the rela-
  tive positions of attacker and target.
  If you’re not using a hex map, you can simplify 
  matters by assigning speciﬁ c lengths to the weap-
  ons. A character with a Short weapon can strike 
  anyone within reach of his arm (about two to two-
  and-a-half feet from his body). A character with a 
  Medium weapon can strike anyone within six feet 
  of his body. A character with a Long weapon can 
  strike anyone within 12 feet of his body; one with 
  an Extra Long weapon can strike any target within 
  18 feet of his body.
  An attacker with a Long or Extra Long weapon 
  can attack “over” a friendly character, at an oppo-
  nent on the other side, at a -2 OCV penalty. Th is 
  makes massed ranks of spearmen particularly 
  eﬀ ective in battle.
  OCV PENALTIES 
  Wielders of Short weapons are at a disadvan-
  tage when ﬁ ghting opponents with longer weapons. 
  When a character with a Short weapon (including 
  unarmed characters) ﬁ ghts a target with a Medium 
  weapon, he suﬀ ers a -1 OCV penalty. When he 
  ﬁ ghts a target with a Long or Extra Long weapon, 
  he’s at -2 OCV.
  
  24 ■ Fantasy Equipment
  Hero System 5th Edition
  Similarly, when a character with a Medium 
  weapon ﬁ ghts a target with a Long or Extra Long 
  weapon, he suﬀ ers a -1 OCV penalty. A charac-
  ter with a Long weapon suﬀ ers no OCV penalty 
  against a character with an Extra Long weapon. In 
  any situation, the character with the longer weapon 
  does not get a bonus to OCV.
  Weapon length OCV penalties apply to 
  attempts to Block as well as attacks.
  A weapon length OCV penalty only lasts 
  as long as it takes the character with the shorter 
  weapon to hit the target with the longer weapon. 
  Hitting the target means he’s gotten inside the 
  target’s reach — and the situation reverses. Th e 
  wielder of the longer weapon now suﬀ ers an OCV 
  penalty identical to the penalty the character previ-
  ously had. To get rid of the penalty, he has to back 
  up 1” to get his reach back (this constitutes a Half 
  Move, of course), or has to hit his foe in spite of the 
  OCV penalty (this means he’s thrown his foe back 
  to his preferred ﬁ ghting range).
  When a character has a weapon the same 
  length as his foe’s (for example, if both have 
  polearm Long weapons), but decides to make 
  an unarmed attack (for instance, kicking his 
  opponent), he does not suﬀ er the OCV penalty 
  — because he has a weapon of length similar to 
  his foe’s, he ﬁ ghts at no reach disadvantage even 
  though he’s using a Short attack.
  Shields And Longer Weapons
  A shield constitutes a Short weapon when 
  used to attack a target (i.e., make a shield-bash 
  attack), and suﬀ ers any penalties appropriate for 
  weapon length. However, the shield does not suﬀ er 
  a weapon length OCV penalty when its bearer tries 
  to Block a Medium, Long, or Extra Long weapon 
  attack. A shield blocks a dagger, a sword, a spear, 
  and a pike with the same OCV.
  HIT LOCATIONS 
  A character with a Short weapon can choose 
  to roll 2d6+1 (High Shot) or 2d6+7 (Low Shot) 
  (depending on whether he strikes high or low) for 
  his Hit Location rolls without taking any OCV pen-
  alty for making a Placed Shot.
  A character with a Medium, Long, or Extra 
  Long weapon rolls the standard 3d6 for his Hit 
  Location rolls. If he wants to make a High Shot, 
  Low Shot, or the like, he suﬀ ers the standard OCV 
  penalty for a Placed Shot.
  WEAPON LENGTHS AND ENCLOSED SPACES
  Long weapons aren’t much good when you’re 
  ﬁ ghting in an enclosed, cramped, or cluttered 
  space, and this optional rule simulates that fact. 
  Th e accompanying table lists a variety of diﬀ erent 
  ﬁ ghting environments and their eﬀ ects on diﬀ erent 
  types of weapons. If used, these rules replace the 
  general rules for cramped and cluttered spaces on 
  page 379 of the HERO System 5th Edition, Revised, 
  though the GM may still allow a character to 
  reduce or eliminate the penalties if he succeeds 
  with an Acrobatics roll.
  
  25 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter One
  CONCEALING WEAPONS
  A character’s ability to conceal a weapon on 
  his person (or elsewhere) depends on its size. See 
  page 450 of the HERO System 5th Edition, Revised 
  for general rules about concealing things.
  Small weapons have a Concealment modiﬁ er 
  of +0 to +1.
  Medium weapons used with one or one-and-a-
  half hands have a Concealment modiﬁ er of +3 to +5.
  Medium weapons used with two hands have a 
  Concealment modiﬁ er of +6 to +7.
  Human-sized characters cannot conceal Long 
  or Extra Long weapons on their persons. Larger 
  characters (such as giants) may be able to, but at a 
  +8 or greater modiﬁ er.
  Weapon Size/Shape
  Fantasy characters get in a lot of HTH 
  fights, and often end up using unusual objects as 
  weapons, so GMs invoke the Weapon Size/Shape 
  Combat Modifier if necessary. (They should also 
  remain aware of weapon length rules; see above). 
  Additionally, some Fantasy characters wield 
  unusually large weapons.
  Fantasy characters come in many diﬀ erent 
  sizes, from sprites and halﬂ ings to trolls and giants. 
  Each race uses weapons suitable to its size, which 
  may aﬀ ect the damage a weapon does. Th e weap-
  ons tables in this chapter assume weapons sized 
  for humans and other characters that are standard 
  height (1”) (or close to it, such as dwarves). Th e 
  accompanying table provides guidelines for varying 
  the damage and STR Minima for smaller and larger 
  weapons, based on the Size/Weight categories used 
  for Physical Limitations and Package Deals (see 
  Fantasy Hero, pages 51-52, or pages 574-76 of the 
  main rulebook).
  Characters sometimes want to wield weapons 
  that are too large or small for them. Even assuming 
  a character has enough STR to lift  the weapon at all, 
  he may be unable to wield it eﬀ ectively due to its STR 
  Minimum (see pages 478-79 of the HERO System 
  5th Edition, Revised). Additionally, the character may 
  suﬀ er an OCV penalty because he cannot handle the 
  weapon eﬀ ectively. Find the character’s Size/Weight 
  category on the Larger And Smaller Weapons table. 
  A character can wield weapons used by creatures one 
  category smaller or larger than he at no penalty. For 
  each step beyond that, he suﬀ ers a -1 OCV penalty 
  (this is cumulative with any STR Minimum penal-
  ties). For example, a human can wield a Large or Small 
  creature’s weapon with no penalty. But he suﬀ ers a -1 
  OCV when using Diminutive or Enormous weapons, 
  a -2 OCV for Tiny or Huge weapons, and so forth. A 
  Huge giant can wield Enormous and Gigantic weap-
  ons without any size problems, but would suﬀ er a -3 
  OCV with a Small creature’s weapon.
  Every step below Human-sized reduces a 
  weapon’s Length category by one (to a minimum 
  of “Short”). Thus, a spear that’s Long at human 
  dimensions counts as a Short weapon when 
  created for Diminutive and smaller creatures. 
  Similarly, each step above Human-sized tends 
  to add one to the weapon’s Length category (to 
  a maximum of “L2”), though the GM may make 
  exceptions to this if appropriate.
  If appropriate, a GM may let two or more 
  characters wield a weapon too large for either 
  of them to use on his own. To determine the 
  group’s effective STR, add their lifting capacities 
  together, then use that total to derive the group’s 
  “STR” on the Strength Table. That tells you 
  whether the group can lift the weapon, and how 
  the group’s STR compares to the weapon’s STR 
  Minimum. All characters wielding the weapon 
  must take their Phases on the same Segments 
  (faster characters have to Hold their Actions if 
  necessary, and may lose some Actions). They 
  must use the same DEX to strike. This DEX 
  determines the group’s OCV; the group cannot 
  apply any Combat Skill Levels (unless every 
  member of the group has CSLs with Oversized 
  Weapons, in which case they can apply only as 
  many Levels as the character with the fewest 
  Levels has).
   WEAPONS IN ENCLOSED SPACES
   
   
  Short 
   Medium 
  Long 
  Extra Long
  Environment 
  Unarmed Weapons Weapons Weapons Weapons
  Extremely Cramped (coﬃ  n, latrine) 
  -2 
  -3 
  N/P 
  N/P 
  N/P
  Very Cramped (3’ hallway) 
  -1 
  -2 
  -3 
  N/P 
  N/P
  Cramped (room crowded with furniture or debris, 4-7’ hallway, 3’ doorway) — 
  — 
  -1 
  -2 
  -3
  Partly Cramped (room with 6’ ceiling, 8-10’ hallway, 4’+ doorway) 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  -1 
  -2
  —:  No eﬀ ect on OCV.
  Number:  A penalty to the character’s OCV with the weapon.
  N/P:  Use of this weapon is not possible.
  LARGER AND 
  SMALLER WEAPONS
  Size Category 
  Weapon Damage 
  Weapon STR MIN
  Insectile 
  -6 DC 
  -30
  Minute 
  -5 DC 
  -25
  Minuscule 
  -4 DC 
  -20
  Tiny 
  -3 DC 
  -15
  Diminutive 
  -2 DC 
  -10
  Small 
  -1 DC 
  -5
  Human-sized 
  — 
  —
  Large 
  +1 DC 
  +10
  Enormous 
  +2 DC 
  +20
  Huge 
  +3 DC 
  +30
  Gigantic 
  +4 DC 
  +40
  Gargantuan 
  +5 DC 
  +50
  Colossal 
  +6 DC 
  +60
  
  26 ■ Fantasy Equipment
  Hero System 5th Edition
  ARMOR
  W
  ith so many weapons around, it’s not 
  surprising that characters look for ways 
  to protect themselves. Armor represents 
  a character’s last defense against the 
  damage of an attack (aft er DCV and such defensive 
  actions as Dodging, Blocking, or using a shield). 
  Armor’s DEF subtracts from the BODY done by 
  Killing Damage weapons; the DEF, plus the charac-
  ter’s natural PD and ED, subtracts from the STUN. 
  Armor’s DEF plus the character’s defenses sub-
  tract from both the STUN and BODY of Normal 
  Damage attacks.
  Armor is built using the Power Armor with 
  the Limitations OIF (-½), Real Armor (-¼), and 
  Mass (typically Normal Mass, -1) (see pages 
  487-88 of the HERO System 5th Edition, Revised 
  for more information). For the sake of simplic-
  ity, it provides its DEF against both Physical and 
  Energy attacks. In “realistic” campaigns, armor 
  should provide only half its DEF (at most!) 
  against energy attacks. Imagine, for example, how 
  little protection a suit of plate armor would offer 
  against a wizard’s lightning bolt....
  ARMOR AND RACE
  When a character uses a suit of armor meant 
  for a diﬀ erent race, penalties may apply depending 
  upon the size, shape, and weight of the armor. For 
  example, if a lizard-man puts on a suit of armor 
  made for a human, he’ll ﬁ nd it uncomfortable 
  because human armor does not accommodate his 
  reptilian tail. An ogre’s armor may be too heavy 
  or bulky for smaller races, and a dwarf will have 
  diﬃ  culty wearing human armor (and vice-versa). 
  At the GM’s option, this sort of discomfort or dif-
  ﬁ culty may result in a negative modiﬁ er for the 
  character’s actions. Some possibilities include:
  ■ increase the weight of the armor solely for pur-
  poses of calculating the character’s Encumbrance 
  penalty
  ■ a penalty to all DEX-based Skill Rolls made while 
  wearing the armor
  ■ a penalty to OCV while wearing the armor
  ■ a penalty to DCV, or to Dodge, while wearing 
  the armor
  ■ a reduction in DEX while wearing the armor
  You should also consider what Hit Locations 
  armor designed for another race protects. For 
  example, non-tailed races may ﬁ nd that the seat 
  of the pants remains exposed if they wear armor 
  manufactured by races with tails. Th e GM must 
  determine the exact game eﬀ ects.
  TYPES OF ARMOR
  Th e accompanying table lists the types of armor 
  available in most Fantasy games. Gamemasters can 
  add to the list as appropriate for the campaign setting.
  Explanation Of Armor Table
  CLOTH AND HIDE ARMORS
  These forms of “armor” often barely qualify 
  as such.
  Heavy Cloth:  Various types of heavy woven materi-
  als. Heavy Cloth is oft en indistinguishable from 
  ordinary clothes; and in fact most sturdy clothing 
  (adventurers’ and workmen’s wear) counts as Heavy 
  Cloth (this does not include peasants’ everyday 
  garb, courtiers’ fancy robes, or the like).
  Padded Cloth:  Two or more layers of Heavy Cloth 
  with padding sewn in between them to absorb the 
  impact of blows. Th is looks much less like ordinary 
  clothes than Heavy Cloth, but may be mistaken for 
  clothes at a distance, in bad light, or if well-made.
  Woven Cord:  Th ick cord or rope woven into ﬂ at 
  matting and used as protective wear. It’s obviously 
  armor (as are all heavier armors except for Soft  
  Leather and Heavy Animal Hides).
  Heavy Animal Hides:  Th e most protective type of 
  armor available without chemical treatments, rein-
  forcement, or metal, Heavy Animal Hides is just 
  that:  thick animal skins. It may be mistaken for 
  clothing when worn by some persons (such as bar-
  barians or shamans).
  LEATHER ARMORS
  Th ese armors consist of treated or untreated 
  leather without any additional reinforcement.
  Soft Leather:  Any untreated, medium-weight 
  leather (animal skin). It oft en resembles ordinary 
  leather clothing, and in fact most leather garb 
  counts as Soft  Leather.
  Heavy Leather:  Like Soft  Leather, but thicker, stiﬀ er, 
  and heavier. Th is looks much less like ordinary 
  clothes than Soft  Leather, but may be mistaken for 
  clothes at a distance, in bad light, or if well-made.
  Cuir-Bouilli (Boiled Leather):  Th is armor consists 
  of heavy leather boiled, shaped, and hardened to 
  provide more protection (though at the cost of 
  some ﬂ exibility). A popular choice among many 
  light ﬁ ghters, rogues, and non-warrior types... and 
  also among war-leaders who want to equip their 
  soldiers cheaply.
  THE SPECIAL 
  EFFECTS OF ARMOR
  As with virtually every-
  thing else in the HERO 
  System, special eﬀ ects 
  are paramount when it 
  comes to armor. Oft en 
  a player wants to outﬁ t 
  his character with a 
  particular type of armor 
  that suits the character’s 
  appearance or activities 
  — such as leather armor 
  for a ranger or rogue 
  — but ends up choosing 
  heavier armor (such as 
  chain mail) to get the 
  higher DEF.
  Special eﬀ ects allow 
  you to deﬁ ne your 
  character’s armor 
  however you want. 
  As long as you accept 
  the penalties, restric-
  tions, and other rules 
  for a particular type of 
  armor, you can describe 
  it to suit your vision of 
  your character. Th us, 
  a character can have a 
  suit of leather armor 
  that provides DEF 6, 
  as if it were chainmail. 
  However, it weighs 20 
  kg. just like a suit of 
  chainmail, and imposes 
  the same DCV or DEX 
  penalties as chainmail 
  — even though the 
  leather armor listed in 
  the Armor Table only 
  provides DEF 3 and 
  weighs 7 kg.
  
  27 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter One
  REINFORCED LEATHER ARMORS
  Th ese armors are leather armors reinforced 
  with metal. Th ey provide more protection than 
  unaugmented leather, but aren’t as protective as 
  metal armors (on the other hand, they weigh less).
  Studded Leather:  Leather armor reinforced with 
  metal studs, or sometimes metal strips.
  Ring Armor:  Leather armor with metal rings sewn 
  onto it.
  Bezainted Leather:  Named aft er a medieval coin, 
  this is leather armor with metal discs (sometimes 
  overlapping) sewn onto it.
  Jazeraint Leather:  Th is is leather armor with metal 
  scales sewn onto it. It’s as much a form of scale mail 
  as leather armor.
  SCALE MAILS
  Scale mails consist of metal scales laced, sewn, 
  or riveted together to form a protective garment. 
  Some versions had a cloth or leather backing as 
  well. In the eyes of many Fantasy characters, they’re 
  a “poor man’s mail,” used by people who want the 
  beneﬁ ts of metal armor but cannot make, buy, or 
  otherwise obtain chainmail.
  Brigandine:  Th is multi-layered armor consists of 
  metal scales (usually horizontal rectangular ones) 
  sewn in between two layers of heavy cloth or 
  leather. Th e scales usually overlap upwards slightly. 
  Th e rivets that hold the plates together oft en show 
  through the upper layer of cloth, and might be 
  gilded or otherwise decorated.
  Lamellar Armor:  Also called splint armor or laced 
  armor, lamellar has a series of thick metal “splints” or 
  scales, sometimes slightly convex, laced together (and 
  to a backing of cloth or leather). Th e size of the splints 
  depends on the part of the body covered; the armorer 
  uses small splints at points of articulation, and larger 
  ones over the chest, thighs, and the like. In areas where 
  metal was scarce, or regarded as too heavy, armorers 
  made the splints out of horn, bone, wood, or other 
  substances (see Armor Materials, page 29).
  Banded Mail:  Overlapping, articulated, rectangular 
  metal scales attached to vertical leather strips. Also 
  known as laminated armor.
  CHAINMAILS
  Probably the most popular armor among Fan-
  tasy characters, chainmails (or just “mail”) consist 
  of small metal rings linked together to form a pro-
  tective yet relatively ﬂ exible garment.
  Chainmail:  Standard chain armor.
  Double Mail:  Chainmail made with thicker rings 
  more closely interwoven. Similar to double mail is 
  bar mail, in which some of the rings have a vertical 
  bar in the middle.
  Reinforced Chainmail:  Chainmail with strips of 
  leather woven through the links.
  PLATE ARMORS
  Well known due to its association with the 
  “knight in shining armor,” plate armors use large, 
  heavy plates of steel to protect the wearer. Leather 
  straps hold the pieces in place and link them 
  together into a whole suit. Although not as ﬂ exible 
  as chainmail, plate armor oﬀ ers the highest degree 
  of protection of any armor.
  Plate And Chain:  A suit of chainmail reinforced 
  with sections of plate. It oﬀ ers greater protection 
  than just chainmail without much extra weight or 
  loss of ﬂ exibility.
  You can also use Plate And Chain to represent 
  types of armor that consist of metal scales linked 
  together by chainmail rings.
  Plate Armor:  Standard plate armor.
  Field Plate Armor, Full Plate Armor:  Th ese types of 
  plate armor consist of heavier, better-ﬁ tted, better-
  made plates attached not just by leather straps, but 
  screws and the like.
  ARMOR TABLE
   
   
  A/R 
  Weight Of
  Armor Type 
  DEF Cost A Full Suit
  Cloth And Hide Armors
  Heavy Cloth 
  1 
  3/1 
  3.5 kg
  Padded Cloth 
  2 
  6/2 
  5 kg
  Woven Cord 
  2 
  6/2 
  5 kg
  Heavy Animal Hides 
  3 
  9/3 
  7 kg
  Leather Armors
  Soft  Leather 
  1 
  3/1 
  3.5 kg
  Heavy Leather 
  2 
  6/2 
  5 kg
  Cuir-Bouilli (Boiled Leather) 3 
  9/3 
  7 kg
  Reinforced Leather Armors
  Studded Soft  Leather 
  1 
  3/1 
  3.5 kg
  Ring Armor (Soft  Leather) 
  3 
  9/3 
  7 kg
  Bezainted Soft  Leather 
  3 
  9/3 
  7 kg
  Jazeraint Soft  Leather 
  3 
  9/3 
  7 kg
  Studded Heavy Leather 
  2 
  6/2 
  5 kg
  Ring Armor (Heavy Leather) 4 
  12/4 
  10 kg
  Bezainted Heavy Leather 
  4 
  12/4 
  10 kg
  Jazeraint Heavy Leather 
  4 
  12/4 
  10 kg
  Studded Cuir-Bouilli 
  3 
  9/3 
  7 kg
  Ring Armor (Cuir-Bouilli) 
  5 
  15/5 
  14 kg
  Bezainted Cuir-Bouilli 
  5 
  15/5 
  14 kg
  Jazeraint Cuir-Bouilli 
  5 
  15/5 
  14 kg
  Scale Mails
  Brigandine 
  4 
  12/4 
  10 kg
  Lamellar (Splint Armor) 
  5 
  15/5 
  14 kg
  Banded Mail 
  6 
  18/6 
  20 kg
  Chainmails 
  Chainmail 
  6 
  18/6 
  20 kg
  Double Mail/Bar Mail 
  7 
  21/8 
  28 kg
  Reinforced Chainmail 
  7 
  21/8 
  28 kg
  Plate Armors
  Plate And Chain 
  7 
  21/8 
  28 kg
  Plate Armor 
  7 
  21/8 
  28 kg
  Field Plate Armor 
  7 
  21/8 
  28 kg
  Full Plate Armor 
  8 
  24/9 
  40 kg
  DEF:  Th e Defense the armor provides, equivalent to 
  PD and ED Armor of the same amount.
  A/R Cost:  Th e Active Point/Real Point cost of the armor.
  Most armors come in “light” and “heavy” versions. A 
  light version provides -1 DEF and is somewhat lighter; 
  a heavy version provides +1 DEF and is heavier. Since 
  the weights in the table above are standardized by 
  DEF, use the weight listed for the appropriate DEF 
  (heavy full plate [9 DEF] weighs 56 kg; 10 DEF armor 
  would weigh 80 kg.).
  
  28 ■ Fantasy Equipment
  Hero System 5th Edition
  Sectional Armor
  While characters often wear the same type 
  of armor over their entire bodies, they don’t 
  have to. For various reasons — to cut down on 
  weight, to reduce cost, or having to use what’s 
  available — they may “mix and match” armor 
  of different types, or even leave some parts of 
  the body unprotected.
  Th e Weight Of Sectional Armor
  To determine the weight of sectional 
  armor, which in turn dictates how it affects the 
  character’s Encumbrance rating, you can take 
  one of two approaches. The first, and often 
  the simplest in game terms, is to define sec-
  tional armor by Hit Location. Thus, the char-
  acter might have DEF 4 armor on his Hands 
  (6), Feet (17-18), and lower Legs (16), DEF 6 
  armor on his Arms (7-8), Vitals (13), Thighs 
  (14), and upper Legs (15), and DEF 7 armor on 
  his Head (3-5), Shoulders (9), Chest (10-11), 
  and Stomach (12). The Hit Location Sectional 
  Armor Weight Table provides the weight (in 
  kilograms) for pieces covering each part of the 
  body, based on the amount of DEF provided.
  The second, and somewhat more historically 
  accurate, approach is to buy armor in predefined 
  pieces. This isn’t quite as precise as going Hit 
  Location by Hit Location, but it’s not too dis-
  similar, and often contributes more to the “feel” 
  of the campaign. The Historical Sectional Armor 
  Weight Table provides the weight (in kilograms) 
  for various pieces of armor used in Europe (con-
  sult a reference book if you want to see what the 
  pieces look like).
  HIT LOCATION SECTIONAL ARMOR WEIGHT TABLE
  Hit Location 
  Armor Base Defense
  Name (Roll) 
  1 
  2 
  3 
  4 
  5 
  6 
  7 
  8
  Head (3) 
  .02 
  .02 
  .03 
  .05 
  .06 
  .09 
  .13 
  .18
  Head (4) 
  .05 
  .07 
  .10 
  .14 
  .19 
  .28 
  .39 
  .56
  Head (5) 
  .10 
  .14 
  .19 
  .28 
  .39 
  .56 
  .78 
  1.11
  Hands (6) 
  .16 
  .23 
  .32 
  .46 
  .65 
  .93 
  1.30 
  1.85
  Arms (7) 
  .24 
  .35 
  .49 
  .69 
  .97 
  1.39 
  1.94 
  2.78
  Arms (8) 
  .34 
  .49 
  .68 
  .97 
  1.36 
  1.94 
  2.72 
  3.89
  Shoulders (9) 
  .41 
  .58 
  .81 
  1.16 
  1.62 
  2.32 
  3.24 
  4.63
  Chest (10) 
  .44 
  .63 
  .88 
  1.25 
  1.75 
  2.50 
  3.50 
  5.00
  Chest (11) 
  .44 
  .63 
  .88 
  1.25 
  1.75 
  2.50 
  3.50 
  5.00
  Stomach (12) 
  .41 
  .58 
  .81 
  1.16 
  1.62 
  2.32 
  3.24 
  4.63
  Vitals (13) 
  .34 
  .49 
  .68 
  .97 
  1.36 
  1.94 
  2.72 
  3.89
  Th ighs (14) 
  .24 
  .35 
  .49 
  .69 
  .97 
  1.39 
  1.94 
  2.78
  Legs (15) 
  .16 
  .23 
  .32 
  .46 
  .65 
  .93 
  1.30 
  1.85
  Legs (16) 
  .10 
  .14 
  .19 
  .28 
  .39 
  .56 
  .78 
  1.11
  Feet (17) 
  .05 
  .07 
  .10 
  .14 
  .19 
  .28 
  .39 
  .56
  Feet (18) 
  .02 
  .02 
  .03 
  .05 
  .06 
  .09 
  .13 
  .18
  
  29 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter One
  Th e DEF Of Sectional Armor
  If your campaign uses Hit Locations, you 
  can figure out how much DEF to apply to an 
  attack based on the location:  if a character wear-
  ing a DEF 6 corselet (Hit Locations 9-15) takes 
  a hit on the Shoulder (9), he applies DEF 6 to 
  reduce the damage.
  If the campaign does not use Hit Locations, or 
  if the GM considers a particular attack so “general” 
  that no one location bears the brunt of the damage, 
  the character must determine his Average DEF. You 
  can do this in one of two ways. Th e ﬁ rst method 
  involves 3 steps:
  1. Add the DEF covering Hit Locations 9, 10, 11, 12, 
  13, and 14.
  2. Add to the total of (1) the DEF covering the 
  Head (locations 3, 4, and 5), provided that armor 
  protects at least two of those three Hit Locations. If 
  it does not, do not add it in.
  3. Divide the total of (1) and (2) by 7. Th is tells you 
  the Average DEF protecting the character’s body.
  The first method, while quick, is also a sim-
  plification; it takes into account about 70% of a 
  character’s body, including all Hit Locations with 
  better than a x½ BODY multiplier. It assumes 
  the character has at least some armor on Hit 
  Locations 6-8 and 15-18; if not, the results may 
  be skewed. If the GM feels a character is abus-
  ing this system by heavily armoring the counted 
  parts of the body and leaving the others improp-
  erly lightly armored, he can reduce the Average 
  DEF by 1-2 to compensate.
  Th e second method is more comprehensive, 
  but also easier for unscrupulous players to abuse:  
  add up the DEF ratings for all 16 Hit Locations, 
  then divide by 16 to determine the Average DEF. 
  Th is system beneﬁ ts characters who take heavy 
  armor on locations like the Hands and Feet, since 
  they have equal weight in the calculation even 
  though they’re hit less frequently than Locations 
  9-14. However, if a character has reasonably similar 
  types of armor over his body, or a concentration of 
  heavier armor on locations 9-14, this method tends 
  to provide a fairer calculation of Average DEF than 
  the ﬁ rst method.
  HISTORICAL SECTIONAL ARMOR WEIGHT TABLE
  Hit Location 
  Armor Base Defense
  Name (Roll) 
  1 
  2 
  3 
  4 
  5 
  6 
  7 
  8
  Full Helmet (3-5) 
  .16 
  .23 
  .32 
  .46 
  .65 
  .93 
  1.30 
  1.85
  Coif (4-5,9) 
  .55 
  .79 
  1.10 
  1.57 
  2.20 
  3.15 
  4.41 
  6.30
  Helm (4-5) 
  .15 
  .21 
  .29 
  .42 
  .58 
  .83 
  1.17 
  1.67
  Cap (5) 
  .10 
  .14 
  .19 
  .28 
  .39 
  .56 
  .78 
  1.11
  Gauntlets (6-7) 
  .41 
  .58 
  .81 
  1.16 
  1.62 
  2.31 
  3.24 
  4.63
  Gloves (6) 
  .16 
  .23 
  .32 
  .46 
  .65 
  .93 
  1.30 
  1.85
  Brassards (7-8) 
  .58 
  .83 
  1.17 
  1.67 
  2.33 
  3.33 
  4.67 
  6.67
  Vambraces (7) 
  .24 
  .35 
  .49 
  .69 
  .97 
  1.39 
  1.94 
  2.78
  Rerebraces (8) 
  .34 
  .49 
  .68 
  .97 
  1.36 
  1.94 
  2.72 
  3.89
  Pauldrons (9) 
  .41 
  .58 
  .81 
  1.16 
  1.62 
  2.32 
  3.24 
  4.63
  Hauberk (7-14) 
  2.85 
  4.07 
  5.70 
  8.15 
  11.4 
  16.3 
  22.8 
  32.6
  Corselet (9-15) 
  2.43 
  3.47 
  4.86 
  6.94 
  9.72 
  13.9 
  19.4 
  27.8
  Byrnie (9-14) 
  2.27 
  3.24 
  4.54 
  6.48 
  9.07 
  13.0 
  18.2 
  25.9
  Cuirass (9-13) 
  2.03 
  2.89 
  4.05 
  5.79 
  8.10 
  11.6 
  16.2 
  23.2
  Vest (10-13) 
  1.62 
  2.31 
  3.24 
  4.63 
  6.48 
  9.26 
  13.0 
  18.5
  Breastplate (9-11) 
  1.28 
  1.83 
  2.56 
  3.66 
  5.12 
  7.32 
  10.2 
  14.6
  Skirtplate (12-13) 
  .75 
  1.06 
  1.49 
  2.13 
  2.98 
  4.26 
  5.96 
  8.52
  Chausses (14-18) 
  .57 
  .81 
  1.13 
  1.62 
  2.27 
  3.24 
  4.54 
  6.48
  Leggings (14-17) 
  .55 
  .79 
  1.10 
  1.57 
  2.20 
  3.15 
  4.41 
  6.30
  Skirt (14) 
  .24 
  .35 
  .49 
  .69 
  .97 
  1.39 
  1.94 
  2.78
  Greaves (16-17) 
  .15 
  .21 
  .29 
  .42 
  .58 
  .83 
  1.17 
  1.67
  Boots (17-18) 
  .06 
  .09 
  .13 
  .19 
  .26 
  .37 
  .52 
  .74
  Knee Cops (15) 
  .16 
  .23 
  .32 
  .46 
  .65 
  .93 
  1.30 
  1.85
  Demigreaves (16) 
  .10 
  .14 
  .19 
  .28 
  .39 
  .56 
  .78 
  1.11
  Anklets (17) 
  .05 
  .07 
  .10 
  .14 
  .19 
  .28 
  .39 
  .56
  ARMOR MATERIALS
  Th e rules for metal armor assume that armor’s made 
  of steel. However, that may not always be the case. A 
  Bronze Age culture would have bronze armor instead, 
  while a tribe living in a swamp with ironwood trees 
  might carve armor out of wood (since metal would rust 
  so quickly it would become useless).
  Th e table below lists the DEF and Weight changes when 
  characters substitute some other substance for steel. 
  Th is includes replacing metal plates in scale, bezainted, 
  or like armors with some other substance. Th e GM 
  may alter the results slightly in the interest of common 
  sense, dramatic sense, or game balance.
  Material 
  DEF 
  Weight
  Bronze 
  -2 
  x1
  Copper 
  -2 
  x.8
  Dwarven steel 
  +2 
  x1
  Elven-silver 
  +1 
  x.8
  Horn 
  -2 
  x.7
  Iron 
  -1 
  x1
  Ivory 
  -3 
  x.8
  Leather (hardened) 
  -4 
  x.5
  Stone 
  -1 
  x1.2
  Wood 
  -2 
  x.8
  
  30 ■ Fantasy Equipment
  Hero System 5th Edition
  BARDING
  Barding is armor for horses and other land 
  mounts or fighting animals, such as elephants or 
  war-dogs (flying and swimming mounts gener-
  ally cannot wear it; they cannot bear the weight). 
  It can come in just about any form that armor for 
  people can, and provides the same DEF. Depend-
  ing on how well it’s made, and how much of the 
  mount it covers, it may weigh only a little more 
  than a full suit of the same armor for a person, or 
  considerably more.
  Th e two accompanying tables list the weight of 
  diﬀ erent types of barding, based on either the Hit 
  Locations covered (using the Equine Hit Location 
  Table on page 35 of Th e HERO System Bestiary) or 
  the predeﬁ ned pieces purchased. Note that histori-
  cally, even the most comprehensive suits of barding 
  leave the horse’s lower legs exposed; the Hit Loca-
  tion Sectional Barding Table ignores this reality 
  and lists armor values for all Hit Locations (in case 
  magic or some other means allows characters to 
  create leg armor for horses).
  In addition to the listed pieces of armor, some 
  horses had an escutcheon, or decorative spike, 
  attached to the chanfron (faceplate). It adds no 
  DEF, but might allow the horse to do 1 point or 
  ½d6 of Killing Damage with a head-butt.
  All rules that apply to armor for charac-
  ters apply to animals in barding as well (such as 
  Encumbrance or DCV penalties), unless the GM 
  prefers not to use them for some reason.
  HIGH AND POORQUALITY ARMOR
  Just like characters can buy weapons that are 
  better or worse than average, they can buy armor 
  that’s better or worse than a standard suit of the 
  same type armor. In game terms, characters can 
  have ﬁ ne and poor armor. Th e armors listed in the 
  tables earlier in this chapter are “average” versions 
  — they have the DEF and other qualities of typical 
  armors of their type.
  At the GM’s option, characters can use the fol-
  lowing rules and guidelines to create exceptional 
  armors, or to represent below-average versions of 
  armor. Gamemasters are, of course, free to change 
  the Character Point costs of these improvements (or 
  drawbacks) to suit their campaigns, or even to give 
  them to characters’ armor for free to represent events 
  that occur during game play. Additionally, where the 
  rules provide Character Point totals for unusual abili-
  ties that aren’t built using the standard HERO System 
  rules, those abilities apply only to armor. Characters 
  may not buy them as personal abilities.
  Note that the abilities do not represent 
  enchantment or magical enhancement, but rather 
  improved quality of materials, craft ing, or the like. 
  Additionally, these abilities sometimes represent 
  “legendary” attributes possessed by famous or note-
  worthy armors. Th ey’re a great way to distinguish 
  a special or wondrous suit of armor from typical 
  armors without having to resort to the catch-all 
  explanation of “magic.” But of course, they can 
  also represent enchantments (minor or otherwise) 
  placed on a suit of armor if you want.
  HISTORICAL SECTIONAL BARDING WEIGHT TABLE
  Hit Location 
  Armor Base Defense
  Name (Roll) 
  1 
  2 
  3 
  4 
  5 
  6 
  7 
  8
  Head (3) 
  .03 
  .05 
  .07 
  .10 
  .14 
  .20 
  .28 
  .40
  Head (4) 
  .07 
  .10 
  .14 
  .20 
  .28 
  .40 
  .56 
  .80
  Neck (5) 
  .21 
  .30 
  .42 
  .60 
  .84 
  1.2 
  1.68 
  2.4
  Neck (6) 
  .35 
  .50 
  .70 
  1.0 
  1.4 
  2.0 
  2.8 
  4.0
  Forelimbs (7) 
  .50 
  .70 
  .98 
  1.4 
  1.96 
  2.8 
  3.92 
  5.6
  Forelimbs (8) 
  .70 
  1.0 
  1.4 
  2.0 
  2.8 
  4.0 
  5.6 
  8.0
  Body (9) 
  .80 
  1.15 
  1.6 
  2.3 
  3.2 
  4.6 
  6.4 
  9.4
  Body (10) 
  .87 
  1.25 
  1.75 
  2.5 
  3.5 
  5.0 
  7.0 
  10.0
  Body (11) 
  .87 
  1.25 
  1.75 
  2.5 
  3.5 
  5.0 
  7.0 
  10.0
  Stomach (12) 
  .80 
  1.15 
  1.6 
  2.3 
  3.2 
  4.6 
  6.4 
  9.2
  Vitals (13) 
  .70 
  1.0 
  1.4 
  2.0 
  2.8 
  4.0 
  5.6 
  8.0
  Hindlimbs (14) 
  .50 
  .70 
  .98 
  1.4 
  1.96 
  2.8 
  3.92 
  5.6
  Hindlimbs (15) 
  .35 
  .50 
  .70 
  1.0 
  1.4 
  2.0 
  2.8 
  4.0
  Hindlimbs (16) 
  .21 
  .30 
  .42 
  .60 
  .84 
  1.2 
  1.68 
  2.4
  Hindlimbs (17) 
  .07 
  .10 
  .14 
  .20 
  .28 
  .40 
  .56 
  .80
  Hindlimbs (18) 
  .03 
  .05 
  .07 
  .10 
  .14 
  .20 
  .28 
  .40
  Full Suit 
  7 
  10 
  14 
  20 
  28 
  40 
  56 
  80
  HISTORICAL SECTIONAL BARDING WEIGHT TABLE
  Hit Location 
  Armor Base Defense
  Name (Roll) 
  1 
  2 
  3 
  4 
  5 
  6 
  7 
  8
  Chanfron (3-4) 
  .875 
  1.25 
  1.75 
  2.5 
  3.5 
  5.0 
  7.0 
  10.0
  Crinet (5-6) 
  .875 
  1.25 
  1.75 
  2.5 
  3.5 
  5.0 
  7.0 
  10.0
  Peytrel (9-10) 
  1.75 
  2.5 
  3.5 
  5.0 
  7.0 
  10.0 
  14.0 
  20.0
  Flanchard (11-12) 
  1.75 
  2.5 
  3.5 
  5.0 
  7.0 
  10.0 
  14.0 
  20.0
  Crupper (13-14) 
  1.75 
  2.5 
  3.5 
  5.0 
  7.0 
  10.0 
  14.0 
  20.0
  Full Suit 
  7 
  10 
  14 
  20 
  28 
  40 
  56 
  80
  
  31 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter One
  Buying Fine And Poor Armor
  When designing a ﬁ ne or poor suit of armor, 
  you should use the Character Point costs listed 
  below to re-calculate the overall Active and Real 
  Point costs of the armor. You may apply the Inde-
  pendent Limitation if the GM feels that’s appropri-
  ate for a truly unique and special suit of armor, but 
  it’s not required; GMs usually forbid it because it 
  may end up making the improved armor cheaper 
  than its mundane counterpart.
  Since Heroic characters don’t pay Character 
  Points for their armor, making a suit of armor 
  “ﬁ ne” or “poor” generally only aﬀ ects the armor’s 
  monetary cost (see Fantasy Hero, page 143). Th e 
  Active and Real Point costs usually just help the 
  GM evaluate whether the suit of armor is balanced 
  for the campaign. However, to prevent ﬁ ne armors 
  from becoming too common in the game, the GM 
  may require characters to pay Character Points for 
  them, using one of two methods:
  ■ the cost of improvements themselves, calculated as 
  (improved suit of armor’s Real Point cost) - (normal 
  suit of armor’s Real Point cost), with some predeﬁ ned 
  minimum cost (such as 3 Character Points)
  ■ a ﬂ at cost, such as 5 Character Points
  In either case, if the character loses the suit of 
  armor, he permanently loses the points spent on 
  it... though the GM may allow him to go on a quest 
  to regain the armor, reforge it, or have another one 
  made, and spend the “lost” points on that.
  Fine Armors
  Fine armor may have one or more of the fol-
  lowing abilities, or any other the GM sees ﬁ t to 
  allow. Th e GM should evaluate any improvements 
  a character wants to apply to armor carefully, to 
  ensure they’re balanced for the campaign.
  Less Blinding:  Th e armor is so cunningly craft ed 
  that it doesn’t restrict the character’s Sight or other 
  senses as much as most suits do. You can buy this 
  as Enhanced Perception to overcome some or all of 
  the PER Roll penalties associated with the armor 
  (see page 35).
  Less Restrictive:  In campaigns that impose a DCV, 
  DEX Roll, or DEX restrictions on wearing armor, 
  the armor is so well-made that it doesn’t inhibit 
  the character’s movement as much as a normal suit 
  does. You can buy this as Armor Skill Levels for the 
  wearer (see page 34).
  Less Tiring:  In games that impose an END cost on 
  wearing armor (see below), the armor is less tiring 
  to wear. You can buy this by applying the Reduced 
  Endurance cost to armor (possibly even the variant 
  on Fantasy Hero, page 246, that doesn’t reduce the 
  END paid but extends the time period over which a 
  character has to pay END).
  Lightweight:  Th e armor is made of an unusual 
  material that’s lighter than normal, or is so well-
  made that it rides on the character’s body in a less 
  encumbering fashion. Recalculate the cost of the 
  armor using a version of the Mass Limitation less 
  than Normal Mass (-1) — typically Half Mass (-½).
  
  32 ■ Fantasy Equipment
  Hero System 5th Edition
  More Protective:  Th e armor provides +1 DEF, 
  bought in the manner described on page 26.
  Noble Appearance:  Th e armor inspires loyalty and 
  bravery in the wielder’s allies, fear and dread in his 
  foes. You can buy this as +5 PRE (sometimes more); 
  OIF (-½), Real Armor (-¼), Only For Making Pres-
  ence Attacks While Th e Armor Is Worn (-1) (total 
  cost:  2 points).
  Quickly Donned:  A wearer can put on or take off 
  the armor in half the time it normally takes. You 
  can buy this as Teleportation 1”, Usable As Attack 
  (+1), Only To Don Armor (-2), Extra Time (at 
  least two Phases, more for plate armors; -¾) 
  (total cost:  1 point).
  Sturdy:  Th e armor is harder to break or damage. It 
  has +1 (or more) BODY, and perhaps some Power 
  Defense to resist Dispels and Drains. Each +1 
  BODY costs 1 Character Point; and each point of 
  Power Defense costs 1 Character Point (appropriate 
  Limitations apply, of course).
  Unreal Armor:  Th e weapon does not have the Real 
  Armor Limitation, meaning it always stays clean 
  and ready for action without any eﬀ ort on the 
  wearer’s part.
  Other Improvements:  Some other possible improve-
  ments, that cost no Character Points but help to 
  make armor distinctive, include:
  ■ Ornamentation:  gilding or silvering; inlaid gems; 
  sculpted plates or pieces; carved designs on the 
  plates; and so forth
  ■ Unrustable:  regardless of how much moisture it’s 
  exposed to, the armor never rusts (magical rusting 
  attacks can still aﬀ ect it, though)
  ■ Distinctive ring:  when struck by a weapon, the 
  armor emits a distinctive ring or tone if the wielder 
  wants it to
  Poor Armor
  Poor armor may have one or more of the 
  following drawbacks (most of which are just the 
  reverse of Fine armor qualities), or any other the 
  GM sees ﬁ t to impose.
  Heavy:  Th e armor is made of an unusual material 
  that’s heavier than normal, or is so poorly-made 
  that it rides on the character’s body in a more 
  encumbering fashion. Recalculate the cost of the 
  armor using a special version of the Mass Limita-
  tion, Double Mass (-1½).
  Ignoble Appearance:  Th e armor inspires scorn 
  or fear in the wielder’s allies, contempt or pity in 
  his foes. You can buy this as a Side Eﬀ ect (-5 PRE 
  for Presence Attacks while wearing armor, always 
  occurs; -½).
  Less Protective:  Th e armor provides -1 DEF, 
  bought in the manner described on page 26.
  More Blinding:  Th e armor is so badly made that it’s 
  even harder to see out of. You can buy this as a Side 
  Eﬀ ect (double all PER Roll penalties for wearing 
  armor, always occurs; -½).
  More Restrictive:  In campaigns that impose a DCV, 
  DEX Roll, or DEX restrictions on wearing armor, 
  the armor inhibits the wearer’s movement more 
  than a normal suit does.  You can buy this as a Side 
  Eﬀ ect (double all DCV/DEX Roll penalties for 
  wearing armor, always occurs; -½).
  More Tiring:  In games that impose an END cost 
  on wearing armor (see below), the armor is more 
  tiring than normal to wear. You can buy this by 
  applying the Increased Endurance Cost Limitation 
  to armor.
  Weak:  Th e armor is easier to break or damage. It 
  has -1 (or more) BODY. Each -2 BODY reduces the 
  armor’s cost by 1 Character Point (minimum cost 
  of 1 Character Point).
  Other Drawbacks:  Some other possible negative 
  qualities, which save no Character Points but still 
  make armor less enjoyable to wear, include: 
  ■ Poor appearance:  the armor is rusty or dented; 
  has numerous visible repairs; it looks as badly-
  made as it is.
  ■ Ill repute:  Th e armor has a poor reputation. Per-
  haps an evil man once committed foul deeds while 
  wearing it, it supposedly carries a curse that makes 
  its wearer less intelligent, or the like.
  USING ARMOR
  In many Fantasy games, characters tend to 
  treat armor as if it were no diﬀ erent than clothing 
  — they ignore the diﬃ  culties associated with wear-
  ing it, and only pay attention to how much protec-
  tion it gives them. While this certainly simpliﬁ es 
  the game, it’s not very realistic... and what’s worse, 
  it may cause game balance problems. Th e following 
  guidelines and rules help to make armor both more 
  balanced and more “realistic.”
  PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS
  In the real world, armor brings with it a host 
  of problems and drawbacks. Th ese may have little 
  (or no) eﬀ ect in game terms, but you should keep 
  them in mind when considering how characters 
  use armor in the game. To the extent you want to 
  incorporate them into your game, the Real Armor 
  Limitation reﬂ ects them.
  First, armor (particularly metal armor) is 
  heavy. While the weight is spread over the body 
  somewhat, it’s still a lot of kilograms to carry, 
  and the weight does stress some areas of the 
  body more than others (such as the shoulders). 
  The longer a warrior wears his armor, the heavier 
  it seems to become.
  Second, armor is hot and stuffy to wear, and 
  tends to overheat the character quickly. Some 
  medieval commentators noted that their armies 
  lost nearly as many men to heat exhaustion as to 
  injuries. The longer one had to wear armor, and 
  the hotter or more humid the weather, the worse 
  this problem was.
  Th ird, armor is restrictive. It does not signiﬁ -
  cantly hinder movement — modern tests have 
  shown that untrained men can put on a suit of plate 
  
  33 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter One
  armor and then do things like lie down and stand 
  back up, run, jump, and so on. Aft er all, it would be 
  suicidal to put on a suit of armor, no matter how 
  protective, that limited basic movement abilities 
  in combat. But armor’s obviously less ﬂ exible and 
  more conﬁ ning than clothing — and the heavier/
  more rigid the armor, the more restrictive it tends 
  to be. Additionally, some types of helmets restricted 
  the wearer’s ﬁ eld of vision, at least slightly.
  Fourth, armor is uncomfortable if worn too 
  long. For short periods, it’s not particularly diﬃ  cult 
  to wear, especially if it’s properly ﬁ tted and put on. 
  But if worn for long periods, particularly during 
  strenuous activities like riding, it could chafe or 
  otherwise discomfort the wearer. Sleeping in armor, 
  particularly heavy armor, was rarely even con-
  templated, much less engaged in. A character who 
  sleeps in his armor will probably wake up stiﬀ  and 
  sore (-3 DEX for several hours aft er awakening).
  Fift h, armor requires maintenance. If dinged 
  or cut in battle, it needs repairs (see page 35). 
  Aft er being worn, it requires cleaning. If it con-
  tains metal, it needs regular oiling and polishing 
  to prevent rust. At the GM’s option, if a character 
  does not take the time to maintain his armor aft er 
  a period of strenuous use — two days of travel or 
  routine adventuring, one day of battle or adventur-
  ing featuring combat — the armor loses 1 DEF per 
  week of lack of maintenance (and perhaps quicker 
  if he continues using it), down to half its DEF. 
  Alternately, the GM may increase other penalties, 
  such as END cost or time to don.
  Donning Armor
  Putting on (or removing) armor takes time 
  — and sometimes helpers.
  Picking up a shield, or putting on a very simple 
  piece of armor (such as a helmet), takes a Half 
  Phase Action.
  Putting on a simple piece of armor (such as a 
  leather, reinforced leather, scale, or chain corselet 
  or hauberk) takes a Full Phase Action. However, 
  this may leave some parts of the body (primarily 
  the limbs and head) at least partly exposed. To put 
  armor on this quickly, the character just grabs the 
  largest, most convenient piece of a suit of armor 
  and gets it on his body as quickly as he can, without 
  fastening every single lace, strap, or buckle.
  Putting on an entire suit of cloth/hide, leather, 
  leather, reinforced leather, scale, or chain armor 
  takes four Phases. Typically a character can do this 
  by himself.
  Putting on plate armor takes time, and oft en 
  requires the assistance of a squire or the like. Don-
  ning an entire suit of plate takes 5 Minutes — 1 
  Minute for the torso, and 1 Minute for each limb. 
  If the character does not have at least one helper, 
  triple these times.
  Removing armor takes the same amount of 
  time. In an emergency, a character with a dagger or 
  similar Short bladed weapon can cut himself free 
  more quickly — one step up the Time Chart — but 
  this makes the armor useless until repaired.
  
  34 ■ Fantasy Equipment
  Hero System 5th Edition
  Balancing Armor Use
  Armor provides a tremendous beneﬁ t in game 
  terms. Th e DEF it oﬀ ers goes a long way toward 
  keeping a character unharmed (or at least less 
  harmed), and it doesn’t cost any Character Points. 
  As a result, most characters — even characters who 
  shouldn’t be wearing heavy (or any) armor — tend 
  to have it. Moreover, since armor is so “cheap,” 
  heavy ﬁ ghters can oft en ﬁ nd ways to wear lots of it 
  and yet still come close to matching light ﬁ ghters in 
  terms of DEX and SPD.
  Many GMs who consider this a problem in 
  their games institute rules to make wearing armor 
  less attractive. In other words, they change armor 
  so the beneﬁ ts it provides come with drawbacks. 
  If you’ve found “armor balance” to be a problem 
  in your campaign, you may want to consider one 
  or more of the following solutions (or use them as 
  guidelines to create some of your own).
  Encumbrance
  First, look at the HERO System rules for 
  Encumbrance (see Fantasy Hero, page 152, or 
  page 379 of the main rulebook). A character 
  who’s too heavily loaded down suffers penalties 
  to DCV, DEX Rolls, and movement, and has to 
  spend END every Turn. However, because the 
  rules allow characters with high STR to lift a lot 
  of weight, armor may not hinder them much. For 
  example, a suit of full plate (40 kg) only counts 
  as 10% of the weight limit for a 20 STR character. 
  Even allowing for the weight of his other equip-
  ment, his armor doesn’t restrict him too much.
  If you think armor should be more encumber-
  ing, you have several options. First, you can double 
  (or otherwise increase) the weight of armor solely for 
  Encumbrance purposes. For example, a suit of chain-
  mail may only weigh 20 kilograms when put on the 
  scales, but when a character wearing chainmail calcu-
  lates his Encumbrance, he counts it as weighing 40 kg.
  Second, you can change the Encumbrance 
  thresholds. Perhaps penalties start to accumulate at 
  5% lower than indicated in the table on page 379 of 
  the main rulebook. Or, perhaps the Encumbrance 
  thresholds depend on Casual STR — the amount 
  the character can lift  with half his STR — rather 
  than his full STR. Using that system, a character 
  with 20 STR becomes 40% Encumbered just by 
  putting on a suit of full plate, or 20% Encumbered 
  when wearing chainmail.
  Th ird, you can increase the Encumbrance 
  penalties so that even a little bit of Encumbrance 
  proves extremely troublesome. Maybe a character 
  who’s 11-24% Encumbered suﬀ ers -1 DCV/DEX 
  Rolls and spends 1 END per Turn, with penalties 
  increasing proportionately from there.
  Endurance
  As mentioned above, by all accounts armor, 
  particularly heavy armor, is tiring to wear. Besides 
  the sheer weight of it, it’s extremely hot, which only 
  tires the character out more quickly.
  You can represent this “armor fatigue factor” 
  in several ways. First, you can rely on Encumbrance 
  END costs. Because those costs are relatively mild, this 
  is unlikely to make armor unattractive to many char-
  acters, but combined with some other penalties it may 
  prove an eﬀ ective balance to armor’s beneﬁ ts.
  Second, you can impose a speciﬁ c END cost 
  for wearing armor. Typically this means an END 
  cost per Turn, not per Phase (much like Encum-
  brance). Th e main issue is how much END to 
  charge, and that depends on how much balancing 
  you think armor needs. For example, perhaps 1-3 
  DEF armor cost 1 END per Turn, 4-6 DEF armor 
  costs 2 END per Turn, 7-9 DEF armor costs 3 END 
  per Turn, and so forth.
  Th ird, you can treat the END spent to wear 
  armor as particularly tiring. For example, you could 
  rule that Post-Segment 12 Recoveries do not allow 
  characters to Recover END spent to wear armor. 
  Th e only way to Recover that END is to spend a 
  Phase in combat taking a Recovery, or to wait until 
  the battle is over. Similarly, you could use the Long-
  Term Endurance rules (HERO System 5th Edition, 
  Revised, page 425) to make it tiring to wear armor 
  for long periods of time. In addition to the per 
  Turn END cost, wearing armor during strenuous 
  activity (like combat) costs a character 1 (or more) 
  LTE per Turn.
  DCV And DEX Rolls
  Perhaps the simplest, and most eﬀ ective, way 
  to balance armor is to penalize the DEX and DCV 
  of characters who wear it. As noted above, armor, 
  while not overly restrictive, is still more restrictive 
  than clothing — and the heavier the armor, the 
  more restrictive it’s likely to be.
  Gamemasters who use this method of balanc-
  ing armor usually establish a penalty to DCV and 
  DEX Rolls (including Skill Rolls deriving from 
  DEX) based on the amount of DEF the armor pro-
  vides. For example, perhaps every 3 DEF or frac-
  tion thereof imposes -1 DCV/DEX Rolls:  1-3 DEF 
  equals -1; 4-6 equals -2; 7-9 equals -3; and so on.
  Other GMs like to introduce a little more vari-
  ety, or use the type of armor to determine the pen-
  alty. For example:  cloth and hide armors, -1; leather 
  and reinforced leather armors, -2; scale and chain 
  mails, -3; and plate armors, -4.
  Another possibility is to limit the amount 
  of DEX a character can use while armored. For 
  example, a character wearing cloth and hide armors 
  can use his full DEX, regardless of how high it is. 
  A character wearing leather armors can only use 
  DEX up to DEX 20. One wearing reinforced leather 
  armor can use DEX up to 18, one wearing scale or 
  chain mails can use up to DEX 15, and one using 
  plate armor can use up to DEX 13. Th is, obviously, 
  restricts both CV and DEX Rolls.
  Armor Skill Levels:  If the GM imposes DCV 
  and DEX Roll penalties, characters can buy Skill 
  Levels to overcome the restrictions, representing 
  their skill and training for ﬁ ghting in armor. To 
  counteract the DCV penalty, buy +1 DCV (5 Active 
  Points); Only To Counteract Armor Penalties (-1), 
  for 2.5 points each. To counteract the DEX Roll 
  penalty, buy +1 with all DEX Rolls and DEX-Based 
  Skill Rolls (5 Active Points); Only To Counteract 
  Armor Penalties (-1), for 2.5 points each. Alter-
  
  35 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter One
  nately, the GM can simply increase the cost of the 
  DCV Levels slightly — to a ﬂ at 3 or 4 Character 
  Points each, with no Limitation — and allow them 
  to apply to both DCV and DEX Rolls (perhaps in 
  full even if a character uses both a DEX Roll and 
  his DCV in the same Phase).
  If the campaign limits how much DEX a 
  character can use while armored, each Armor Skill 
  Level raises that threshold by 1 for any armor the 
  character wears.
  Perception Rolls
  At the GM’s option, armor’s penalty to DCV 
  and DEX Rolls — either as derived from Encum-
  brance, or using a direct modiﬁ er like the one 
  above — also applies to a character’s PER Rolls 
  unless he removes (or does not put on) an appro-
  priate piece of armor. To eliminate the Sight PER 
  penalty, a character must doﬀ  his helmet; to remove 
  the Touch PER penalty, he must take oﬀ  his gaunt-
  let; and so forth.
  Wearing Multiple Armors
  While some armors (such as Plate And 
  Chain) combine types of protective wear, in gen-
  eral a character cannot wear two types of armor 
  at once. If he somehow mixes two together, he 
  must either define it as a new type of a single 
  suit of armor (like Plate And Chain), or use the 
  sectional armor rules. A character cannot wear 
  two types of armor and add their DEFs together. 
  (Heavy armors, such as scale, chain, and plate, 
  usually came with padded undergarments to 
  minimize discomfort and chafing, but this does 
  not count as wearing Heavy Cloth or Padded 
  Cloth armor in addition to the outer armor.)
  Armor Breakage
  For the sake of quick and easy game play, 
  armor generally does not break. Attacks may pierce 
  it, of course, but characters don’t have to keep track 
  of a suit of armor’s BODY to determine whether it 
  falls apart in mid-battle.
  Gamemasters desiring greater “realism” should 
  consider a suit of armor to have BODY equal to 
  three times the armor’s DEF. Every attack that 
  inﬂ icts BODY damage on the character (in other 
  words, BODY damage accruing to the charac-
  ter aft er he applies his armor’s DEF) inﬂ icts the 
  same amount of damage to the armor. Once the 
  armor takes all of its BODY in damage, it’s useless 
  — either it falls apart, or it’s too full of holes to do 
  any good. At the GM’s option, a suit of armor that 
  loses one-third its BODY provides only two-thirds 
  of its DEF; one that loses two-thirds of its BODY 
  provides only one-third DEF.
  As a default rule, characters cannot target 
  armor speciﬁ cally (i.e., with the intent of damaging 
  it without hurting the person wearing it). However, 
  the GM may allow this at a substantial OCV pen-
  alty (-5 or more).
  If a character wants to target a hole in his 
  enemy’s armor caused by a previous attack that 
  inﬂ icted BODY damage on that enemy, he can do 
  so, but suﬀ ers an OCV penalty based on the size of 
  the hole. A large hole (for example, caused by a long 
  
  36 ■ Fantasy Equipment
  Hero System 5th Edition
  cut from a sword) imposes a -4 to -5 OCV modi-
  ﬁ er. A medium-sized hole (for example, caused by 
  a single axe-blow) imposes a -5 to -7 OCV modi-
  ﬁ er. A small hole (for example, caused by an arrow, 
  or a stab wound from a dagger) imposes a -7 to 
  -12 OCV modiﬁ er. Th ese modiﬁ ers take the place 
  of the Hit Location modiﬁ ers normally used for 
  Placed Shots (in eﬀ ect the hole becomes a separate 
  target). If the character succeeds with this attack, 
  the enemy does not get the beneﬁ t of his armor’s 
  DEF against the attack.
  SHIELDS
  A shield is a large piece of wood and/or metal, 
  usually roughly disc- or rectangular-shaped, worn by 
  a ﬁ ghter on his oﬀ  arm (typically his left  arm). Th e 
  ﬁ ghter uses it to block attacks and protect himself 
  from harm.
  In game terms, a shield is bought as a two-slot 
  Multipower. Th e ﬁ rst slot provides bonuses to DCV, 
  bought as DCV Levels with the OAF (-1), Real Armor 
  (-¼), Mass (Normal Mass; -1), and STR Minimum 
  Limitations. For every 5 points (or fraction thereof) a 
  shield’s user’s STR is below the shield’s STR Minimum, 
  reduce the DCV bonus it provides by 1. Additionally, 
  the wielder may apply his shield’s DCV bonus as a 
  bonus to his OCV for purposes of Blocking (see Fan-
  tasy Hero, page 155).
  Th e second slot 
  allows the character to 
  perform a “shield bash” 
  maneuver. It’s a Hand-
  To-Hand Attack with the 
  OAF (-1), Hand-To-Hand 
  Attack (-½), Real Weapon 
  (-¼), and STR Minimum 
  Limitations. It also has 
  a -½ Side Eﬀ ects Limita-
  tion, signifying the fact 
  that the character suﬀ ers 
  an OCV penalty equal to 
  the shield’s DCV bonus 
  (since shields, especially 
  large ones, aren’t primar-
  ily intended as weapons 
  and thus awkward to 
  use as such). Th e spiked 
  buckler also has an 
  HKA slot. Shields and 
  spiked bucklers are a 1-
  point subcategory of the 
  Common Melee Weapons 
  Weapon Familiarity 
  group; characters without 
  an appropriate WF suﬀ ers 
  the standard Unfamiliar 
  Weapon penalty.
  Shields also have 
  BODY and DEF ratings, 
  for use with the weapon 
  and shield breakage rules 
  (Fantasy Hero, page 189). The shield’s materials 
  and size determine its BODY and DEF; you can 
  use the Durable (+0) and Fragile (-0, since shields 
  have more than 1 BODY) modifiers to Focus to 
  simulate differences from the standard Focus 
  breakability rules.
  OTHER USES FOR SHIELDS
  At the GM’s option, a shield that’s not in 
  use, but which a character is currently carrying 
  (typically by slinging it on his back) might add +1 
  (wooden shield) or +2 (metal shield) DEF to the 
  character’s armor for attacks against the location(s) 
  the shield covers. If characters try to take advantage 
  of this optional rule by carrying extra shields or 
  other such “power gaming” tactics, the GM should 
  not use it.
  Clever characters may come up with other 
  clever uses for a shield. For example, a metal shield 
  might make a useful cooking platter, or a charac-
  ter with a smooth-faced large shield could turn it 
  into an impromptu sled to escape from an enemy 
  during snowy weather.
  SHIELD TABLE
  Type Of Shield 
  DCV 
  HA 
  STR Min BODY 
  DEF 
  Mass Total Cost
  Wooden Shields
  Buckler 
  +1* 
  1d6 N 
  3 
  2 
  3 
  1 kg 
  4
  Spiked Buckler 
  +1* 
  1d6 N/½d6 K 
  5 
  3 
  3 
  2 kg 
  7
  Small 
  +1 
  1d6 N 
  5 
  3 
  3 
  2 kg 
  4
  Medium 
  +2 
  2d6 N 
  10 
  4 
  3 
  4 kg 
  6
  Large 
  +3 
  3d6 N 
  15 
  6 
  3 
  6 kg 
  7
  Tower 
  +4 
  3d6 N 
  18 
  7 
  3 
  8 kg 
  9
  Metal Shields
  Buckler 
  +1* 
  1d6 N 
  4 
  2 
  5 
  2 kg 
  4
  Spiked Buckler 
  +1* 
  1d6 N/½d6 K 
  6 
  3 
  5 
  3 kg 
  7
  Small 
  +1 
  1d6 N 
  6 
  3 
  5 
  3 kg 
  4
  Medium 
  +2 
  2d6 N 
  13 
  4 
  5 
  5 kg 
  6
  Large 
  +3 
  3d6 N 
  18 
  6 
  5 
  7 kg 
  7
  Tower 
  +4 
  3d6 N 
  20 
  7 
  5 
  10 kg 
  9
  Key
  K:  Killing Damage
  N:  Normal Damage
  DCV:  Th e DCV bonus provided by the shield. Bonuses marked with an asterisk (*) 
  require the character to make a DEX Roll to obtain them (this counts as an Action that 
  takes no time).
  HA:  Th e HA (and, for spiked bucklers, HKA) damage the shield does with a shield bash 
  maneuver.
  STR Min:  STR Minimum.
  BODY, DEF:  Th e BODY and DEF of the shield, used primarily with the shield breakage 
  rules (page 189).
  Mass:  Th e shield’s weight in kilograms.
  Total Cost:  Th e total cost of the shield as a Multipower (see text).
  
  MARTIAL ARTS 
  EQUIPMENT
  Chapter Two
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  38 ■ Martial Arts Eequipment
  T
  his section describes weapons (and other 
  gear) appropriate for martial arts char-
  acters and campaigns. Costs for each 
  weapon are given, so you can use them in 
  Superheroic campaigns; for Heroic campaigns, 
  characters don’t have to pay points for these 
  weapons, but are subject to the listed STR Mini-
  mum (see below).
  OCV:  Th is is applied as a bonus or penalty against 
  all attacks made with the weapon. OCV bonuses 
  are bought as 5-point Combat Skill Levels with the 
  OAF, Required Hands, and Real Weapon Limita-
  tions. OCV bonuses that apply only to a tight group 
  of maneuvers (normally, the Bind, Disarm, and 
  Takeaway maneuvers) are bought with a -½ Limita-
  tion. OCV bonuses that apply only to one type of 
  maneuver (normally Block) are bought with a -1 
  Limitation. OCV penalties are a minor Side Eﬀ ect 
  (automatically occurs; -½) for the weapon.
  RMod:  Th is represents a modiﬁ er to the weapon’s 
  accuracy at Range. Positive values (bought as 3-
  point Penalty Skill Levels versus the Range Group 
  with the Focus and Required Hands Limitations) 
  help to oﬀ set the standard Range Modiﬁ er; negative 
  values (a minor Side Eﬀ ect (automatically occurs; 
  -½)) add to it. RMod can never raise a character’s 
  base OCV, it can only negate penalties.
  Damage:  Th e damage done by the weapon. 
  Weapon damage appearing without parentheses 
  — for instance, 1d6+1 — refers to Killing Damage 
  (built using HKA or RKA), while weapon damage 
  appearing in parentheses — for instance, (4d6) 
  — refers to Normal Damage (built using EB or 
  HA). Th rowable melee weapons have the Advanted 
  Range Based On STR (+¼).
  STUNx:  Th is is the STUN Multiplier for Killing 
  Damage weapons (a 0 means “no modiﬁ cation”; use 
  the standard 1d6-1 STUN Multiplier). Apply the 
  STUNx modiﬁ er to the STUN Multiplier roll (or to 
  the STUNx for the Hit Location struck, if the cam-
  paign uses Hit Location rules). For example, if a 
  character with a War Flail (STUNx +1) hit an oppo-
  nent in the Head, the total STUNx would be 6.
  STRMin:  STR Minimum. See pages 478-79 of 
  the HERO System 5th Edition, Revised for rules. 
  Remember to apply the rules in Adding Damage, 
  pages 405-09, when using STR to increase the 
  damage of a weapon bought with Advantages.
  BODY:  Th e weapon’s BODY.
  DEF:  Th e weapon’s DEF.
  Mass:  Th e weight of the weapon in kilograms.
  Shots:  Th e number of Charges a ranged weapon 
  has (usually Recoverable Charges [RC]).
  Max Range:  Th e weapon’s maximum Range in 
  game inches (hexes). Of course, its eﬀ ective range 
  — the range over which it’s likely to hit a target 
  — is much less, thanks to the Range Modiﬁ er.
  A/N/C Cost:  Th e Active Point cost and Real Point 
  cost of the weapon for Normal (OAF, -1) and Con-
  cealed (IAF, -½) versions.
  Cultr:  Th e culture or nation which created the 
  weapon. Th e entries in the “Master List” of weap-
  ons descriptions oft en contain information about 
  equivalent weapons from other cultures. 
  Length:  The weapon’s length — Short, Medium, 
  or Long. See page 480 of the HERO System 5th 
  Edition, Revised for information on how these 
  are bought, and see page 186 of Fantasy Hero and 
  page 164 of this book for more information on 
  weapons lengths generally.
  Notes:  Th is catch-all category includes any informa-
  tion not listed elsewhere; refer to the Notes And Key 
  section aft er the chart for more information.
  NOTES AND KEY
  Notes
  1. This weapon has an additional Power: Armor 
  (6 PD/6 ED) (18 Active Points); Only Protects 
  Location 6 (i.e., the hand holding the weapon) 
  (-2), OAF (-1) for normal form or IAF (-½) for 
  concealed form. Cost: 4 points (normal form) or 
  5 points (concealed form). This cost is added to 
  the weapon cost.
  2. Th is weapon has an additional Power: Armor (6 
  PD/6 ED) (18 Active Points); Only Protects Loca-
  tion 6 (i.e., the hand holding the weapon) (-2), 
  Activation Roll 11- (-1), OAF (-1) for normal form 
  or IAF (-½) for concealed form. Cost:  4 points 
  (normal or concealed form). Th is cost is added to 
  the weapon cost.
  3. Th is weapon is built with an additional Power: 
  +1 to Climbing  Rolls (2 Active Points); OAF (-1) 
  or IAF (-½). Cost: 1 point (either form). Th is cost is 
  added to the cost of the weapon.
  See page 478 of the HERO System 5th Edition, 
  Revised for more information on building weapons.
  MARTIAL ARTS 
  WEAPONS
  
  39 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Two
  BOWS
   
   
   
   
   
  STR 
   
   
   
   
  Max 
  A/N/C
  Weapon 
  OCV RMod Damage STUNx 
  Min 
  BODY DEF Mass Shots Range 
  Cost 
  Cultr 
  Notes
  Arrows
  Dragon’s Tongue 
  0 
  0 
  +1 point 
  — 
  — 
  1 
  1 
  0.04 
  — 
  — 
  var 
  Japan
  Frog-Crotch 
  0 
  0 
  +1 point 
  — 
  — 
  1 
  1 
  0.04 
  — 
  — 
  var 
  Japan
  Hikime 
  0 
  0 
  (3d6) 
  — 
  — 
  1 
  1 
  0.04 
  — 
  — 
  var 
  Japan
  Skinsplitter 
  0 
  0 
  +2 points 
  — 
  — 
  1 
  1 
  0.04 
  — 
  — 
  var 
  Japan
  Willow Leaf 
  0 
  0 
  +1 point 
  — 
  — 
  1 
  1 
  0.04 
  — 
  — 
  var 
  Japan
  Chu-ko-nu 
  0 
  0 
  1d6+1 
  0 
  10 † 
  5 
  4 
  6.4 
  10 RC 
  125” 
  25/7/8 
  China 
  2H
  Hankyu 
  0 
  0 
  1d6 
  0 
  7 † 
  2 
  3 
  0.9 
  24 RC 
  130” 
  26/6/7 
  Japan 
  2H, Conc
  Yumi, One-Man 
  0 
  +1 
  1d6+1 
  0 
  10 † 
  2 
  3 
  1.0 
  24 RC 
  175” 
  38/9/11 
  Japan 
  2H, Conc
  Two-Man 
  0 
  +1 
  1 ½d6 
  0 
  13 † 
  2 
  3 
  1.1 
  24 RC 
  220” 
  47/11/14 
  Japan 
  2H, Conc
  Th ree-Man 
  0 
  +1 
  2d6 
  0 
  16 † 
  2 
  3 
  1.2 
  24 RC 
  260” 
  55/13/15 
  Japan 
  2H, Conc
  Four-Man 
  0 
  +1 
  2d6+1 
  0 
  18 † 
  3 
  3 
  1.3 
  24 RC 
  305” 
  64/14/16 
  Japan 
  2H, Conc
  Seven-Man 
  0 
  +1 
  2 ½d6 
  0 
  21 † 
  3 
  3 
  1.4 
  24 RC 
  350” 
  73/16/18 
  Japan 
  2H, Conc
  SHURIKEN
   
   
   
   
   
  STR 
   
   
   
   
  Max 
  A/N/C
  Weapon 
  OCV RMod Damage STUNx 
  Min 
  BODY DEF Mass Shots Range 
  Cost 
  Cultr 
  Notes
  Bo Shuriken 
  0 
  0 
  1d6-1 
  0 
  5 
  1 
  5 
  0.4 
  9 RC 
  RBS 
  21/8/9 
  Japan 
  AF5
  Endokuken 
  0 
  0 
  1d6 
  0 
  7 
  1 
  5 
  0.4 
  9 
  RBS 
  52/15/17 
  Japan 
  Poison smoke
  Large Star 
  0 
  0 
  1d6+1 
  0 
  9 
  1 
  5 
  0.6 
  9 RC 
  RBS 
  35/12/14 
  Japan 
  AF5 
  Small Star 
  0 
  0 
  1d6-1 
  0 
  5 
  1 
  5 
  0.4 
  9 RC 
  RBS 
  21/8/9 
  Japan 
  AF5
  Tsubute 
  0 
  0 
  (3d6) 
  — 
  7 
  1 
  5 
  0.4 
  9 RC 
  RBS 
  26/9/10 
  Japan 
  AF5
  MISCELLANEOUS RANGED WEAPONS
   
   
   
   
   
  STR 
   
   
   
   
  Max 
  A/N/C
  Weapon 
  OCV RMod Damage STUNx 
  Min 
  BODY DEF Mass Shots Range 
  Cost 
  Cultr 
  Notes
  Arare
  Joarare 
  0 
  0 
  1d6+1 
  0 
  10 
  3 
  5 
  0.8 
  1 RC 
  RBS 
  20/5/5 
  Japan 
  See text
  Chuarare 
  0 
  0 
  1d6-1 
  0 
  10 
  2 
  5 
  1.3 
  9 RC 
  RBS 
  36/18/22 
  Japan 
  AF5
  Koarare 
  0 
  0 
  ½d6 
  0 
  8 
  1 
  5 
  0.9 
  9 RC 
  RBS 
  30/13/15 
  Japan 
  AF5
  Comet Star Hammer 0 
  0 1d6+1/Ent 3d6  
  10 
  4 
  5 
  1.6 
  1 RC 
  RBS 
  37/11/12 
  China 
  See text
  Dropped Marbles 
  — 
  — 
  See text 
  — 
  — 
  1 
  4 
  1.2 
  2 RC 
  — 
  See text 
  Japan 
  NWF
  Fukimi-bari 
  0 
  0 
  ½d6 
  0 
  2 † 
  1 
  2 
  0.03 
  1 RC 
  — 
  10/—/2 
  Japan 
  Ninja Weapon
  Fukiya 
  0 
  0 
  1 point 
  -1 
  2 † 
  2 
  2 
  0.2 
  8 RC 
  25” 
  5/1/2 
  Japan 
  Conc
  Grenade, Smoke 
  0 
  0 
  Dkns 1” 
  — 
  — 
  2 
  2 
  1.0 
  8 
  RBS 
  10/3/4 
  Japan 
  NWF
  Iron Mandarin Duck 0 
  0 
  ½d6 
  0 
  8 
  3 
  5 
  2.0 
  1 RC 
  RBS 
  10/2/3 
  China
  Kapak 
  0 
  0 
  ½d6 
  0 
  6 
  3 
  4 
  0.6 
  1 RC 
  RBS 
  10/2/3 
  Indon
  Metsubishi
  Grenade 
  0 
  0 
  Flash 2d6 
  — 
  — 
  2 
  2 
  1.0 
  8 
  RBS 
  12/4/5 
  Japan
  Blown powder 
  0 
  0 
  Flash 2d6 
  — 
  — 
  1 
  —  
  0.01 
  1 
  — 
  10/2/2 
  Japan
  Nagedeppo 
  0 
  0 
  1d6 
  0 
  4 
  2 
  2 
  1.0 
  9 
  RBS 
  22/7/9 
  Japan 
  AE1, NWF
  Sling Bow 
  0 
  0 
  1d6 
  0 
  9 † 
  2 
  3 
  0.9 
  12 RC 
  95” 
  19/4/5 
  China 
  2H, Conc
  Steel Olive 
  0 
  0 
  ½d6 
  0 
  6 
  1 
  5 
  1.3 
  12 RC 
  RBS 
  12/4/5 
  China
  Steel Toad 
  0 
  0 
  ½d6 
  0 
  6 
  3 
  5 
  1.8 
  1 RC 
  RBS 
  10/2/3 
  China
  Tetsubishi 
  0 
  0 
  1d6 
  0 
  — 
  1 
  5 
  0.8 
  2 RC 
  — 
  45/17/21 
  Japan 
  NWF, see text
  Toami
  Small 
  0 
  0 
  Ent 4d6 
  — 
  1 
  3 
  2 
  2.0 
  1 RC 
  RBS 
  50/13/15 
  Japan 
  See text
  Normal 
  0 
  0 
  Ent 4d6 
  — 
  1 
  4 
  2 
  3.0 
  1 RC 
  RBS 
  70/19/21 
  Japan 
  See text
  Large 
  0 
  0 
  Ent 4d6 
  — 
  1 
  5 
  2 
  4.0 
  1 RC 
  RBS 
  90/24/28 
  Japan 
  See text
  Wishful Steel Ball 
  0 
  0 
  1 point 
  0 
  3 
  1 
  5 
  1.3 
  12 RC 
  RBS 
  6/2/3 
  China
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  40 ■ Martial Arts Eequipment
  HAND-TO-HAND WEAPONS TABLE
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  Damage STUNx STR Min BODY 
  DEF 
  Mass A/N/C Cost Length Cultr 
  Notes
  Axes and Maces
  Axe, Chinese 
  0 
  1d6 
  0 
  11 
  6 
  4 
  1.4 
  26/9/11 
  M 
  China Th r
  Copper Hammer 
  0 
  1d6+1 
  0 
  10 
  5 
  4 
  1.3 
  30/11/13 
  M 
  China 
  Hand Mace 
  0 
  1d6 
  0 
  11 
  5 
  5 
  1.6 
  22/8/10 
  M 
  China 
  Soft  Hammer 
  0 
  1 ½d6 
  0 
  15 
  4 
  4 
  1.5 
  46/15/18 
  M 
  China 
  Blades
  Arit 
  0 
  1d6 
  0 
  11 
  3 
  4 
  0.4 
  22/8/10 
  M 
  Indon 
  Bokken 
  0 
  (5d6) 
  — 
  10 
  3 
  3 
  0.9 
  44/13/15 
  M 
  Japan Th r, 1½H 
  Bundi 
  0 
  1d6 
  0 
  10 
  3 
  4 
  0.7 
  27/9/12 
  M 
  India 
  +1 OCV w/ Block
  Butterﬂ y Sword 
  0 
  1d6+1 
  0 
  10 
  3 
  5 
  0.8 
  30/11/13 
  M 
  China 
  Cutlass 
   
   
   
   
  5 
  5 
  1.1 
  40/14/17 
  M 
  Euro 
  +6 DEF on Hand; 1
  Blade 
  0 
  1d6 
  0 
  10
  Hilt 
  0 
  (3d6) 
  — 
  10
  Cymbal 
  0 
  1d6 
  0 
  10 
  2 
  5 
  0.6 
  26/9/11 
  S 
  China Th r
  Darn Do 
  0 
  1d6+1 
  0 
  12 
  5 
  5 
  1.1 
  30/11/13 
  M 
  China 
  Epee 
  0 
  (2d6) 
  — 
  7 
  3 
  5 
  0.7 
  15/5/5 
  M 
  Euro 
  Foil 
  0 
  (1d6) 
  — 
  5 
  3 
  5 
  0.5 
  7/2/3 
  M 
  Euro 
  Hook Sword 
  0 
  1d6+1 
  0 
  13 
  5 
  5 
  1.2 
  58/19/21 
  M 
  China +2 OCV w/Bind, Block, 
  Disarm, Takeaway; +6 DEF 
  on Hand on Act 11-; 2
  Jien 
  0 
  1d6 
  0 
  10 
  5 
  5 
  1.2 
  22/8/10 
  M 
  China 
  Katana 
  +1 
  1 ½d6 
  0 
  12 
  5 
  5 
  1.5 
  49/17/21 
  M 
  Japan Th r, 1½H
  Knuck-Knife 
  0 
  ½d6 
  0 
  7 
  3 
  5 
  1.0 
  33/9/11 
  S 
  USA 
  +6 DEF on Hand on Act 
  11-; 2
  Ko-Gatana 
  0 
  ½d6 
  0 
  4 
  2 
  5 
  0.3 
  17/7/8 
  S 
  Japan Th r
  Kris
  Knife 
  0 
  ½d6 
  0 
  7 
  3 
  5 
  0.8 
  15/5/7 
  S 
  Indon 
  Normal 
  0 
  1d6 
  0 
  11 
  4 
  5 
  1.0 
  22/8/10 
  M 
  Indon 
  Sword 
  0 
  1d6+1 
  0 
  15 
  5 
  5 
  1.6 
  30/10/12 
  M 
  Indon 
  Kukri 
  0 
  1d6 
  0 
  10 
  3 
  5 
  0.8 
  26/9/11 
  S 
  India 
  Th r
  Main-Gauche 
   
   
   
   
  3 
  5 
  0.8 
  46/16/20 
  S 
  Euro 
  +6 DEF on Hand; 1
  Using Blade 
  0 
  1d6-1 
  0 
  7
  Using Hilt 
  0 
  (2d6) 
  — 
  7
  
  41 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Two
  HAND-TO-HAND WEAPONS TABLE
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  Damage STUNx STR Min BODY 
  DEF 
  Mass A/N/C Cost Length Cultr 
  Notes
  Navaja 
  0 
  ½d6 
  0 
  5 
  2 
  4 
  0.4 
  15/6/7 
  S 
  Euro 
  Nine-Ring Sword 
  0 
  1d6+1 
  0 
  12 
  5 
  5 
  1.1 
  35/13/16 
  M 
  China +1 OCV with Disarm, 
  Takeaway
  Ninja-To 
  0 
  1 ½d6 
  0 
  15 
  5 
  5 
  1.6 
  44/28/36 
  M 
  Japan Th r, 1½H; Ninja Weapon, 
  see text 
  No-Daichi 
  0 
  2d6 
  0 
  17 
  7 
  5 
  3.5 
  52/15/17 
  L 
  Japan 2H
  Parang 
  0 
  1d6+1 
  0 
  10 
  5 
  5 
  1.1 
  35/13/15 
  M 
  Indon Th r
  Pedang 
  0 
  1d6 
  0 
  10 
  5 
  5 
  1.2 
  26/9/11 
  M 
  Indon Th r
  Puňal 
  0 
  1 point 
  0 
  5 
  2 
  4 
  0.4 
  7/3/3 
  S 
  Euro
  Rapier 
  +1 
  1d6 
  0 
  10 
  5 
  5 
  1.0 
  27/10/12 
  M 
  Euro
  Razor, Straight
  Large 
  0 
  1d6 
  -1 
  7 
  2 
  4 
  0.2 
  22/7/8 
  S 
  Var 
  RP
  Small 
  0 
  ½d6 
  -1 
  5 
  1 
  4 
  0.1 
  15/5/6 
  S 
  Var 
  RP
  Sabre 
  0 
  1d6 
  0 
  10 
  5 
  5 
  1.1 
  22/8/10 
  M 
  Euro 
  Schlaeger 
  0 
  1d6 
  0 
  10 
  5 
  5 
  1.1 
  22/8/10 
  M 
  Euro 
  Shinai 
  0 
  (2d6) 
  — 
  5 
  3 
  4 
  0.8 
  15/5/6 
  M 
  Japan 1½H
  Spread-Th e-
  Water Knife 
  0 
  1d6 
  0 
  10 
  4 
  4 
  1.2 
  22/8/10 
  M 
  China 
  Tanto 
  0 
  1d6-1 
  0 
  6 
  3 
  5 
  0.8 
  21/8/9 
  S 
  Japan Th r
  Tetsu-To 
  0 
  2 ½d6 
  0 
  20 
  8 
  5 
  4.0 
  60/17/20 
  M 
  Japan 1½H
  Tjaluk 
  0 
  ½d6 
  0 
  8 
  3 
  5 
  0.9 
  15/5/7 
  S 
  Indon 
  Urumi 
  0 
  1d6 
  0 
  12 
  4 
  5 
  1.4 
  See text 
  M 
  India 
  May be up AF (4 shots)
  Wakizashi 
  0 
  1d6 
  0 
  8 
  3 
  5 
  1.1  
  26/9/11 
  M 
  Japan Th r
  Yoroi-Toshi 
  0 
  1d6-1 AP 
  0 
  6 
  3 
  5 
  0.8 
  24/9/11 
  S 
  Japan
  Chain and Rope Weapons
  Kusari 
  0 
  (4d6) 
  — 
  9 
  3 
  5 
  1.0 
  50/18/23 
  L2 
  Japan Th r, 2H
  Kusarigama or 
  Kyogetsu Shoge 
   
   
   
   
  4 
  5 
  1.3 
  See text 
  L2 
  Japan Th r,  2H, Ninja Weapon; see 
  Kama, Kusari
  Manriki-Gusari
  or Kusari-fundo 
  0 
  (3d6) 
  — 
  8 
  3 
  5 
  1.0 
  26/7/8 
  M 
  Japan Th r, 2H, Ninja Weapon
  Rante 
   
   
   
   
  4 
  5 
  1.4 
  29/13/15 
  L 
  Indon
  Chain 
  0 
  (3d6) 
  — 
  5
  Blade 
  0 
  ½d6 
  0 
  5
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  42 ■ Martial Arts Eequipment
  HAND-TO-HAND WEAPONS TABLE
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  Damage STUNx STR Min BODY 
  DEF 
  Mass A/N/C Cost Length Cultr 
  Notes
  Clubs (Do Not Require Weapon Familiarity)
  Chakar 
  0 
  (6d6) 
  20 
  6 
  3 
  3.9 45/11/12 
  M 
  India 
  2H
  Gada 
  0 
  (5d6) 
  — 
  13 
  5 
  3 
  1.8 
  37/10/11 
  M 
  India 
  2H
  Hanbo 
  0 
  (3d6) 
  — 
  7 
  4 
  3 
  1.1 
  22/7/8 
  M 
  Japan 
  Jo 
  0 
  (3d6) 
  — 
  9 
  4 
  3 
  1.2 
  22/7/8 
  M 
  Japan 
  Makila 
   
   
   
   
  3 
  3 
  1.0 
  22/10/12 
  M 
  Euro
  Stick 
  0 
  (3d6) 
  8
  Spike 
  0 
  1d6 
  8
  Fist-Loads (Do Not Require Weapon Familiarity)
  Ashiko 
  0 
  ½d6 
  0 
  5 
  3 
  4 
  1.0 
  17/7/8 
  S 
  Japan +1 Climbing, Ninja 
  Weapon; 3
  Brass Knuckles 
  0 
  (2d6) 
  — 
  3 
  3 
  5 
  1.0 
  33/10/11 
  S 
  Var 
  +6 DEF on Hand on Act 
  11-; 2
  Cestus 
  0 
  +1 point 
  0 
  — 
  3 
  3 
  0.8 
  19/10/13 
  S 
  Greek Adds 1-point KA to Punch, 
  +4 DEF on Hand
  Fist-Load 
  0 
  (2d6) 
  — 
  3 
  1 
  3 
  0.2 
  15/5/6 
  S 
  Var 
  Nekote 
  0 
  1 point 
  0 
  3 
  2 
  5 
  0.2 
  7/3/3 
  S 
  Japan Ninja Weapon
  Ring Needle 
  0 
  ½d6 
  0 
  5 
  1 
  4 
  0.2 
  17/7/8 
  S 
  China Th r
  Shuko 
  0 
  1d6-1 
  0 
  5 
  3 
  4 
  1.0 
  20/8/10 
  S 
  Japan +1 Climbing, Ninja 
  Weapon; 3
  Polearms
  Arbir 
  0 
  1d6 
  0 
  10 
  4 
  4 
  1.6 
  22/7/8 
  M 
  Indon 2H
  Chai-Dao 
   
   
   
   
  5 
  4 
  2.1 
  37/15/17 
  L 
  China 2H
  Blade 
  0 
  1d6+1 
  0 
  12
  Shaft  
  0 
  (3d6) 
  — 
  12
  Chiang 
   
   
   
   
  5 
  4 
  2.0 
  37/15/17 
  L 
  China 2H
  Blade 
  0 
  1d6+1 
  0 
  12
  Shaft  
  0 
  (3d6) 
  — 
  12
  Ghi 
   
   
   
   
  5 
  4 
  2.1 
  47/19/22 
  L 
  China 2H, +2 OCV w/Bind, Block, 
  Disarm
  Blade 
  0 
  1d6+1 
  0 
  13
  Shaft  
  0 
  (4d6) 
  — 
  13
  Naginata 
   
   
   
   
  5 
  4 
  2.1 
  44/16/19 
  L 
  Japan 2H
  Blade 
  0 
  1 ½d6 
  0 
  15
  Shaft  
  0 
  (4d6) 
  — 
  15
  Nine-Dragon Trident  
   
   
   
  5 
  5 
  2.3 
  47/19/22 
  L 
  China 2H, +2 OCV w/Bind, Block, 
  Disarm
  Blade 
  0 
  1d6+1 
  0 
  13
  Shaft  
  0 
  (4d6) 
  — 
  13
  Tai-Dao/Kwan Dao  
   
   
   
  5 
  4 
  2.1 
  44/16/19 
  L 
  China 2H
  Blade 
  0 
  1 ½d6 
  0 
  18
  Shaft  
  0 
  (4d6) 
  — 
  18
  Tiger Fork 
   
   
   
   
  5 
  5 
  2.2 
  44/16/19 
  L 
  China 2H
  Blade 
  0 
  1 ½d6 
  0 
  15
  Shaft  
  0 
  (4d6) 
  — 
  15
  Wolf’s Teeth Staﬀ  
   
   
   
   
  4 
  4 
  1.8 
  44/16/19 
  L 
  China 2H
  Blade 
  0 
  1 ½d6 
  0 
  15
  Shaft  
  0 
  (4d6) 
  — 
  15
  Yari 
   
   
   
   
  5 
  4 
  2.0 
  44/17/20 
  L 
  Japan 2H
  Blade 
  0 
  1 ½d6 
  0 
  14
  Shaft  
  0 
  (4d6) 
  — 
  14
  Yari (Kamayari) 
   
   
   
   
  5 
  4 
  2.0 
  44/20/23 
  L 
  Japan 2H, Th r, +2 OCV w/Bind, 
  Block, Disarm, Takeaway
  Blade 
  0 
  1 ½d6 
  0 
  17
  Shaft  
  0 
  (4d6) 
  — 
  17
  
  43 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Two
  HAND-TO-HAND WEAPONS TABLE
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  Damage STUNx STR Min BODY 
  DEF 
  Mass A/N/C Cost Length Cultr 
  Notes
  Miscellaneous Weapons
  Bo (Staﬀ ) 
  +1 
  (4d6) 
  — 
  8 
  4 
  3 
  1.0 
  42/13/16 
  L 
  Japan 2H, Karate Weapon
  Bunot-Page 
  0 
  1 pip 
  — 
  8 
  2 
  2 
  0.5 
  7/2/3 
  S 
  Phil 
  Poisoned (see text)
  Chain Sword 
  0 
  1d6 
  0 
  10 
  3 
  5 
  1.1 
  22/8/10 
  M 
  China
  Chain Whip 
  0 
  1d6 
  0 
  8 
  3 
  5 
  1.1 
  29/10/12 
  L 
  China
  Fang 
   
   
   
   
  3 
  5 
  1.3 
  15/7/9 
  S 
  China 
  Blade/Point 
  0 
  ½d6 
  0 
  8
  Rod 
  — 
  (2d6) 
  — 
  8
  Flying Claw 
  0 
  1d6 
  0 
  10 
  3 
  4 
  1.0 
  37/15/19 
  L2 
  China
  Flying Guillotine 
  -1 
  1d6 
  0 
  10 
  3 
  4 
  1.0 
  37/12/15 
  L2 
  China 2H, aimed at extremities
  Fo 
  0 
  (2d6) 
  0 
  5 
  2 
  3 
  0.4 
  15/5/6 
  M 
  Euro 
  Garrotte
  Strangling 
  0 
  (3d6) 
  — 
  5 
  1 
  1 
  0.1 
  30/7/7 
  S 
  Var 
  2H, see text
  Wire 
  0 
  ½d6 
  0 
  5 
  1 
  2 
  0.2 
  20/5/5 
  S 
  Var 
  2H, see text
  Lajatang 
  0 
  1d6+1 
  0 
  12 
  3 
  4 
  0.6 
  30/11/13 
  M 
  Indon
  Kama 
  0 
  1d6 
  0 
  11 
  3 
  4 
  0.5 
  26/9/11 
  M 
  Japan Th r, Karate Weapon 
  Kanzashi 
  0 
  ½d6 
  -1 
  5 
  2 
  3 
  0.2 
  15/5/7 
  S 
  Japan Ninja Weapon
  Kiseru 
  0 
  (2d6) 
  — 
  5 
  2 
  5 
  0.6 
  15/6/7 
  S 
  China
  Mourn Staﬀ  
  0 
  1 ½d6 
  0 
  14 
  3 
  4 
  1.1 
  37/13/16 
  M 
  China
  Nunchaku 
  0 
  (3d6) 
  — 
  8 
  3 
  3 
  1.0 
  22/8/10 
  M 
  Japan Karate Weapon
  Pendjepit 
  0 
  ½d6 
  0 
  10 
  2 
  4 
  0.7 
  20/7/9 
  S 
  Indon +1 with Grab, Grab 
  Weapon, Takeaway
  Petjat 
  0 
  1d6 
  0 
  10 
  2 
  1 
  0.4 
  22/8/10 
  L 
  Indon 
  Rings 
  0 
  (3d6) 
  — 
  8 
  2 
  4 
  0.5 
  26/9/11 
  S 
  China Th r
  Rope Dart 
  0 
  ½d6 
  0 
  8 
  2 
  2 
  0.6 
  30/12/16 
  L2 
  China
  Sai — Karate Weapon
     Cinematic 
  0 
  ½d6 
  0 
  8 
  3 
  5 
  1.1 
  27/10/11 
  S 
  Japan Th r, +2 OCV w/Bind, Block, 
  Disarm, Takeaway
     Normal 
  0 
  (3d6) 
  — 
  8 
  3 
  5 
  1.1 
  36/13/15 
  S 
  Japan Th r, +2 OCV w/Bind, Block, 
  Disarm, Takeaway
  Shinobi-Zue 
  0 
  (4d6) 
  — 
  10 
  4 
  3 
  1.2 
  50/18/22 
  L2 
  Japan 2H, Ninja Weapon
  Sword-Spear 
  0 
  1d6 
  0 
  12 
  3 
  3 
  0.9 
  26/9/11 
  M 
  China Th r
  Tetsubo 
  +1 
  (6d6) 
  — 
  15 
  6 
  4 
  2.4 
  57/17/19 
  L 
  Japan 2H
  Th ree-Section Staﬀ  0 
  (4d6) 
  — 
  10 
  5 
  3 
  1.5 
  47/15/17 
  Var 
  China 2H, +2 OCV w/Bind, Block, 
  Disarm, Takeaway      
  Timbe 
  0 
  ½d6 
  0 
  10 
  2 
  3 
  0.6 
  17/6/7 
  S 
  Japan Th r
  Tonfa 
  +1 
  (3d6) 
  — 
  7 
  3 
  3 
  0.8 
  27/10/13 
  S 
  Japan Karate Weapon
  Umebi 
  0 
  1 ½d6 
  0 
  — 
  2 
  2 
  1.0 
  44/—/12 
  S 
  Japan AE1, Trigger (stepped on)
  War Fan, Basic 
  0 
  (3d6) 
  — 
  6 
  2 
  3 
  0.7 
  32/11/14 
  S 
  Japan +2 OCV w/Block
  War Fan, Edged 
   
   
   
   
  2 
  3 
  0.7 
  32/13/16 
  S 
  Japan +2 OCV w/Block
  Blunt Attack 
  0 
  (3d6) 
  — 
  6
  Razor Attack 
  0 
  ½d6 
  0 
  6 
  Wind/Fire Wheels
     Saw-Blade 
  0 
  ½d6 
  0 
  8 
  3 
  5 
  0.8 
  27/10/11 
  S 
  China Th r, +2 OCV w/Bind, Block, 
  Disarm, Takeaway 
     Traditional 
  0 
  (3d6) 
  — 
  8 
  3 
  5 
  0.8 
  36/13/15 
  S 
  China Th r, +2 OCV w/Bind, Block, 
  Disarm, Takeaway
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  44 ■ Martial Arts Eequipment
  Key
  †:  STR Minimum Doesn’t Add Damage 
  (a -½ Limitation)
  1½H:  One-and-a-half-handed weapon (a -¼ Limi-
  tation)
  2H:  Two-handed weapon (a -½ Limitation)
  Act:  Activation Roll
  AE1:  Area Of Eﬀ ect (One Hex)
  AF5:  Autoﬁ re (5 shots; +½)
  AP:  Armor Piercing
  Conc:  Concentration (½ DCV “throughout” the 
  loading and/or ﬁ ring process; -½)
  Dkns:  Darkness to Sight Group
  Ent:  Entangle
  Euro:  Europe
  Flash:  Sight Group Flash
  Indon:  Indonesia
  L:  Long-length weapon (see pages 164, 167)
  L2:  A Long-length weapon that’s 2” long 
  M:  Medium-length weapon
  NWF:  No Weapon Familiarity required
  RBS:  Range Based On STR
  RC:  Recoverable Charges
  RP:  Reduced Penetration
  S:  Short-length weapon
  Th r:  Weapon can be thrown (i.e., it has the Range 
  Based On STR (+¼) Advantage)
  MASTER LIST 
  OF WEAPONS
  To see which weapons require which Weapon 
  Familiarities, refer to the Weapon Familiarity Table 
  on page 76 of the HERO System 5th Edition, Revised.
  Arare:  “Hailstones,” a Japanese missile weapon in 
  the form of a spiked ball. It came in three sizes:  
  joarare (large, thrown one at a time); chuarare 
  (medium, thrown like shuriken, could be used as 
  tetsubishi as well [see below]); and koarare (similar 
  to chuarare, but smaller).
  Cost Power
  16 
  Chuarare:  Multipower, 36-point reserve, 9 
  Recoverable Charges (+¼) for entire Multip-
  ower; all OAF (-1), STR Minimum (10; -½), 
  Real Weapon (-¼)
  1u 
  1)  Th rown:  RKA 1d6-1, Autoﬁ re (5 shots; 
  +½); OAF (-1), Range Based On STR (-¼)
  1u 
  2)  Dropped:  RKA 1d6-1, Area Of Eﬀ ect 
  (One Hex; +½), Continuous (+1), Uncon-
  trolled (removable by spending a Full Phase 
  to sweep them aside; +½); OAF (-1), Activa-
  tion Roll 14- (-½), STR Minimum (10; -½), 
  Real Weapon (-¼), Only Aﬀ ects Characters 
  Moving On Th e Ground (-¼), DEX Roll 
  Cancels Eﬀ ect (-¼), Automatically Targets 
  Hit Location 18 (-0)
  Total cost:  18 points (or 22 points for IAF (-½) 
  version)
  Koarare:  total cost 13 points (or 15 for IAF (-½) 
  version)
  Joarare:  Change to just RKA 1d6+1 (20 
  Active Points); OAF (-1), STR Minimum (10; 
  -½), Real Weapon (-¼), Range Based On STR 
  (-¼), 1 Recoverable Charge (-1¼). Total cost:  5 
  points (or 5 points for IAF (-½) version)
  Arbir:  A polearm used in some styles of Pentjak-
  Silat. It is a 5’-long weapon consisting of a shaft , a 
  convex chopping blade at one end, and a sharpened 
  metal spike on the other end. It’s used two-handed 
  to slash and stab; the pole is not generally used as 
  a staﬀ .
  Arit:  Th e Indonesian sickle, adapted for combat. 
  Its blade is much rounder than that of the kama. A 
  similar weapon is the tjelurit.
  Arrows:  Th e Japanese created many unusual types 
  of arrowheads for their arrows (ya). Several of 
  the more interesting ones are listed in the Ranged 
  Weapons Table; they add damage to, or otherwise 
  change the eﬀ ect of, the damage caused by a stan-
  dard arrow (their exact cost depends on the type 
  of bow used; if necessary recalculate the bow’s cost 
  with the enhanced damage). Each of these arrows is 
  more expensive and rarer than the average arrow.
  Th e Dragon’s Tongue arrow is ﬁ nely-craft ed, with a 
  slightly rounded point that penetrates armor easily.
  
  45 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Two
  Th e Frog Crotch arrow is shaped roughly like a V, 
  with a sharpened inner edge; it’s especially useful 
  for cutting cords and similar objects.
  The Hikime is an arrow with a wooden ball, not 
  an arrowhead, on the tip. It is used to stun, not 
  kill, an opponent.
  The Skinsplitter is an extremely wide, heavy 
  arrowhead. GMs should consider adding +1 to 
  the STR Min of the Bow whenever a character 
  uses this arrowhead.
  The Willow Leaf is a long, straight arrowhead 
  which can slip easily between armor plates and 
  the like.
  Th ese are just a few of the many diﬀ erent types of 
  Oriental arrowheads available; with a little research 
  you can uncover many others.
  Th e yazuka, or standard length, of an arrow (with-
  out arrowhead) is from the top of the archer’s ster-
  num to the tip of his middle ﬁ nger. Th is allows him 
  to achieve extra power, since he has to draw the 
  bow back as far as he possibly can to shoot.
  Ashiko:  Th ese are climbing claws strapped onto a 
  ninja’s feet; they are the companions to the shuko. 
  Th ey can become weapons when the wearer uses 
  a kick attack. Th ey provide a +1 to the wearer’s 
  Climbing roll if he has the Climbing skill. Th e char-
  acter must wear both ashiko to get the +1 to his 
  Climbing roll.
  Axe, Chinese:  Th is weapon has a medium-length 
  handle and a single broad blade; it’s chieﬂ y used by 
  southern Chinese kung fu ﬁ ghters.
  Bo:  A 5’-6’ hardwood staﬀ , also known as a 
  rokushakubo (“six-foot staﬀ ”). Use these game sta-
  tistics for the Chinese staﬀ  (kuen), the Indonesian 
  staﬀ  (toya), the Korean staﬀ  (jang bong), the Th ai 
  staﬀ  (plong), and the Okinawan oar (eiku; also 
  known as a chizikunbo or sunakakebo). 
  Th e bo is one of the principal weapons of 
  Karate (the others are kama, nunchaku, sai, eiku, 
  tekko, timbe and rochin, and tonfa).
  Th e kuen is one of the most famous weapon 
  of Kung Fu; these statistics can also be used for two 
  other Chinese weapons, the Long Rod (gunn) and 
  Water & Fire Rod (shui for gunn).
  Bokken:  Th is is a wooden practice sword shaped 
  like a katana. It does Normal, not Killing, damage. 
  It’s no toy or mere practice blade, though; it’s made 
  of heavy, tough wood, unlike the shinai. Many duels 
  in feudal Japan were fought with bokken; it is pos-
  sible to kill an opponent with one.
  Brass Knuckles:  Th is classic street weapon is a ridged 
  brass knuckle-protector which protects the striking 
  hand, allowing the character to strike harder. Brass 
  Knuckles also provide 6 DEF (physical and energy, 
  on an 11- Activation Roll) to the hand wearing them. 
  Th e Japanese tetsu and tekko and the Indonesian roti 
  kalong all use these statistics.
  Bundi:  Also known as a katar or a punch-dagger, 
  the bundi is a broad, double-edged knife-blade 
  set into a frame/handle grasped in the fist 
  (thus, the wielder’s arm appears to have a blade 
  on the end rather than a hand). Two panels of 
  the frame/handle extend down the sides of the 
  arms for about a foot, helping the user block an 
  enemy’s attacks. Use the bundi’s statistics (minus 
  the +1 OCV for Blocks) for any sort of modern 
  punch-dagger or T-knife.
  Bunot-Page:  Th is weapon is simply the tail of a 
  stingray, cut from the animal and used to strike an 
  opponent. Some Arnis/Kali/Escrima exponents 
  ﬁ ght with it. Th e stingray spine itself does relatively 
  little damage — but the poison in it can kill. Usually 
  enough poison remains in the tail for about two 
  good hits. Th e eﬀ ects of the poison are not included 
  in the cost listed in the table, since it varies in 
  amount and potency; the average poison would 
  work roughly as follows:
  Stingray Poison:  RKA 1d6, NND (defense is 
  Life Support [appropriate Immunity]; +1), 
  Does BODY (+1) (45 Active Points); Linked 
  (to HKA; -¼), Spine HKA Must Do BODY 
  (-½), No Range (-½), 2 Charges (-1½). Total 
  cost: 12 points.
  Butterﬂ y Sword:  Th is short sword has a heavy, ﬂ at 
  cleaver-like blade with one cutting edge. It is used 
  by ninja and by Kung Fu practitioners, oft en in 
  pairs. Th e Willow Leaf Knife, the Korean dan sang 
  gum (twin short swords), and the to of Kuntao are 
  all very similar in appearance to the butterﬂ y sword 
  and share the same statistics. Don’t confuse the But-
  terﬂ y Sword with the balisong, a switchblade-like 
  Filipino knife sometimes called a “butterﬂ y knife.”
  Cestus:  Th is weapon is a glove with spikes or 
  jagged protrusions along its knuckles and back. Th e 
  character using it does his normal Punch damage, 
  and also does 1 point of Killing Damage (he cannot 
  add to this with his STR; it always does only 1 point 
  of Killing damage). Th e Cestus provides 4 DEF 
  (physical and energy) to the hand wearing it.
  Cost Power
  2 
  Cestus Spikes:  HKA 1 point, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½) (7 Active Points); 
  OIF (-½), Linked (to wearer’s Punch; -½), 
  No STR Bonus (-½), Real Weapon (-¼)
  3 
  Cestus Wrappings:  Armor (4 PD/4 ED) (12 
  Active Points); OIF (-½), Only Protects Hand 
  Wearing It (-2)
  Total cost:  5 points (or 7 points for IIF (-¼) 
  version).
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  46 ■ Martial Arts Eequipment
  Chai-Dao:  Th is Chinese polearm is also called the 
  “Bandit’s Encampment Broadsword.” It is usually 
  about 5’3” tall, with 2’6” of that length a wicked 
  curved blade; the rest is haft . Traditionally, it was 
  used in camp defense, oft en to chop at the legs of 
  horses riding through.
  Cost Power
  11 
  Chai-Dao:  Multipower, 30-point reserve; 
  all OAF (-1), STR Minimum (12; -½), Real 
  Weapon (-¼)
  1u 
  1) Blade:  HKA 1d6+1 (plus STR), Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½); OAF (-1), STR 
  Minimum (12; -½), Real Weapon (-¼)
  1u 
  2) Shaft :  HA +3d6, Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½); OAF (-1), Hand-To-Hand 
  Attack (-½), STR Minimum (12; -½), Real 
  Weapon (-¼)
  2 
  Long Weapon:  Stretching 1”, Reduced Endur-
  ance (0 END; +½) (7 Active Points); OAF 
  (-1) [or IAF (-½) for concealed form], 
  Always Direct (-¼), No Noncombat Stretch-
  ing (-¼), Only To Cause Damage (-½), No 
  Velocity Damage (-¼) (total cost for IAF 
  (-½) version:  2 points)
  Total cost:  15 points (or 17 points for IAF (-½) 
  version).
  Chain Sword:  This weapon, called lien tzu jen 
  in Chinese, consisted of two sword-like blades 
  about as long as a human forearm connected 
  by 1-2’ of chain. Sometimes the blades can be 
  detached for throwing (this would be bought by 
  turning the weapon into a Multipower:  one slot 
  for the connected blades, one with two Recover-
  able Charges of RKA).
  Chain Whip:  Th is Chinese weapon (bian) is like a 
  whip, but its length consists of metal plates con-
  nected by chain links; it has a slashing blade at the 
  tip. It shares a Weapon Familiarity with the normal 
  bullwhip, but does not have that weapon’s range. 
  Th is weapon’s statistics also apply to the bian tzu 
  chiang, or Whip Spear, a 6’-plus length of chain 
  whip with a spearhead attached at both ends.
  Chakar:  This unusual weapon, used by Gatka 
  practitioners, resembles a wagon wheel with a 
  heavy weight at the end of each spoke. To use it, 
  the wielder spins it, building up momentum and 
  power, and then strikes with it to cause serious 
  crushing injuries.
  Chiang:  Th e Chinese spear, which comes in dozens 
  of unusual styles (use the write-up of the Chai-Dao, 
  above, for its game statistics). Oft en the spear has a 
  red tassel tied behind its head, partly for decoration 
  and partly to keep blood from running back down 
  the shaft  and fouling the spearman’s grip. Use these 
  statistics for the following weapons in addition to the 
  standard spear:  mao chiang (“snake spear,” a wavy-
  bladed spear); the Eyebrow Spear (a spear with a 
  crescent-shaped head); ba (“rake,” a combat rake with 
  sharp tines); ba tou (a hoe converted to combat uses); 
  chan (“shovel,” a term for several types of polearms 
  with heads shaped like large coins, crescent moons, 
  shovels, and other objects); chang (Korean spear); 
  sodegarami (a T-shaped Japanese spear with barbs 
  all around the end to entangle an enemy’s sleeve); 
  tombak and tjio (two of dozens of diﬀ erent types of 
  Indonesian spears); kuntham (Indian spear); kue (an 
  Okinawan hoe used as a weapon by some Kobujutsu 
  practitioners); thuan (Th ai spear).
  Chu-ko-nu:  Th is is the famous Chinese repeating 
  crossbow. It resembles an ordinary crossbow, except 
  that it has a box on top of it holding ten bolts. Th e 
  shooter works a lever to reload the crossbow by 
  cocking it and dropping one of the quarrels into 
  place. Th e chu-ko-nu is heavier and has a shorter 
  range than a standard crossbow, but can be ﬁ red 
  much more quickly:  the STR Min listed is the min-
  imum to carry and hold the weapon, not to reload 
  it, and a character can load the weapon in a half 
  Phase and ﬁ re the weapon in a half Phase.   
  Comet Star Hammer:  Th is missile weapon, called 
  lieu shen chuai in Chinese and also known as a 
  Shooting Star Hammer or Wolf’s Teeth Hammer, 
  consisted of a chain linking two spiked metal balls. 
  It was typically thrown at the legs of horses or sol-
  diers to snare and injure them. Some versions of 
  this weapon had only one spiked ball; the damage 
  and other eﬀ ects are the same.
  Cost Power
  9 
  Comet Star Hammer:  Multipower, 37-point 
  reserve; 1 Recoverable Charge (-1¼) for 
  entire reserve, all OAF (-1), STR Minimum 
  (10; -½), Real Weapon (-¼), Range Based On 
  STR (-¼)
  1u 
  1)  Deadly Hammer:  RKA 1d6+1; OAF (-1), 
  STR Minimum (10; -½), Real Weapon (-¼), 
  Range Based On STR (-¼)
  1u 
  2)  Snaring Hammer:  Entangle 3d6, 
  3 DEF, Entangle And Character Both 
  Take Damage (+¼); OAF (-1), No Defense 
  (-1½), Cannot Form Barriers (-¼), STR 
  Minimum (10; -½), Real Weapon (-¼), 
  Range Based On STR (-¼)
  Total cost:  11 points (or 12 points for IAF (-½) 
  version)
  Copper Hammer:  A short-haft ed hammer with a 
  large ball of copper on the striking end. You can also 
  use this weapon’s statistics for other types of Chinese 
  hammers (chuai), and for the ton zen (a type of mace 
  in the shape of a 2-3’ tall solid brass statue of a man, 
  somewhat similar in appearance to the “Oscar” statu-
  ette given to Academy Award winners).
  Cutlass:  Th is is a European weapon, a short slash-
  ing blade with a heavy guard to protect the hand; 
  fencers use it. Th e hand-guard provides 6 DEF to 
  the hand holding it; the character can attack with 
  
  47 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Two
  the blade or punch with the hand-guard. Th e Viet-
  namese counterpart to this weapon is the song dao.
  Cost Power
  8 
  Cutlass:  Multipower, 22-point reserve, all 
  OAF (-1), STR Minimum (10; -½), Real 
  Weapon (-¼)
  1u 
  1) Blade:  HKA 1d6 (plus STR), Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½); OAF (-1), STR 
  Minimum (10; -½), Real Weapon (-¼) 
  0
  1u 
  2) Hilt:  HA +3d6, Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½); OAF (-1), Hand-To-Hand 
  Attack (-½), STR Minimum (10; -½), Real 
  Weapon (-¼) 
  0
  4 
  Protective Hilt:  Armor (6 PD/6 ED); OAF 
  (-1), Only Protects Hand Used To Hold It (-
  2) (or 5 points for the IAF (-½) version)
  Total cost:  14 points (or 17 for the IAF (-½) 
  version)
  Cymbal:  Th is weapon is a small, hand-held cymbal 
  with sharpened edges. Warriors can use it as a 
  punching/slashing weapon, or throw it. Th is weap-
  on’s statistics also apply to the Tooth Saber, a sort 
  of half-cymbal that comes in two varieties:  the Sun 
  Tooth Saber, with sharp teeth along its cutting edge; 
  and the Moon Tooth Saber, which is smooth-edged. 
  Tooth Sabers cannot be thrown.
  Darn Do:  Th e Chinese sabre, a long, heavy, single-
  edged sword with a curved blade. It is also known 
  as a dau. Th e Vietnamese equivalent is the ma dao.
  Dropped Marbles:  Characters can drop these where 
  they think targets will run. Marbles do not require 
  a Weapon Familiarity.
  Dropped marbles can be bought one of three 
  ways. Th e ﬁ rst is as a form of Telekinesis:
  Dropped Marbles:  Telekinesis (20 STR), Area 
  Of Eﬀ ect (One Hex; +½), Continuous (+1), 
  Uncontrolled (removable by spending a Full 
  Phase to sweep them aside; +½) (90 Active 
  Points); OAF (-1), Activation Roll 14- (-½), 
  Cannot Be Used To Cause Damage (-1), Only 
  To Th row Target To Ground (-2), Only Aﬀ ects 
  Characters Moving On Th e Ground (-¼), DEX 
  Roll Cancels Eﬀ ect (-¼), Real Weapon (-¼), 2 
  Recoverable Charges (-1). Total cost:  12 points 
  (or 13 points for IAF (-½) version).
  Th e drawbacks to this form of Dropped Mar-
  bles are that they cover only a small area (1” radius) 
  and do no damage to the target when he falls. At 
  the GM’s option, a character can buy the One Hex 
  up to a full Area of Eﬀ ect (Radius) and can buy oﬀ  
  the Cannot Be Used To Cause Damage Limitation.
  Th e second form uses Change Environment to 
  make it harder to remain standing in the area cov-
  ered by the marbles:
  Dropped Marbles:  Change Environment 2” 
  radius, -5 to DEX Rolls to move through, Uncon-
  trolled (removable by spending a Full Phase to 
  sweep them aside; +½) (33 Active Points); OAF 
  (-1), Only Aﬀ ects Characters Moving On Th e 
  Ground (-¼), Real Weapon (-¼), 2 Recoverable 
  Charges (-1). Total cost:  9 points (or 11 points 
  for IAF (-½) version).
  Th is version has the advantage of being easier to 
  understand and adjudicate in most game situations.
  Th e third form of Dropped Marbles utilizes 
  the “Power Advantages For Martial Arts Maneu-
  vers” rules on page 104.
  Dropped Marbles:  Th e following Advantages 
  for Martial Th row:  Area Of Eﬀ ect (One Hex; 
  +½), Continuous (+1), Uncontrolled (remov-
  able by spending a Full Phase to sweep them 
  aside; +½) (75 Active Points); OAF (-1), Acti-
  vation Roll 14- (-½), Only Aﬀ ects Characters 
  Moving On Th e Ground (-¼), DEX Roll Can-
  cels Eﬀ ect (-¼), Real Weapon (-¼), 2 Recover-
  able Charges (-1). Total cost:  18 points (or 20 
  points for IAF (-½) version).
  Th e advantage to this form of Dropped Mar-
  bles is that it damages the target, and includes the 
  target’s velocity when calculating damage, causing 
  a fast-moving enemy to really hurt himself when 
  he hits a patch of marbles. Th e drawback is that the 
  character has to have the Martial Th row maneuver 
  to use this weapon (unless the GM permits you to 
  include the cost for Martial Th row with the cost of 
  the weapon itself).
  Dropped marbles are oft en bought as IAFs 
  because they’re supposed to be inconspicuous 
  when dropped. Depending on the situation, this 
  might not be the case.
  Endokuken:  A type of shuriken that doesn’t just 
  impale the target with a blade. It also emits a 1” 
  radius cloud of poisonous smoke when it contacts 
  its target:  RKA 1d6, NND (defense is Life Sup-
  port [Self-Contained Breathing or appropriate 
  Immunity]; +1), Does BODY (+1), Area Of Eﬀ ect 
  (One Hex; +½) (52 Active Points); OAF (-1), STR 
  Minimum (10; -½), Linked (to shuriken’s RKA; -¼), 
  Range Based On STR (-¼), Real Weapon (-¼), 9 
  Charges (-¼). Total cost:  15 points (or 17 points 
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  48 ■ Martial Arts Eequipment
  for the IAF (-½) version) (in addition to the cost 
  for the blade of the shuriken itself).
  Epee:  A light steel practice sword used by fencers. 
  Modelled aft er the rapier, it has a light, ﬂ exible blade 
  ending in a blunt steel tip (which is itself covered by a 
  plastic cap), and is used only for thrusting.
  Fang:  The fang, a Chinese weapon developed 
  from an Indian elephant goad, is a heavy iron 
  rod about 2’ long with a point at one end. About 
  one-third of the way from the top a curved blade 
  projects to one side, similar to the blade of a 
  kama (see below). The fighter can use the blunt 
  portion of the rod to stun his foes, or the point 
  or blade to injure and kill them.
  Cost Power
  5 
  Fang:  Multipower, 15-point reserve, all 
  OAF (-1), STR Minimum (8; -½), Real 
  Weapon (-¼)
  1u 
  1) Blade/Point:  HKA ½d6 (plus STR), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); OAF (-1), 
  STR Minimum (8; -½), Real Weapon (-¼)
  1u 
  2) Rod:  HA +2d6, Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½); OAF (-1), Hand-To-Hand 
  Attack (-½), STR Minimum (8; -½), Real 
  Weapon (-¼)
  Total cost:  7 points (or 9 points for IAF (-½) 
  version).
  Fist-Load:  Th is is a small, heavy rod held in in the 
  character’s ﬁ st. A thong or ring protruding from 
  the center of the rod goes around one or two of the 
  wearer’s ﬁ ngers to hold it in place. A ﬁ st-load is also 
  known as a yawara.
  Flying Claw:  Similar to the Rope Dart (see below), this 
  weapon is a large, clawed metal hand on the end of an 
  up to 25’ long  rope. Th e user whirls the hand around 
  and slashes people with it; sometimes the claws are 
  poisoned. Th e Chinese call it a fei chua. You can also 
  use this weapon’s statistics for:  the Dragon’s Beard 
  Hook (don shu gao), which resembles a U with a ser-
  rated, barbed outer edge; the Iron Lotus (tai lien far), 
  which resembles a bladed lotus ﬂ ower; and the Rope 
  Hook (gin tao sou), a large, barbed hook.
  Flying Guillotine:  Th is peculiar Tibetan weapon 
  consists of a metal hoop with a very sharp inner 
  edge; the hoop attaches to a rope. It’s an eﬀ ective 
  ambush weapon; if the attacker can get above an 
  unsuspecting target, he can drop the Guillotine 
  over the target’s head and yank. It’s somewhat less 
  eﬀ ective in active combat; the weapon only does 
  damage if it hits an extremity (head, hand, arm, leg, 
  or foot). Th e attacker can roll Hit Locations nor-
  mally (with attacks to Locations 9-14 simply failing 
  to do damage); or he can choose to aim for speciﬁ c 
  locations, taking the OCV penalties for aiming.
  In game terms, the requirement to hit an 
  extremity is a -½ limitation. In campaigns that 
  don’t use Hit Locations, the attacker always suﬀ ers a 
  -6 OCV penalty.
  Fo:  A weighted cloak hem, used as a weapon by 
  some fencers. At the appropriate moment, the 
  fencer ﬂ icks his cloak at his opponent, causing the 
  weight sewn into the hem to strike him.
  Foil:  This weapon is much like the epee, but 
  even lighter and more flexible. You can also use 
  its statistics for the daab, a Thai sword used in 
  Krabi-Krabong.
  Fukimi-bari:  Tiny darts a character hides in his 
  hand (to throw at an enemy) or in his mouth (to 
  blow into an enemy’s face). Th ey’re always bought 
  as IAFs because it’s so easy to conceal them. Th e 
  attack has No Range (-½), since the character can 
  only throw/blow the darts a few feet at most. (Th is 
  weapon doesn’t grant an automatic head shot, but 
  most users who place fukimi-bari in their mouths 
  try to achieve a surprise result and take a Placed 
  Shot at the head). Th is is a ninja weapon. You can 
  also use this weapon’s statistics for the Chinese mei 
  far chen (Plum Flower Needles).
  Fukiya:  Th e classic blowgun, a weapon consisting 
  of a long, hollow tube and numerous light darts to 
  ﬁ re through it. Th e darts themselves do very little 
  damage, but are usually tipped with some sort of 
  poison. Th e darts are nearly invisible and are ﬁ red 
  silently, but can certainly be felt upon impact. A 
  character who wants darts so light they can’t be felt 
  will have to buy an Invisible Power Eﬀ ects (Fully 
  Invisible; +½ [because the source of the power 
  remains visible]) blowgun with his own Character 
  Points. Use this weapon’s statistics for the Filipino 
  blowgun, or sumpit.
  Gada:  Th e gada is a heavy wooden club used by 
  Kalaripayit exponents. It has a relatively thin shaft  
  and a large, bulbous head, making it look some-
  thing like a large wooden mace. It requires great 
  strength to wield eﬀ ectively.
  Garotte:  Th is is a strangling cord or wire. It comes 
  in two varieties:  the Strangling garotte, which may 
  be any strong rope, scarf, or cord; and the Wire 
  garotte, a piece of strong, sharp wire with a handle 
  tied to either end. Th e attacker loops either kind 
  around the victim’s neck and applies pressure; 
  therefore the garotte is usually used from surprise 
  — it’s an assassin’s weapon.
  Th e Strangling garotte chokes the victim to 
  death, and is no good against any Hit Location 
  except the Head. Th e Wire garotte can slice through 
  ﬂ esh, and can therefore cut a throat or cut a head 
  entirely oﬀ ; it harms any body part the attacker can 
  loop it around.
  Any chain weapon described in this section 
  can be used as a Strangling Garotte; the manriki-
  gusari is especially appropriate.
  Cost Power
  7 
  Strangling Garrotte:  Energy Blast 2d6, NND 
  (defense is having rigid armor on the neck, 
  a PD Force Field, or Life Support [Self-Con-
  tained Breathing]), Continuous (+1) (30 
  Active Points); OAF (-1), STR Minimum (5; 
  -¼), Real Weapon (-¼), Two-Handed (-½), 
  Must Follow A Successful Grab Maneuver 
  (-¼), Must Be Aimed At Th e Head Location 
  (-¾), No Range (-½) (total cost for IAF (-½ 
  version:  7 points)
  5 
  Wire Garrotte:  RKA ½d6, Continuous (+1) 
  (20 Active Points); OAF (-1), STR Minimum 
  
  49 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Two
  (5; -¼), Real Weapon (-¼), Two-Handed 
  (-½), Must Follow A Successful Grab Maneu-
  ver (-¼), Must Be Aimed At A Target It Can 
  Loop Around (Head or Arm, typically; -½), 
  No Range (-½) (total cost for IAF (-½ ver-
  sion:  5 points)
  Ghi:  Th e Chinese halberd, which consists of a spear 
  with one or two crescent moon-shaped blades set 
  just below the spearhead. Th e Vietnamese equiva-
  lent is the dai dao; the Th ai equivalent is the ngow.
  Cost Power
  11 
  Ghi:  Multipower, 30-point reserve; all 
  OAF (-1), STR Minimum (13; -½), Real 
  Weapon (-¼)
  1u 
  1) Blade:  HKA 1d6+1 (plus STR), Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½); OAF (-1), STR 
  Minimum (13; -½), Real Weapon (-¼)
  1u 
  2) Shaft :  HA +4d6, Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½); OAF (-1), Hand-To-Hand 
  Attack (-½), STR Minimum (13; -½), Real 
  Weapon (-¼)
  2 
  Long Weapon:  Stretching 1”, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½) (7 Active Points); 
  OAF (-1) [or IAF (-½) for concealed form], 
  Always Direct (-¼), No Noncombat Stretch-
  ing (-¼), Only To Cause Damage (-½), No 
  Velocity Damage (-¼) (total cost for IAF 
  (-½) version:  2 points)
  4 
  Skillful Weapon:  +2 OCV with Block, Bind, 
  and Disarm; OAF (-1), Only Applies To Th e 
  Th ree Listed Maneuvers (-½)
  Total cost:  19 points (or 22 points for IAF (-½) 
  version).
  Grenades, Smoke:  Some warriors (especially ninja) 
  use these grenades to blind and confound an oppo-
  nent, or to cloak their next action — such as hiding 
  or preparing a new attack. Smoke grenades do not 
  require a Weapon Familiarity.
  Smoke Grenades:  Darkness to Sight Group 1” 
  radius (10 Active Points); OAF (-1), Limited 
  Eﬀ ect (Normal Sight only; -¼), Range Based 
  On STR (-¼), Real Weapon (-¼), 8 Continu-
  ing Charges lasting 1 Extra Phase each (-¼). 
  Total cost:  3 points (or 4 points for the IAF (-½) 
  version).
  Hanbo:  This is a fighting-stick weapon, from 2’ 
  to 3’ in length. Use these statistics also for the 
  scabbard of a short sword (any blade with a base 
  damage of 1d6) when used as a weapon, for the 
  pentjong (a knobbed club used in Bhakti Negara 
  Pentjak-Silat), and for the following weapons 
  from India:  kettukari (cane), lathi (heavy cane), 
  muchan (a tapered 2’ long staff), and the otta 
  (curved heavy sticks).
  Hand Mace:  Th is term refers to a number of mace-
  like Chinese weapons in the shape of hands, ﬁ sts, 
  or claws. Some of the hands hold objects, such 
  as pens or brushes, or have one or two ﬁ ngers 
  upraised, which helps the mace pierce armor. 
  Examples of this sort of weapon include the ch’uan 
  bi (“ﬁ st pen”), chua (long-handled claw), and fu sou 
  (“Buddha hand”). 
  Hankyu:  Th is is a short, comparatively weak, easily-
  carried bow favored by ninja. One variant, the 
  tabiumi, was collapsible and hence easily hidden 
  when necessary; hidden arrows could be carried as 
  the ribs of a straw hat or in many other ways. 
  Hook Sword:  Th is is a Chinese sword popular in 
  some Kung Fu styles. It includes a straight, double-
  edged blade, a forward-curving hook at the end 
  of that blade, a bladed crescent-shaped guard for 
  the hand (providing 6 DEF to the hand on an 
  11- Activation Roll), and a butt-spike protruding 
  from the hilt. Th is weapon has a +0 OCV bonus 
  for most maneuvers, but because of its unusual 
  conﬁ guration gets a +2 OCV for maneuvers includ-
  ing the Bind, Block, Disarm, and Takeaway (i.e., 
  Grab Weapon) maneuver elements. Th e Fire Wing 
  sword, Elephant Trunk sword, and the sang kauw of 
  Kuntao use the same statistics.
  Iron Mandarin Duck:  A throwing weapon made out 
  of iron and shaped like a mandarin duck. Th anks to 
  the duck’s weight and sharp points (feathers, wings, 
  beak, and so forth), it’s a lethal weapon.
  Jien:  The Chinese broadsword, often used in 
  Kung Fu styles. The weapon’s blade is straight, 
  light, and double-edged; it’s a thrusting weapon, 
  and normally only the four inches at the tip 
  of the blade are used in combat. Sometimes it 
  comes in unusual configurations, such as:  the 
  sher ther jien, or snake-tongued sword, which has 
  a forked tip; the giau tzu jen, which has tiny ser-
  rations along both edges; and the wu grou jen, or 
  Centipede Hook, which has a hook protruding 
  from one side. The Vietnamese equivalent to the 
  jien was the kiem.
  Jo:  Th is is a single stick around 4’ in length. Use 
  these statistics also for these weapons:  the scab-
  bard of a long sword (any sword with a damage of 
  1d6+1 or better) when used as a weapon; the sticks 
  used in the escrima martial art; the tieh tzu (“iron 
  ruler,” a ﬂ at iron bar used as a weapon); the chuu, a 
  weapon derived from the Chinese grain pestle; for 
  the Indonesian sticks, tongkat and tekken (the latter 
  resembles a small walking cane); the Korean sticks, 
  dan bong and joong bong; and the Vietnamese stick, 
  tien bong. 
  Kama:  Th is is the Okinawan sickle, which consists 
  of a short handle topped by a short curved sickle 
  blade. It is one of the principal weapons of Karate 
  (the others are bo, eiku, nunchaku, sai, tekko, timbe 
  and rochin, and tonfa), and is oft en used in pairs. 
  You can also use the statistics for the kama for the 
  Chinese sickle (lian).
  Kanzashi:  Th e kanzashi is a wooden or metal hair 
  needle, about 12-20 cm long, with two tines run-
  ning parallel. It could be used as a weapon, and was 
  a favorite of the kunoichi, or female ninja.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  50 ■ Martial Arts Eequipment
  Kapak:  A small throwing hatchet used by the Batak 
  people of Indonesia. You can also use this for any 
  number of small, hatchet-like throwing weapons 
  used by many diﬀ erent cultures. 
  Katana:  Th is is the traditional samurai sword; it 
  is the larger of the daisho, the pair of blades worn 
  by the samurai. Th e odachi is an older-style blade 
  using the same game statistics. Th e katana is worn 
  in the belt, edge upwards. Th e tachi, another long 
  Japanese blade, has identical game statistics to the 
  katana, but is slightly more curved than the katana; 
  the tachi is either worn in the belt (with the edge 
  down) or worn over shoulder instead of in belt. 
  Use the katana’s statistics for the traditional 
  Korean sword (gum), the Vietnamese sword 
  (guom), for the Chinese Seagull Sword (a double-
  bladed sword with a bulbous tip), and for the to 
  sangto, a form of twin swords used in Kuntao.
  Kiseru:  Th is weapon is a metal smoking pipe about 
  1’ long. It is easily concealed and can actually be 
  used for smoking.  
  Knuck-Knife:  Th is is a normal folding, lock-back 
  blade... except that its handle is a set of brass knuckles.
  Ko-Gatana:  A small knife attached to one side of 
  the scabbard of a wakizashi (q.v.).
  Kris:  Th is weapon is the Malaysian double-edged, 
  wavy-bladed sword/dagger. It is mainly a thrusting 
  weapon, and the waves in the blade make wounds 
  very, very painful and more likely to bleed pro-
  fusely. Kris blades vary in length from 5 inches to 
  over 30 inches. Th e Kris Knife stats shown are for a 
  blade in the 5-10 inch range, the Normal Kris stats 
  are for a blade in the 10-20 inch range, and the Kris 
  Sword stats are for a blade in the 20-30 inch range.
  Th e kris has the same signiﬁ cance for Indo-
  nesians that the katana has for the Japanese. Every 
  part of the weapon has its own designation and 
  lore. A large number of magical abilities, or tasaw-
  waf, are attributed to it (see page 50); they are alleg-
  edly implanted in the blade by the pande, or master 
  smith, who craft s it. Every male is supposed to 
  possess a kris, and it is a father’s duty to see that his 
  son is furnished with one. Kris from diﬀ erent areas 
  of the Indonesian archipelago can be told by their 
  distinctive styles or forms.
  Kukri:  An Indian knife which is also frequently 
  used by Bando practitioners and by the Gurkas of 
  Nepal. It has a recurved blade and a slightly oval or 
  rounded point. It can be thrown. You can also use 
  the kukri’s statistics for the badik, a type of Indone-
  sian dagger, which is not normally thrown.
  Kusari:  A ﬂ exible weapon consisting of a chain 
  about 12’ long with a weight on one end and a 
  metal ring on the other. It can be thrown at a target 
  to do him harm or to grab him (e.g., grab his legs 
  to trip him, or wrap around his arms to bind him). 
  For this reason, the kusari’s Stretching is not bought 
  with the Only To Do Damage Limitation, though it 
  doesn’t provide full manipulation at range.
  Kusarigama:  Th is is a kusari with a kama (sickle) 
  on one end. Th e wielder of the kusarigama holds 
  the kama by the hilt and swings the chain to strike 
  or grab a foe; once he snares the target, he follows 
  up with the sickle end.
  Several variants of the kusarigama deserve 
  mention. Th e ﬁ rst is the bakuhatsugama, a 
  kusarigama with a nagedeppo (explosive grenade, 
  see below) or metsubishi (ﬂ ash grenade, see below) 
  attached to the weighted end of the chain. Th e 
  second is the mamukigama, a kusarigama with 
  a live poisonous serpent loosely attached to the 
  chain!  In theory, the snake will bite an enemy 
  wrapped in the chain. Last is the oh-gama, an 
  extremely large (4’+) battleﬁ eld version of the 
  kusarigama; it does double the damage of the 
  kusarigama but has a correspondingly larger STR 
  Minimum in Heroic campaigns.
  Kyogetsu Shoge:  Th is weapon is much like the 
  kusarigama, but has a bladed grappling hook on 
  the end instead of a kama. It is also carried as a 
  grappling hook, its chain acting as its climb-line.
  Lajatang:  A weapon used in the Indonesian ﬁ ght-
  ing style of Kuntao, consisting of a short wooden 
  staﬀ  with a crescent moon-shaped blade set per-
  pendicular to it at each end.
  Main-Gauche:  A European fencing dagger. It has 
  a heavy hand-guard (6 DEF on the hand holding 
  it) and extra-long quillions. It is especially good at, 
  and so receives an extra +2 OCV for, maneuvers 
  with the Bind, Block, Disarm, and Takeaway (Grab 
  Weapon) maneuver elements.
  Cost Power
  6 
  Main Gauche:  Multipower, 18-point reserve; 
  all OAF (-1), STR Minimum (7; -½), Real 
  Weapon (-¼)
  1u 
   1) Blade:  HKA 1d6-1 (plus STR), Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½); OAF (-1), STR 
  Minimum (7; -½), Real Weapon (-¼)
  1u 
   2) Hilt:  HA +2d6 , Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½); OAF (-1), Hand-To-Hand 
  Attack (-½), STR Minimum (7; -½), Real 
  Weapon (-¼)
  4 
  Protective Hilt:  Armor (6 PD/6 ED); OAF 
  (-1), Only Protects Th e Hand Used To 
  Grasp It (-2)
  4 
  Skillful Weapon:  +2 OCV with Block, Bind, 
  Disarm, and Takeaway; OAF (-1), Only 
  Applies To Th e Four Listed Maneuvers (-½)
  Total cost:  16 points (or 20 points for IAF (-½) 
  version).
  Makila:  Used by Zipota practitioners, this is a 1.5 
  meter-long stick traditionally used as a shepherd’s 
  tool. One end has an iron cap, and the handle 
  unscrews to reveal a long, sharp needle-like thrust-
  ing weapon.
  
  51 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Two
  Cost Power
  8 
  Makila:  Multipower, 22-point reserve, all 
  OAF (-1), STR Minimum (8; -½), Real 
  Weapon (-¼)
  1u 
  1) Stick:  HA +3d6, Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½); OAF (-1), Hand-To-Hand 
  Attack (-½), STR Minimum (8; -½), Real 
  Weapon (-¼) 
  1u 
  2) Spike:  HKA 1d6 (plus STR), Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½); OAF (-1), STR 
  Minimum (8; -½), Real Weapon (-¼) 
  Total cost:  10 points (or 12 points for IAF (-½) 
  version).
  Manriki-gusari:  Also called a manriki or a kusari-
  fundo, this is a 3’ chain with weights at both ends. It 
  can be swung to strike a foe or thrown to ensnare 
  him, just like the kusari. You can also use this 
  weapon’s statistics for the following weapons:  the 
  suruchin, a weighted rope used by some Kobujutsu 
  practitioners; the kabit, a chain weapon used in 
  Arnis; the panu, a scarf or handkerchief weighted 
  with coins used by some Arnis exponents; and the 
  sarong, a type of waistcloth worn in the Philippines 
  and Indonesia which is used like the panu, but is 
  much heavier — there are reports of skilled prac-
  titioners “ﬂ icking” the sarong at thick boards and 
  snapping them in two!
  Metsubishi:  Small grenades which can momen-
  tarily blind an opponent. Grenades do not require a 
  Weapon Familiarity. Alternatively, a “ﬂ ash grenade” 
  could be one use’s worth of eye-irritating dust, 
  either thrown at a foe or blown through an open-
  ended sword sheath, a small pillbox, or a similar 
  device. Th is type of metsubishi has No Range, since 
  it can only be used eﬀ ectively within a few feet.
  Metsubishi (thrown):  Sight Group Flash 2d6, 
  Area Of Eﬀ ect Nonselective (One Hex; +¼) 
  (12 Active Points); OAF (-1), Range Based On 
  STR (-¼), Real Weapon (-¼), 8 Charges (-½). 
  Total cost:  4 points (or 5 points for IAF (-½) 
  version).
  Metsubishi (blown powder):  Sight Group Flash 
  2d6 (10 Active Points); OAF (-1), No Range (-
  ½), Real Weapon (-¼), 1 Charge (-2). Total cost:  
  2 points (or 2 points for IAF (-½) version).
  Chinese du sar, “poison sand,” uses the same 
  statistics as the blown metsubishi.
  Mourn Staff:  Known as a Th orn Staﬀ  or, in Chinese, 
  as a san men barn, this weapon actually resembles a 
  sword more than it does a staﬀ . It consists of a 3-4’ 
  wooden or metal shaft , with three-quarters of its 
  length studded with metal “teeth.”
  Nagedeppo:  A type of primitive explosive grenade. 
  Its explosion covers a One Hex radius. In feudal 
  Japanese campaigns, the bang and ﬂ ash from this 
  grenade are as disorienting as its damaging eﬀ ects, 
  since such weapons were extremely uncommon in 
  that period. 
  Naginata:  Th is Japanese weapon consists of a 2-3’ 
  edged blade on long staﬀ ; the weapon is usually 7-8’ 
  long. It is traditionally a very popular weapon with 
  female Japanese ﬁ ghters. Warriors use it as both a 
  bladed weapon and as a staﬀ ; it is very versatile. You 
  can also use this weapon’s statistics for the nage-
  maki or nagakami, which has a somewhat longer 
  and heavier blade but a shorter handle.
  Cost Power
  12 
  Naginata:  Multipower, 37-point reserve; 
  all OAF (-1), STR Minimum (15; -¾), Real 
  Weapon (-¼)
  1u 
  1) Blade:  HKA 1½d6 (plus STR), Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½); OAF (-1), STR 
  Minimum (15; -¾), Real Weapon (-¼)
  1u 
  2) Shaft :  HA +4d6, Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½); OAF (-1), Hand-To-Hand 
  Attack (-½), STR Minimum (15; -¾), Real 
  Weapon (-¼)
  2 
  Long Weapon:  Stretching 1”, Reduced Endur-
  ance (0 END; +½) (7 Active Points); OAF 
  (-1) [or IAF (-½) for concealed form], 
  Always Direct (-¼), No Noncombat Stretch-
  ing (-¼), Only To Cause Damage (-½), No 
  Velocity Damage (-¼) (total cost for IAF (-
  ½) version:  2 points)
  Total cost:  16 points (or 19 points for IAF (-½) 
  version).
  Navaja:  A large folding knife used by European 
  knifeﬁ ghters, with a very slight curve toward the tip 
  of the three to six inch-long blade.
  Nekote:  Nekote, or “cat’s claws,” are a set of ﬁ ve 
  metal claws ﬁ tting on the ﬁ ngertips. By themselves 
  they do relatively little damage, but they are oft en 
  poisoned. Use this weapon’s statistics for Chinese 
  ﬁ ngernail razors (small blades that ﬁ t underneath 
  the ﬁ ngernails) and the Japanese kakute, or “horn 
  ﬁ nger” ring. Th is ring has a small spike on one side 
  that is normally poisoned, making even the lightest 
  punch fatal.
  Net:  See Toami.
  Nine-Dragon Trident:  Th is Chinese polearm consists 
  of a 6’ shaft  with a trident on top, plus two cross-
  bars further down (turned at 90o to one another) 
  which bear an indescribable array of ﬂ anges and 
  protrusions. It grants a +2 OCV to maneuvers 
  including the Bind, Block, Disarm, and Takeaway 
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  52 ■ Martial Arts Eequipment
  (Grab Weapon) Bases. In Chinese, it is called the 
  gao loon cha.
  For the Nine-Dragon Trident’s game statistics, 
  use the Ghi, above.
  Nine-Ring Sword:  A single-edged, sabre-like 
  weapon with nine rings set into its back edge. 
  The rings help to catch an enemy’s weapon and 
  disarm him. Another name for this weapon is 
  Ghost Hat Sword.
  Ninja-to:  Th is weapon, also called the shinobi-
  gatama, shinobigatana, and ninja-ken, is the tra-
  ditional ninja sword. It has a blade about 24” long 
  and is about 40” long overall. It looks something 
  like other Japanese swords such as the katana, but 
  the blade is straight and the handguard (tsuba) is 
  square instead of round. 
  Th e ninja-to is a tool as much as a weapon 
  — to use a modern comic book analogy, it is a 
  sort of “utility belt” for the ninja. It can be used for 
  climbing and for digging holes in the earth as well, 
  an indignity the owner of a katana would never 
  subject his blade to. Its scabbard, or saya, is longer 
  than the sword itself and can be used to carry 
  concealed powder weapons or bo shuriken. Th e 
  scabbard cord, or sageo, has a variety of uses. Th ese 
  additional uses are bought as part of a Multipower.
  Ninja only use a ninja-to on stealth missions; 
  when disguised as ordinary people, they use what-
  ever weapons are appropriate to those folk. Ninja 
  also oft en use the katana.
  Cost Power
  22 
  Ninja-to And Saya:  Multipower, 44-point 
  reserve, all OAF (-1)
  1u 
  1) Blade:  HKA 1½d6 (plus STR), Range 
  Based On STR (+¼), Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½); OAF (-1), STR Minimum 
  (15; -¾), Real Weapon (-¼), One-And-A-
  Half-Handed (-¼) 
  1u 
  2) Hilt/Saya As Club:  HA +2d6, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½); OAF (-1), Hand-
  To-Hand Attack (-½), STR Minimum 
  (15; -¾), Real Weapon (-¼), One-And-A-
  Half-Handed (-¼)
  1u 
  3) Saya And Sageo As A Climbing Platform:  
  +1 to Climbing Roll; OAF (-1) 
  1u 
  4) Blinding Powder In Saya:  As Metsubishi, 
  Blown, above
  1u 
  5) Sageo As Strangling Garrotte:  refer to 
  “Garrotte,” above, for details on that weapon
  1u 
  6) Saya As Breathing Tube (Takezutsu):  Life 
  Support (Breathe Underwater); OAF (-1), 
  Only Works Close To Th e Surface (-1) 
  Total cost:  28 points (or 36 points for IAF (-½) 
  version).
  No-daichi:  Th is is a Japanese two-handed sword.
  Nunchaku:  Th is weapon, one of the principal 
  weapons of Karate (the others are bo, eiku, kama, 
  sai, tekko, timbe and rochin, and tonfa), is an Oki-
  nawan wooden ﬂ ail. It consists of two pieces of 
  wood (each 12” to 14” long) connected by short 
  chain or cord (itself 1” to 5” long). Nunchaku are 
  oft en used in pairs.
  Parang:  A cleaver-like Indonesian blade, about 10 
  inches to three feet in length. You can also use its 
  statistics for other Indonesian weapons, including 
  the golok (which has a more convex cutting edge 
  and a sharper point than the parang).
  Pedang:  A straight or curved Indonesian short 
  sword (10-35” long). It is used one-handed. Other 
  Indonesian blades using similar statistics include 
  the kělewang (a single-edged sword with a pro-
  nounced notch near the tip on the blunt side).
  Pendjepit:  A weapon used in Prisai Sakti Pentjak-
  Silat. It is a metal pincher with sharp, tiny teeth in 
  the ends which are used to tear at the ﬂ esh grabbed. 
  Petjat:  A 4-6’ whip used in some parts of Indonesia. 
  You can also use this weapon’s statistics for the che-
  meti, another type of Indonesian whip with a 1-2’ 
  wooden handle, and a 2-3’ buﬀ alo-hide or human 
  hair whip.
  PuZal:  A folding knife similar to the navaja, but 
  somewhat smaller and more streamlined, without 
  the slight curve at the tip.
  Rante:  A chain weapon from Indonesia. Th e chain 
  can be used in typical fashion, to whip and snare, 
  but many rante also have some sort of blade or 
  barb attached to one end, making the weapon more 
  lethal than it otherwise would be.
  Cost Power
  9 
  Rante:  Multipower, 22-point reserve, all 
  OAF (-1), STR Minimum (5; -¼), Real 
  Weapon (-¼)
  1u 
  1) Chain:  HA +3d6, Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½); OAF (-1), Hand-To-Hand 
  Attack (-½), STR Minimum (5; -¼), Real 
  Weapon (-¼) 
  1u 
  2) Blade:  HKA ½d6 (plus STR), Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½); OAF (-1), STR 
  Minimum (5; -¼), Real Weapon (-¼)
  2 
  Long Weapon:  Stretching 1”, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½) (7 Active Points); 
  OAF (-1) [or IAF (-½) for concealed form], 
  Always Direct (-¼), No Noncombat Stretch-
  ing (-¼), Only To Cause Damage (-½), No 
  Velocity Damage (-¼) (total cost for IAF 
  (-½) version:  2 points)
  Total cost:  13 points (or 15 points for IAF (-½) 
  version).
  Rapier:  A long, narrow stabbing sword, a European 
  fencing weapon.
  Razor, Straight:  Th is is the normal shaving imple-
  ment; the large variety is larger than the types nor-
  mally used to shave. It is ineﬀ ective against Armor 
  (it has the “Reduced Penetration” Limitation) and 
  doesn’t do as much STUN as cleaving or stabbing 
  weapons. It is the preferred weapon of capoeiristas. 
  Two types of Straight Razors are shown on the 
  chart, one of ordinary length and one extra-long.
  You can also use the statistics for the smaller 
  Straight Razor for the Justice Pen (bi), a Chinese 
  stabbing weapon which resembled a large metal 
  brush or pen.
  
  53 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Two
  Ring Needle:  Also known as an er mei tzu, or 
  “sting,” this weapon consists of a ring attached 
  to a thin, sharpened metal rod. It was originally 
  designed for underwater ﬁ ghting. Pakua practitio-
  ners use it to stab or thrust, and can throw it.
  Rings:  Steel rings about 8’ in diameter, used as 
  bludgeoning weapons or missiles.
  Rope Dart:  A small blade on the end of an up to 25’ 
  long rope. Th e weapon was used by whirling the 
  dart around and slashing people with it. Th e Indo-
  nesian equivalent for this weapon is the suk piao, 
  used in Kuntao.
  Sabre:  Th is is the European fencing sabre, a sharp, 
  curved weapon used principally for slashing. You 
  can also use the sabre’s statistics for the krabi, a 
  sabre-like sword used in Krabi-Krabong.
  Sai:  This Japanese weapon, known as gen or cha 
  in China and as a tjabang or titjio in Indonesia, 
  is one of the principal weapons of Karate (the 
  others are bo, eiku, kama, nunchaku, tekko, timbe 
  and rochin, and tonfa). It is is trident-shaped 
  truncheon, some 15-20” long, made of metal. 
  The point is blunted; it is not a stabbing imple-
  ment. Due to its trident shape, the Sai receives 
  an additional +2 OCV when performing maneu-
  vers which include the Bind, Block, Disarm, and 
  Takeaway (Grab Weapon) Bases (thus receiving a 
  total of +3 OCV with these maneuvers).
  Th ese statistics are also used for the jutte and 
  nunte weapons. Th e jutte (or jitte) looks like the sai 
  but with one tine missing; this makes it easier to 
  conceal, and thus popular among ninja. Th e nunte 
  looks like the sai but with one tine bent backwards. 
  Th e sai, jutte and nunte can be thrown; the three 
  weapons share an identical Weapon Familiarity.
  Sai, Cinema:  Th ough historical sai appear never to 
  have been sharpened, sai in movies are sometimes 
  stabbing weapons. Th e statistics for this weapon 
  can also be used for the Chinese char, or trident 
  dagger, and for the siangkam, a Kuntao weapon 
  resembling a metal arrow about 1-2’ long.
  Schlaeger:  A duelling sword favored by German 
  students, particularly during the latter half of 
  the 1800s. It has a straight, double-edged blade, a 
  large basket hilt (to allow the wrist a full range of 
  motion), and a dull point (it was used for slashing, 
  not stabbing).
  Shinai:  Th is is a bamboo practice sword shaped like 
  a katana and used in the sport of kendo.
  Shinobi-zue:  This ninja weapon is a bamboo 
  staff. One end is loaded with lead for a harder 
  impact when it hits. The other is capped with a 
  metal plug; when removed, this releases a con-
  cealed 6’ chain. The staff is used as a bo; the 
  chain is used like a kusari but cannot be thrown. 
  This weapon is also known as a shikomi-zue. You 
  can also use the shinobi-zue’s statistics for the 
  chigiriki, a staff or spear with a 3-10’-long chain 
  with a weighted end attached to it (use the yari’s 
  statistics for the spearhead).
  Shuko:  These are the ninja climbing claws worn 
  on the hands, usable in hand-to-hand combat to 
  slash a target. They provide a +1 bonus to Climb-
  ing rolls (when wearing both the shuko and the 
  ashiko, or foot-claws, the ninja gets a total bonus 
  of +2 to Climbing rolls). A character cannot 
  carry a weapon in a hand which has a shuko in 
  it. And the characer must wear both shuko, one 
  on each hand, to get the +1 to his Climbing rolls. 
  Shuko are also known as tekkokagi.
  Shuriken:  Commonly called throwing stars and 
  throwing spikes, these are ranged weapons used by 
  ninja and by modern martial artist heroes and vil-
  lains. Th ey come in three basic types:
  Bo Shuriken are sharply-pointed metal spikes a few 
  inches long. One to ﬁ ve bo shuriken may be thrown 
  at a time.
  Large (Star) Shuriken are star-shaped metal disks 
  several inches across, about half an inch thick, and 
  possessing three to eight sharp points.
  Small (Star) Shuriken are shaped the same as Large 
  Star Shuriken, but are only about an eighth of an 
  inch thick and a couple of inches across. One to ﬁ ve 
  small star shuriken may be thrown at a time.
  Star shuriken are called hira shuriken in Japa-
  nese. Th e four-pointed star, the most popular type, 
  is called a senban shuriken. Shuriken made out of 
  ﬂ at metal bars with sharpened ends are itaken. 
  Th e Chinese have a weapon called a Sleeve Dart 
  (shouu gen, darts easily concealed in a sleeve or in 
  various spring-loaded tubes hidden in one’s clothes) 
  which has the same statistics as bo shuriken. Th e 
  Chinese also created razor-edged coins (lo han chain 
  [Japanese, nasare en]) and oddly-shaped Dart Knives 
  (biau dau) which have the same statistics as small star 
  shuriken, as does the piau, an Indonesian throwing 
  blade vaguely shaped like a hatchet-head. Th e Indian 
  chakram or cher-khi, a razor-edged throwing ring also 
  called a quoit, uses the statistics for a large shuriken. 
  Th e paku, a sort of sharpened throwing stick weapon 
  used in Indonesia, uses the bo shuriken’s statistics. 
  Many dart weapons, including specially-thrown nails 
  or the narrow darts sometimes slipped into war fans, 
  correspond to bo shuriken.
  Th e Ranged Weapons Chart shows a load of 9 to 
  12 shuriken. Ninja traditionally carried nine, because 
  that number has special signiﬁ cance to them.
  Sling Bow:  Th is missile weapon is a bow designed 
  to ﬁ re small iron balls — sort of a cross between 
  a bow and a slingshot. In Chinese it is known as a 
  dan kurn.
  Soft Hammer:  Th is Chinese weapon (nuan chuai) 
  is the same as the European morningstar:  a metal 
  ball (spiked or not) connected to a wooden shaft  by 
  a short length of chain.
  Spread-The-Water Knife:  A bladed weapon shaped 
  like a thin D,  with the curved edge being the blade 
  and the straight bar being a wooden shaft . Th e 
  straight bar averaged about 2-3’ long. 
  Steel Olive:  An olive-shaped throwing weapon. Th e 
  ends taper down to sharp points, giving the weapon 
  an eye-shaped proﬁ le.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  54 ■ Martial Arts Eequipment
  Steel Toad:  A throwing weapon in the shape of a 
  toad!  Th e toad’s head tapers to slightly more of a 
  point that a normal toad’s does, so the weapon can 
  do more damage than it would if it were blunt.
  Sword-Spear:  A type of short (3-4’) Chinese spear, 
  known as a jen chian. Also use these statistics for 
  a Double Hook Arrow (shunn gou shih), a type of 
  large arrow with two hooks which curve away from 
  the arrow head.   
  Tai-Dao:  Th is Chinese polearm is two meters long 
  and topped with a heavy, curved blade. (Use the 
  Naginata’s write-up for its game statistics.) It was 
  used both from foot and horseback. Th e kwan dao 
  (also spelled quan tao, meaning “General Kwan’s 
  Knife”), da dau (a long-handled broadsword-like 
  weapon), bisento (a Japanese weapon), and the 
  chun jung whule-do (“heavenly dragon moon 
  knife,” a Korean weapon) use the same statistics as 
  this weapon, as do the kwanto and sjang sutai, two 
  weapons used in Kuntao.
  Tanto:  A Japanese dagger, sturdily constructed, with 
  a curved, single-edged, chisel-pointed blade. It is 9” 
  or so long and has no hand-guard.
  Use these statistics for two other Japanese 
  blades, the aikuchi and hamidashi, and for several 
  short Chinese bladed weapons, including the shaou 
  dau (“scrape saber,” a small version of the Chinese 
  saber) and shou li jen (“sleeve sword,” a sword about 
  the size of a dagger with a concealed spring that 
  allowed to to expand to twice its length). Th e tanto’s 
  statistics also apply to a number of Indonesian dag-
  gers, including the pisau. 
  Tetsubishi:  These are caltrops — four-pointed 
  spikes which, when dropped on the ground, 
  always land with one spike pointed up. When the 
  character throws his tetsubishi onto the ground, 
  he rolls versus DCV 3 to hit his target hex. When 
  a target walks into the hex where tetsubishi have 
  been thrown, the attacking player (or GM) rolls 
  the 14- Activation Roll; if it succeeds, the target 
  takes damage. In campaigns which use Hit Loca-
  tions, this damage is always to the character’s feet 
  (location 18). A character who sees the caltrops 
  ahead of time may move through the hex with-
  out stepping on them. Tetsubishi do not require a 
  Weapon Familiarity.
  Characters oft en buy tetsubishi at IAFs 
  because they’re generally inconspicuous when 
  dropped — though depending on the circum-
  stances, this may not be the case. In a pinch, a char-
  acter can use his tetsubishi as an improvised missile 
  weapon, doing 1d6 to all targets in a 1” radius.
  You can also use the tetsubishi write-up for 
  igadama (spiked iron balls similar to arare), hishi 
  (dried water chestnuts with spiky shells), and 
  dokubari (spiked balls of plant matter).
  Cost Power
  15 
  Tetsubishi:  Multipower, 45-point reserve; 
  all OAF (-1), 2 Recoverable Charges (-1) for 
  entire Multipower
  1u 
  1)  Dropped:  RKA 1d6, Area Of Eﬀ ect 
  (One Hex; +½), Continuous (+1), 
  Uncontrolled (removable by spending a 
  Full Phase to sweep them aside; +½); OAF 
  (-1), Activation Roll 14- (-½), Only Aﬀ ects 
  Characters Moving On Th e Ground (-¼), 
  DEX Roll Cancels Eﬀ ect (-¼), Automatically 
  Targets Hit Location 18 (-0)
  1u 
  2)  Th rown:  RKA 1d6, Area Of Eﬀ ect (One 
  Hex; +½); OAF (-1), Range Based On STR 
  (-¼), Inaccurate (user is at half OCV, and 
  Range Modiﬁ er increment drops to 3”; -¼)
  Total cost:  17 points (or 21 points for IAF (-½) 
  version)
  Tetsubo:  A Japanese hardwood war-staﬀ  6’ long 
  and covered with studded iron plates at the end; 
  the plated area of the shaft  is octagonal rather than 
  round. You can also use the tetsubo’s statistics for 
  the konsaibo, a hardwood staﬀ  reinforced with 
  metal strips and iron studs, and for the kanabo, an 
  iron club.
  Tetsu-To:  A heavy iron sword, curved in the Japa-
  nese fashion, used by samurai and ninja alike as a 
  strength-training weapon. It is too heavy for most 
  people to use eﬀ ectively in combat (see the weap-
  on’s STR Min).
  Three-Section Staff:  A Kung Fu weapon, known as 
  shan gieh kun in Chinese. It consists of three wooden 
  rods connected by rings; each rod is 18”-20” long. 
  Fighters use it like a ﬂ ail for long strikes, or like a jo 
  for close-in attacks.It’s very useful for maneuvers con-
  taining the Bind, Block, Disarm, and Takeaway (Grab 
  Weapon) Bases:  it grants a +2 OCV with them. If 
  you’re using the Weapon Lengths rules (page 164), the 
  Th ree-Section staﬀ  is a special weapon:  other weap-
  ons attack against the Th ree-Section Staﬀ  as if the staﬀ  
  were a Long weapon, but the wielder of the Staﬀ  is 
  never at an OCV penalty when the attacker gets inside 
  his guard and strikes him.
  Th e Indonesian equivalent of the Th ree-Sec-
  tion Staﬀ , used in Kuntao, is the sa tjat koen.
  You can also use these statistics for the 
  “Sweeper,” or shao-tzu, a weapon consisting of a 
  short staﬀ  with an even shorter length of wood 
  attached to one end by a chain (a two-section staﬀ , 
  if you will). Th e Sweeper was most oft en used to 
  attack a horse’s legs.
  Tiger Fork:  Th e Tiger Fork, or hu cha, is a large, tri-
  dent-like weapon with broadly-spread tines.  (Use 
  the Naginata’s write-up for its game statistics.) You 
  should also use these for various types of Chinese 
  tridents, such as the shan char, and the Korean tri-
  dent, or dang pah.
  
  55 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Two
  Timbe:  A 1-2’ shaft  with a small spearhead on one 
  end. It is used in combination with a tortoiseshell 
  shield called a rochin and is one of the principal 
  weapons of Kobujutsu.
  Tjaluk:  A blade weapon used in Setia Hati Pentjak-
  Silat. It consists of a hilt (with a curved metal hand-
  guard) from which a sickle-like curved blade about 
  1’ long emerges. Th e sharp edge of the weapon is 
  the reverse, or outside, edge — so parrying it can 
  be a risky proposition. It is best used in surprise or 
  assassination attacks, not in open combat.
  Toami:  A net. Its statistics depend upon its size:
  Small Toami:  Entangle 4d6, 4 DEF, Entangle 
  And Character Both Take Damage (+¼) (50 
  Active Points); OAF (-1), Range Based On STR 
  (-¼), Real Weapon (-¼), 1 Recoverable Charge 
  (-1¼). Total cost:  13 points (or 15 points for 
  IAF (-½) version).
  Normal Toami:  Entangle 4d6, 4 DEF, Entan-
  gle And Character Both Take Damage (+¼), 
  Area Of Effect (One Hex; +½) (70 Active 
  Points); OAF (-1), Real Weapon (-¼), Range 
  Based On STR (-¼), 1 Recoverable Charge (-
  1¼). Total cost:  19 points (or 21 points for 
  IAF (-½) version).
  Large Toami:  Entangle 4d6, 4 DEF, Entangle 
  And Character Both Take Damage (+¼), 
  Area of Effect (5” Radius; +1) (90 Active 
  Points); OAF (-1), Real Weapon (-¼), Range 
  Based On STR (-¼), 1 Recoverable Charge (-
  1¼). Total cost:  24 points (or 28 points for 
  IAF (-½) version).   
  Tonfa:  Th is is one of the traditional weapons of Karate 
  (the others are the bo, eiku, kama, nunchaku, sai, 
  tekko, and timbe and rochin). It consists of a trun-
  cheon with handle protruding at 90 degrees near one 
  end. It is oft en used in pairs. Unlike clubs, it requires 
  a Weapon Familiarity (it’s part of the WF for Karate 
  Weapons). However, ordinary people can pick up a 
  tonfa and use it as ordinary club, keeping the normal 
  weapon damage but losing the OCV bonus.
  Th e Indonesian counterparts to the tonfa are 
  the segu, which is used in Tapak Sutji Pentjak-Silat, 
  and the kwai, which is used in Kuntao.
  Tsubute:  A “blunt shuriken,” used to knock an 
  enemy unconscious. Th e same statistics apply to 
  blunt Chinese throwing coins, shouu chuan, or the 
  Sleeve Ring (a blunt metal ring hidden in the sleeve 
  and thrown at an enemy’s face).
  Umebi:  A form of primitive land mine used by 
  the ninja:
  Umebi:  RKA 1½d6, Area Of Effect (One Hex; 
  +½), Trigger (when stepped on, takes 1 Turn 
  to reset; +¼) (44 Active Points); IAF (-½), 1 
  Charge (-2), Real Weapon (-¼). Total cost:  
  12 points.
  Urumi:  Th e urumi, or spring-sword, is a ﬂ exible 
  sword from India. It consists of a hilt with 1-4 
  blades of metal (sharpened on both edges) project-
  ing from it. Th e blades are thin and ﬂ exible, allow-
  ing them to be whipped through the air and into an 
  enemy. When not in use the urumi can be carried 
  around the waist like a belt.
  Cost Power
  8 
  Urumi (Single-Bladed):  HKA 1d6 (plus 
  STR), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  (22 Active Points); OAF (-1), STR Mini-
  mum (12; -½), Real Weapon (-¼) (total 
  cost with IAF (-½):  10)
  13 
  Urumi (Multi-Bladed):  HKA 1d6 (plus 
  STR), Autofire (up to 4 shots, depending 
  on number of blades and wielder’s desire; 
  +½), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1) (37 
  Active Points); OAF (-1), STR Minimum 
  (12; -½), Real Weapon (-¼) (total cost with 
  IAF (-½):  16)
  Wakizashi:  Th is is the companion sword of the 
  katana; it is the smaller of the daisho pair of samu-
  rai blades. Th e kodachi is the older form of the 
  same blade.
  War Fan:  Th is weapon, known in Japanese as a 
  tessen or gunsen and in Chinese as a san, looks 
  like a normal hand-fan, but is larger than purely 
  decorative fans and is made of hardier materials. It 
  is used two ways:  closed, it is a punching weapon; 
  open, it is eﬀ ective at blocking attacks (+2 OCV 
  with Block maneuvers). Special War Fans come 
  with an additional blade option. Th e blade may be a 
  razor edge on the vanes of the fan, used in a slicing 
  motion when the fan is open, or it may be a spike 
  at the base of the fan, used when the fan is closed. 
  Both types are shown on the Melee Weapons Table. 
  War Fans are sometimes made with small darts 
  hidden in the vanes; if a character uses them, treat 
  these darts identically to Bo Shuriken.
  Cost Power
  8 
  War Fan, Edged:  Multipower, 22-point 
  reserve; all OAF (-1), STR Minimum (6; -½), 
  Real Weapon (-¼)
  1u 
  1) Folded Fan Attack:  HA +3d6, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½); OAF (-1), Hand-
  To-Hand Attack (-½), STR Minimum (6; -½), 
  Real Weapon (-¼) 
  1u 
  2) Spread Fan Attack:  HKA ½d6 (plus STR), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); OAF (-1), 
  STR Minimum (6; -½), Real Weapon (-¼)
  3 
  Skillful Weapon:  +2 OCV with Block (10 
  Active Points); OAF (-1), Only Applies To 
  Block (-1), Real Weapon (-¼)
  Total cost:  13 points (or 16 points for IAF (-½) 
  version).
  Wind and Fire Wheels: These are Chinese weap-
  ons. They consist of broad metal hoops a foot or 
  two in diameter. Some feature protruding spikes 
  and handles; other are plain hoops. Fighters use 
  them to punch and slash, and receive a +2 OCV 
  bonus when used with maneuvers with the Bind, 
  Block, Disarm, and Takeaway (Grab Weapon) 
  Bases. The statistics for this weapon also apply 
  to the lun, which is similar in function but 
  shaped more like a coin, and the yue, which is 
  eye-shaped.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  56 ■ Martial Arts Eequipment
  Wishful Steel Ball:  A small steel ball similar to a 
  modern ball-bearing, used as a weapon by ﬂ icking 
  it at high speed at the target.
  Wolf’s Teeth Staff:  Th is weapon, called lan yar barn 
  in Chinese, consists of a staﬀ  approximately 6’ long. 
  About 1’ of one end of it is covered with small 
  metal spikes. Use the Naginata’s write-up for its 
  game statistics.
  Yari:  Th is is the Japanese spear. It comes in two 
  basic versions. Th e normal version works just like 
  any other spear. Another version, the Kamayari, 
  comes with a back-hook (a backward-point-
  ing spike mounted at the head), which gives the 
  weapon a +2 OCV bonus when used with maneu-
  vers with the Bind, Block, Disarm, and Takeaway 
  (Grab Weapon) Bases. Th ere are several other vari-
  eties with diﬀ erent spearhead and combinations of 
  hooks and and other projections. Th e Vietnamese 
  counterpart to this weapon is the thuong.
  Cost Power
  13 
  Yari:  Multipower, 37-point reserve; all 
  OAF (-1), STR Minimum (14; -½), Real 
  Weapon (-¼)
  1u 
  1) Blade:  HKA 1½d6 (plus STR), Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½); OAF (-1), STR 
  Minimum (14; -½), Real Weapon (-¼)
  1u 
  2) Shaft :  HA +4d6, Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½); OAF (-1), Hand-To-Hand 
  Attack (-½), STR Minimum (14; -½), Real 
  Weapon (-¼)
  2 
  Long Weapon:  Stretching 1”, Reduced Endur-
  ance (0 END; +½) (7 Active Points); OAF 
  (-1) [or IAF (-½) for concealed form], 
  Always Direct (-¼), No Noncombat Stretch-
  ing (-¼), Only To Cause Damage (-½), No 
  Velocity Damage (-¼) (total cost for IAF 
  (-½) version:  2 points)
  4 
  Kamayari:  +2 OCV with Bind, Block, 
  Disarm, and Takeaway; OAF (-1), Only 
  Applies To Th e Four Listed Maneuvers (-½)
  -1 
  Kamayari:  Increase STR Min to 17
  Total cost (Yari):  17 points (or 20 points for IAF 
  (-½) version).
  Total cost (Kamayari):  20 points (or 23 points for 
  IAF (-½) version).
  Yoroi-toshi:  Th is weapon, the same approximate 
  size and shape as the tanto, is a dagger designed to 
  pierce armor. It is very heavy and very sharp, and 
  does armor-piercing damage.
  Yumi:  Th is is the Japanese bow, also known as a 
  daikyu. It can be anywhere from ﬁ ve to eight feet 
  long, and, unlike Western bows, is not held in the 
  middle; the handle is about one-third of the way 
  from the bottom. Th erefore it is easily used by 
  horsemen. Th e “One-Man, Two-Man, Th ree-Man” 
  designations indicate how many men it theoreti-
  cally takes to string the bow; for HERO System pur-
  poses, the STR Min of the weapon is also the STR 
  Min it takes to string the bow.
  CONCEALED AND 
  INOBVIOUS WEAPONS
  Almost every weapon described in this section can be 
  carried as a normal weapon or as a concealed weapon. It’s 
  a tradition in martial-arts ﬁ lms — especially ninja movies 
  — that characters can disguise many unusual weapons as 
  ordinary objects. Following are some examples of weap-
  ons and ways characters could disguise them:
  Blowgun:  As a ﬂ ute, or a walking stick; it can be com-
  bined with a jo or a used as a sword scabbard.
  Bokken, Katana, Jien, Ninja-to, No-daichi, Wakizashi:  
  Concealed within a bo staﬀ  that acted as its sheath; 
  about a foot and a half of the staﬀ  would actually be the 
  hilt of the blade.
  Brass Knuckles:  Th is weapon could be fashioned as the 
  lining of a pair of gloves or as the handle of a suitcase.
  Cestus:  Th is could be an ordinary-looking pair of 
  gloves. An observer would not notice that the inner 
  lining is Kevlar and that the ﬁ rst heavy blow with these 
  make short spikes poke through the outer lining.
  Chain Whip, Kusari, Manriki-gusari:  Easily worn as a belt.
  Climb line, Kusari, Manriki-gusari, Marbles, Tetsubishi:  
  Oft en carried inside the hollow hilt of another weapon.
  Fist-Load:  A ﬁ st-load can look like practically anything:  
  a statuette, a strangely-heavy telephone receiver, and 
  so forth.
  Garrotte:  Th is weapon can be an ordinary-looking 
  (though reinforced) scarf or belt; wire garrotes can be built 
  into the lining of clothes or into decorative hair-ribbons.
  Grenades, Flash and Smoke:  Disguised ﬂ ash and smoke 
  grenades can look like cuﬄ  inks, marbles, pebbles, fresh 
  fruit, juggling balls, or anything small, roundish, and 
  inconspicuous.
  Hanbo:  A bo could break down into twin hanbo.
  Kusarigama:  A kama (sickle) with a chain in its hollow 
  hilt could be instantly converted into a kusarigama.
  Nunchaku:  A hanbo or an innocuous-looking walking 
  cane could pull apart or unscrew into nunchaku; a bo 
  staﬀ  could break down into two pair. Any normal-look-
  ing length of stout material, such as a tent pole, a ﬂ ag 
  staﬀ , or a chair leg could conceal nunchaku....
  Sai:  One interesting prospect is that of the high-tech 
  sai, an ordinary-looking stick which (at the press of a 
  button) pops out the extra tines.
  Shuriken:  Small star shuriken can be disguised as but-
  tons, loose change, the glittering baubles sewn onto the 
  skirt of an exotic dancer, or the dangling elements of a 
  mobile. Th ey and bo shuriken can also be hidden in the 
  hollow hilt of another weapon.
  Three-Section Staff:  Perhaps a character could have 
  a piece of lawn furniture break down into a pair of 
  three-section staves.
  Tonfa:  As any normal cane or baton, with the perpen-
  dicular handle a locking swing-out mechanism.
  War Fan:  Th e best disguise for this weapon is to make 
  it look like a normal fan, carried by some fashionable 
  lady martial artist, and used for the normal purposes 
  of keeping cool and ﬂ irting... until it’s time for combat 
  to begin.
  Wind and Fire Wheels:  Worn as the brim of a hat.
  
  57 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Two
  T
  hough body armor isn’t very common in 
  martial arts adventures, a few types do show 
  up with some regularity:  samurai armor, 
  kendo armor, and body armor for full-con-
  tact karate sparring, for example.
  Superheroic characters generally create armor 
  which provides consistent defense over all the body 
  locations, which does not have an encumbrance 
  rating, and so forth. In superhero campaigns, such 
  armor is usually built with higher DEF ratings than 
  real-world armor, and simply looks identical to 
  the real-world armors described below, which are 
  designed for Heroic-level campaigns.
  Full-Contact Karate Armor
  Th is is a set of vinyl or leather-covered pad-
  ding designed to minimize risk of injury while 
  characters are sparring or training. It includes the 
  pieces listed in the accompanying table (not all of 
  which have to be worn).
  Th e two columns listed under “Defense” are 
  R for Resistant and N for Non-Resistant. Resis-
  tant Defenses are bought as Armor (PD and ED); 
  Normal Defenses are bought as Physical Defense 
  and Energy Defense.
  The Weight column is included for those 
  Heroic campaigns using the HERO System 
  encumbrance rules (see the HERO System 5th Edi-
  tion, Revised, page 379). If your campaign doesn’t 
  use those rules, don’t worry about the Weight 
  column except to determine whether a character 
  can lift the equipment at all. Weights are given in 
  tenths of a kilogram.
  You cannot “stack” armor; a character cannot 
  wear a Face Guard and a Full Face Guard and get 
  the beneﬁ ts of both. He only gets the beneﬁ t of the 
  greater of the two. 
  Kendo Armor
  Th e armor used by kendoka (practitioners of 
  Kendo, the modern sport form of Kenjutsu) in their 
  practices consists of several items.
  Th e men, or helmet, has a wire-frame mask 
  and padded armor which covers the top and back 
  of the head and the throat. Accompanying this are 
  a heavy chest-plate and gloves which cover the 
  forearms, both made of resilient padded material; a 
  MARTIAL ARTS 
  ARMOR
  FULL-CONTACT KARATE ARMOR
  Name  
  Hit 
  Defense 
  Weight
  of Armor 
  Locations 
  R/N 
  (kg)
  Face Guard 
  4-5 
  2/6 
  .1
  Full Face Guard 
  3-5 
  2/6 
  .2
  Gloves (2) 
  6 
  2/6 
  .2
  Forearm 
  Guards (2) 
  7 
  2/6 
  .1
  Torso Guard 
  9-11 
  2/6 
  .8
  Chest Guard 
  10-11 
  2/6 
  .7
  Rib Guard 
  12 
  2/6 
  .4
  Athletic Cup 
  13 
  2/6 
  .2
  Shin Guards, 
  Sm (2) 
  16 
  2/6 
  .1
  Shin Guards, 
  Lg (2) 
  16-17 
  2/6 
  .2
  Leg Guard (2) 
  15-17 
  2/6 
  .3
  KENDO ARMOR
  Name  
  Hit 
  Defense 
  Weight
  of Armor 
  Locations 
  R/N 
  (kg)
  Men (Helmet) 
  3-5, 9 
  6/0 
  1.8
  Kote (Sleeevs) 
  6-7 
  4/2 
  .5
  Do (Breastplate) 
  10-11 
  4/2 
  1.1
  Keikogi (Jacket) 
  8-11 
  1/1 
  .6
  Tare (Apron) 
  12-13 
  2/2 
  .6
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  58 ■ Martial Arts Eequipment
  padded apron; and a lighter protective jacket.
  Th e accompanying table describes the pro-
  tectio provided by kendo armor. Th e Men has an 
  additional Limitation:  it acts as Armor 0 versus 
  Guns. Th e Kote and Do have a similar Limitation:  
  Half-Value versus Guns. In other words, bullets 
  automatically bypass the armor of the helmet, and 
  are automatically Armor-Piercing attacks against 
  the Kote and Do. 
  Leather Hand-Wrappings
  Practitioners of ancient boxing (see Boxing, 
  Ancient in the Martial Arts section) protected their 
  hands by wrapping them in leather strips; this was 
  the sort of protection that ultimately evolved into 
  the boxing glove. A character who wraps his hands 
  in this fashion has a piece of equipment that’s 
  deﬁ ned by the accompanying table.
  RAWHIDE HANDWRAPPINGS
  Rawhide hand-wrappings are just like leather 
  hand-wrappings, with one exception. Rather like 
  the cestus (see above in the melee weapons listing), 
  rawhide wrappings can cause a little extra Killing 
  Damage to the target.
  With each punch that successfully hits a 
  target, the character with rawhide hand-wrappings 
  should make a 3d6 roll. On an 8-, the rawhide do 1 
  point of Killing Damage in addition to the regular 
  damage of the attack. If the character has rawhide 
  wrappings but uses some sort of NND DMG or K-
  damage attack, the rawhide adds nothing.
  Samurai Armor
  Th is armor is arranged much like the Kendo 
  armor described above, except that it is designed 
  to provide protection in real warfare. It is made of 
  metal and hardened leather plates, usually brightly 
  ornamented with decorative enamels.
  CREATING MARTIAL 
  ARTS EQUIPMENT
  Generally, the rules for creating Fantasy weap-
  ons and armor (see Chapter One of this book) 
  apply to martial arts weapons and armor. Here are 
  some additional guidelines:
  Powers Used In 
  Weapon Creation
  Th e HERO System Powers used to create 
  most weapons and armor described in this section 
  include:
  Armor (either for armor suits or to provide a 
  weapon with protection for the hand holding it);
  Entangle (for nets);
  Flash (for metsubishi and other blinding 
  weapons);
  Hand-To-Hand Attack; 
  Hand-To-Hand Killing Attack (sometimes with 
  “Ranged” Advantage, sometimes with +1 Increased 
  STUN Multiplier);
  Ranged Killing Attack (sometimes bought with 
  Autoﬁ re, such as with small shuriken); and
  Stretching (to give extra range to some long 
  melee weapons).
  Telekinesis and Change Environment (for 
  dropped marbles and similar eﬀ ects).
  SAMURAI ARMOR
  Name  
  Hit 
  Resistant Weight
  of Armor 
  Locations 
  Defense 
  (kg)
  Hachi/Shikoro
  (Helm/Shoulders) 
  4-5 
  6 
  1
  Happuri (Facemask) 
  3 
  6 
  .5
  Kote (Sleeves) 
  6-7 
  4 
  1
  O-Sode (Shoulers) 
  9 
  6 
  2
  Tateage
  (Breastplate) 
  10-13 
  6 
  9.5
  Haidate (Apron) 
  14-15 
  6 
  2.5
  Sune-ate (Greaves) 16-17 
  4 
  .75
  Th is armor has a Limitation:  it is Half Value 
  Versus Guns (-¼). For instance, the Hachi and 
  Shikoro, DEF 6 versus most attacks, is only DEF 3 
  versus bullets. 
  LEATHER HAND-WRAPPINGS
  Name  
  Hit 
  Defense 
  Weight
  of Armor 
  Locations 
  R/N 
  (kg)
  Hand-
  Wrapping (2) 
  6 
  4/0 
  .2
  
  59 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Two
  Normal 
  Versus Killing Damage
  Many weapons are built as Normal Damage 
  attacks instead of Killing Damage attacks. In the 
  chart above, Normal Damage weapons are built 
  with the Hand-To-Hand Attack Power, while Killing 
  Damage weapons are built with the Hand-To-Hand 
  Killing Attack Power. Th rown weapons take the 
  Ranged Advantage (+½). Ranged-only Killing-
  damage weapons are built with the Ranged Killing 
  Attack Power.
  See pages 405-09 of the HERO System 5th 
  Edition, Revised for rules on adding damage 
  to weapons.
  New Limitations
  Th e new Limitations that have been intro-
  duced in this section are all examples of the “Lim-
  ited Use” Limitation. Th ey include:
     
  Value Description
  -¼ 
  Weapon Does Less Damage From Added STR:  
  Th e weapon receives +1 DC for every 10 
  STR above STR Min. Th is is a Limitation for 
  weapons in Heroic campaigns. It simulates 
  weapons deliberately designed to do less 
  damage than they could otherwise.
  -1 
  Cannot Be Used To Cause Damage:  Th is 
  Limitation for Telekinesis indicates a form of 
  TK that does no damage at all. (It’s still pos-
  sible to harm someone by shoving him over a 
  cliﬀ , though.)
  -2 
  Only To Th row Target To Ground:  Th is Limi-
  tation to Telekinesis means the power cannot 
  be used to carry people or objects around, to 
  catch someone who is falling, and so forth. It 
  is distinct from “Cannot Be Used To Cause 
  Damage,” and the two Limitations can be 
  taken together on a TK power.
  -¼ 
  Only Aﬀ ects Characters On Th e Ground:  
  Th is Limitation on an Attack Power means 
  it does no harm to characters not touching 
  the ground. You cna use it to simulate an 
  electrical attack that requires the character be 
  grounded, or to build attacks where the char-
  acter must step on some object to receive the 
  damage.
  -½ 
  Only To Grab:  Th is Limitation on Stretching 
  means the character cannot use it to Strike 
  his target, only Grab and manipulate him.
  -2 
  Only Protects One Location (or Two Loca-
  tions):  Th is is a Limitation for Defense 
  Powers in campaigns using the Hit Locations 
  chart. Th e builder of the power deﬁ nes which 
  one location is protected, or which two are 
  protected. Each location covered must be one 
  of the number locations on the Hit Locations 
  chart; a character cannot say “Th is armor 
  covers two of my locations, Head and Shoul-
  ders” because Head is already three locations 
  (3-5) and Shoulders is another (9), making 
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  60 ■ Martial Arts Eequipment
  that a total of four locations. Th is Limitation 
  roughly corresponds to an 8- Activation Roll.
  varies Must Be Aimed At Speciﬁ c Location Or Has 
  No Eﬀ ect:  Th is Limitation on any Attack 
  Power means the power does not work if 
  it strikes the wrong location. Th is Limita-
  tion only applies in campaigns using the 
  Hit Locations chart. Th e value for the 
  Limitation depends on how hard the loca-
  tion usually is to hit. If the Hit Location 
  modiﬁ er is usually a -1 to a -3, there is no 
  Limitation. If it is usually a -4 to a -5, there 
  is a -¼ Limitation. If it is usually a -6 to a 
  -7, there is a -½ Limitation. If it is usually 
  -8 or worse, there is a -¾ Limitation. Th e 
  user of this power can increase his chance 
  to hit by striking from ambush, which usu-
  ally reduces the Hit Location penalties for 
  aiming at speciﬁ c hit locations.
  -¼ 
  Must Follow A Successful Grab Maneuver:  
  Th is Limitation for any Attack Power means 
  the character cannot use the power unless he 
  has Grabbed his target. If the target is not in 
  his grasp, he cannot use the power.
  -¼ 
  Half Value Versus Guns:  Th is Limitation 
  to Resistant Defense Powers means bul-
  lets and other super-high-speed projectile 
  attacks have an automatic Armor Piercing 
  Advantage against this type of armor. (If the 
  bullet is already Armor Piercing, then only 
  one-fourth of the defense is applied to the 
  weapon damage.)
  
  MODERN WEAPONS
  Chapter Three
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  62 ■ Modern Weapons
  C
  reating any type of gun using the HERO 
  System rules is a fairly simple matter. Aft er 
  you establish the basics using the Ranged 
  Killing Attack Power and certain Limita-
  tions, you can add other Power Modiﬁ ers and capa-
  bilities with specialized ammunition, gun attach-
  ments, and gun modiﬁ cations.
  Th is book doesn’t discuss most aspects of gun 
  and bullet design — types of actions, rimﬁ re versus 
  centerﬁ re cartridges, blowback versus recoil opera-
  tion, and so forth — because that information has 
  no bearing on game play or on gun design using 
  the HERO System rules. Readers who are interested 
  in learning more about real-world gunsmithing 
  and ﬁ rearms technology should consult reference 
  materials, including some of the books listed in the 
  Bibliography.
  FIREARMS BASICS
  In the HERO System, most ﬁ rearms are built 
  with the following Limitations:
  ■ Focus:  Firearms are OAFs. Th ey’re Universal Foci 
  (anyone can use them) unless they have personal-
  ization features (page 101).
  ■ STR Minimum:  Guns have STR Minima. Th e 
  Limitation must include the STR Minimum Cannot 
  Add/Subtract Damage (additional -½) modiﬁ er 
  — the STR Minimum indicates the STR needed to 
  hold, properly aim, and ﬁ re the weapon.
  ■ Beam:  Bullets can’t be Spread, and only make 
  relatively small “punctures” in barriers such as walls 
  and doors.
  ■ Real Weapon:  See below for more information.
  ■ Charges:  Guns ﬁ re bullets, which you represent 
  with Charges. Characters don’t necessarily have to 
  wait a day to get back the Charges for (i.e., reload) 
  a ﬁ rearm — they can reload if they have access 
  to more ammunition (such as by going to their 
  heaquarters or the local gun store and picking up 
  another box of bullets).
  ADDITIONAL MODIFIERS
  Long arms such as riﬂ es and shotguns have the 
  Two-Handed Weapon (-½) Limitation. If the cam-
  paign uses the Knockback rules, guns should also 
  have the No Knockback (-¼) Limitation.
  Weapons capable of automatic ﬁ re, such as 
  submachine guns and assault riﬂ es, have the Auto-
  ﬁ re Advantage. Usually they take it at the +½ level, 
  meaning they can ﬁ re up to ﬁ ve shots with a single 
  squeeze of the trigger.
  See below under Shotgun Ammunition for 
  more information about shotguns and how they’re 
  built in HERO System terms.
  REAL WEAPON
  As noted on page 480 of the HERO System 5th 
  Edition, Revised rulebook, the Real Weapon Limi-
  tation signiﬁ es that a gun functions “realistically” 
  — if it’s not cleaned or maintained, it won’t work 
  FIREARMS
  FIREARMS AND “REALISM”
  Few subjects in gaming cause as much debate and dis-
  cussion as how to “correctly” or “realistically” simulate 
  ﬁ rearms and other weapons in the game. Gamers with 
  an interest in the subject argue endlessly about bullet 
  caliber, muzzle velocity, the relationship of barrel length 
  to accuracy, which rounds have the greatest “stopping 
  power,” and a thousand other topics — and how they all 
  relate to, or “should” work within, a given game system.
  As if this mixture of highly technical and potentially 
  complex topics weren’t enough, gun experts (be they 
  gamers or not) oft en don’t agree on particular facts 
  regarding the use and eﬀ ects of ﬁ rearms. People who 
  carry guns every day in their jobs, and whose lives 
  oft en depend on them, argue vociferously and endlessly 
  about these exact same subjects... and oft en reach very 
  diﬀ erent conclusions. In the process they keep an entire 
  publishing industry of gun magazines and books alive 
  and active.
  All of this discussion and debate can be both fascinat-
  ing and informative, but it’s not appropriate for this 
  genre book, for several reasons. First, this is a gaming 
  supplement, not a technical manual on ﬁ rearms. Th ere’s 
  a limit to how much information a roleplaying game 
  book can and should provide on subjects such as this. 
  Second, and perhaps more importantly, the HERO 
  System is about dramatic realism, not true “realism” 
  (whatever that might be). Th e only thing that adher-
  ing to some elaborate set of ballistics data is likely to 
  accomplish is diminishing gamers’ enjoyment of the 
  game. While many games have to at least nod in the 
  direction of “realism” to maintain verisimilitude, ulti-
  mately they focus on the dramatic realism of action 
  movies, comic books, and spy novels, not the absolute 
  realities (whatever they are) of modern-day combat. 
  Th e information in this chapter is based on extensive 
  research, but where necessary decisions have been 
  made in the interest of enjoyable game play, not “real-
  ism.” Th e text sometimes includes information about 
  more “realistic” or “cinematic” options and alternatives, 
  but the goal of this chapter is not to oﬀ er a précis of 
  ongoing debates about the performance of ﬁ rearms 
  and related technologies — it’s to provide fun, easily-
  used source material for your campaigns. Readers 
  whose opinions about these topics diﬀ er from what’s 
  presented in this book are welcome to revise the infor-
  mation in this chapter to suit themselves.
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  63 
  properly. In game terms, this usually means the 
  weapon becomes subject to the Optional Firearms 
  Malfunction rules on page 484 of the rulebook. 
  Some possible occurrences that may cause the GM 
  to invoke the Malfunction rules include:
  ■ the gun becomes wet (if it’s not designed to resist 
  this; see Watertight, page 102)
  ■ the gun becomes dirty (e.g., the character drops it 
  in mud or sand)
  ■ the character uses the gun for a day without 
  cleaning it
  If one of these circumstances occurs, the GM 
  imposes a temporary Activation Roll on the gun. 
  Typically the Activation Roll starts at 15-, but the 
  GM can set it lower if he feels that’s appropriate to 
  represent the circumstances. Whenever the charac-
  ter ﬁ res the gun aft er that, the GM rolls the Activa-
  tion Roll. If the roll ever fails, the gun experiences a 
  Malfunction. For every day that passes without the 
  character taking the time to thoroughly clean his 
  gun (which requires proper equipment and at least 
  20 Minutes, if not longer), the GM lowers the Acti-
  vation Roll by 1. Th e GM can also lower the roll for 
  any other appropriate reason (such as if the charac-
  ter drops his gun in the mud multiple times, or gets 
  it dirty aft er having not cleaned it for a while).
  At the GM’s option, a character can increase 
  the value of the Real Weapon Limitation if a gun 
  has a lower starting Activation Roll. For each step 
  up the Activation Roll Table (14-, 12-, 11-, and so 
  on), increase the value of Real Weapon by an addi-
  tional ¼ Limitation. Of course, the GM should only 
  allow this if there’s a signiﬁ cant chance that it actu-
  ally restricts the use of the gun. Gun-toting urban 
  vigilantes typically have lots of opportunities to 
  clean their guns, so the GM might not allow them 
  to take this expanded Limitation. On the other 
  hand, soldiers who spend weeks in the ﬁ eld might 
  have trouble keeping their ﬁ rearms clean, and 
  therefore get to take it.
  MODIFIERS TO OCV AND THE RANGE 
  MODIFIER
  Some ﬁ rearms have bonuses to the user’s OCV, 
  either overall or just to counteract the Range Modi-
  ﬁ er. Th is represents guns that are inherently more 
  accurate or easy to aim than average, which are 
  designed for long-distance shooting, or the like. On 
  the other hand, some guns suﬀ er an OCV penalty 
  or an increased Range Modiﬁ er; these ﬁ rearms are 
  not as well made, have features that make them dif-
  ﬁ cult to use, and so forth.
  An OCV bonus for a ﬁ rearm is bought as a 
  5-point Combat Skill Level with the Focus, Required 
  Hands, and Real Weapon Limitations.
  A Range Modiﬁ er (RMod) bonus for a ﬁ rearm 
  is bought as a 3-point Penalty Skill Level versus the 
  Range Modiﬁ er with the Focus, Required Hands, 
  and Real Weapon Limitations. An RMod bonus 
  never raises a character’s base OCV, it can only 
  negate Range Modiﬁ er penalties.
  An OCV and/or RMod penalty for a firearm 
  is bought as a minor Side Effect (automatically 
  occurs; -½) for the weapon. (This same value 
  applies until the total penalties on a weapon 
  reach the 30 Active Point level [calculate the cost 
  using negative Combat Skill Levels and Penalty 
  Skill Levels] — something that’s highly unlikely 
  to ever occur.)
  In most cases, OCV and RMod modiﬁ ers for 
  a gun shouldn’t exceed +/-2 in either category (and 
  in fact most guns don’t have more than +/-1). Th e 
  GM has the ﬁ nal say on what combat modiﬁ ers are 
  appropriate for a gun.
  AMMUNITION
  Th e most important factor for determining 
  how much damage a ﬁ rearm can do, and how to 
  represent its eﬀ ects in HERO System terms, is the 
  type of ammunition it ﬁ res.
  Standard Firearms 
  Ammunition
  Standard ﬁ rearms ﬁ re bullets — lead projec-
  tiles contained in a casing (usually made of brass or 
  steel) that also holds an explosive propellant. When 
  a shooter pulls the trigger, the trigger draws back the 
  hammer of the gun and then pulls it forward. When 
  the hammer causes the ﬁ ring pin to strike the primer 
  in the back of the bullet case, it ignites the propellant, 
  which propels the lead projectile down the barrel and 
  toward the target at tremendous velocity. In an auto-
  matic or semi-automatic ﬁ rearm, the force of the shot 
  is then channeled to eject the empty bullet casing and 
  insert a new round into the chamber; in a revolver, 
  the empty casing remains in the cylinder until the 
  cylinder’s emptied by hand.
  In game terms, the amount of damage done by 
  a bullet depends ﬁ rst and foremost on the bullet’s 
  size (deﬁ ned primarily by caliber, or roughly speak-
  ing the bullet’s “width,” and the bullet’s length). 
  Th e Standard Ammunition Damage Table on page 
  64 lists the damage for various calibers of bullets 
  (some expressed in traditional English measure-
  ments, some in metric, and some in both).
  AMMUNITION TYPES
  Here are descriptions of the many types of 
  ammunition available to characters. For informa-
  tion on the cost of these rounds, by caliber (and 
  accounting for Charges and other factors), refer to 
  the Firearms Cost/Upgrade Tables, pages 76-93.
  Standard
  Standard ammunition, also known as “ball” 
  ammunition, is the default type of ammuni-
  tion used in guns in HERO System terms. It’s the 
  common plain lead projectile described above, and 
  does the amount of damage indicated in the Stan-
  dard Ammunition Damage Table.
  In game terms, Standard rounds do straight-
  forward RKA damage — the larger the caliber, the 
  more damage. Large calibers also have +1 Increased 
  STUN Multiplier (this applies to all other rounds, 
  unless their descriptions indicate otherwise).
  FIREARMS AS 
  MULTIPOWERS
  Technically speak-
  ing, it would be more 
  “accurate” in game 
  terms to buy ﬁ rearms 
  as Multipowers, with 
  one slot for each type of 
  ammunition the ﬁ rearm 
  could ﬁ re and a Limi-
  tation on the reserve 
  reﬂ ecting the fact that 
  the slots available at any 
  given time are restricted 
  by the type of rounds 
  loaded in the gun. 
  (Another possibility 
  would be giving all guns 
  the Variable Advantage 
  Advantage.) However, 
  that’s also cumbersome 
  in game terms, and 
  usually pointless. Th e 
  approach taken by this 
  book is to buy ﬁ rearms 
  as shooting Standard 
  ammunition (or Stan-
  dard Shot, for shotguns). 
  If a character wants to 
  shoot some other type 
  of ammunition, he 
  may do so regardless of 
  the fact that he hasn’t 
  “paid for it” with the 
  ﬁ rearm as constructed. 
  If you want to know the 
  Character Point cost of 
  having clips of diﬀ erent 
  types of ammunition for 
  the same gun, use the 
  Firearms Cost/Upgrade 
  Table on pages 76-93.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  64 ■ Modern Weapons
  STANDARD AMMUNITION DAMAGE TABLE
  CALIBER, ENGLISH 
  CALIBER, METRIC 
  BASIC DAMAGE
  .177 
   
  ½d6
   
  4.6x30mm 
  2d6
   
  4.73x33mm Caseless 
  2d6
   
  4.85mm 
  1½d6
  .22 
  5.56x29mm 
  1d6-1
   
  5mm 
  2d6
  .22 LR 
  5.7x17mm R, 5.7x28mm 
  1d6
  .221 
   
  1½d6
  .223 Remington 
  5.56x45mm N, 5.45x39mm R 
  2d6         +1 STUN Modiﬁ er
  .25 ACP 
  6.35mm 
  1d6
  .270 
  6.8x43mm 
  2d6
  .30 
  7.62x25mm R, 7.62x33mm 
  1d6+1
  .30-06 
  7.62x63mm 
  2d6+1     +1 STUN Modiﬁ er
  .308 Winchester 
  7.62x51mm N, 7.62x54mm R 
  2d6+1     +1 STUN Modiﬁ er
  .300 Winchester Magnum, .300 Remington SAUM 
  7.62x66mm 
  2½d6       +1 STUN Modiﬁ er
  .310 
  7.62x39mm R, 7.62x36mm 
  2d6          +1 STUN Modiﬁ er
  .32 ACP, .32 S&W 
  7.65x17mm 
  1d6
  .303 British 
  7.7x58mm 
  2½d6      +1 STUN Modiﬁ er
   
  7.92x57mm 
  2½d6       +1 STUN Modiﬁ er
  .350 
   
  1½d6
  .357 Magnum, .350 Magnum 
  9x33mm R 
  1½d6
  .38, .380 Automatic 
  9x17mm, 9x29mm R 
  1d6
   
  9x19mm N P (Luger), 9x18mmR 
  1d6+1
  .40 
  10.11x21.6mm 
  1d6+1
  .41 Magnum, .41 Action Express 
  10.41x32.76mm, 10.41x22mm, 10x25mm 
  1½d6
  .44 Magnum 
  10.97x33mm R 
  2d6         +1 STUN Modiﬁ er
   
  11mm 
  2d6-1       +1 STUN Modiﬁ er
  .45 ACP, .458 
  11.43x23mm, 11.56x33mm 
  2d6-1       +1 STUN Modiﬁ er
  .45 Winchester Magnum 
   
  2d6         +1 STUN Modiﬁ er
  .454 Casull, .475 Linebaugh 
   
  2d6+1     +1 STUN Modiﬁ er
  .50 Action Express 
  12.7x32.64mm 
  2d6+1      +1 STUN Modiﬁ er
  .50 Browning 
  12.7x99mm, 12.7x107mm R 
  3d6          +1 STUN Modiﬁ er
   
  13x64mm 
   
  14.5x114mm 
  3d6+1     +1 STUN Modiﬁ er
  .60  
  15.2mm  
  3½d6       +1 STUN Modiﬁ er
  * 
  20x80mm, 20x99mm, 20x128mm 
  4d6          +1 STUN Modiﬁ er
  * 
  25x184mm 
  4d6+1     +1 STUN Modiﬁ er
  * 
  30x113mm, 30x170mm 
  4½d6      +1 STUN Modiﬁ er
  * 
  35x228mm 
  5d6          +1 STUN Modiﬁ er
  * 
  40mm 
  5d6+1      +1 STUN Modiﬁ er
  * 
  45mm 
  5½d6      +1 STUN Modiﬁ er
  * 
  50x330mm 
  6d6         +1 STUN Modiﬁ er
  * 
  57mm 
  6d6+1      +1 STUN Modiﬁ er
  * 
  60mm, 66mm, 67mm 
  6½d6       +1 STUN Modiﬁ er
  * 
  76mm 
  7d6         +1 STUN Modiﬁ er
  * 
  83mm, 85mm, 88mm, 90mm 
  7d6+1     +1 STUN Modiﬁ er
  * 
  105mm 
  7½d6       +1 STUN Modiﬁ er
  * 
  120mm 
  8d6          +1 STUN Modiﬁ er
  * 
  127mm 
  8d6+1     +1 STUN Modiﬁ er
  * 
  140mm, 155mm 
  9d6         +1 STUN Modiﬁ er
  KEY 
  ACP:  Automatic Colt Pistol 
  P:  Parabellum
   
  LR:  Long Riﬂ e 
  SAUM:  Short Action Ultra Magnum
   
  N:  NATO 
  S&W:  Smith & Wesson
   
  R:  Russian 
  *:  Cannon rounds and larger ammunition; generally cannot be ﬁ red from small arms
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  65 
  AET
  AET (accelerated energy transfer) bullets are 
  high-tech rounds designed to dump as much of 
  their energy into their target as quickly as possible. 
  Standard AET rounds expand very quickly, similar to 
  Hollow Points, but this in turn makes it diﬃ  cult for 
  them to penetrate armor or barriers. An example of 
  an AET round is the Equalloy, a British bullet made of 
  an aluminum alloy with a nylon coating. Th e Equal-
  loy, which is about twice as long as a standard round 
  and is intended primarily for use in revolvers, achieves 
  high velocities but still expands very quickly when it 
  hits a target and remains in the target’s body.
  In game terms, AET rounds do a little extra 
  damage (from +1 point to +1 DC, depending on 
  caliber) and have the Limitations Reduced Penetra-
  tion (-¼) and Cannot Be Bounced (-¼).
  AET Composite
  AET Composite rounds were designed to 
  overcome the penetration problems of the basic 
  AET round. Typically they have a steel pin or other 
  substance pressed into the center of the hollow in 
  the bullet to allow for better penetration without 
  aﬀ ecting the wounding capabilities of the round. 
  An example of an AET Composite round is the 
  Geco BAT, a hollow copper alloy bullet with a plas-
  tic core and cap. Th e plastic parts fall away from 
  the bullet aft er it is ﬁ red, leaving a “hollow” bullet 
  to chew large wound channels through ﬂ esh with-
  out losing penetration capability. (Th e Geco is also 
  designed to tumble, and may be bought as a Tum-
  bler round (q.v.) intead if the character prefers.)
  In game terms, AET Composite rounds do 
  a little extra damage (from +1 point to +1 DC, 
  depending on caliber) and have the Limitation 
  Cannot Be Bounced (-¼).
  Armor Piercing
  Armor Piercing (“AP”) bullets are designed 
  to penetrate armor more easily than conventional 
  rounds. Th e downside to this is that they travel 
  through targets easily, imparting less energy to 
  them (thus possibly causing less damage); this also 
  means they’re more likely to pass through a target 
  and cause collateral damage.
  AP rounds are usually built with a hard core or 
  tip and soft er jacket. Modern AP bullets oft en have 
  steel tips or cores, and are coated with Teﬂ on so the 
  hard metal can travel down the barrel with no loss 
  of energy (or damage to the gun) and thus achieve 
  high velocities.
  In game terms, AP rounds do slightly less 
  damage than Standard bullets (-1 point or -1 
  DC, depending on caliber) and have the Armor 
  Piercing Advantage. See the variant AP, Improved 
  AP, and Semi-AP rounds listed below for similar 
  types of bullets.
  Armor Piercing Depleted Uranium
  Armor Piercing Depleted Uranium (APDU) 
  are made with depleted (non-radioactive) ura-
  nium instead of other heavy metals. Th ey resemble 
  APHC (see below) in most ways, with one diﬀ er-
  ence:  when they penetrate metal armor (such as 
  on tanks and some automobiles), they strike sparks, 
  and thus can start a ﬁ re.
  Both the United States and Russia have manu-
  factured APDU rounds for small arms, but have 
  not introduced them for general service. Characters 
  probably need high-level military Contacts, similar 
  resources, or the ability and materials to manufac-
  ture their own if they want to use APDU ammo.
  In game terms, APDU rounds do slightly less 
  damage than Standard bullets (-1 point or -1 DC, 
  depending on caliber), but have the Armor Pierc-
  ing Advantage and 1 point of Piercing (Resistant 
  Defenses). (If the GM does not use the Piercing rule 
  [Dark Champions, page 96], treat APHC ammuni-
  tion as if it were ordinary AP ammo.) Additionally, 
  they’re bought with the following additional ability:
  RKA 1 point, Continuous (+1), Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END to enable Uncontrolled eﬀ ect; 
  +½), Sticky (only aﬀ ects ﬂ ammables; +¼), Uncon-
  trolled (eﬀ ect ends when it runs out of fuel or 
  oxygen, or someone extinguishes the ﬂ ames; +½) 
  (16 Active Points [the addition of other Advantages, 
  such as Charges, may change this]); OAF (-1), Acti-
  vation Roll 13- (-¾), Linked (-½), Only If APDU’s 
  RKA Does BODY Th rough Metal Armor (-1), Real 
  Weapon (-¼), other Limitations vary based on ﬁ re-
  arm. Total cost:  varies.
  Armor Piercing Explosive
  Armor Piercing Explosive (APEX) bullets 
  combine armor piercing features with a small 
  explosive charge, creating a round that penetrates 
  armor well and then causes tremendous damage 
  to the target. Realistically, they’re available only 
  in calibers of 10mm and larger (since smaller 
  rounds can’t pack enough explosive to matter), 
  but in many campaigns it’s possible to make any 
  size round APEX.
  FIREARMS OF THE FUTURE
  Th e material in this chapter focuses on the modern 
  day — the late twentieth and early twenty-ﬁ rst centu-
  ries. However, some campaigns and characters might 
  involve the more advanced ﬁ rearms of the near future. 
  Some possible developments for future personal ﬁ re-
  arms include:
  Liquid Propellants:  Instead of using powder in a bullet 
  casing, guns will mix two inert chemicals in the barrel 
  behind the bullet. When mixed, the two chemicals 
  become a powerful propellant. Th is system allows for 
  larger bullets ﬁ red at a higher, and also steadier-increas-
  ing, pressure, resulting in greater damage to the target.
  Electrothermal-Chemical Propellant:  “ETC” propellant 
  systems use electricity to enhance the energy from 
  chemical propellants. Th e electricity creates a high-
  density plasma that ignites the propellant in a way that 
  controls the release of the chemical energy so the bullet 
  accelerates all the way down the barrel (not just in the 
  ﬁ ring chamber). Th at means the bullet ﬂ ies faster and 
  strikes harder (and thus inﬂ icts greater wounds).
  Rail Guns:  Instead of chemical and/or electrical energy, 
  a gun could use magnetic energy to propel a steel 
  bullet. Assuming a suﬃ  ciently robust power source, 
  this could result in personal arms with extremely high 
  muzzle velocities (and thus damage potential), virtually 
  no recoil or noise, and a high rate of ﬁ re. Also known as 
  “gauss guns” or “electromagnetic propellant guns.”
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  66 ■ Modern Weapons
  In game terms, APEX rounds do slightly more 
  damage than Standard bullets (from +1 point to 
  +1 DC, depending on caliber) and have the Armor 
  Piercing Advantage and the Limitation Cannot Be 
  Bounced (-¼).
  Armor Piercing Hardcore
  Armor Piercing Hardcore (APHC) rounds 
  are basically the same as AP rounds, but use 
  tungsten (or other heavy metals) as their cores. 
  In game terms, they do slightly less damage than 
  Standard bullets (-1 point or -1 DC, depending 
  on caliber), but have the Armor Piercing Advan-
  tage and 1 point of Piercing (Resistant). (If the 
  GM does not use the Piercing rule [Dark Cham-
  pions, page 96], treat APHC ammunition as if it 
  were ordinary AP ammo.)
  Armor Piercing Hardcore Explosive
  Armor Piercing Hardcore Explosive 
  (APHEX) bullets combine the features of APEX 
  and APHC rounds. Realistically, they’re avail-
  able only in calibers of 10mm and larger (since 
  smaller rounds can’t pack enough explosive to 
  matter), but in many campaigns it’s possible to 
  make any size round APHEX.
  In game terms, APHEX rounds do slightly 
  more damage than Standard bullets (from +1 
  point to +1 DC, depending on caliber), have 1 
  point of Piercing (Resistant), and have the Armor 
  Piercing Advantage.
  Armor Piercing Incendiary
  Armor Piercing Incendiary (API) bullets are 
  AP rounds with an incendiary charge. In game 
  terms, they combine the features of AP rounds 
  (slightly less damage and the Armor Piercing 
  Advantage) with those of Incendiary rounds 
  (firestarting).
  Armor Piercing Saboted
  As mentioned under AP rounds, the harder 
  metal with which AP bullets are made can cause 
  damage to gun barrels (which would also slow 
  the bullet down and decrease its damage). Teﬂ on 
  coating overcomes this problem; so does putting 
  the AP round in a sabot — a plastic container that 
  falls apart as it exits the gun barrel. Th is means 
  the round is a little smaller than other AP rounds 
  of the same caliber (since the projectile has to be 
  small enough to ﬁ t into the sabot), but the round’s 
  increased velocity makes it do just as much damage 
  to the target. Th e projectile itself won’t bear any 
  riﬂ ing marks, making it impossible to match to the 
  barrel forensically.
  Because of the sabot, APS rounds can’t be used 
  in combat aircraft  (the bits of plastic pose many 
  hazards). Th e U.S. Army refers to APS rounds as 
  SLAP (Saboted Light Armor Piercing).
  In game terms, APS rounds are like normal AP 
  rounds, but also have the Advantage Invisible Power 
  Eﬀ ects (no riﬂ ing marks on bullet; +¼).
  Cased Telescoped (CTA)
  Cased Telescoped Ammunition, or CTA, 
  rounds don’t have conventional casings. Instead, 
  the bullet is “telescoped” down into a cylindrical 
  case. Th e case allows for a slightly larger bullet and 
  a powerful propellant, resulting in a bullet that does 
  more damage than others of the same caliber. Th e 
  shape of round also makes it less likely to jam or 
  cause similar problems. Depending on the casing, a 
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  67 
  CTA round may weigh as much as 30% less than a 
  Standard round. However, because CTA rounds are 
  slightly larger, a clip can’t hold as many of them as 
  it can of Standard rounds of the same caliber (and 
  revolvers typically can’t use them at all).
  In game terms, CTA rounds do a little extra 
  damage (from +1 point to +1 DC, depending on 
  caliber). If subjected to the Optional Firearms 
  Malfunction rules, CTA rounds have an Activation 
  Roll 1 point higher than normal, to a maximum 
  of 18- (for example, if a gun would normally have 
  a Malfunction on a 13-, with CTA rounds it Mal-
  functions on a 14-). If characters keep track of the 
  weight of their gear right down to bullets, CTA 
  rounds weigh 70% of Standard rounds. However, 
  characters must reduce the number of Charges of 
  CTA they can ﬁ t into a magazine by 20% (round in 
  the character’s favor, but a minimum of -1 Charge).
  Caseless
  A Caseless round does not have a metal jacket. 
  Instead, its “case” is a block of propellant. Th is 
  allows for a high rate of ﬁ re (since there are no 
  shell casings to be ejected) and decreased chance of 
  malfunction, and reduces the weight of the loaded 
  weapon. As a side beneﬁ t for many vigilantes and 
  criminals, the lack of case eliminates the possibility 
  of shell casings being used as evidence.
  In game terms, Caseless rounds do the same 
  damage as Standard bullets and are bought as the 
  Advantage Invisible Power Eﬀ ects (no shell casings 
  as evidence; +¼). Th ey weigh about 30% less than 
  Standard rounds. If subjected to the Optional Fire-
  arms Malfunction rules, Caseless rounds have an 
  Activation Roll 2 points higher than normal, to a 
  maximum of 18- (for example, if a gun would nor-
  mally have a Malfunction on a 13-, with Caseless 
  rounds it Malfunctions on a 15-). 
  Duplex
  A Duplex bullet looks like a single bullet but 
  contains two smaller, lighter projectiles in one 
  casing. Th e two rounds separate in ﬂ ight. (Some 
  Triplex bullets, with three projectiles, have also 
  been made.)
  In game terms, a Duplex (or Triplex) bullet 
  does slightly increased damage (from +1 point to 
  +1 DC, depending on caliber) and has the Reduced 
  Penetration (-¼) Limitation.
  Electric
  Electric rounds (still experimental as of mid-
  2004) are designed to incapacitate rather than kill. 
  Th ey have a disk of piezoelectric material that 
  releases a 50,000-volt electrical charge on contact 
  — enough to stop nearly anyone.
  Electric rounds can be Standard or Rubber. In 
  game terms, the Electric bullet is an NND attack 
  Linked to the RKA or Energy Blast of the bullet:
  For ﬁ rearms whose base attack is less than 80 
  Active Points:  Energy Blast 8d6, NND (defense is 
  insulated rED; +1) (80 Active Points [the addition 
  of other Advantages, such as Charges, may change 
  this]); OAF (-1), Beam (-¼), Linked (-¼), Real 
  Weapon (-¼), other Limitations vary based on ﬁ re-
  arm. Total cost:  varies.
  For ﬁ rearms whose base attack is greater than 
  than 80 Active Points:  Energy Blast 8d6, NND 
  (defense is insulated rED; +1) (80 Active Points 
  [the addition of other Advantages, such as Charges, 
  may change this]); OAF (-1), Beam (-¼), Linked 
  (-½), Real Weapon (-¼), other Limitations vary 
  based on ﬁ rearm. Total cost:  varies.
  Explosive
  Explosive bullets come in two types, each 
  with the same eﬀ ect in game terms. Th e ﬁ rst, more 
  properly referred to as a “liquid-ﬁ lled” bullet, has a 
  hollow tip containing mercury, oil, grease, wax, or 
  some other liquid or semi-liquid substance. Firing 
  the bullet compresses the liquid to the back of the 
  hollow. Upon impact, the substance vaporizes and 
  “explodes” outward, causing large wounds. Th e 
  other type actually contains an explosive substance, 
  such as lead azide, which explodes upon impact 
  (though it may fail to explode; an explosion is more 
  likely if the bullet impacts bone).
  In game terms, Explosive bullets do extra 
  damage (from +1 point to +1 DC, depending on 
  caliber). (For greater “realism,” buy the +1 DC sepa-
  rately with an Activation Roll 11-.)
  Fiberglass/Plastic
  Fiberglass/Plastic bullets do the same damage 
  as normal lead bullets. However, they’re much 
  harder to detect on an x-ray or during an autopsy.
  In game terms, Fiberglass/Plastic rounds are 
  like Standard rounds, but also have the Advantage 
  Invisible Power Eﬀ ects (hide cause of death, imposes 
  a -3 penalty to Forensic Medicine or PS: Read X-
  Rays rolls; +¼).
  Flechette
  Flechettes are small metal darts. While they’re 
  most oft en used in specialized shotgun shells (see 
  below) or grenades, some bullets containing a 
  single ﬂ echette have been manufactured. Typically 
  they’re ﬁ red in sabots which peel away aft er ﬁ ring. 
  Because of its light weight, a ﬂ echette can travel 
  much further than ordinary bullets. Because of its 
  shape, it pierces armor with ease (and aft er impact 
  it oft en bends like a ﬁ shhook, causing the ﬁ ns to hit 
  the target and inﬂ ict another wound). Additionally, 
  Flechettes can easily be Poisoned (see below).
  In game terms, Flechettes do a little extra 
  damage (from +1 point to +1 DC, depending on 
  caliber) and have the Advantages Armor Piercing 
  (+½), Invisible Power Eﬀ ects (no riﬂ ing marks on 
  projectiles; +¼), and Increased Maximum Range (x2 
  normal range; +¼).
  Frangible
  Frangible bullets are bullets that either (a) 
  contain multiple projectiles which are released 
  upon impact, or (b) fragment upon impact with 
  the target. Either variety causes tremendous 
  damage to the target. However, because they 
  “break” upon impact this way, Frangible bullets 
  can easily be deflected by glass, windshields, 
  wallboard, and many other substances. This 
  makes them popular with some law enforcement 
  units because of the low possibility of collateral 
  damage from ricochets.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  68 ■ Modern Weapons
  Examples of Frangible bullets include:  the 
  Glaser Blue Safety Slug (containing 300-500 pel-
  lets of No. 12 birdshot); the MagSafe SWAT round; 
  Razor-Ammo (a bullet using both a fragmenting 
  space-age polymer and No. 4 birdshot pellets); 
  the Spartan (which is composed of polymer and 
  lead dust molded into the shape of a bullet); and 
  the Th underzap (a plastic frangible round). Th e 
  Beehive/Core-Shot bullet is a slightly less eﬀ ective 
  Frangible round (subtract 1 DC).
  Frangible bullet statistics can also be used 
  for some flechette-based pistol rounds, such as 
  bullets which contain multiple semi-stabilized 
  flechettes that are released from the bullet at the 
  point of impact.
  In game terms, Frangible bullets do extra 
  damage (typically +2 DCs), but take several Limita-
  tions:  Cannot Be Bounced (-¼), Reduced Penetra-
  tion (-¼), and No Eﬀ ect Th rough Barriers (-¼).
  Gyrojet
  Gyrojet rounds are essentially miniature 
  rockets:  they contain a load of fuel that propels 
  the bullet once ignited. However, a character 
  needs a special gun to fire Gyrojets; they can’t 
  be used in standard firearms. The gun ignites 
  the bullet and then recocks itself as the bullet 
  leaves the chamber. The entire bullet leaves the 
  gun; there’s no case to be ejected. Gyrojets travel 
  further than standard bullets, and stabilize firing 
  due to the lack of recoil. Because they’re self-con-
  tained, they can be fired underwater.
  In game terms, Gyrojet rounds do standard 
  damage, but have the Advantages Invisible Power 
  Eﬀ ects (no shell casings as evidence; +¼) and 
  Increased Maximum Range (x2 normal range; +¼). 
  If subjected to the Optional Firearms Malfunc-
  tion rules, Gyrojet rounds have an Activation Roll 
  2 points higher than normal, to a maximum of 
  18- (for example, if a gun would normally have a 
  Malfunction on a 13-, with Gyrojet rounds it Mal-
  functions on a 15-). If the GM uses the optional 
  Recoil rules (Dark Champions, page 194), Gyrojet 
  guns do not suﬀ er any Recoil penalties for taking 
  multiple shots.
  Hollow Point
  Hollow Point (“HP” or Dum Dum) bullets 
  have the tip of the metal jacket cut away, expos-
  ing the lead core beneath. Th is causes the bullet to 
  “mushroom,” or expand quickly, when it hits the 
  target, creating large wounds. Th e lead core inside 
  may be shaped or notched so as to improve the bul-
  let’s expansion. Examples of Hollow Points include 
  the Winchester Silvertip, Federal Hydra-Shok, the 
  Starﬁ re, the Remington Golden Saber, and the CCI-
  Speer Gold Dot.
  An interesting variation on the standard 
  HP is a bullet in which the jacket is also used to 
  injure the target. With these bullets, such as the 
  Winchester Black Talon, the jacket of the Hollow 
  Point bullet is designed to peel back into sharp 
  edges which cut flesh as the bullet expands. In 
  game terms, these typically function the same as 
  standard HP rounds, but the GM may add +1 pip 
  of damage if desired.
  Characters can make crude HP rounds by cut-
  ting notches in the noses of ordinary bullets. Th ese 
  bullets gain +1 pip of damage (at most) instead of 
  the +1 DC most HPs get.
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  69 
  In game terms, HP rounds do a little extra 
  damage (from +1 point to +1 DC, depending on 
  caliber) and have a +1 Increased STUN Multiplier 
  (in addition to any from caliber).
  Hybrid Frangible/Hollow Point
  Hybrid Frangible/Hollow Point bullets combine 
  the best features of the HP and Penetrating Frangible 
  rounds. As the bullet expands, it breaks apart into 
  deadly fragments, inﬂ icting terrible wounds. Exam-
  ples include the Triton Quik-Shok (which breaks 
  apart into three large fragments) and the Omega Star 
  (which contains a solid rear core, and a front core 
  composed of Nos. 2 and 4 birdshot).
  In game terms, Hybrid Frangible/HP rounds 
  do extra damage (as much as +2 DCs) and 
  have the Advantages Penetrating (+½) and +1 
  Increased STUN Multiplier (+¼) (in addition to 
  any from caliber) and the Limitation Cannot Be 
  Bounced (-¼).
  Improved Armor Piercing
  Improved Armor Piercing rounds have even 
  greater armor-penetrating effect than normal AP 
  rounds, but this causes them to impart even less 
  energy to their target and hence do less damage 
  as well.
  In game terms, Improved AP rounds do less 
  damage than Standard bullets (as much as -2 DCs, 
  depending on caliber) and have the Armor Piercing 
  (x2; +1) Advantage.
  Incendiary
  Incendiary rounds contain a small incendiary 
  charge which ignites upon impact. Any ﬂ ammable 
  materials struck by the bullet are set on ﬁ re. A 
  living victim may take ﬁ re damage in the Segment 
  aft er being shot (and nothing more aft er that), or 
  he may take no additional damage at all (the GM 
  decides). Flammable objects the victim wears or 
  carries may catch ﬁ re, causing him to take further 
  damage in later Segments.
  In game terms, Incendiary bullets do the same 
  damage as Standard rounds, but have the following 
  additional eﬀ ect:
  RKA 1 point, Continuous (+1), Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END to enable Uncontrolled eﬀ ect; 
  +½), Sticky (only aﬀ ects ﬂ ammables; +¼), Uncon-
  trolled (eﬀ ect ends when it runs out of fuel or 
  oxygen, or someone extinguishes the ﬂ ames; +½) 
  (16 Active Points [the addition of other Advantages, 
  such as Charges, may change this]); OAF (-1), Acti-
  vation Roll 13- (-¾), Linked (-½), Real Weapon 
  (-¼), other Limitations vary based on ﬁ rearm. Total 
  cost:  varies.
  Penetrating Frangible
  Penetrating Frangible bullets are designed to 
  overcome the Frangible bullet’s inability to shoot 
  through barriers. Th ey penetrate further into the 
  target before releasing their load or fragmenting. 
  Examples of Penetrating Frangible rounds include:  
  the Glaser Silver Safety Slug (containing No. 6 bird-
  shot); the LeMas Ltd. “Blended Metal Technology” 
  bullet (which supposedly penetrate hard materials 
  like armor easily, but fragment rapidly and very 
  destructively when they hit soft  materials like ﬂ esh 
  or drywall); and the MagSafe Defender and MAX 
  rounds (containing No. 2, 3, or 4 birdshot embed-
  ded in epoxy).
  In game terms, Penetrating Frangible bullets 
  do extra damage (typically +2 DCs) and have the 
  Advantage Penetrating (+½). They do not take 
  the three Limitations imposed upon standard 
  Frangible rounds.
  Reversed Ogive
  Reversed Ogive bullets (also called THV 
  ammunition) have a special concave cutting edge. 
  Th is not only allows the bullet to achieve very high 
  velocities, it imparts an armor-piercing eﬀ ect and 
  allows the bullet to transfer more of its energy to 
  the target via increased hydrostatic shock.
  In game terms, Reversed Ogive bullets bullets 
  do +2 DCs damage and have the Advantages Armor 
  Piercing (+½) and +1 Increased STUN Multiplier 
  (+¼) (in addition to any from caliber).
  Rubber
  Rubber bullets are non-lethal rounds 
  intended for use against rioters, prisoners, and 
  other targets the shooter wishes to disable but 
  not kill. However, note that the term “non-lethal” 
  does not mean harmless — Rubber bullets can 
  break bones and cause other serious injuries, 
  depending on where they hit.
  In game terms, Rubber bullets do Normal 
  Damage instead of Killing Damage, in DCs equiva-
  lent to the RKA for their caliber.
  Semi-Armor Piercing
  A Semi-AP round is better than Standard 
  ammunition, but worse than true AP rounds, when 
  it comes to penetrating armor. Typically they have 
  a steel insert, or a specially-shaped nose, to achieve 
  the semi-AP eﬀ ect.
  In game terms, Semi-AP rounds do the same 
  damage as Standard rounds and have the Semi-
  Armor Piercing (+¼) Advantage (see Dark Champi-
  ons, page 97).
  Silent
  Th ese unusual bullets have an internal piston 
  that traps the expanding gases from the explod-
  ing propellant and propels the bullet. As a result, 
  noise, muzzle ﬂ ash, and smoke are all consider-
  ably reduced, making it much more diﬃ  cult than 
  normal to perceive the shooter.
  In game terms, Silent bullets do the same 
  damage as Standard, but have the following addi-
  tional power:
  Change Environment 1” radius, -3 to Hearing 
  Group PER Rolls and -1 to Sight Group PER 
  Rolls to perceive, Multiple Combat Eﬀ ects (19 
  Active Points [the addition of other Advan-
  tages, such as Charges, may change this]); OAF 
  (-1), Linked (-½), No Range (-½), Real Weapon 
  (-¼), Self Only (-½), other Limitations vary 
  based on ﬁ rearm. Total cost:  varies.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  70 ■ Modern Weapons
  Spent Uranium
  Spent Uranium bullets are made from depleted 
  (non-radioactive) uranium, which is heavier 
  than lead. As such, the same amount of powder 
  that would be used with a lead bullet makes an 
  SU bullet move more slowly — but it has greater 
  momentum, meaning better armor penetration and 
  more energy transference when it hits the target.
  In game terms, Spent Uranium rounds do 
  the same damage as Standard bullets, but have 
  the Advantages Armor Piercing (+½) and +1 
  Increased STUN Multiplier (+¼) (in addition to 
  any from caliber).
  Tumbler
  Unlike other bullets, which are designed to 
  spin along their long axis and hence ﬂ y straight, 
  Tumbler bullets tumble end-over-end towards the 
  target. Th is makes the round tear into the target 
  and ricochet around inside him, causing grievous 
  internal wounds.
  Th e “tumbling” eﬀ ect is most easily achieved 
  with high-velocity Standard rounds (i.e., riﬂ e 
  rounds, not handgun rounds), and is created by 
  decreasing the barrel-twist rate (to, e.g., 1-in-14, 
  meaning one twist to 14 inches of barrel). Th is is 
  a function of gun design, not ammunition design; 
  Tumbler is listed here because it involves chang-
  ing the ﬂ ight of the bullet and requires a choice of 
  ammunition.
  One drawback to Tumbler rounds is that they’re 
  less accurate than normal bullets, particularly in cold 
  weather (-1 OCV). Th is is a -0 Side Eﬀ ect.
  In game terms, the Tumbler does the same 
  damage as Standard bullets, but with the “Tumbler 
  eﬀ ect” added in:
  RKA +1d6 (15 Active Points [the addition 
  of other Advantages, such as Charges, may 
  change this]); OAF (-1), Activation Roll 11- (-
  1), Does Not Work If Bullet Is Bounced (-0), 
  Only Applies If Bullet’s Ordinary Damage Does 
  BODY Damage (-½), Real Weapon (-¼), Side 
  Eﬀ ects (-1 OCV in cold weather, always occurs; 
  -0), other Limitations vary based on ﬁ rearm. 
  Total cost:  varies.
  Of course, the target does not get to apply his 
  defenses to this +1d6, since the initial attack has 
  already penetrated his defenses.
  BULLET MODIFICATIONS
  Th ere are several ways to modify existing bul-
  lets. In some cases these modiﬁ cations only work 
  with certain types of bullets; others work with all 
  types. Th e examples given in the Ammunition 
  Summary Table and Firearms Cost/Upgrade Tables 
  assume a Standard round.
  Improved Propellant
  Improved Propellants rounds are bullets 
  made with improved powders. Improving the pow-
  ders and propellants makes a bullet travel faster 
  — sometimes as much as 200-300 fps (feet per 
  second) faster.
  In game terms, bullets with Improved Propel-
  lant add +1 Damage Class of damage to a bullet.
  Magnum
  Magnum is a trademarked name for certain 
  kinds of bullets which contain more gunpowder, 
  and thus have greater pressure and energy than 
  normal rounds. This causes them to do more 
  damage than an ordinary bullet of the same size. 
  However, this means the weapons which fire 
  them have to be heavier, to contain the force they 
  generate when fired — a magnum gun can fire 
  ordinary bullets, but an ordinary gun cannot fire 
  magnum rounds without risk of an explosion 
  or similar problems (decrease the chances for a 
  Malfunction by 1; for example, if the Activation 
  Roll for a Malfunction were normally 15-, in this 
  case it becomes 14-).
  In game terms, some of the ammunition listed 
  on the Standard Ammunition Damage Table is 
  Magnum, and this is reﬂ ected in the damage done. 
  Magnum rounds cannot be made +P or +P+.
  Match-Grade
  A character can increase the accuracy of a 
  particular gun through careful experimentation 
  to determine the optimum round (in terms of 
  projectile and propellant mix) for it. Th is requires 
  the Weaponsmith Skill; characters can’t buy Match-
  Grade ammunition “oﬀ  the shelf.”
  In game terms, only Standard rounds and the 
  various forms of Armor Piercing ammunition can 
  be made Match-Grade, which is bought as a +1 
  OCV bonus for a ﬁ rearm.
  +P And +P+
  +P and +P+ rounds are made by increasing 
  the charge and pressure in a bullet while typically 
  making the bullet somewhat smaller than normal. 
  Th is results in a projectile which ﬂ ies faster than 
  normal and hits with greater energy. Furthermore, 
  the lighter projectile stops more quickly when it 
  hits its target, thus transferring more of its energy 
  into the target.
  In game terms, only Standard and Hollow 
  Point rounds can be made +P or +P+. Either adds 
  +1 point of damage to the gun’s RKA. Magnum 
  rounds cannot be made +P or +P+.
  Poisoned
  Poisoned bullets are simply normal bullets 
  coated with cyanide, arsenic, or some other type of 
  poison. Even the smallest bullet can carry enough 
  of a potent poison to kill someone, and even an 
  otherwise trivial ﬂ esh wound is enough to intro-
  duce it into the target’s system.
  Th us, even if they only cause a small wound, 
  the victim can still die. Th ese bullets are purchased 
  by buying an appropriate poison with the Limita-
  tion Bullet Must Do BODY (-½). For example:
  Drain CON 4d6, Delayed Return Rate (points 
  return at the rate of 5 per Hour; +1), NND 
  (defense is Life Support [appropriate Immu-
  nity]; +½), Ranged (+½) (120 Active Points); 
  4 Charges (-1), Bullet’s RKA Must Do BODY 
  (-½), Extra Time (onset time begins 1 Minute 
  aft er victim is shot; -1½), Gradual Eﬀ ect (4 
  Minutes; 1d6/1 Minute; -½), Linked (to poi-
  son’s RKA; -½) (total cost:  24 points) plus RKA 
  FICTIONAL BULLETS
  Don’t feel that you have 
  to limit yourself to real-
  world forms of ammu-
  nition if your campaign 
  welcomes a touch of the 
  fantastic. Some ﬁ ctional 
  bullets that might be 
  appropriate for some 
  games include:
  Anti-Vampire Bullets, 
  which are like liquid-
  filled Explosive bullets, 
  except that the liquid 
  is holy water or garlic 
  juice. The holy water 
  version’s also good for 
  use against demons 
  and similar entities that 
  can’t stand the touch of 
  holy things.
  Blessed Bullets, bullets 
  specially blessed by a 
  priest so that they have 
  “holy” properties.
  Silver Bullets, just the 
  thing for taking down 
  werewolves or pretending 
  to be the Lone Ranger.
  Tranq Bullets, high-tech 
  tranquilizer darts in a 
  sabot so they can be 
  ﬁ red from a regular ﬁ re-
  arm. Th ey could contain 
  poison, various drugs, 
  or the like instead of 
  knockout juice.
  Wooden Bullets, whose 
  projectiles are made 
  from hardened wood 
  instead of lead so that 
  they aﬀ ect vampires just 
  as if they were wooden 
  stakes... provided the 
  character shoots the 
  vampire through the 
  heart, of course.
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  71 
  4d6, NND (defense is Life Support [appropriate 
  Immunity]; +1), Does BODY (+1) (180 Active 
  Points); No Range (-½), 4 Charges (-1), Bullet’s 
  RKA Must Do BODY (-½), Extra Time (onset 
  time begins 1 Minute aft er victim is shot; -1½), 
  Gradual Eﬀ ect (4 Minutes; 1d6/1 Minute; -½) 
  (total cost:  36 points). Total cost:  60 points.
  Subsonic
  Subsonic rounds are designed for use in 
  silenced weapons; they are not, by themselves, 
  silent. Th ey travel slower than the speed of sound, 
  so they do not create the distinctive “crack” typical 
  bullets do when they break the sound barrier. Th ey 
  do approximately 75% of the damage of regular 
  bullets of the same type. Th e example given in the 
  chart is a Standard bullet; other types of bullets can 
  also be made Subsonic.
  In game terms, the typical Subsonic bullet 
  does slightly less damage than a Standard round (-1 
  point or -1 DC, depending on caliber). 
  Tracer
  Tracer rounds contain chemicals which ignite 
  when the bullet is ﬁ red, causing the bullet to glow 
  and “trace” a path to the target, making it easier 
  to correct aim to hit that target. Th ey work best 
  at night or in the dark, but are bright enough for 
  daytime use. Similar to the Tracer is the Observa-
  tion bullet, which emits a puﬀ  of smoke and a ﬂ ash 
  when it hits.
  One drawback to Tracers is that they give away 
  the shooter’s position. Two variants correct that 
  problem. Th e ﬁ rst is dark ignition tracers, which 
  don’t “light up” until they’ve traveled a hundred 
  yards or more. Th e second is dim tracers, which 
  glow in infrared and thus are only visible to per-
  sonnel wearing nightvision goggles or the like.
  In game terms, the Tracer eﬀ ect can be com-
  bined with most other bullet types (though not 
  with any type of Frangible round). It’s bought as a 
  +1 OCV bonus with the standard Limitations, plus 
  Cannot Apply To First Shot Against A Target (-½). 
  Th is means the shooter can’t use the Level for his 
  ﬁ rst shot against a given target, or to any subse-
  quent shots that he takes in Phases aft er Phases in 
  which he didn’t ﬁ re at that target (in other words, 
  he has to maintain a continuous “stream” of ﬁ re 
  at the chosen target, ﬁ ring at least once per Phase, 
  to keep using the Level). Th e shooter only gets +1 
  OCV no matter how many bullets he ﬁ res, not +1 
  OCV per bullet.
  Wadcutter
  Wadcutter rounds are regular bullets with ﬂ at 
  noses instead of the usual rounded nose. Th ey tend 
  to cut larger holes in the target. However, the ﬂ at 
  nose may cause feed problems with automatic or 
  semi-automatic guns (reduce Activation Roll to 
  jam by 1).
  In game terms, only Standard, CTA, Caseless, 
  Gyrojet, Incendiary, and Spent Uranium rounds 
  can be Wadcutters; Wadcutter can be combined 
  with Subsonic or Tracer. A Wadcutter round does 
  +1 point of damage. If subjected to the Optional 
  Firearms Malfunction rules, Wadcutter rounds have 
  an Activation Roll 1 point lower than normal (for 
  example, if a gun would normally have a Malfunc-
  tion on a 13-, with Wadcutter rounds it Malfunc-
  tions on a 12-).
  Shotgun Ammunition
  Shotguns are smoothbore guns — that is, their 
  barrels aren’t riﬂ ed, so the projectiles they ﬁ re don’t 
  spin the way bullets do. Instead of bullets, they ﬁ re 
  shells. Most shells contain shot — lead pellets. Th e 
  size of the pellets varies depending on the gauge 
  of the shotgun (the larger the gauge, the smaller 
  the shot). Shot size is ranked from #1 to #9, #1 
  being the largest. Buckshot, a type of shot which is 
  larger than normal, is ranked from BB to 000. 00 
  (“double-ought”) buckshot in a 12-gauge shell is the 
  most common combat shot round. Other gauges 
  include .410 (actually a caliber measurement), 28, 
  20, 16, 10, and even 4 for some combat shotguns.
  A 12-gauge shotgun loaded with 00 buck-
  shot fires nine pellets, each with about the same 
  energy as a .32 bullet. This blast of multiple 
  projectiles makes the shotgun a devastating 
  combat weapon at close range — the shot inflicts 
  tremendous damage. However, the further one 
  gets from the shotgun, the more the shot spreads 
  (in a roughly circular pattern) and the more 
  energy it loses, making the shotgun a relatively 
  poor weapon at long ranges. By about 40 meters 
  (20”) for most shotguns, the pattern has spread 
  so much that the chance of scoring a disabling 
  wound is comparatively slight (especially if the 
  target has cover, wears body armor, or the like).
  Th e spread on shot varies according to barrel 
  length (the shorter the barrel, the faster the spread) 
  and “choke” (the amount of restrictions reducing 
  the barrel’s diameter at its end). Some chokes are 
  “shot diverters” that can cause shot to spread in a 
  more rectangular or oval pattern, or “shot spread-
  ers” that create greater spread. Some chokes are 
  adjustable, allowing the user to vary the spread 
  from one pull of the trigger to another. Some types 
  of shot (such as cubic shot) can also aﬀ ect the 
  spread pattern.
  SHOTGUNS IN THE HERO SYSTEM
  In HERO System terms, a shotgun has 
  most of the standard Limitations described on 
  page 62 for all firearms (OAF, STR Minimum, 
  Real Weapon, and Charges), and also has the 
  Advantage +1 Increased STUN Multiplier (+¼) 
  and the Limitation Two-Handed (-½). For 
  game purposes, you should design shotguns as 
  being intended to fire shot, though of course 
  they can fire slugs or other rounds if neces-
  sary. If a character wants to carry and shoot 
  the other type of ammunition, you can use the 
  Firearms Cost/Upgrade Tables on pages 76-93 
  to determine the cost.
  In addition to the Power Modiﬁ ers listed 
  below for shot and slugs, a shotgun may have other 
  Advantages and Limitations, depending on the type 
  of shot or slug used.
  SHOTGUN BORES
  Th e method used to 
  determine gauges for 
  shotguns is a traditional 
  system that’s centuries 
  old. Basically, “gauge” 
  means the number of 
  lead balls with a diam-
  eter equal to the bore of 
  the shotgun needed to 
  make one pound of that 
  size ball. For example, a 
  10-gauge shotgun has a 
  bore whose size is such 
  that 10 lead balls of that 
  diameter weigh one 
  pound.
  For reference purposes, 
  here’s the nominal mea-
  surement of the bore 
  of barrels of diﬀ erent 
  gauge shotguns.
  4 gauge = .905 inch
  10 gauge = .775 inch
  12 gauge = .729 inch
  16 gauge = .662 inch
  20 gauge = .615 inch
  24 gauge = .580 inch
  28 gauge = .550 inch
  .410 bore = .410 inch
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  72 ■ Modern Weapons
  AMMUNITION SUMMARY TABLE
  Ammunition Type 
   
   
   
  .357 M 
   
   
   
   
   
  .32 
  .40 
  .41 M 
  .45 ACP .44 M 
  .223 
  .50 AE 
   
  .22 
  .38 
  9mm 
  10mm 
  11mm* .45 WM* 5.56mmN* 7.62mmN* Notes 
  Standard 
  1d6-1 
  1d6 
  1d6+1 
  1½d6 
  2d6-1 
  2d6 
  2d6 
  2d6+1
  AET 
  1d6 
  1d6+1 
  1½d6 
  2d6 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  2d6+1 
  2½d6 
  RP, CBB
  AET Composite 
  1d6 
  1d6+1 
  1½d6 
  2d6 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  2d6+1 
  2½d6 
  CBB
  Armor Piercing 
  ½d6 
  1d6-1 
  1d6 
  1d6+1 
  1½d6 
  2d6-1 
  2d6 
  2d6 
  AP
  Armor Piercing Depleted 
   Uranium 
  ½d6 
  1d6-1 
  1d6 
  1d6+1 
  1½d6 
  2d6-1 
  2d6 
  2d6 
  AP, Piercing 1, ﬁ restarting
  Armor Piercing Explosive 
  1d6 
  1d6+1 
  1½d6 
  2d6 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  2d6+1 
  2½d6 
  AP
  Armor Piercing Hardcore 
  ½d6 
  1d6-1 
  1d6 
  1d6+1 
  1½d6 
  2d6-1 
  2d6 
  2d6 
  AP, Piercing 1
  Armor Piercing Hardcore 
   Explosive 
  1d6 
  1d6+1 
  1½d6 
  2d6 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  2d6+1 
  2½d6 
  AP, Piercing 1
  Armor Piercing Incendiary 
  ½d6 
  1d6-1 
  1d6 
  1d6+1 
  1½d6 
  2d6-1 
  2d6 
  2d6 
  AP, ﬁ restarting
  Armor Piercing Saboted 
  ½d6 
  1d6-1 
  1d6 
  1d6+1 
  1½d6 
  2d6-1 
  2d6 
  2d6 
  AP, IPE (no riﬂ ing marks)
  Cased Telescoped 
   Ammunition 
  1d6 
  1d6+1 
  1½d6 
  2d6 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  2d6+1 
  2½d6 
  Slightly larger than normal
  Caseless 
  1d6-1 
  1d6 
  1d6+1 
  1½d6 
  2d6-1 
  2d6 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  IPE (no shell casings)
  Duplex 
  1d6 
  1d6+1 
  1½d6 
  2d6 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  2d6+1 
  2½d6 
  RP
  Electric 
  1d6-1 
  1d6 
  1d6+1 
  1½d6 
  2d6-1 
  2d6 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  Linked EB 8d6, NND
  Explosive 
  1d6 
  1d6+1 
  1½d6 
  2d6 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  2d6+1 
  2½d6
  Fiberglass/Plastic 
  1d6-1 
  1d6 
  1d6+1 
  1½d6 
  2d6-1 
  2d6 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  IPE (-3 to Forensic Medicine)
  Flechette 
  1d6 
  1d6+1 
  1½d6 
  2d6 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  2d6+1 
  2½d6 
  AP, IPE (no riﬂ ing marks),   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  IMR2
  Frangible 
  1d6+1 
  1½d6 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  2d6+1 
  2½d6 
  2½d6 
  3d6 
  RP, CBB, Not Th rough Barriers
  Gyrojet 
  1d6-1 
  1d6 
  1d6+1 
  1½d6 
  2d6-1 
  2d6 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  IPE (no shell casings), IMR2
  Hollow Point 
  1d6 
  1d6+1 
  1½d6 
  2d6 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  2d6+1 
  2½d6 
  +1 STUN Multiplier
  Hybrid Frangible/Hollow 
   Point 
  1d6+1 
  1½d6 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  2d6+1 
  2½d6 
  2½d6 
  3d6 
  +1 STUN Multiplier, Penetrating, CBB
  Improved Armor Piercing 
  ½d6 
  ½d6 
  1d6-1 
  1d6-1 
  1d6 
  1d6 
  1½d6 
  2d6-1 
  AP(x2)
  Improved Propellant 
  1d6+1 
  1d6+1 
  1½d6 
  2d6-1 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  2d6+1 
  2½d6
  Incendiary 
  1d6-1 
  1d6 
  1d6+1 
  1½d6 
  2d6-1 
  2d6 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  Firestarting
  Match-Grade 
  1d6-1 
  1d6 
  1d6+1 
  1½d6 
  2d6-1 
  2d6 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  +1 OCV
  +P, +P+ 
  1d6 
  1d6+1 
  1d6+2 
  1½d6+1 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  2d6+1 
  2d6+2
  Penetrating Frangible 
  1d6+1 
  1½d6 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  2d6+1 
  2½d6 
  2½d6 
  3d6 
  Penetrating
  Poisoned 
  1d6-1 
  1d6 
  1d6+1 
  1½d6 
  2d6-1 
  2d6 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  Carries poison
  Reversed Ogive 
  1d6+1 
  1½d6 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  2d6+1 
  2½d6 
  2½d6 
  3d6 
  AP, +1 STUN Multiplier
  Rubber 
  2d6 EB 
  3d6 EB 
  4d6 EB 
  5d6 EB 
  6d6 EB 
  6d6 EB 
  6d6 EB 
  7d6 EB
  Semi-Armor Piercing 
  1d6-1 
  1d6 
  1d6+1 
  1½d6 
  2d6-1 
  2d6 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  Semi-AP
  Silent 
  1d6-1 
  1d6 
  1d6+1 
  1½d6 
  2d6-1 
  2d6 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  CE (-3 Hearing, -1 Sight)
  Spent Uranium 
  1d6-1 
  1d6 
  1d6+1 
  1½d6 
  2d6-1 
  2d6 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  AP, +1 STUN Multiplier
  Subsonic 
  ½d6 
  1d6-1 
  1d6 
  1d6+1 
  1½d6 
  2d6-1 
  2d6 
  2d6 
  Moves at subsonic speeds
  Tracer 
  1d6-1 
  1d6 
  1d6+1 
  1½d6 
  2d6-1 
  2d6 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  +1 OCV
  Tumbler 
  1d6-1 
  1d6 
  1d6+1 
  1½d6 
  2d6-1 
  2d6 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  RKA +1d6, Act 11-
  Wadcutter 
  1d6 
  1d6+1 
  1d6+2 
  1½d6+1 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  2d6+1 
  2d6+2
  Listed damage is Killing Damage unless indicated otherwise
  KEY 
  Act:  Activation Roll 
  N:  NATO
   
  AP: Armor Piercing (the Advantage) 
  NND:  No Normal Defense
   
  CBB:  Cannot Be Bounced 
  Piercing1:  1 point of Piercing (Resistant)
   
  CE:  Change Environment 
  RP:  Reduced Penetration
   
  EB:  Energy Blast 
  Semi-AP:  Semi-Armor Piercing
   
  IMR2:  Increased Maximum Range (x2) 
  WM:  Winchester Magnum
   
  IPE:  Invisible Power Eﬀ ects 
  *:  Rounds in these columns gain a +1 STUN Modiﬁ er from size in addition to other  
   
   
  listed eﬀ ects
   
  M:  Magnum
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  73 
  Double-Barrelled Shotguns
  Some types of shotguns, primarily ones 
  intended for hunting, have two barrels (usually 
  mounted side-by-side). They’re typically “break-
  fed” — they open using a hinge on the bottom of 
  the barrel near the trigger, allowing the shooter 
  to insert one shell into each of the two barrels (in 
  game terms, this would be bought as a clip of 2 
  Charges). Usually each of the barrels has its own 
  trigger. This raises the possibility of a character 
  pulling both triggers at once, and thus shooting 
  an enemy with a double blast. In game terms, 
  characters should buy such shotguns with Auto-
  fire (2 shots; +¼) and the Limitation Both Shots 
  Must Be At The Same Target (-0). That way they 
  don’t have to use both barrels at once, but they 
  can if they feel like it.
  Shotguns And Hit Locations
  Shotguns use the standard Hit Location rules. 
  For shot, this can represent the part of the target’s 
  body that gets hit by the most pellets, or which 
  bears the brunt of the shotgun blast.
  SHOTGUN AMMUNITION TYPES
  Here are descriptions of the many types of 
  shotgun ammunition available to characters. For 
  information on the cost of these shells and slugs, 
  by gauge (and accounting for Charges and other 
  factors), refer to the Firearms Cost/Upgrade Tables, 
  pages 76-93.
  Standard Shot
  The basic description of shotguns, above, 
  also describes shot. In game terms, a shotgun 
  that fires shot does not take the Beam Limitation. 
  However, it does have the Limitations Limited 
  Range (20”; -¼), Reduced By Range (-¼) and 
  Reduced Penetration (-¼).
  Shot takes the Advantage Area Of Eﬀ ect 
  (One Hex; +½). Depending on the type of shot 
  and choke used and the distance to the target, the 
  spread pattern ranges from approximately ﬁ ve 
  inches (about 0.06”) to 58 inches (about 0.75”). In 
  game terms, the best way to simulate this is with 
  a One Hex Area Of Eﬀ ect, which reﬂ ects both the 
  spread of the shot and the relative ease of hitting a 
  target at close quarters. At the GM’s option, shots at 
  targets within 10” of the shooter do not get the One 
  Hex; they only aﬀ ect one target and are against his 
  standard DCV instead of DCV 3.
  For game purposes, assume a shotgun ﬁ ring 
  shot has no choke or a cylinder choke (the least 
  restrictive type). For guns with improved, modiﬁ ed, 
  or full chokes (or variable chokes used on those 
  “settings”), the GM should increase the Limited 
  Range of the shotgun by +1”, +2”, and +3” respec-
  tively — but add the same amount to the distance 
  over which the character does not get the beneﬁ t of 
  the One Hex Area Of Eﬀ ect, since the choke inhib-
  its the spread of the pellets. (At the GM’s option, 
  shotguns loaded with buckshot — i.e., virtually all 
  shot-ﬁ ring shotguns characters are likely to use 
  — all function as if the character used a full choke.)
  The damage listed for shotguns in this book 
  and other HERO System books assumes the gun 
  is loaded with 00 buckshot. If the shell contains 
  smaller shot, reduce the damage to 50-75% of 
  that listed.
  Standard Slug
  Some shells ﬁ re not shot, but slugs — a single, 
  large, roughly bullet-shaped mass of metal. Slugs do 
  not spread out the way shot does, but their size and 
  force make them extremely lethal. However, since 
  they’re not ﬁ red from riﬂ ed barrels, they’re not 
  nearly as accurate as riﬂ es.
  In game terms, slugs have the Beam (-¼) 
  Limitation, but not Reduced By Range or Reduced 
  Penetration. Th ey also have the Limitation Limited 
  Range (50”; -¼).
  Air Bomb
  Air Bomb shells explode in mid-air near the 
  target. Th ey’re designed to stun, injure, and inca-
  pacitate the target more than to kill.
  In game terms, an Air Bomb shell is bought as 
  an Energy Blast (with DCs equivalent to those in a 
  Killing Attack shell of the same size), Area Of Eﬀ ect 
  (One Hex; +½) with the following Linked eﬀ ect:
  Sight and Hearing Group Flash 3d6, Area Of 
  Eﬀ ect (One Hex; +½) (30 Active Points); OAF 
  (-1), Limited Range (20”; -¼), Linked (-½), Real 
  Weapon (-¼), Two-Handed (-½), other Limita-
  tions vary based on ﬁ rearm. Total cost:  varies.
  Armor Piercing Slug
  Armor Piercing Slugs are slugs specially 
  designed to penetrate armor.
  In game terms, Armor Piercing Slugs have the 
  Armor Piercing (+½) Advantage, but do slightly less 
  damage than Standard Slugs (from -1 point to -1 
  DC, depending on gauge).
  Baton/Beanbag
  Baton rounds are solid projectiles made of 
  plastic, rubber, or wood designed to stun a target 
  without inﬂ icting serious harm. Beanbag projectiles 
  are similar, but ﬁ re a small, sturdy beanbag ﬁ lled 
  with metal or rubber shot. Although intended to 
  be non-lethal, these rounds can still cause serious 
  injury or disability; a leg shot might, for example, 
  cause numbness and pain that would prevent the 
  target from walking for as much as a minute.
  In game terms, these rounds are bought as 
  an Energy Blast with DCs equivalent to those in 
  a Killing Attack shell of the same size. Th ey don’t 
  have Reduced By Range and Reduced Penetration, 
  but do take the Beam (-¼) Limitation. Th ey have a 
  Limited Range of 20”.
  BRI Slug
  BRI slugs are more like bullets than standard 
  shotgun slugs. Th is construction is intended to 
  increase their range and accuracy.
  In game terms, BRI Slugs do not have the Lim-
  ited Range (-¼) Limitation.
  Buﬀ ered Shot
  Buﬀ ered shot is designed to spread less than 
  regular shot, which slightly extends the range of shot 
  and makes it likely that more pellets hit the target.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  74 ■ Modern Weapons
  In game terms, buﬀ ered shot changes a shot-
  gun’s Limited Range from 20” to 30” and removes 
  the Area Of Eﬀ ect (One Hex) Advantage. Th e gun 
  does a little extra damage (from +1 point to +1 DC, 
  depending on gauge).
  Cubic Shot
  Cubic Shot shells ﬁ re pellets that are cube-
  shaped instead of round. Th e cubic shot maximizes 
  the spread of the pellets so that a target is hit. 
  (Some shells achieve the same result by mixing 
  small cards into ordinary shot.)
  In game terms, a shotgun ﬁ ring Cubic Shot 
  has Area Of Eﬀ ect (Cone) instead of One Hex, 
  and replaces the Limited Range (-¼) Limitation 
  with No Range (-½).
  Explosive Slug
  Explosive slugs explodes upon impact with 
  the target, causing enormous damage. A properly-
  placed Explosive Slug can take out everyone in a 
  small room or a car in one shot.
  In game terms, an Explosive Slug is bought 
  as if it were a slug, but it has the Explosion (+½) 
  Advantage and the Beam (-¼) Limitation is 
  removed. It aﬀ ects ED, not PD.
  Fireball
  Fireball, or Incendiary, shells contain magne-
  sium or some other ﬂ ammable material that bursts 
  into ﬂ ame when it contacts the target, immolating 
  him or it for several seconds.
  In game terms, Fireball shells do the same 
  damage as Standard Shot (though against ED 
  rather than PD), but have the following addi-
  tional effect:
  RKA 1 point, Continuous (+1), Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END to enable Uncontrolled eﬀ ect; 
  +½), Sticky (only aﬀ ects ﬂ ammables; +¼), Uncon-
  trolled (eﬀ ect ends when it runs out of fuel or 
  oxygen, or someone extinguishes the ﬂ ames; +½) 
  (16 Active Points [the addition of other Advantages, 
  such as Charges, may change this]); OAF (-1), Acti-
  vation Roll 13- (-¾), Linked (-½), Real Weapon 
  (-¼), other Limitations vary based on ﬁ rearm. Total 
  cost:  varies.
  Flare
  Flare shells are something like Fireball shells, 
  but are intended to blind the target temporarily, not 
  injure him.
  In game terms, a Flare shell is bought as a 
  Sight Group Flash (with dice of eﬀ ect equal to the 
  RKA of the same gauge) with the Advantage Explo-
  sion (+½). It has a Limited Range of 20”.
  Flechette
  Flechette shells are ﬁ lled with tiny metal darts. 
  Th e ﬂ echettes in this shell are bigger and stronger 
  than those in a bullet, and ﬂ y further than stan-
  dard buckshot. At close range Flechette shells are 
  extremely lethal. (Similar rounds replace the metal 
  darts with razor-like blades, circles or tubes of 
  metal with sharpened forward edges, or the like.)
  For game purposes, treat Flechettes as if they 
  were Standard Shot with a Limited Range of 50”, 
  but they do a little extra damage (from +1 point to 
  +1 DC, depending on gauge) and have the Advan-
  tage Armor Piercing.
  Ice
  Ice shells are used by assassins who want to kill 
  without leaving traces. Th e impact of the ice-ﬁ lled 
  shell is still enough to kill, but the ice soon melts, 
  leaving the exact cause of the injuries a mystery. Of 
  course, this only works if the shooter can use the 
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  75 
  shell very soon aft er removing it from the freezer, 
  or else the ice in the shell melts, making it unusable.
  In game terms, Ice shells are like Standard 
  Shot, but also have the Advantage Invisible Power 
  Eﬀ ects (hide cause of death, imposes a -3 or greater 
  penalty to Forensic Medicine rolls; +¼).
  Linked Shot
  Linked shot uses steel wire to connect the 
  shot, thereby in theory inhibiting the spread 
  and ensuring that more pellets hit their target. 
  However, the greater air resistance slows the 
  shot down, and the wire takes up room in the 
  shell that would otherwise contain more pellets. 
  Buffered shot accomplishes much the same result 
  without these drawbacks.
  In game terms, Linked shot does slightly less 
  damage (from -1 point to -1 DC, depending on 
  gauge), changes a shotgun’s Limited Range from 
  20” to 30”, and removes the Area Of Effect (One 
  Hex) Advantage.
  Lockbreaker
  Lockbreaker rounds, also known as “lock-
  buster” or “Hatton” shells, are ﬁ lled with lead or 
  iron powder. When ﬁ red at a lock, they destroy the 
  lock’s internal workings, allowing the shooter (or 
  his companions) to quickly pull or kick open the 
  door. Its eﬀ ects upon humans are not as great as 
  those of ordinary shotgun shells.
  In game terms, Lockbreaker shells do the same 
  damage as Standard Shot, but take the Limitation 
  Half Eﬀ ect On Targets Other Th an Locks And Hinges 
  (-½). Th is halving of damage takes place before the 
  application of Reduced Penetration, but aft er the 
  application of Reduced By Range.
  Rubber Shot
  Rubber Shot shells were invented for anti-
  riot purposes. They’re designed to stun the target 
  with several .30 caliber rubber pellets. Although 
  intended to be non-lethal, these rounds can 
  still cause serious injury or disability; a leg shot 
  might, for example, cause numbness and pain 
  that would prevent the target from walking for as 
  much as a minute.
  In game terms, these rounds are bought as 
  Standard Shot, but as an Energy Blast with DCs 
  equivalent to those in a Killing Attack shell of 
  the same size.
  Saboted Slug
  Some slug shells contain the slug in a sabot. 
  Th is means the slug is smaller than it otherwise 
  could be, but it can attain greater velocity. Its shape 
  and speed give it signiﬁ cant penetrating power, and 
  also make it likely to tumble.
  In game terms, a saboted slug functions like 
  a Standard Slug, but with 1 point of Piercing 
  (Resistant). Characters can also buy the Tum-
  bling effect (page 70) for it if desired (the sample 
  rounds listed elsewhere in this book do not have 
  the Tumbling effect).
  Semi-Armor Piercing Slug
  Semi-Armor Piercing Slugs are like AP Slugs, 
  but have slightly less penetrating capability.
  In game terms, Semi-Armor Piercing Slugs 
  have the Semi-Armor Piercing (+¼) Advantage.
  Silent
  Silent shells are constructed so that the 
  expanding gases that propel the round (a large 
  metal and plastic ﬂ echette) forward are trapped 
  inside the shell, which acts as a sort of “ram” to 
  propel the ﬂ echette toward the target. Because 
  the gases cannot escape properly, the shotgun is 
  much quieter. A Silent round has to be relatively 
  low-powered, and therefore (a) does slightly less 
  damage than standard shells, and (b) cannot be 
  ﬁ red in semi-automatic shotguns because it cannot 
  cycle the action.
  In game terms, Silent shells do slightly less 
  damage (from -1 point to -1 DC, depending on 
  gauge) than Standard Slugs and have less range 
  (30”), but have the Armor Piercing (+½) Advantage. 
  Th ey also have the following additional power:
  Change Environment 1” radius, -3 to Hearing 
  Group PER Rolls and -1 to Sight Group PER 
  Rolls to perceive, Multiple Combat Eﬀ ects (19 
  Active Points [the addition of other Advan-
  tages, such as Charges, may change this]); OAF 
  (-1), Linked (-½), No Range (-½), Real Weapon 
  (-¼), Self Only (-½), STR Minimum (varies), 
  other Limitations vary based on ﬁ rearm. Total 
  cost:  varies.
  Smoke
  Smoke shells are miniature smoke grenades. 
  Instead of injuring the target, they create a large 
  cloud of thick smoke to blind the enemy, create 
  temporary visual cover, or the like.
  In game terms, Smoke shells of any gauge are 
  bought as follows:
  Change Environment 4” radius, -3 to Sight 
  Group PER Rolls (21 Active Points); OAF (-1), 
  Limited Range (20”; -¼), Real Weapon (-¼), 
  STR Minimum (varies), a number of Continu-
  ing Charges lasting 1 Turn each that depends 
  on the type of shotgun used. Total cost:  varies.
  Steel Shot
  Some shot is made from steel instead of lead. 
  Steel shot typically deforms less and spreads less than 
  lead shot, and thus shoots with a denser pattern.
  In game terms, Steel Shot does the same 
  damage as Standard Shot, but does not have the 
  Area Of Eﬀ ect (One Hex; +½) Advantage, and its 
  Limited Range increases to 30”.
  Tear Gas
  Tear Gas shells ﬁ re ﬁ nned projectiles that con-
  tain tear gas. Th ey’re used for riot control and other 
  situations where the shooter needs to incapacitate 
  people. Th e shell is speciﬁ cally designed to pen-
  etrate walls and cars (if necessary) before releasing 
  the gas. In game terms, regardless of gauge they’re 
  bought as follows:
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  76 ■ Modern Weapons
  Sight Group Flash 8d6, Area Of Eﬀ ect (One 
  Hex Doubled; +¾), Continuous (+1), Delayed 
  Recovery (+2), Indirect (can penetrate walls 
  and similar barriers within 30” of shooter, as 
  described in text; +¼) (200 Active Points); OAF 
  (-1), Limited Range (50”; -¼), Real Weapon 
  (-¼), STR Minimum (varies), Two-Handed (-
  ½), a number of Continuing Charges lasting 1 
  Turn each that depends on the type of shotgun 
  used. Total cost:  varies.
  At the GM’s option, if a tear gas round is ﬁ red 
  directly at a target within 5” of the shooter (other 
  than a barrier the shooter intends to shoot through, 
  as described above), the shell strikes as a slug of the 
  same gauge (but with -2 DCs of damage) before 
  releasing the tear gas.
  Firearms Cost/
  Upgrade Tables
  Th e accompanying tables list the Charac-
  ter Point costs for ﬁ rearms using diﬀ erent types 
  of ammunition, based on the number of shots 
  (Charges) the gun has. Th ese charts all assume the 
  gun in question has a STR Min of 6-14.
  Th ese charts have several uses. Th e ﬁ rst and 
  simplest is to determine the cost of a ﬁ rearm 
  intended to ﬁ re a given type of ammunition, based 
  on the number of Charges the gun has. If you 
  want the gun to have multiple Clips, just move one 
  column to the right on the appropriate table for 
  every x2 Clips. Th us, two columns to the the right 
  is the cost of four clips, three is eight clips, and so 
  forth (don’t forget to allow for the doubling that 
  occurs when you go from 13-16 Charges to 17-32 
  Charges, if appropriate).
  Example:  Hammer wants to carry a .45 semi-
  automatic handgun loaded with Hollow Point 
  ammunition. Th e gun has 12 Charges. Consult-
  ing the Hollow Point table, he ﬁ nds out that this 
  SHOTGUN AMMUNITION SUMMARY CHART
  Ammunition Type 
  .410 
  28, 24 
  20, 16 
  12 
  10 
  4 
  Notes
  Standard Shot 
  1½d6 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  2½d6 
  3d6 
  3d6+1 
  AE1, LR (20”), RR, RP
  Standard Slug 
  1½d6 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  2½d6 
  3d6 
  3d6+1 
  Beam, LR (50”)
  Air Bomb 
  5d6 EB 
  6d6 EB 
  7d6 EB 
  8d6 EB 
  9d6 EB 
  10d6 EB 
  AE1, LR (20”), Linked Flash 3d6
  Armor Piercing Slug 
  1d6+1 
  2d6-1 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  2½d6 
  3d6 
  AP, Beam, LR (50”)
  Baton/Beanbag 
  5d6 EB 
  6d6 EB 
  7d6 EB 
  8d6 EB 
  9d6 EB 
  10d6 EB 
  Beam, LR (20”)
  BRI Slug 
  1½d6 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  2½d6 
  3d6 
  3d6+1 
  Beam
  Buﬀ ered Shot 
  2d6-1 
  2d6+1 
  2½d6 
  3d6-1 
  3d6+1 
  3½d6 
  LR (30”), RR, RP
  Cubic Shot 
  1½d6 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  2½d6 
  3d6 
  3d6+1 
  AEC, NR, RR, RP
  Explosive Slug 
  1½d6 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  2½d6 
  3d6 
  3d6+1 
  Exp, LR (50”)
  Fireball 
  1½d6 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  2½d6 
  3d6 
  3d6+1 
  AE1, LR (20”), RR, RP, ﬁ restarting
  Flare 
  5d6 Flash 
  6d6 Flash 
  7d6 Flash 
  8d6 Flash 
  9d6 Flash 
  10d6 Flash Exp, LR (20”)
  Flechette 
  2d6-1 
  2d6+1 
  2½d6 
  3d6-1 
  3d6+1 
  3½d6 
  AP, LR (50”), RR, RP
  Ice 
  1½d6 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  2½d6 
  3d6 
  3d6+1 
  AE1, IPE, LR (20”), RR, RP
  Linked Shot 
  1d6+1 
  2d6-1 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  2½d6 
  3d6 
  LR (30”), RR, RP
  Lockbreaker 
  1½d6 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  2½d6 
  3d6 
  3d6+1 
  AE1, LR (20”), RR, RP, ½ damage
  Rubber Shot 
  5d6 EB 
  6d6 EB 
  7d6 EB 
  8d6 EB 
  9d6 EB 
  10d6 EB 
  AE1, LR (20”), RR, RP
  Saboted Slug 
  1½d6 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  2½d6 
  3d6 
  3d6+1 
  Beam, LR (50”), Piercing1
  Semi-AP Slug 
  1½d6 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  2½d6 
  3d6 
  3d6+1 
  Beam, LR (50”), Semi-AP
  Silent 
  1d6+1 
  2d6-1 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  2½d6 
  3d6 
  AE1, AP, CE, LR (30”)
  Smoke 
  CE 
  CE 
  CE 
  CE 
  CE 
  CE 
  CE (-3 Sight PER in 4” radius)
  Steel Shot 
  1½d6 
  2d6 
  2d6+1 
  2½d6 
  3d6 
  3d6+1 
  LR (30”), RR, RP
  Tear Gas 
  8d6 Flash 
  8d6 Flash 
  8d6 Flash 
  8d6 Flash 
  8d6 Flash 
  8d6 Flash 
  AE2, Indirect, LR (50”), 1 Turn
  Listed damage is Killing Damage unless indicated otherwise
  All shotgun rounds have a +1 STUN Modiﬁ er.
  KEY 
  1 Turn:  Continuing Charges lasting 1 Turn each 
  IPE:  Invisible Power Eﬀ ects
   
  AE1:  Area Of Eﬀ ect (One Hex) 
  LR:  Limited Range
   
  AE2:  Area Of Eﬀ ect (One Hex Doubled) 
  NND:  No Normal Defense
   
  AEC:  Area Of Eﬀ ect (Cone) 
  NR:  No Range
   
  AP: Armor Piercing (the Advantage) 
  Piercing1:  1 point of Piercing (Resistant)
   
  CE:  Change Environment 
  RP:  Reduced Penetration
   
  EB:  Energy Blast 
  RR:  Reduced By Range
   
  Exp:  Explosion 
  Semi-AP:  Semi-Armor Piercing
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  77 
  gun will cost 12 Character Points. If he wants 
  to have two Clips, it will cost 13 points.
  Second, the tables tell you the cost of upgrad-
  ing a ﬁ rearm to carry more rounds of ammunition. 
  Look at the table to ﬁ nd out the cost of the gun 
  with the number of Charges you want it to have. 
  Subtract the gun’s current cost from that amount, 
  and the remainder is the Character Point cost 
  of upgrading the gun to carry more rounds. (Of 
  course, in a Heroic game, the character doesn’t 
  necessarily have to pay these points — he may get 
  them for free, or now have to allocate more points 
  to the gun from his Equipment Points.)
  Example:  After some intense firefights, 
  Hammer decides he wants to carry 16 rounds 
  in his .45 instead of twelve. Looking at the 
  Hollow Point chart, he discovers that his 
  gun would cost 13 Character Points with 16 
  Charges. He subtracts 12 (the cost of his gun 
  with 12 Charges) from 13 and gets 1 — that’s 
  the cost of upgrading his gun.
  Th ird, you can use these tables to determine 
  the cost of carrying a single clip of a special type 
  of ammunition. A character typically builds a gun 
  with the type of bullets he expects to ﬁ re in it nor-
  mally. However, he might also want to have a clip 
  or two of diﬀ erent types of ammunition. To ﬁ gure 
  out the Character Point cost of a single clip of a 
  given type of ammunition, ﬁ nd the cost of the gun 
  with its regular ammunition (or Standard, if no 
  other type is speciﬁ ed). Th en ﬁ nd the cost of the 
  gun with the exact same caliber of the type of bullet 
  the character wants to have in the single clip (the 
  character can choose whatever size of clip — i.e., 
  how many Charges the clip has). Th en subtract the 
  ﬁ rst number from the second number, and that tells 
  you the cost of the single clip in Character Points. 
  (If the cost is 0 or a negative number, the single clip 
  costs 1 Character Point.)
  Example:  Hammer decides he’d like to have 
  a single clip with 12 rounds of Reversed 
  Ogive ammunition for his .45. Consulting the 
  Reversed Ogive table, he ﬁ nds that his gun with 
  Reversed Ogive ammo would cost 19 Charac-
  ter Points. He subtracts 12 (the cost of his gun 
  with its regular round, Hollow Points) from 19 
  and gets 7 — that’s the cost of his single clip of 
  Reversed Ogive ammo.
  Later Hammer also decides he wants a clip 
  of 16 rounds of Armor Piercing ammunition. 
  Consulting the Armor Piercing table, he ﬁ nds 
  that his gun with 16 Charges of AP ammo 
  would cost 13 Character Points. He subtracts 
  12 (the cost of his gun with 12 Charges of its 
  regular round, Hollow Points) from 13 and gets 
  1 — that’s the cost of his single clip of Armor 
  Piercing ammo.
   KEY
  Title:  Th e title of the table, and possibly other 
  text on the page, explain what type of ﬁ rearm the 
  table applies to. Th is covers such variables as stan-
  dard ﬁ rearms or shotguns, the STR Minimum in 
  question, whether the weapon requires one hand or 
  two hands to ﬁ re, and so forth.
  Name:  Th e name of the type of ammunition the 
  table applies to. Other pertinent information, such 
  as relevant Power Modiﬁ ers, are listed here as well.
  Caliber:  Th e size of the bullet, which determines 
  the base damage a gun does. For shotguns, this 
  becomes Gauge.
  DMG:  Th e base damage the gun causes, depending 
  on type and size of ammunition.
  STUN:  Th e STUN Multiplier for the gun. Larger-
  caliber bullets have a +1 STUN Multiplier, as do all 
  shotgun rounds, and the tables reﬂ ect this.
  AcP:  Th e Active Points in the ﬁ rearm. Note 
  that this changes in the columns for 17 or more 
  Charges, since that applies an additional Advantage 
  to the weapon.
  Charges:  Th e numbered columns indicate the 
  number of Charges the ﬁ rearm has. For non-Auto-
  ﬁ re weapons, this ranges from 1 to 65-125. For 
  Autoﬁ re ﬁ rearms, this ranges from 9-12 to 126+.
  1 Turn:  Continuing Charges lasting 1 Turn each
  Act:  Activation Roll
  AE1:  Area Of Eﬀ ect (One Hex)
  AE2:  Area Of Eﬀ ect (One Hex Doubled)
  AEC:  Area Of Eﬀ ect (Cone)
  AP: Armor Piercing (the Advantage)
  CBB:  Cannot Be Bounced
  CE:  Change Environment
  EB:  Energy Blast
  IMR2:  Increased Maximum Range (x2)
  IPE:  Invisible Power Eﬀ ects
  LR:  Limited Range
  M:  Magnum
  N:  NATO
  NND:  No Normal Defense
  Piercing1:  1 point of Piercing (Resistant)
  RP:  Reduced Penetration
  RR:  Reduced By Range
  Semi-AP:  Semi-Armor Piercing
  Win Mag:  Winchester Magnum
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  78 ■ Modern Weapons
  STANDARD FIREARMS TABLES
  Th ese tables are for standard ﬁ rearms (i.e., ones ﬁ ring bullets) loaded with Standard ammunition.
  STANDARD AMMUNITION, NON-AUTOFIRE, ONE-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Standard
  STR Min 6-14
  .22
  1d6-1
  1d6-1
  12
  2
  2
  2
  3
  3
  3
  3
  3
  15/4
  18/5
  21/6
  .32, .38
  1d6
  1d6-1
  15
  3
  3
  3
  3
  3
  4
  4
  4
  19/5
  22/6
  26/7
  .40, 9mm
  1d6+1
  1d6-1
  20
  4
  4
  4
  4
  5
  5
  5
  6
  25/7
  30/9
  35/10
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  1½d6
  1d6-1
  25
  4
  5
  5
  5
  6
  6
  7
  7
  31/9
  37/11
  44/13
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  2d6-1
  1d6
  34
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  10
  40/11
  47/13
  54/15
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2d6
  1d6
  37
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  11
  45/13
  52/15
  60/17
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2d6
  1d6
  37
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  11
  45/13
  52/15
  60/17
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  2d6+1
  1d6
  44
  8
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  12
  13
  52/15
  61/17
  70/20
  STANDARD AMMUNITION, NON-AUTOFIRE, TWO-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Standard
  STR Min 6-14
  .22
  1d6-1
  1d6-1
  12
  2
  2
  2
  2
  2
  3
  3
  3
  15/4
  18/4
  21/5
  .32, .38
  1d6
  1d6-1
  15
  2
  3
  3
  3
  3
  3
  3
  4
  19/5
  22/5
  26/6
  .40, 9mm
  1d6+1
  1d6-1
  20
  3
  4
  4
  4
  4
  4
  5
  5
  25/6
  30/7
  35/9
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  1½d6
  1d6-1
  25
  4
  4
  5
  5
  5
  5
  6
  6
  31/8
  37/9
  44/11
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  2d6-1
  1d6
  34
  6
  6
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  8
  40/10
  47/12
  54/13
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2d6
  1d6
  37
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  45/11
  52/13
  60/15
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2d6
  1d6
  37
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  45/11
  52/13
  60/15
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  2d6+1
  1d6
  44
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  52/13
  61/15
  70/17
  STANDARD AMMUNITION, NON-AUTOFIRE, TWO-HANDED, STR MIN 15-17
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Standard
  STR Min 15-17
  .22
  1d6-1
  1d6-1
  12
  2
  2
  2
  2
  2
  2
  3
  3
  15/3
  18/4
  21/5
  .32, .38
  1d6
  1d6-1
  15
  2
  3
  3
  3
  3
  3
  3
  3
  19/4
  22/5
  26/6
  .40, 9mm
  1d6+1
  1d6-1
  20
  3
  3
  4
  4
  4
  4
  4
  5
  25/6
  30/7
  35/8
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  1½d6
  1d6-1
  25
  4
  4
  4
  5
  5
  5
  5
  6
  31/7
  37/9
  44/10
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  2d6-1
  1d6
  34
  5
  6
  6
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  40/9
  47/11
  54/13
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2d6
  1d6
  37
  6
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  45/11
  52/12
  60/14
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2d6
  1d6
  37
  6
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  45/11
  52/12
  60/14
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  2d6+1
  1d6
  44
  7
  8
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  10
  52/12
  61/14
  70/16
  STANDARD AMMUNITION, NON-AUTOFIRE, TWO-HANDED, STR MIN 18+
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Standard
  STR Min 18+
  .22
  1d6-1
  1d6-1
  12
  2
  2
  2
  2
  2
  2
  2
  3
  15/3
  18/4
  21/5
  .32, .38
  1d6
  1d6-1
  15
  2
  2
  3
  3
  3
  3
  3
  3
  19/4
  22/5
  26/6
  .40, 9mm
  1d6+1
  1d6-1
  20
  3
  3
  3
  4
  4
  4
  4
  4
  25/5
  30/7
  35/8
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  1½d6
  1d6-1
  25
  4
  4
  4
  4
  5
  5
  5
  5
  31/7
  37/8
  44/10
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  2d6-1
  1d6
  34
  5
  6
  6
  6
  6
  7
  7
  7
  40/9
  47/10
  54/12
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2d6
  1d6
  37
  6
  6
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  8
  45/10
  52/11
  60/13
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2d6
  1d6
  37
  6
  6
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  8
  45/10
  52/11
  60/13
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  2d6+1
  1d6
  44
  7
  7
  8
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  52/11
  61/13
  70/15
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  79 
  Standard Firearms Tables (Continued)
  STANDARD AMMUNITION, AUTOFIRE, ONE-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  126+
  Standard
  AF5
  STR Min 6-14
  .22
  1d6-1
  1d6-1
  18
  5
  5
  21/6
  24/7
  27/8
  30/9
  .32, .38
  1d6
  1d6-1
  22
  6
  6
  26/7
  30/9
  34/10
  37/10
  .40, 9mm
  1d6+1
  1d6-1
  30
  8
  9
  35/10
  40/11
  45/13
  50/14
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  1½d6
  1d6-1
  37
  10
  11
  44/13
  50/14
  56/16
  62/18
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  2d6-1
  1d6
  47
  12
  13
  54/15
  61/17
  67/19
  74/21
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2d6
  1d6
  52
  14
  15
  60/17
  67/19
  75/21
  82/23
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2d6
  1d6
  52
  14
  15
  60/17
  67/19
  75/21
  82/23
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  2d6+1
  1d6
  61
  16
  17
  70/20
  79/23
  87/25
  96/27
  STANDARD AMMUNITION, AUTOFIRE, TWO-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  126+
  Standard
  AF5
  STR Min 6-14
  .22
  1d6-1
  1d6-1
  18
  4
  4
  21/5
  24/6
  27/7
  30/7
  .32, .38
  1d6
  1d6-1
  22
  5
  5
  26/6
  30/7
  34/8
  37/9
  .40, 9mm
  1d6+1
  1d6-1
  30
  7
  7
  35/9
  40/10
  45/11
  50/12
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  1½d6
  1d6-1
  37
  9
  9
  44/11
  50/12
  56/14
  62/15
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  2d6-1
  1d6
  47
  11
  12
  54/13
  61/15
  67/17
  74/18
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2d6
  1d6
  52
  12
  13
  60/15
  67/17
  75/19
  82/20
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2d6
  1d6
  52
  12
  13
  60/15
  67/17
  75/19
  82/20
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  2d6+1
  1d6
  61
  14
  15
  70/17
  79/20
  87/22
  96/24
  STANDARD AMMUNITION, AUTOFIRE, TWO-HANDED, STR MIN 15-17
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  126+
  Standard
  AF5
  STR Min 15-17
  .22
  1d6-1
  1d6-1
  18
  4
  4
  21/5
  24/6
  27/6
  30/7
  .32, .38
  1d6
  1d6-1
  22
  5
  5
  26/6
  30/7
  34/8
  37/9
  .40, 9mm
  1d6+1
  1d6-1
  30
  7
  7
  35/8
  40/9
  45/11
  50/12
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  1½d6
  1d6-1
  37
  8
  9
  44/10
  50/12
  56/13
  62/14
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  2d6-1
  1d6
  47
  10
  11
  54/13
  61/14
  67/16
  74/17
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2d6
  1d6
  52
  11
  12
  60/14
  67/16
  75/18
  82/19
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2d6
  1d6
  52
  11
  12
  60/14
  67/16
  75/18
  82/19
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  2d6+1
  1d6
  61
  13
  14
  70/16
  79/19
  87/20
  96/23
  STANDARD AMMUNITION, AUTOFIRE, TWO-HANDED, STR MIN 18+
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  126+
  Standard
  AF5
  STR Min 18+
  .22
  1d6-1
  1d6-1
  18
  4
  4
  21/5
  24/5
  27/6
  30/7
  .32, .38
  1d6
  1d6-1
  22
  5
  5
  26/6
  30/7
  34/7
  37/8
  .40, 9mm
  1d6+1
  1d6-1
  30
  6
  7
  35/8
  40/9
  45/10
  50/11
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  1½d6
  1d6-1
  37
  8
  8
  44/10
  50/11
  56/12
  62/14
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  2d6-1
  1d6
  47
  10
  10
  54/12
  61/13
  67/15
  74/16
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2d6
  1d6
  52
  11
  11
  60/13
  67/15
  75/17
  82/18
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2d6
  1d6
  52
  11
  11
  60/13
  67/15
  75/17
  82/18
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  2d6+1
  1d6
  61
  13
  13
  70/15
  79/17
  87/19
  96/21
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  80 ■ Modern Weapons
  EXOTIC AMMUNITION TABLES
  Th ese tables are for standard ﬁ rearms (i.e., ones ﬁ ring bullets) loaded with exotic forms of ammunition, such AET, Frangible, or Sub-
  sonic. All are for one-handed, non-Autoﬁ re weapons with a STR Minimum of 6-14.
  AET AMMUNITION, NON-AUTOFIRE, ONE-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  AET
  CBB, RP, 
  STR Min 6-14
  .22
  1d6
  1d6-1
  15
  2
  3
  3
  3
  3
  3
  3
  4
  19/5
  22/5
  26/6
  .32, .38
  1d6+1
  1d6-1
  20
  3
  4
  4
  4
  4
  4
  5
  5
  25/6
  30/7
  35/9
  .40, 9mm
  1½d6
  1d6-1
  25
  4
  4
  5
  5
  5
  5
  6
  6
  31/8
  37/9
  44/11
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  2d6
  1d6-1
  30
  5
  5
  6
  6
  6
  7
  7
  7
  37/9
  45/11
  52/13
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  2d6
  1d6
  37
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  45/11
  52/13
  60/15
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2d6+1
  1d6
  44
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  52/13
  61/15
  70/17
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2d6+1
  1d6
  44
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  52/13
  61/15
  70/17
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  2½d6
  1d6
  50
  8
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  12
  12
  60/15
  70/17
  80/20
  AET COMPOSITE AMMUNITION, NON-AUTOFIRE, ONE-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  AET
  Composite
  CBB,
  STR Min 6-14
  .22
  1d6
  1d6-1
  15
  3
  3
  3
  3
  3
  3
  4
  4
  19/5
  22/6
  26/7
  .32, .38
  1d6+1
  1d6-1
  20
  3
  4
  4
  4
  4
  5
  5
  5
  25/7
  30/8
  35/9
  .40, 9mm
  1½d6
  1d6-1
  25
  4
  5
  5
  5
  5
  6
  6
  7
  31/8
  37/10
  44/12
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  2d6
  1d6-1
  30
  5
  6
  6
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  37/10
  45/12
  52/14
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  2d6
  1d6
  37
  6
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  45/12
  52/14
  60/15
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2d6+1
  1d6
  44
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  12
  52/14
  61/16
  70/19
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2d6+1
  1d6
  44
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  12
  52/14
  61/16
  70/19
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  2½d6
  1d6
  50
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  12
  12
  13
  60/16
  70/19
  80/21
  ARMOR PIERCING AMMUNITION, NON-AUTOFIRE, ONE-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Armor
  Piercing
  AP
  STR Min 6-14
  .22
  ½d6
  1d6-1
  15
  3
  3
  3
  3
  3
  4
  4
  4
  17/5
  20/6
  22/6
  .32, .38
  1d6-1
  1d6-1
  18
  3
  4
  4
  4
  4
  4
  5
  5
  21/6
  24/7
  27/8
  .40, 9mm
  1d6
  1d6-1
  22
  4
  4
  5
  5
  5
  5
  6
  6
  26/7
  30/9
  34/10
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  1d6+1
  1d6-1
  30
  5
  6
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  9
  35/10
  40/11
  45/13
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  1½d6
  1d6
  44
  8
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  12
  13
  50/14
  56/16
  62/18
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2d6-1
  1d6
  47
  8
  9
  10
  10
  11
  12
  12
  13
  54/15
  61/17
  67/19
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2d6
  1d6
  52
  9
  10
  11
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  60/17
  67/19
  75/21
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  2d6
  1d6
  52
  9
  10
  11
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  60/17
  67/19
  75/21
  AP DEPLETED URANIUM AMMUNITION, NON-AUTOFIRE, ONE-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Armor
  Piercing
  Depleted
  Uranium
  AP, Piercing 1, 
  ﬁ restarting
  STR Min 6-14
  .22
  ½d6
  1d6-1
  35
  5
  7
  7
  7
  7
  8
  8
  8
  39/11
  42/11
  45/12
  .32, .38
  1d6-1
  1d6-1
  38
  6
  7
  8
  8
  8
  8
  9
  9
  42/11
  46/13
  50/14
  .40, 9mm
  1d6
  1d6-1
  43
  7
  8
  9
  9
  9
  20
  10
  11
  47/13
  52/14
  56/15
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  1d6+1
  1d6-1
  50
  8
  10
  10
  10
  11
  11
  12
  13
  56/15
  62/17
  68/19
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  1½d6
  1d6
  65
  11
  13
  13
  14
  14
  15
  16
  17
  73/20
  80/22
  87/24
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2d6-1
  1d6
  68
  11
  13
  14
  14
  15
  16
  17
  18
  77/21
  84/23
  92/25
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2d6
  1d6
  74
  12
  15
  15
  16
  17
  17
  18
  20
  83/23
  91/25
  99/28
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  2d6
  1d6
  74
  12
  15
  15
  16
  17
  17
  18
  20
  83/23
  91/25
  99/28
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  81 
  Exotic Ammunition Tables (Continued)
  ARMOR PIERCING EXPLOSIVE AMMUNITION, NON-AUTOFIRE, ONE-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Armor
  Piercing
  Explosive
  AP
  CBB,
  STR Min 6-14
  .22
  1d6
  1d6-1
  22
  4
  4
  4
  5
  5
  5
  5
  6
  26/7
  30/8
  34/9
  .32, .38
  1d6+1
  1d6-1
  30
  5
  6
  6
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  35/9
  40/11
  45/12
  .40, 9mm
  1½d6
  1d6-1
  37
  6
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  44/12
  50/13
  56/15
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  2d6
  1d6-1
  45
  8
  9
  9
  9
  10
  11
  11
  12
  52/14
  60/16
  67/18
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  2d6
  1d6
  52
  9
  10
  10
  11
  11
  12
  13
  14
  60/16
  67/18
  75/20
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2d6+1
  1d6
  61
  11
  12
  12
  13
  13
  14
  15
  16
  70/16
  79/21
  87/23
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2d6+1
  1d6
  61
  11
  12
  12
  13
  13
  14
  15
  16
  70/19
  79/21
  87/23
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  2½d6
  1d6
  70
  12
  13
  14
  15
  15
  16
  17
  19
  80/21
  90/24
  100/27
  ARMOR PIERCING HARDCORE AMMUNITION, NON-AUTOFIRE, ONE-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Armor
  Piercing
  Hardcore
  AP, Piercing1
  STR Min 6-14
  .22
  ½d6
  1d6-1
  19
  3
  4
  4
  4
  4
  5
  5
  5
  23/7
  26/7
  29/8
  .32, .38
  1d6-1
  1d6-1
  22
  4
  4
  5
  5
  5
  5
  6
  6
  26/7
  30/9
  34/10
  .40, 9mm
  1d6
  1d6-1
  27
  5
  5
  6
  6
  6
  7
  7
  8
  31/9
  36/10
  40/11
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  1d6+1
  1d6-1
  34
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  10
  40/11
  46/13
  52/15
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  1½d6
  1d6
  49
  9
  10
  10
  11
  11
  12
  13
  14
  56/16
  63/18
  70/20
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2d6-1
  1d6
  52
  9
  10
  11
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  60/17
  67/19
  75/21
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2d6
  1d6
  58
  10
  12
  12
  13
  14
  14
  15
  17
  66/19
  74/21
  82/23
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  2d6
  1d6
  58
  10
  12
  12
  13
  14
  14
  15
  17
  66/19
  74/21
  82/23
  AP HARDCORE EXPLOSIVE AMMUNITION, NON-AUTOFIRE, ONE-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Armor
  Piercing
  Hardcore
  Explosive
  AP, Piercing1
  STR Min 6-14
  .22
  1d6
  1d6-1
  27
  5
  5
  6
  6
  6
  7
  7
  8
  31/9
  36/10
  40/11
  .32, .38
  1d6+1
  1d6-1
  34
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  10
  40/11
  46/13
  52/15
  .40, 9mm
  1½d6
  1d6-1
  42
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  12
  49/14
  56/16
  63/18
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  2d6
  1d6-1
  49
  9
  10
  10
  11
  11
  12
  13
  14
  58/17
  66/19
  74/21
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  2d6
  1d6
  58
  10
  12
  12
  13
  14
  14
  15
  17
  66/19
  74/21
  82/23
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2d6+1
  1d6
  66
  12
  13
  14
  15
  15
  16
  18
  19
  76/22
  85/24
  95/27
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2d6+1
  1d6
  66
  12
  13
  14
  15
  15
  16
  18
  19
  76/22
  85/24
  95/27
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  2½d6
  1d6
  75
  14
  15
  16
  17
  18
  19
  20
  21
  86/25
  97/28
  107/31
  AP INCENDIARY AMMUNITION, NON-AUTOFIRE, ONE-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Armor
  Piercing
  Incendiary
  AP, ﬁ restarting
  STR Min 6-14
  .22
  ½d6
  1d6-1
  31
  6
  6
  6
  6
  7
  8
  8
  9
  33/10
  36/11
  38/12
  .32, .38
  1d6-1
  1d6-1
  34
  6
  6
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  10
  37/11
  40/12
  43/14
  .40, 9mm
  1d6
  1d6-1
  38
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  11
  42/12
  46/14
  50/16
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  1d6+1
  1d6-1
  46
  8
  9
  8
  10
  11
  11
  12
  14
  51/15
  56/16
  61/19
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  1½d6
  1d6
  61
  11
  12
  12
  13
  14
  15
  16
  18
  67/19
  73/21
  79/24
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2d6-1
  1d6
  64
  11
  12
  13
  13
  15
  16
  16
  18
  81/20
  78/22
  84/25
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2d6
  1d6
  68
  12
  13
  14
  14
  16
  17
  18
  20
  77/22
  84/24
  92/27
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  2d6
  1d6
  68
  12
  13
  14
  14
  16
  17
  18
  20
  77/22
  84/24
  92/27
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  82 ■ Modern Weapons
  Exotic Ammunition Tables (Continued)
  ARMOR PIERCING SABOTED AMMUNITION, NON-AUTOFIRE, ONE-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Armor
  Piercing
  Saboted
  AP, IPE (no 
  riﬂ ing marks 
  on bullet)
  STR Min 6-14
  .22
  ½d6
  1d6-1
  17
  3
  3
  4
  4
  4
  4
  4
  5
  20/6
  22/6
  25/7
  .32, .38
  1d6-1
  1d6-1
  21
  4
  4
  4
  5
  5
  5
  6
  6
  24/7
  27/8
  30/9
  .40, 9mm
  1d6
  1d6-1
  26
  5
  5
  5
  6
  6
  6
  7
  7
  30/9
  34/10
  37/11
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  1d6+1
  1d6-1
  35
  6
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  40/11
  45/13
  50/14
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  1½d6
  1d6
  50
  9
  10
  10
  11
  12
  12
  13
  14
  56/16
  62/18
  69/20
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2d6-1
  1d6
  54
  10
  11
  11
  12
  13
  13
  14
  15
  61/17
  67/19
  74/21
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2d6
  1d6
  60
  11
  12
  13
  13
  14
  15
  16
  17
  67/19
  75/21
  82/23
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  2d6
  1d6
  60
  11
  12
  13
  13
  14
  15
  16
  17
  67/19
  75/21
  82/23
  CASED TELESCOPED AMMUNITION, NON-AUTOFIRE, ONE-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Cased
  Telescoped
  STR Min 6-14
  .22
  1d6
  1d6-1
  15
  3
  3
  3
  3
  3
  4
  4
  4
  19/5
  22/6
  26/7
  .32, .38
  1d6+1
  1d6-1
  20
  4
  4
  4
  4
  5
  5
  5
  6
  25/7
  30/9
  35/10
  .40, 9mm
  1½d6
  1d6-1
  25
  4
  5
  5
  5
  6
  6
  7
  7
  31/9
  37/11
  44/13
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  2d6
  1d6-1
  30
  5
  6
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  9
  37/11
  45/13
  52/15
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  2d6
  1d6
  37
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  11
  45/13
  52/15
  60/17
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2d6+1
  1d6
  44
  8
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  12
  13
  52/15
  61/17
  70/20
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2d6+1
  1d6
  44
  8
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  12
  13
  52/15
  61/17
  70/20
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  2½d6
  1d6
  50
  9
  10
  10
  11
  12
  12
  13
  14
  60/17
  70/20
  80/23
  CASELESS AMMUNITION, NON-AUTOFIRE, ONE-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Caseless
  IPE (leaves no 
  shell casings)
  STR Min 6-14
  .22
  1d6-1
  1d6-1
  15
  3
  3
  3
  3
  3
  4
  4
  4
  18/5
  21/6
  24/7
  .32, .38
  1d6
  1d6-1
  19
  3
  4
  4
  4
  4
  5
  5
  5
  22/6
  26/7
  30/9
  .40, 9mm
  1d6+1
  1d6-1
  25
  4
  5
  5
  5
  6
  6
  7
  7
  30/9
  35/10
  40/11
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  1½d6
  1d6-1
  31
  6
  6
  6
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  37/11
  44/13
  50/14
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  2d6-1
  1d6
  40
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  11
  11
  47/13
  54/15
  61/17
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2d6
  1d6
  45
  8
  9
  9
  10
  11
  11
  12
  13
  52/15
  60/17
  67/19
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2d6
  1d6
  45
  8
  9
  9
  10
  11
  11
  12
  13
  52/15
  60/17
  67/19
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  2d6+1
  1d6
  52
  9
  10
  11
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  61/17
  70/20
  79/23
  DUPLEX AMMUNITION, NON-AUTOFIRE, ONE-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Duplex
  RP,
  STR Min 6-14
  .22
  1d6
  1d6-1
  15
  3
  3
  3
  3
  3
  3
  4
  4
  19/5
  22/6
  26/7
  .32, .38
  1d6+1
  1d6-1
  20
  3
  4
  4
  4
  4
  5
  5
  5
  25/7
  30/8
  35/9
  .40, 9mm
  1½d6
  1d6-1
  25
  4
  5
  5
  5
  5
  6
  6
  7
  31/8
  37/10
  44/12
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  2d6
  1d6-1
  30
  5
  6
  6
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  37/10
  45/12
  52/14
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  2d6
  1d6
  37
  6
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  45/12
  52/14
  60/15
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2d6+1
  1d6
  44
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  12
  52/14
  61/16
  70/19
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2d6+1
  1d6
  44
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  12
  52/14
  61/16
  70/19
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  2½d6
  1d6
  50
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  12
  12
  13
  60/16
  70/19
  80/21
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  83 
  Exotic Ammunition Tables (Continued)
  ELECTRIC AMMUNITION, NON-AUTOFIRE, ONE-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Electric
  EB 8d6, NND 
  (defense is 
  rED), Linked
  STR Min 6-14
  .22
  1d6-1
  1d6-1
  92
  19
  21
  22
  24
  26
  28
  30
  32
  105/37
  118/41
  131/46
  .32, .38
  1d6
  1d6-1
  95
  20
  22
  23
  24
  26
  29
  31
  33
  109/38
  122/42
  136/47
  .40, 9mm
  1d6+1
  1d6-1
  100
  21
  23
  24
  25
  28
  30
  32
  35
  115/40
  130/45
  145/50
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  1½d6
  1d6-1
  105
  21
  24
  25
  26
  29
  31
  34
  36
  121/42
  137/47
  154/53
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  2d6-1
  1d6
  114
  23
  26
  27
  28
  31
  33
  26
  39
  130/44
  147/49
  164/55
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2d6
  1d6
  117
  24
  26
  28
  29
  32
  34
  37
  40
  135/46
  152/51
  170/57
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2d6
  1d6
  117
  24
  26
  28
  29
  32
  34
  37
  40
  135/46
  152/51
  170/57
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  2d6+1
  1d6
  124
  25
  27
  29
  31
  33
  36
  39
  42
  142/48
  161/53
  180/60
  EXPLOSIVE AMMUNITION, NON-AUTOFIRE, ONE-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Explosive
  STR Min 6-14
  .22
  1d6
  1d6-1
  15
  3
  3
  3
  3
  3
  4
  4
  4
  19/5
  22/6
  26/7
  .32, .38
  1d6+1
  1d6-1
  20
  4
  4
  4
  4
  5
  5
  5
  6
  25/7
  30/9
  35/10
  .40, 9mm
  1½d6
  1d6-1
  25
  4
  5
  5
  5
  6
  6
  7
  7
  31/9
  37/11
  44/13
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  2d6
  1d6-1
  30
  5
  6
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  9
  37/11
  45/13
  52/15
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  2d6
  1d6
  37
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  11
  45/13
  52/15
  60/17
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2d6+1
  1d6
  44
  8
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  12
  13
  52/15
  61/17
  70/20
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2d6+1
  1d6
  44
  8
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  12
  13
  52/15
  61/17
  70/20
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  2½d6
  1d6
  50
  9
  10
  10
  11
  12
  12
  13
  14
  60/17
  70/20
  80/23
  FIBERGLASS/PLASTIC AMMUNITION, NON-AUTOFIRE, ONE-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Fiberglass/
  Plastic
  IPE (-3 to 
  Forensic Medi-
  cine rolls)
  STR Min 6-14
  .22
  1d6-1
  1d6-1
  15
  3
  3
  3
  3
  3
  4
  4
  4
  18/5
  21/6
  24/7
  .32, .38
  1d6
  1d6-1
  19
  3
  4
  4
  4
  4
  5
  5
  5
  22/6
  26/7
  30/9
  .40, 9mm
  1d6+1
  1d6-1
  25
  4
  5
  5
  5
  6
  6
  7
  7
  30/9
  35/10
  40/11
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  1½d6
  1d6-1
  31
  6
  6
  6
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  37/11
  44/13
  50/14
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  2d6-1
  1d6
  40
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  11
  11
  47/13
  54/15
  61/17
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2d6
  1d6
  45
  8
  9
  9
  10
  11
  11
  12
  13
  52/15
  60/17
  67/19
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2d6
  1d6
  45
  8
  9
  9
  10
  11
  11
  12
  13
  52/15
  60/17
  67/19
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  2d6+1
  1d6
  52
  9
  10
  11
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  61/17
  70/20
  79/23
  FLECHETTE AMMUNITION, NON-AUTOFIRE, ONE-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Flechette
  AP, IMR2, 
  IPE (leaves no 
  riﬂ ing marks 
  on ﬂ echette)
  STR Min 6-14
  .22
  1d6
  1d6-1
  30
  5
  6
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  9
  34/10
  37/11
  41/12
  .32, .38
  1d6+1
  1d6-1
  40
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  11
  11
  45/13
  50/14
  55/16
  .40, 9mm
  1½d6
  1d6-1
  50
  9
  10
  10
  11
  12
  12
  13
  14
  56/16
  62/18
  69/20
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  2d6
  1d6-1
  60
  11
  12
  13
  13
  14
  15
  16
  17
  67/18
  75/21
  82/23
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  2d6
  1d6
  67
  12
  13
  14
  15
  16
  17
  18
  19
  75/21
  82/23
  90/26
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2d6+1
  1d6
  79
  14
  16
  17
  17
  19
  20
  21
  23
  87/25
  96/27
  105/30
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2d6+1
  1d6
  79
  14
  16
  17
  17
  19
  20
  21
  23
  87/25
  96/27
  105/30
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  2½d6
  1d6
  90
  16
  18
  19
  20
  21
  22
  24
  26
  100/29
  110/
  120/34
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  84 ■ Modern Weapons
  Exotic Ammunition Tables (Continued)
  FRANGIBLE AMMUNITION, NON-AUTOFIRE, ONE-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Frangible
  CBB, No Eﬀ ect 
  Th rough
  Barriers, RP, 
  STR Min 6-14
  .22
  1d6+1
  1d6-1
  20
  3
  3
  4
  4
  4
  4
  4
  5
  25/6
  30/7
  35/8
  .32, .38
  1½d6
  1d6-1
  25
  4
  4
  4
  5
  5
  5
  5
  6
  31/7
  37/9
  44/10
  .40, 9mm
  2d6
  1d6-1
  30
  5
  5
  5
  6
  6
  6
  7
  7
  37/9
  45/11
  52/12
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  2d6+1
  1d6-1
  35
  6
  6
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  8
  44/10
  52/12
  61/14
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  2d6+1
  1d6
  44
  7
  8
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  10
  52/12
  61/14
  70/16
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2½d6
  1d6
  50
  8
  9
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  12
  60/14
  70/16
  80/19
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2½d6
  1d6
  50
  8
  9
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  12
  60/14
  70/16
  80/19
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  3d6
  1d6
  56
  9
  10
  10
  11
  11
  12
  12
  13
  67/16
  79/19
  90/21
  GYROJET AMMUNITION, NON-AUTOFIRE, ONE-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Gyrojet
  IMR2, IPE 
  (leaves no shell 
  casings)
  STR Min 6-14
  .22
  1d6-1
  1d6-1
  18
  3
  4
  4
  4
  4
  4
  5
  5
  21/6
  24/7
  27/8
  .32, .38
  1d6
  1d6-1
  22
  4
  4
  5
  5
  5
  5
  6
  6
  26/7
  30/9
  34/10
  .40, 9mm
  1d6+1
  1d6-1
  30
  5
  6
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  9
  35/10
  40/11
  45/13
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  1½d6
  1d6-1
  37
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  11
  44/13
  50/14
  56/16
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  2d6-1
  1d6
  47
  8
  9
  10
  10
  11
  12
  12
  13
  54/15
  61/17
  67/19
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2d6
  1d6
  52
  9
  10
  11
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  60/17
  67/19
  75/21
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2d6
  1d6
  52
  9
  10
  11
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  60/17
  67/19
  75/21
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  2d6+1
  1d6
  61
  11
  12
  13
  13
  14
  15
  16
  17
  70/20
  79/23
  87/25
  HOLLOW POINT AMMUNITION, NON-AUTOFIRE, ONE-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Hollow Point
  +1 STUN
  Multiplier
  STR Min 6-14
  .22
  1d6
  1d6
  19
  3
  4
  4
  4
  4
  5
  5
  5
  22/6
  26/7
  30/9
  .32, .38
  1d6+1
  1d6
  25
  4
  5
  5
  5
  6
  6
  7
  7
  30/9
  35/10
  40/11
  .40, 9mm
  1½d6
  1d6
  31
  6
  6
  6
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  37/11
  44/13
  50/14
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  2d6
  1d6
  37
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  11
  45/13
  52/15
  60/17
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  2d6
  1d6+1
  45
  8
  9
  9
  10
  11
  11
  12
  13
  52/15
  60/17
  67/19
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2d6+1
  1d6+1
  52
  9
  10
  11
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  61/17
  70/20
  79/23
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2d6+1
  1d6+1
  52
  9
  10
  11
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  61/17
  70/20
  79/23
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  2½d6
  1d6+1
  60
  11
  12
  13
  13
  14
  15
  16
  17
  70/20
  80/23
  90/26
  HYBRID FRANGIBLE/HP AMMUNITION, NON-AUTOFIRE, ONE-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Hybrid
  Frangible/
  Hollow Point
  +1 STUN
  Multiplier,
  Penetrating
  CBB,
  STR Min 6-14
  .22
  1d6+1
  1d6
  35
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  40/11
  45/12
  50/13
  .32, .38
  1½d6
  1d6
  44
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  12
  50/13
  56/15
  62/16
  .40, 9mm
  2d6
  1d6
  52
  9
  10
  10
  11
  11
  12
  13
  14
  60/16
  67/18
  75/20
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  2d6+1
  1d6
  61
  11
  12
  12
  13
  13
  14
  15
  16
  70/19
  79/21
  87/23
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  2d6+1
  1d6+1
  70
  12
  13
  14
  15
  15
  16
  17
  19
  79/21
  87/23
  96/26
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2½d6
  1d6+1
  80
  14
  15
  16
  17
  18
  19
  20
  21
  90/24
  100/27
  110/29
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2½d6
  1d6+1
  80
  14
  15
  16
  17
  18
  19
  20
  21
  90/24
  100/27
  110/29
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  3d6
  1d6+1
  90
  16
  17
  18
  19
  20
  21
  22
  24
  101/27
  112/30
  124/33
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  85 
  Exotic Ammunition Tables (Continued)
  IMPROVED ARMOR PIERCING AMMUNITION, NON-AUTOFIRE, ONE-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Improved
  Armor
  Piercing
  AP (x2)
  STR Min 6-14
  .22
  ½d6
  1d6-1
  20
  4
  4
  4
  4
  5
  5
  5
  6
  22/6
  25/7
  27/8
  .32, .38
  ½d6
  1d6-1
  20
  4
  4
  4
  4
  5
  5
  5
  6
  22/6
  25/7
  27/8
  .40, 9mm
  1d6-1
  1d6-1
  24
  4
  5
  5
  5
  6
  6
  6
  7
  27/8
  30/9
  33/9
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  1d6-1
  1d6-1
  24
  4
  5
  5
  5
  6
  6
  6
  7
  27/8
  30/9
  33/9
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  1d6
  1d6
  34
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  10
  37/11
  41/12
  45/13
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  1d6
  1d6
  34
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  10
  37/11
  41/12
  45/13
  .223, 5.56mmN
  1½d6
  1d6
  56
  10
  11
  12
  12
  13
  14
  15
  16
  62/18
  69/20
  75/21
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  2d6-1
  1d6
  61
  11
  12
  13
  13
  14
  15
  16
  17
  67/19
  74/21
  81/23
  IMPROVED PROPELLANT AMMUNITION, NON-AUTOFIRE, ONE-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Improved
  Propellant
  STR Min 6-14
  .22
  1d6+1
  1d6-1
  20
  4
  4
  4
  4
  5
  5
  5
  6
  25/7
  30/9
  35/10
  .32, .38
  1d6+1
  1d6-1
  20
  4
  4
  4
  4
  5
  5
  5
  6
  25/7
  30/9
  35/10
  .40, 9mm
  1½d6
  1d6-1
  25
  4
  5
  5
  5
  6
  6
  7
  7
  31/9
  37/11
  44/13
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  2d6-1
  1d6-1
  27
  5
  5
  6
  6
  6
  7
  7
  8
  34/10
  40/11
  47/13
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  2d6
  1d6
  37
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  11
  45/13
  52/15
  60/17
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2d6+1
  1d6
  44
  8
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  12
  13
  52/15
  61/17
  70/20
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2d6+1
  1d6
  44
  8
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  12
  13
  52/15
  61/17
  70/20
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  2½d6
  1d6
  50
  9
  10
  10
  11
  12
  12
  13
  14
  60/17
  70/20
  80/23
  INCENDIARY AMMUNITION, NON-AUTOFIRE, ONE-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Incendiary
  Firestarting
  STR Min 6-14
  .22
  1d6-1
  1d6-1
  28
  5
  5
  5
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  32/9
  37/10
  41/12
  .32, .38
  1d6
  1d6-1
  31
  6
  6
  6
  6
  7
  8
  8
  9
  36/10
  40/11
  66/13
  .40, 9mm
  1d6+1
  1d6-1
  36
  7
  7
  7
  7
  9
  9
  9
  11
  42/12
  49/14
  55/16
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  1½d6
  1d6-1
  41
  7
  8
  7
  8
  10
  10
  11
  12
  48/14
  56/16
  64/19
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  2d6-1
  1d6
  51
  9
  10
  10
  10
  12
  12
  13
  15
  59/16
  67/17
  74/21
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2d6
  1d6
  54
  10
  10
  11
  11
  13
  13
  14
  16
  64/18
  72/20
  80/23
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2d6
  1d6
  54
  10
  10
  11
  11
  13
  13
  14
  16
  64/18
  72/20
  80/23
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  2d6+1
  1d6
  61
  11
  12
  12
  13
  14
  15
  16
  18
  71/20
  81/22
  90/26
  MATCH-GRADE AMMUNITION, NON-AUTOFIRE, ONE-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Match-Grade
  +1 OCV
  STR Min 6-14
  .22
  1d6-1
  1d6-1
  17
  4
  4
  4
  5
  5
  5
  5
  5
  20/6
  23/7
  26/8
  .32, .38
  1d6
  1d6-1
  20
  5
  5
  5
  5
  5
  6
  6
  6
  24/7
  27/8
  31/9
  .40, 9mm
  1d6+1
  1d6-1
  25
  6
  6
  6
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  30/9
  35/11
  40/12
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  1½d6
  1d6-1
  30
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  36/11
  42/13
  49/15
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  2d6-1
  1d6
  39
  8
  9
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  12
  45/13
  52/15
  59/17
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2d6
  1d6
  42
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  11
  12
  13
  50/15
  57/17
  65/19
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2d6
  1d6
  42
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  11
  12
  13
  50/15
  57/17
  65/19
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  2d6+1
  1d6
  49
  10
  11
  11
  12
  12
  13
  14
  15
  57/17
  66/19
  75/22
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  86 ■ Modern Weapons
  Exotic Ammunition Tables (Continued)
  STANDARD +P AMMUNITION, NON-AUTOFIRE, ONE-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Standard +P
  STR Min 6-14
  .22
  1d6
  1d6-1
  15
  3
  3
  3
  3
  3
  4
  4
  4
  19/5
  22/6
  26/7
  .32, .38
  1d6+1
  1d6-1
  20
  4
  4
  4
  4
  5
  5
  5
  6
  25/7
  30/9
  35/10
  .40, 9mm
  1d6+2
  1d6-1
  23
  4
  5
  5
  5
  5
  6
  6
  7
  29/8
  34/10
  40/11
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  1½+1
  1d6-1
  27
  5
  5
  6
  6
  6
  7
  7
  8
  34/10
  40/11
  47/13
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  2d6
  1d6
  37
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  11
  45/13
  52/15
  60/17
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2d6+1
  1d6
  44
  8
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  12
  13
  52/15
  61/17
  70/20
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2d6+1
  1d6
  44
  8
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  12
  13
  52/15
  61/17
  70/20
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  2d6+2
  1d6
  47
  8
  9
  10
  10
  11
  12
  12
  13
  57/16
  66/19
  76/22
  PENETRATING FRANGIBLE AMMUNITION, NON-AUTOFIRE, ONE-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Penetrating 
  Frangible
  Penetrating
  STR Min 6-14
  .22
  1d6+1
  1d6-1
  30
  5
  6
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  9
  35/
  40/11
  45/13
  .32, .38
  1½d6
  1d6-1
  37
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  11
  44/
  50/14
  56/16
  .40, 9mm
  2d6
  1d6-1
  45
  8
  9
  9
  10
  11
  11
  12
  13
  52/15
  60/17
  67/19
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  2d6+1
  1d6-1
  52
  9
  10
  11
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  61/17
  70/20
  79/23
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  2d6+1
  1d6
  61
  11
  12
  13
  13
  14
  15
  16
  17
  70/20
  79/23
  87/25
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2½d6
  1d6
  70
  13
  14
  15
  15
  16
  17
  19
  20
  80/
  90/26
  100/29
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2½d6
  1d6
  70
  13
  14
  15
  15
  16
  17
  19
  20
  80/
  90/26
  100/29
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  3d6
  1d6
  79
  14
  16
  17
  17
  19
  20
  21
  23
  90/
  101/29
  112/32
  POISONED AMMUNITION, NON-AUTOFIRE, ONE-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Poisoned
  Carries a 
  poison
  STR Min 6-14
  .22
  1d6-1
  1d6-1
  12
  2
  2
  2
  3
  3
  3
  3
  3
  15/4
  18/5
  21/6
  .32, .38
  1d6
  1d6-1
  15
  3
  3
  3
  3
  3
  4
  4
  4
  19/5
  22/6
  26/7
  .40, 9mm
  1d6+1
  1d6-1
  20
  4
  4
  4
  4
  5
  5
  5
  6
  25/7
  30/9
  35/10
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  1½d6
  1d6-1
  25
  4
  5
  5
  5
  6
  6
  7
  7
  31/9
  37/11
  44/13
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  2d6-1
  1d6
  34
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  10
  40/11
  47/13
  54/15
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2d6
  1d6
  37
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  11
  45/13
  52/15
  60/17
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2d6
  1d6
  37
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  11
  45/13
  52/15
  60/17
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  2d6+1
  1d6
  44
  8
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  12
  13
  52/15
  61/17
  70/20
  REVERSED OGIVE AMMUNITION, NON-AUTOFIRE, ONE-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Reversed 
  Ogive
  AP, +1 STUN
  Multiplier
  STR Min 6-14
  .22
  1d6+1
  1d6
  35
  6
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  40/11
  45/13
  50/14
  .32, .38
  1½d6
  1d6
  44
  8
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  12
  13
  50/14
  56/16
  62/18
  .40, 9mm
  2d6
  1d6
  52
  9
  10
  11
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  60/17
  67/19
  75/21
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  2d6+1
  1d6
  61
  11
  12
  13
  13
  14
  15
  16
  17
  70/20
  79/23
  87/25
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  2d6+1
  1d6+1
  70
  13
  14
  15
  15
  16
  17
  19
  20
  79/23
  87/25
  96/27
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2½d6
  1d6+1
  80
  14
  16
  17
  18
  19
  20
  21
  23
  90/26
  100/29
  110/31
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2½d6
  1d6+1
  80
  14
  16
  17
  18
  19
  20
  21
  23
  90/26
  100/29
  110/31
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  3d6
  1d6+1
  90
  16
  18
  19
  20
  21
  22
  24
  26
  101/29
  112/32
  124/35
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  87 
  Exotic Ammunition Tables (Continued)
  RUBBER AMMUNITION, NON-AUTOFIRE, ONE-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Rubber
  STR Min 6-14
  .22
  EB 2d6
  10
  2
  2
  2
  2
  2
  2
  3
  3
  12/3
  15/4
  17/5
  .32, .38
  EB 3d6
  15
  3
  3
  3
  3
  3
  4
  4
  4
  19/5
  22/6
  26/7
  .40, 9mm
  EB 4d6
  20
  4
  4
  4
  4
  5
  5
  5
  6
  25/7
  30/9
  35/10
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  EB 5d6
  25
  4
  5
  5
  5
  6
  6
  7
  7
  31/9
  37/11
  44/13
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  EB 6d6
  30
  5
  6
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  9
  37/11
  45/13
  52/15
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  EB 6d6
  30
  5
  6
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  9
  37/11
  45/13
  52/15
  .223, 5.56mmN
  EB 6d6
  30
  5
  6
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  9
  37/11
  45/13
  52/15
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  EB 7d6
  35
  6
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  44/13
  52/15
  61/17
  SEMI-ARMOR PIERCING AMMUNITION, NON-AUTOFIRE, ONE-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Semi-Armor
  Piercing
  Semi-AP
  STR Min 6-14
  .22
  1d6-1
  1d6-1
  15
  3
  3
  3
  3
  3
  4
  4
  4
  18/5
  21/6
  24/7
  .32, .38
  1d6
  1d6-1
  19
  3
  4
  4
  4
  4
  5
  5
  5
  22/6
  26/7
  30/9
  .40, 9mm
  1d6+1
  1d6-1
  25
  4
  5
  5
  5
  6
  6
  7
  7
  30/9
  35/10
  40/11
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  1½d6
  1d6-1
  31
  6
  6
  6
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  37/11
  44/13
  50/14
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  2d6-1
  1d6
  40
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  11
  11
  47/13
  54/15
  61/17
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2d6
  1d6
  45
  8
  9
  9
  10
  11
  11
  12
  13
  52/15
  60/17
  67/19
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2d6
  1d6
  45
  8
  9
  9
  10
  11
  11
  12
  13
  52/15
  60/17
  67/19
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  2d6+1
  1d6
  52
  9
  10
  11
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  61/17
  70/20
  79/23
  SILENT AMMUNITION, NON-AUTOFIRE, ONE-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Silent
  CE (-3 to Hear-
  ing Group PER 
  Rolls and -1 to 
  SIght Group 
  PER Rolls)
  STR Min 6-14
  .22
  1d6-1
  1d6-1
  31
  5
  6
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  8
  34/10
  37/12
  30/15
  .32, .38
  1d6
  1d6-1
  34
  6
  7
  7
  7
  7
  8
  9
  9
  38/11
  41/13
  45/16
  .40, 9mm
  1d6+1
  1d6-1
  39
  7
  8
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  11
  44/13
  49/16
  54/19
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  1½d6
  1d6-1
  44
  7
  9
  9
  9
  10
  10
  12
  12
  50/15
  56/18
  63/22
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  2d6-1
  1d6
  53
  9
  11
  11
  11
  12
  12
  14
  15
  59/17
  66/20
  73/24
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2d6
  1d6
  56
  10
  11
  12
  12
  13
  13
  15
  16
  64/19
  71/22
  79/26
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2d6
  1d6
  56
  10
  11
  12
  12
  13
  13
  15
  16
  64/19
  71/22
  79/26
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  2d6+1
  1d6
  63
  11
  13
  13
  14
  14
  15
  17
  18
  71/21
  80/24
  89/29
  SPENT URANIUM AMMUNITION, NON-AUTOFIRE, ONE-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Spent
  Uranium
  AP, +1 STUN
  Multiplier
  STR Min 6-14
  .22
  1d6-1
  1d6
  21
  4
  4
  4
  5
  5
  5
  6
  6
  24/7
  27/8
  30/9
  .32, .38
  1d6
  1d6
  26
  5
  5
  5
  6
  6
  6
  7
  7
  30/9
  34/10
  37/11
  .40, 9mm
  1d6+1
  1d6
  35
  6
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  40/11
  45/13
  50/14
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  1½d6
  1d6
  44
  8
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  12
  13
  50/14
  56/16
  62/18
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  2d6-1
  1d6+1
  54
  10
  11
  11
  12
  13
  13
  14
  15
  61/17
  67/19
  74/21
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2d6
  1d6+1
  60
  11
  12
  13
  13
  14
  15
  16
  17
  67/19
  75/21
  82/23
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2d6
  1d6+1
  60
  11
  12
  13
  13
  14
  15
  16
  17
  67/19
  75/21
  82/23
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  2d6+1
  1d6+1
  70
  13
  14
  15
  15
  16
  17
  19
  20
  79/23
  87/25
  96/27
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  88 ■ Modern Weapons
  Exotic Ammunition Tables (Continued)
  SUBSONIC AMMUNITION, NON-AUTOFIRE, ONE-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Subsonic
  Moves below 
  the speed of 
  sound, and 
  so creates no 
  “crack”
  STR Min 6-14
  .22
  ½d6
  1d6-1
  10
  2
  2
  2
  2
  2
  2
  3
  3
  12/3
  15/4
  17/5
  .32, .38
  1d6-1
  1d6-1
  12
  2
  2
  2
  3
  3
  3
  3
  3
  15/4
  18/5
  21/6
  .40, 9mm
  1d6
  1d6-1
  15
  3
  3
  3
  3
  3
  4
  4
  4
  19/5
  22/6
  26/7
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  1d6+1
  1d6-1
  20
  4
  4
  4
  4
  5
  5
  5
  6
  25/7
  30/9
  35/10
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  1½d6
  1d6
  25
  4
  5
  5
  5
  6
  6
  7
  7
  31/9
  37/11
  44/13
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2d6-1
  1d6
  27
  5
  5
  6
  6
  6
  7
  7
  8
  34/10
  40/11
  47/13
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2d6
  1d6
  30
  5
  6
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  9
  37/11
  45/13
  52/15
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  2d6
  1d6
  30
  5
  6
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  9
  37/11
  45/13
  52/15
  TRACER AMMUNITION, NON-AUTOFIRE, ONE-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Tracer
  +1 OCV, 
  Cannot Apply 
  To First Shot 
  Against A 
  Target
  STR Min 6-14
  .22
  1d6-1
  1d6-1
  17
  4
  4
  4
  5
  5
  5
  5
  5
  20/6
  23/7
  26/8
  .32, .38
  1d6
  1d6-1
  20
  5
  5
  5
  5
  5
  6
  6
  6
  24/7
  27/8
  31/9
  .40, 9mm
  1d6+1
  1d6-1
  25
  6
  6
  6
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  30/9
  35/11
  40/12
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  1½d6
  1d6-1
  30
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  36/11
  42/13
  49/15
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  2d6-1
  1d6
  39
  8
  9
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  12
  45/13
  52/15
  59/17
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2d6
  1d6
  42
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  11
  12
  13
  50/15
  57/17
  65/19
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2d6
  1d6
  42
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  11
  12
  13
  50/15
  57/17
  65/19
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  2d6+1
  1d6
  49
  10
  11
  11
  12
  12
  13
  14
  15
  57/17
  66/19
  75/22
  TUMBLER AMMUNITION, NON-AUTOFIRE, ONE-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Tumbler
  RKA +1d6, 
  Activation Roll 
  11-, base bullet 
  must do BODY 
  damage
  STR Min 6-14
  .22
  1d6-1
  1d6-1
  27
  5
  5
  5
  6
  6
  6
  7
  7
  34/9
  40/11
  47/13
  .32, .38
  1d6
  1d6-1
  30
  6
  6
  6
  6
  6
  7
  8
  8
  38/10
  44/12
  52/14
  .40, 9mm
  1d6+1
  1d6-1
  35
  7
  7
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  10
  44/12
  52/15
  61/17
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  1½d6
  1d6-1
  40
  7
  8
  8
  8
  9
  9
  11
  11
  50/14
  59/17
  70/20
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  2d6-1
  1d6
  53
  9
  11
  11
  11
  12
  11
  14
  15
  62/17
  73/20
  84/23
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2d6
  1d6
  56
  10
  11
  12
  12
  13
  12
  15
  16
  67/19
  78/22
  90/25
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2d6
  1d6
  56
  10
  11
  12
  12
  13
  12
  15
  16
  67/19
  78/22
  90/25
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  2d6+1
  1d6
  63
  11
  13
  13
  14
  14
  14
  17
  18
  74/21
  87/24
  100/28
  WADCUTTER AMMUNITION, NON-AUTOFIRE, ONE-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  CALIBER
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Wadcutter
  STR Min 6-14
  .22
  1d6
  1d6-1
  15
  3
  3
  3
  3
  3
  4
  4
  4
  19/5
  22/6
  26/7
  .32, .38
  1d6+1
  1d6-1
  20
  4
  4
  4
  4
  5
  5
  5
  6
  25/7
  30/9
  35/10
  .40, 9mm
  1d6+2
  1d6-1
  23
  4
  5
  5
  5
  5
  6
  6
  7
  29/8
  34/10
  40/11
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm
  1½+1
  1d6-1
  27
  5
  5
  6
  6
  6
  7
  7
  8
  34/10
  40/11
  47/13
  .45 ACP, 11mm
  2d6
  1d6
  37
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  11
  45/13
  52/15
  60/17
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag
  2d6+1
  1d6
  44
  8
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  12
  13
  52/15
  61/17
  70/20
  .223, 5.56mmN
  2d6+1
  1d6
  44
  8
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  12
  13
  52/15
  61/17
  70/20
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN
  2d6+2
  1d6
  47
  8
  9
  10
  10
  11
  12
  12
  13
  57/16
  66/19
  76/22
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  89 
  STANDARD SHOTGUN TABLES
  Th ese tables are for shotguns loaded with Standard Shot or Standard Slugs.
  SHOTGUNS, SHOT, NON-AUTOFIRE, TWO-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  GAUGE
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Standard Shot
  AE1
  LR(20”), RR, 
  RP, STR Min 
  6-14, 2H
  .410
  1½d6
  1d6
  44
  7
  7
  8
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  50/11
  56/12
  62/14
  28, 24
  2d6
  1d6
  52
  8
  9
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  11
  60/13
  67/15
  75/17
  20, 16  
  2d6+1
  1d6
  61
  9
  10
  11
  11
  12
  12
  13
  13
  70/15
  79/17
  87/19
  12
  2½d6
  1d6
  70
  11
  12
  12
  13
  13
  14
  15
  15
  80/19
  90/20
  100/22
  10
  3d6
  1d6
  79
  12
  13
  14
  14
  15
  16
  17
  17
  90/20
  101/22
  112/25
  4
  3d6+1
  1d6
  87
  13
  14
  15
  16
  17
  17
  18
  19
  100/22
  112/25
  125/28
  SHOTGUNS, SLUGS, NON-AUTOFIRE, TWO-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  GAUGE
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Standard Slugs
  Beam, LR(50”), 
  STR Min 6-14, 
  2H
  .410
  1½d6
  1d6
  31
  5
  5
  6
  6
  6
  6
  7
  7
  37/9
  44/10
  50/12
  28, 24
  2d6
  1d6
  37
  6
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  45/11
  52/12
  60/14
  20, 16  
  2d6+1
  1d6
  44
  7
  8
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  10
  52/12
  61/14
  70/16
  12
  2½d6
  1d6
  50
  8
  9
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  12
  60/14
  70/16
  80/19
  10
  3d6
  1d6
  56
  9
  10
  10
  11
  11
  12
  12
  13
  67/16
  79/19
  90/21
  4
  3d6+1
  1d6
  62
  10
  11
  11
  12
  12
  13
  14
  15
  75/18
  87/20
  100/23
  SHOTGUNS, SHOT, AUTOFIRE, TWO-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  GAUGE
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  126+
  Standard Shot
  AE1, AF5
  LR(20”), RR, 
  RP, STR Min 
  6-14, 2H
  .410
  1½d6
  1d6
  81
  17
  18
  87/19
  94/21
  100/22
  106/23
  28, 24
  2d6
  1d6
  97
  20
  21
  105/23
  112/25
  120/27
  127/28
  20, 16  
  2d6+1
  1d6
  114
  24
  25
  122/27
  131/29
  140/31
  149/33
  12
  2½d6
  1d6
  130
  27
  29
  140/31
  150/33
  160/35
  170/38
  10
  3d6
  1d6
  146
  31
  32
  157/35
  169/37
  180/40
  191/42
  4
  3d6+1
  1d6
  162
  34
  36
  175/39
  187/41
  200/44
  212/47
  SHOTGUNS, SLUGS, AUTOFIRE, TWO-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  GAUGE
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  126+
  Standard Slugs
  AF
  Beam, LR(50”), 
  STR Min 6-14, 
  2H
  .410
  1½d6
  1d6
  44
  10
  10
  50/12
  56/13
  62/15
  69/16
  28, 24
  2d6
  1d6
  52
  11
  12
  60/14
  67/16
  75/18
  82/19
  20, 16  
  2d6+1
  1d6
  61
  13
  14
  70/16
  79/19
  87/20
  96/23
  12
  2½d6
  1d6
  70
  15
  16
  80/19
  90/21
  100/23
  110/26
  10
  3d6
  1d6
  79
  17
  19
  90/21
  101/24
  112/26
  124/29
  4
  3d6+1
  1d6
  87
  19
  20
  100/23
  112/26
  125/29
  137/32
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  90 ■ Modern Weapons
  EXOTIC SHOTGUN AMMUNITION TABLES
  Th ese tables are for shotguns loaded with exotic forms of ammunition, such Air Bomb, Fireball, or Smoke. All are for two-handed, non-
  Autoﬁ re weapons with a STR Minimum of 6-14.
  AIR BOMB SHELL, NON-AUTOFIRE, TWO-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  GAUGE
  DMG
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Air Bomb
  AE1, Sight and 
  Hearing Group 
  Flash 3d6
  LR(20”), STR 
  Min 6-14, 2H
  .410
  EB 5d6
  67
  11
  13
  13
  14
  15
  15
  17
  18
  74/21
  80/23
  86/27
  28, 24
  EB 6d6
  75
  12
  14
  15
  16
  16
  17
  19
  20
  82/23
  90/26
  97/30
  20, 16  
  EB 7d6
  82
  14
  15
  16
  17
  18
  18
  20
  22
  91/25
  100/28
  109/33
  12
  EB 8d6
  90
  15
  17
  17
  19
  20
  20
  22
  24
  100/27
  110/31
  120/35
  10
  EB 9d6
  97
  16
  18
  19
  20
  21
  22
  24
  26
  109/30
  120/33
  131/38
  4
  EB 10d6
  105
  17
  20
  20
  22
  23
  24
  26
  28
  117/32
  130/36
  142/41
  ARMOR PIERCING SLUGS, NON-AUTOFIRE, TWO-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  GAUGE
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Armor
  Piercing Slugs
  AP
  Beam, LR(50”), 
  STR Min 6-14, 
  2H
  .410
  1d6+1
  1d6
  35
  6
  6
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  8
  40/9
  45/11
  50/12
  28, 24
  2d6-1
  1d6
  47
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  54/13
  61/14
  67/16
  20, 16  
  2d6
  1d6
  52
  8
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  11
  12
  60/14
  67/16
  75/18
  12
  2d6+1
  1d6
  61
  10
  11
  11
  12
  12
  13
  13
  14
  70/16
  79/19
  87/20
  10
  2½d6
  1d6
  70
  11
  12
  13
  13
  14
  15
  15
  16
  80/19
  90/21
  100/23
  4
  3d6
  1d6
  79
  13
  14
  14
  15
  16
  17
  17
  19
  90/21
  101/24
  112/26
  BATON/BEANBAG SHELL, NON-AUTOFIRE, TWO-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  GAUGE
  DMG
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Baton/Bean-
  bag
  Beam, LR(20”), 
  STR Min 6-14, 
  2H
  .410
  EB 5d6
  25
  4
  4
  4
  5
  5
  5
  5
  6
  31/7
  37/9
  44/10
  28, 24
  EB 6d6
  30
  5
  5
  5
  6
  6
  6
  7
  7
  37/9
  45/11
  52/12
  20, 16  
  EB 7d6
  35
  6
  6
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  8
  44/10
  52/12
  61/14
  12
  EB 8d6
  40
  6
  7
  7
  8
  8
  8
  9
  9
  50/12
  60/14
  70/16
  10
  EB 9d6
  45
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  9
  10
  11
  56/13
  67/16
  79/19
  4
  EB 10d6
  50
  8
  9
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  12
  62/15
  75/18
  87/20
  BRI SLUGS, NON-AUTOFIRE, TWO-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  GAUGE
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  BRI Slugs
  Beam,
  STR Min 6-14,
  2H
  .410
  1½d6
  1d6
  31
  5
  6
  6
  6
  6
  7
  7
  8
  37/9
  44/11
  50/12
  28, 24
  2d6
  1d6
  37
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  45/11
  52/13
  60/15
  20, 16  
  2d6+1
  1d6
  44
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  52/13
  61/15
  70/17
  12
  2½d6
  1d6
  50
  8
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  12
  12
  60/15
  70/17
  80/20
  10
  3d6
  1d6
  56
  9
  10
  11
  11
  12
  12
  13
  14
  67/17
  79/20
  90/22
  4
  3d6+1
  1d6
  62
  10
  11
  12
  12
  13
  14
  15
  15
  75/19
  87/22
  100/25
  BUFFERED SHOT SHELLS, NON-AUTOFIRE, TWO-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  GAUGE
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Buﬀ ered Shot
  LR(30”), RR, 
  RP, STR Min 
  6-14, 2H
  .410
  2d6-1
  1d6
  34
  5
  6
  6
  6
  6
  7
  7
  7
  40/9
  47/10
  54/12
  28, 24
  2d6+1
  1d6
  44
  7
  7
  8
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  52/11
  61/13
  70/15
  20, 16  
  2½d6
  1d6
  50
  8
  8
  9
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  60/13
  70/15
  80/18
  12
  3d6-1
  1d6
  52
  8
  9
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  11
  63/14
  73/16
  84/19
  10
  3d6+1
  1d6
  62
  9
  10
  11
  11
  12
  12
  13
  14
  75/17
  87/19
  100/22
  4
  3½d6
  1d6
  69
  11
  11
  12
  12
  13
  14
  14
  15
  82/18
  96/21
  110/24
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  91 
  Exotic Shotgun Ammunition Tables (Continued)
  CUBIC SHOT SHELLS, NON-AUTOFIRE, TWO-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  GAUGE
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Cubic Shot
  AE: Cone
  NR, RR, RP, 
  STR Min 6-14, 
  2H
  .410
  1½d6
  1d6
  56
  8
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  11
  12
  62/13
  69/14
  75/16
  28, 24
  2d6
  1d6
  67
  10
  11
  11
  12
  12
  13
  13
  14
  75/16
  82/17
  90/19
  20, 16  
  2d6+1
  1d6
  79
  12
  13
  13
  14
  14
  15
  16
  17
  87/18
  96/20
  105/22
  12
  2½d6
  1d6
  90
  13
  14
  15
  16
  16
  17
  18
  19
  100/21
  110/23
  120/25
  10
  3d6
  1d6
  101
  15
  16
  17
  18
  18
  19
  20
  21
  112/24
  124/26
  135/28
  4
  3d6+1
  1d6
  112
  17
  18
  19
  19
  20
  21
  22
  24
  125/26
  137/29
  150/32
  EXPLOSIVE SLUGS, NON-AUTOFIRE, TWO-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  GAUGE
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Explosive 
  Slugs
  Explosion
  LR(50”), STR 
  Min 6-14, 2H
  .410
  1½d6
  1d6
  44
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  50/12
  56/14
  62/15
  28, 24
  2d6
  1d6
  52
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  11
  12
  13
  60/15
  67/17
  75/19
  20, 16  
  2d6+1
  1d6
  61
  10
  11
  12
  12
  13
  13
  14
  15
  70/17
  79/20
  87/22
  12
  2½d6
  1d6
  70
  12
  13
  13
  14
  15
  15
  16
  17
  80/20
  90/22
  100/25
  10
  3d6
  1d6
  79
  13
  14
  15
  16
  17
  17
  19
  20
  90/22
  101/25
  112/28
  4
  3d6+1
  1d6
  87
  14
  16
  17
  17
  18
  19
  20
  22
  100/25
  112/28
  125/31
  FIREBALL SHELLS, NON-AUTOFIRE, TWO-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  GAUGE
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Fireball Shells
  AE1, ﬁ restart-
  ing
  LR(20”), RR, 
  RP, STR Min 
  6-14, 2H 
  .410
  1½d6
  1d6
  60
  10
  10
  11
  11
  12
  13
  13
  15
  66/16
  72/17
  78/20
  28, 24
  2d6
  1d6
  68
  11
  12
  12
  12
  14
  14
  15
  16
  76/18
  83/20
  91/23
  20, 16  
  2d6+1
  1d6
  77
  12
  13
  14
  14
  16
  16
  17
  18
  86/20
  95/22
  103/25
  12
  2½d6
  1d6
  86
  14
  15
  15
  16
  17
  18
  19
  20
  96/24
  106/25
  116/28
  10
  3d6
  1d6
  95
  15
  16
  17
  17
  19
  20
  21
  22
  106/25
  117/27
  128/31
  4
  3d6+1
  1d6
  103
  16
  17
  18
  19
  21
  21
  22
  24
  116/27
  128/30
  141/34
  FLARE SHELLS, NON-AUTOFIRE, TWO-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  GAUGE
  DMG
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Flare Shells
  Explosion
  LR(20”), STR 
  Min 6-14, 2H
  .410
  Sight Flash 5d6
  37
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  44/11
  50/12
  56/14
  28, 24
  Sight Flash 6d6
  45
  7
  8
  9
  9
  9
  10
  11
  11
  52/13
  60/15
  67/17
  20, 16  
  Sight Flash 7d6
  52
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  11
  12
  13
  61/15
  70/17
  79/20
  12
  Sight Flash 8d6
  60
  10
  11
  11
  12
  13
  13
  14
  15
  70/17
  80/20
  90/22
  10
  Sight Flash 9d6
  67
  11
  12
  13
  13
  14
  15
  16
  17
  79/20
  90/22
  101/25
  4
  Sight Flash 10d6
  70
  12
  13
  13
  14
  15
  15
  16
  17
  87/22
  100/25
  110/27
  FLECHETTE SHELLS, NON-AUTOFIRE, TWO-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  GAUGE
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Flechette Shell
  AE1, AP
  LR(50”), RR, 
  RP, STR Min 
  6-14, 2H
  .410
  2d6-1
  1d6
  61
  9
  10
  11
  11
  12
  12
  13
  13
  67/15
  74/16
  81/18
  28, 24
  2d6+1
  1d6
  79
  12
  13
  14
  14
  15
  16
  17
  17
  87/19
  96/21
  105/23
  20, 16  
  2½d6
  1d6
  90
  14
  15
  16
  16
  17
  18
  19
  20
  100/22
  110/24
  120/27
  12
  3d6-1
  1d6
  94
  14
  16
  16
  17
  18
  19
  20
  21
  105/23
  115/25
  126/28
  10
  3d6+1
  1d6
  112
  17
  19
  19
  20
  21
  22
  24
  25
  125/28
  137/30
  150/33
  4
  3½d6
  1d6
  124
  19
  21
  22
  22
  24
  25
  26
  27
  137/30
  151/33
  165/37
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  92 ■ Modern Weapons
  Exotic Shotgun Ammunition Tables (Continued)
  ICE SHELLS, NON-AUTOFIRE, TWO-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  GAUGE
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Ice Shells
  AE1, IPE (hide 
  cause of death)
  LR(20”), RR, 
  RP, STR Min 
  6-14, 2H
  .410
  1½d6
  1d6
  50
  8
  8
  9
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  56/12
  62/14
  69/15
  28, 24
  2d6
  1d6
  60
  9
  10
  10
  11
  11
  12
  13
  13
  67/15
  75/17
  82/18
  20, 16  
  2d6+1
  1d6
  70
  11
  12
  12
  13
  13
  14
  15
  15
  79/17
  87/19
  96/21
  12
  2½d6
  1d6
  80
  12
  13
  14
  14
  15
  16
  17
  18
  90/20
  100/22
  110/24
  10
  3d6
  1d6
  90
  14
  15
  16
  16
  17
  18
  19
  20
  101/22
  112/25
  124/27
  4
  3d6+1
  1d6
  100
  15
  17
  17
  18
  19
  20
  21
  22
  112/25
  125/28
  137/30
  LINKED SHOT SHELLS, NON-AUTOFIRE, TWO-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  GAUGE
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Linked Shot
  LR(30”), RR, 
  RP, STR Min 
  6-14, 2H
  .410
  1d6+1
  1d6
  25
  4
  4
  4
  4
  5
  5
  5
  5
  30/7
  35/8
  40/9
  28, 24
  2d6-1
  1d6
  34
  5
  6
  6
  6
  6
  7
  7
  7
  40/9
  47/10
  54/12
  20, 16  
  2d6
  1d6
  37
  6
  6
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  8
  45/10
  52/11
  60/13
  12
  2d6+1
  1d6
  44
  7
  7
  8
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  52/11
  61/13
  70/15
  10
  2½d6
  1d6
  50
  8
  8
  9
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  60/13
  70/15
  80/18
  4
  3d6
  1d6
  56
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  11
  12
  12
  67/15
  79/17
  90/20
  LOCKBREAKER SHOT SHELLS, NON-AUTOFIRE, TWO-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  GAUGE
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Lockbreaker 
  Shot
  AE1  
  Half Eﬀ ect vs. 
  Non-Doors, 
  LR(20”), RR, 
  RP, 2H
  .410
  1½d6
  1d6
  44
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  8
  8
  9
  50/10
  56/11
  62/12
  28, 24
  2d6
  1d6
  52
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  9
  10
  10
  60/12
  67/13
  75/15
  20, 16  
  2d6+1
  1d6
  61
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  11
  12
  12
  70/14
  79/16
  87/17
  12
  2½d6
  1d6
  70
  10
  11
  11
  12
  12
  13
  13
  14
  80/16
  90/18
  100/20
  10
  3d6
  1d6
  79
  11
  12
  13
  13
  14
  14
  15
  16
  90/18
  101/20
  112/22
  4
  3d6+1
  1d6
  87
  12
  13
  14
  14
  15
  16
  16
  17
  100/20
  112/22
  125/25
  RUBBER SHOT SHELL, NON-AUTOFIRE, TWO-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  GAUGE
  DMG
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Rubber Shot
  AE1
  LR(20”), RR, 
  RP, STR Min 
  6-14, 2H
  .410
  EB 5d6
  37
  6
  6
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  8
  44/10
  50/12
  56/12
  28, 24
  EB 6d6
  45
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  9
  10
  52/11
  60/13
  67/15
  20, 16  
  EB 7d6
  52
  8
  9
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  11
  61/13
  70/15
  79/17
  12
  EB 8d6
  60
  9
  10
  10
  11
  11
  12
  13
  13
  70/15
  80/18
  90/20
  10
  EB 9d6
  67
  10
  11
  12
  12
  13
  13
  14
  15
  79/17
  90/20
  101/22
  4
  EB 10d6
  75
  11
  12
  13
  14
  14
  15
  16
  17
  87/19
  100/
  112/25
  SABOTED SLUGS, NON-AUTOFIRE, TWO-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  GAUGE
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Saboted Slugs
  Piercing1
  Beam, LR(50”), 
  STR Min 6-14, 
  2H
  .410
  1½d6
  1d6
  35
  6
  6
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  8
  37/9
  44/10
  50/12
  28, 24
  2d6
  1d6
  41
  7
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  45/11
  52/12
  60/14
  20, 16  
  2d6+1
  1d6
  47
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  9
  10
  11
  52/12
  61/14
  70/16
  12
  2½d6
  1d6
  54
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  11
  12
  13
  60/14
  70/16
  80/19
  10
  3d6
  1d6
  60
  10
  10
  11
  11
  12
  13
  13
  14
  67/16
  79/19
  90/21
  4
  3d6+1
  1d6
  66
  11
  11
  12
  13
  13
  14
  15
  15
  75/18
  87/20
  100/23
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  93 
  Exotic Shotgun Ammunition Tables (Continued)
  SEMI-ARMOR PIERCING SLUGS, NON-AUTOFIRE, TWO-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  GAUGE
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Semi-Armor 
  Piercing Slugs
  Semi-AP
  Beam, LR(50”), 
  STR Min 6-14, 
  2H
  .410
  1½d6
  1d6
  37
  6
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  8
  9
  44/10
  50/12
  56/13
  28, 24
  2d6
  1d6
  45
  7
  8
  8
  9
  9
  9
  10
  11
  52/12
  60/14
  67/16
  20, 16  
  2d6+1
  1d6
  52
  8
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  11
  12
  61/14
  70/16
  79/19
  12
  2½d6
  1d6
  60
  10
  10
  11
  11
  12
  13
  13
  14
  70/16
  80/19
  90/21
  10
  3d6
  1d6
  67
  11
  12
  12
  13
  13
  14
  15
  16
  79/19
  90/21
  101/24
  4
  3d6+1
  1d6
  75
  12
  13
  14
  14
  15
  16
  17
  18
  87/20
  100/23
  112/26
  SILENT SHELLS, NON-AUTOFIRE, TWO-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  GAUGE
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Silent Shells
  AP,  CE (-3 
  Hearing, -1 
  Sight)
  Beam, LR(30”),  
  2H
  .410
  1d6+1
  1d6
  54
  9
  10
  10
  11
  11
  11
  13
  13
  59/15
  64/18
  69/21
  28, 24
  2d6-1
  1d6
  66
  10
  12
  12
  13
  13
  13
  15
  16
  73/19
  80/21
  86/25
  20, 16  
  2d6
  1d6
  71
  11
  13
  13
  14
  14
  11
  16
  17
  79/20
  86/23
  94/27
  12
  2d6+1
  1d6
  80
  13
  15
  15
  16
  16
  17
  18
  19
  89/22
  98/26
  106/29
  10
  2½d6
  1d6
  89
  14
  16
  17
  17
  18
  19
  20
  21
  99/25
  109/28
  119/32
  4
  3d6
  1d6
  98
  16
  18
  18
  19
  20
  21
  27
  24
  109/27
  120/31
  131/35
  SMOKE SHELLS, NON-AUTOFIRE, TWO-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  GAUGE
  DMG
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Smoke Shells
  CE (-3 Sight 
  Group PER 
  Rolls, 4”)
  LR(20”), STR 
  Min 6-14, 2H
  Any
  Change Envi-
  ronment 4”, -3 
  to Sight Group 
  PER Rolls, 
  Continuing 
  Charges lasting  
  1 Turn each
  21
  4
  4
  4
  4
  5
  5
  26/6
  31/7
  37/9
  42/10
  47/11
  STEEL SHOT SHELLS, NON-AUTOFIRE, TWO-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  GAUGE
  DMG
  STUN
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Steel Shot
  LR(30”), RR, 
  RP, STR Min 
  6-14, 2H
  .410
  1½d6
  1d6
  31
  5
  5
  5
  6
  6
  6
  6
  7
  37/8
  44/10
  50/11
  28, 24
  2d6
  1d6
  37
  6
  6
  6
  7
  7
  7
  8
  8
  45/10
  52/11
  60/13
  20, 16  
  2d6+1
  1d6
  44
  7
  7
  8
  8
  8
  9
  9
  10
  52/11
  61/13
  70/15
  12
  2½d6
  1d6
  50
  8
  8
  9
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  60/13
  70/15
  80/18
  10
  3d6
  1d6
  56
  9
  9
  10
  10
  11
  11
  12
  12
  67/15
  79/17
  90/20
  4
  3d6+1
  1d6
  62
  9
  10
  11
  11
  12
  12
  13
  14
  75/17
  87/19
  100/22
  TEAR GAS SHELLS, NON-AUTOFIRE, TWO-HANDED, STR MIN 6-14
  NAME
  GAUGE
  DMG
  AcP 
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5-6
  7-8
  9-12
  13-16
  17-32
  33-64
  65-125
  Tear Gas
  Sight Group 
  Flash 8d6
  AE2, Indirect
  LR(50”), STR 
  Min 6-14, 2H
  Any
  Sight Group 
  Flash 8d6
  AE2, Delayed 
  Recovery, Indi-
  rect, Continu-
  ing Charges 
  lasting 1 Turn 
  each
  200
  38
  40
  42
  44
  47
  50
  210/52
  220/55
  230/57
  240/60
  250/62
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  94 ■ Modern Weapons
  FIREARMS ACCESSORIES
  Th ere are many accessories characters might 
  wish to buy for their guns (or sometimes for other 
  weapons, such as bows). Some are deﬁ ned as 
  Advantages for the gun’s RKA, others as separate 
  Powers. A table at the end of this section gives the 
  Character Point costs for various accessories.
  Some accessories are built to attach to any ﬁ re-
  arm, or any of a group of ﬁ rearms. Others attach to 
  the integral mounting rails built into many modern 
  ﬁ rearms, such as the standardized P-rail used on 
  NATO ﬁ rearms. Some manufacturers make P-rails 
  that attach to guns which don’t have integral ones.
  Standard Firearm 
  Accessories
  Th e following types of accessories are available 
  for standard ﬁ rearms. (At the GM’s option, char-
  acters can mount some of them, such as ﬂ ashlights 
  and some sights, on shotguns as well.)
  BRASS CATCHER
  A character who doesn’t want to leave the 
  shells ejected from an automatic and semi-
  automatic firearm lying around as evidence can 
  attach a brass catcher to the side of his gun. This 
  is a small box or bag that catches and holds the 
  now-empty casings. In game terms this is bought 
  as a naked Advantage, Invisible Power Effects 
  (leaves no shell casings; +¼) with OAF (-1), Real 
  Weapon (-¼), and Side Effects (increases weap-
  on’s PER Mod by +1, always occurs; -½). (See the 
  Firearms Accessories Table for costs, if neces-
  sary; if the table doesn’t list the Active Point cost 
  of a character’s gun, either use the next highest 
  Active Point total listed or recalculate the cost on 
  your own.)
  CAMERAS
  Some of the latest assault rifles are designed 
  (or are being designed) to include cameras 
  mounted on the weapon. The camera transmits 
  a picture back to a lens worn over the user’s 
  eye. The shooter uses the camera to see around 
  corners without having to expose any part of 
  his body — he simply pokes the gun around the 
  corner so he can see what the camera sees. The 
  camera can also transmit pictures back to a com-
  mander or database so that rear-echelon leaders 
  can see what the field soldiers see.
  In game terms, a riﬂ e-mounted camera is No 
  Range Clairsentience (Sight Group) with a battery 
  (Continuing Fuel Charge) that oﬀ ers about three 
  hours of performance.
  FLASHLIGHTS AND SPOTLIGHTS
  Th is device is a small, high-powered ﬂ ashlight 
  that attaches to the gun (usually underneath the 
  front of the barrel, or to the front of the trigger 
  guard). In game terms, it’s bought this way:  Sight 
  Group Images 1” radius, +4 to PER Rolls (22 Active 
  Points); OAF (-1), Limited Range (10”; -¼), Only 
  To Create Light (-1), Real Weapon (-¼), 1 Continu-
  ing Fuel Charge (batteries; easily replaced; 1 Hour; 
  -0) (total cost:  6 points).
  Rifles, assault rifles, and other large weap-
  ons can potentially carry much larger spotlights 
  if necessary; these mount to the top of the 
  weapon. For these, extend the length of the Lim-
  ited Range. Some spotlights generate infrared 
  or ultraviolet light, but characters need special 
  equipment (such as nightsight goggles) to see 
  such beams. For these, change the Only To Create 
  Light (-1) Limitation to Only To Create IR (or 
  UV) Light (-1¼) (total cost:  6 points).
  FLASH SUPPRESSORS
  Flash suppressors hide the muzzle ﬂ ash of a 
  gun from normal sight. Th ey’re usually found only 
  on riﬂ es, but it’s assumed characters could make or 
  buy ﬂ ash suppressors for handguns if they wished. 
  Flash suppressors can be combined with silencers, 
  but not with recoil compensators.
  In game terms, a ﬂ ash suppressor is bought 
  as Invisible to Normal Sight (+¼) for ﬁ rearms of 
  various Active Points with the Limitations OAF (-1) 
  and Real Weapon (-¼). (See the Firearms Accesso-
  ries Table for costs, if necessary; if the table doesn’t 
  list the Active Point cost of a character’s gun, either 
  use the next highest Active Point total listed or 
  recalculate the cost on your own.) Th e Invisible 
  Power Eﬀ ects only covers the muzzle ﬂ ash; the 
  character ﬁ ring the gun has to use Stealth or other 
  means to conceal the gun itself.
  Riﬂ e Grenade Launcher
  Most modern ﬂ ash suppressors also act as 
  riﬂ e grenade launchers. Riﬂ e grenades are 22mm 
  grenades ﬁ red from the end of a riﬂ e using special 
  blank cartridges (or ordinary ball ammunition if 
  the grenade is equipped with a “bullet trap”). Char-
  acters who want their ﬂ ash suppressors to have this 
  capability can, with the GM’s permission, buy them 
  as Multipowers (one slot with the naked Invisible 
  Power Eﬀ ects Advantage, one with STR only for 
  throwing grenades, as in the table on page 113). 
  Alternately, the GM can simply allow all ﬂ ash sup-
  pressors to function this way at no cost.
  LANYARDS
  A lanyard is a cord attached to a gun (usu-
  ally on the bottom of the grip for a revolver or 
  other guns with solid grips, other places for any 
  gun that inserts the magazine into the grip). 
  When looped around the shooter’s wrist, a lan-
  yard makes it impossible for the character to 
  drop his gun (or be disarmed), unless the cord 
  somehow breaks.
  In game terms, a lanyard is deﬁ ned as follows:  
  Telekinesis (4 STR), Reduced Endurance (0 END; 
  +½) (9 Active Points); OAF (-1), No Range (-1), 
  Only To Hold Onto/Recover One Gun (-2), Real 
  Weapon (-¼) (total cost:  2 points). Th e character 
  can use the Telekinesis as a Zero-Phase Action to 
  “reel the gun in” when he’s Disarmed or has to let it 
  go for some reason.
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  95 
  RANGEFINDERS
  These small but handy devices use a laser to 
  measure the exact distance to the target. They’re 
  bought as Absolute Range Sense, OAF (-1), Real 
  Weapon (-¼), Only When Shooter Braces And/
  Or Sets (-1).
   RECOIL COMPENSATORS
  As discussed on Dark Champions, page 194, 
  guns have recoil when ﬁ red, and this recoil can 
  throw oﬀ  a character’s aim. Recoil compensators, 
  also known as muzzle brakes, help to reduce recoil 
  by channeling some of the explosive force of a gun’s 
  discharge upward at the end of the barrel. Th ey’re 
  most oft en found on automatic weapons (i.e., 
  weapons with the Autoﬁ re Advantage), but there are 
  recoil compensators for some handguns.
  Recoil compensators come in two types. The 
  first attaches to a gun’s muzzle, thus extending 
  the length of the barrel by an inch or two (usu-
  ally this has no game effect, but the GM might 
  increase the gun’s PER Mod by 1 if appropriate). 
  The second involves cutting or drilling holes into 
  the barrel itself, and thus adds no length... but 
  the permanent alteration to the barrel means the 
  gun can never use a silencer or flash suppressor.
  In game terms, recoil compensators are 
  bought as Recoil Skill Levels — Penalty Skill 
  Levels that diminish or negate the recoil penalty. 
  They have the Limitations OAF (-1) and Real 
  Weapon (-¼), and Side Effects (+1 to firearm’s 
  Hearing PER modifier, always occurs; -½) (see 
  the Firearms Accessories Table for costs, if neces-
  sary). Because they’re PSLs, the device doesn’t 
  improve the character’s OCV until after his first 
  shot against a single target — all it can do is 
  counteract some or all of the OCV penalty for 
  recoil. The device only works when a character 
  uses Autofire, Multifire, or Rapid Fire against a 
  single target; it has no effect on Autofire or Rapid 
  Fire penalties when the character attacks mul-
  tiple targets.
  Handguns should not buy recoil compensa-
  tors that provide more than +1 OCV. Other types 
  of ﬁ rearms can buy any type of recoil compensator, 
  unless the GM rules otherwise.
  Characters cannot use recoil compensators 
  together with a silencer and/or a ﬂ ash suppressor. 
  In fact, a recoil compensator makes a gun louder.
   SIGHTS AND SCOPES
  Characters can buy sights and scopes for 
  almost any kind of gun. Th ey range from simple 
  iron sights to telescopic scopes to laser-based 
  sights. Th ese devices help the shooter to aim better, 
  and thus are bought as Combat (and/or Range) 
  Skill Levels with the OAF (-1) and Real Weapon 
  (-¼) Limitations (and possibly other Limitations, 
  oft en including that they do not work unless the 
  shooter uses the Brace and/or Set Combat Maneu-
  vers (-1)). All guns come with standard iron sights 
  (+0 OCV, +0 RMod) for free.
  Some sights and scopes also include, or are 
  combined with, a Rangeﬁ nder (see above). Typi-
  cally a character only has one type of sight or scope 
  on a gun, but it’s possible to install more than one 
  on some ﬁ rearms. In that case, the GM should 
  require the character to choose which one he’s 
  using for any given shot; characters can’t combine 
  the eﬀ ects of two sights unless the text indicates 
  otherwise or the GM speciﬁ cally permits it.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  96 ■ Modern Weapons
  Collimating And Reﬂ ex Sights
  Collimating and reﬂ ex sights (a.k.a. red dot 
  sights) have a lens on which the device electroni-
  cally generates a dot (or other marker) that shows 
  the weapon’s point of aim. All the shooter has to do 
  is adjust where the weapon’s pointing until the dot 
  overlays the target. Unlike with a laser sight, only 
  the shooter can see the “aiming dot.” Th ese devices 
  let the shooter keep both eyes open, and also 
  improve his ability to acquire the target in low-light 
  conditions.
  Collimating and reﬂ ex sights have a range of 
  about 250 meters (125”).
  Laser Sights
  Also known as targeting lasers, laser sights 
  work by placing a “dot” of laser light on the point 
  where the gun is aimed, thus showing the shooter 
  where his shot will hit. Unlike most sights, they 
  don’t require the shooter to Brace and/or Set. 
  (Realistically, the GM might consider imposing 
  that restriction, but dramatically they don’t seem to 
  require that sort of aiming.)
  Laser sights that use standard light do not 
  work well in smoke, mist, or similar conditions, or 
  against brightly-colored backgrounds (and smoke 
  or mist may make the entire beam visible, showing 
  the enemy exactly where the character is). A -¼ 
  Limitation, Does Not Work In Adverse Conditions, 
  reﬂ ects these restrictions. Furthermore, standard 
  laser sights are only useful out to 64” (a -¼ Limi-
  tation). But because the target can see the dot of 
  laser light on him (and thus knows exactly where 
  he’ll get hit by the shot), a standard laser sight can 
  improve some Presence Attacks (see Dark Champi-
  ons, page 60).
  Some laser sights use infrared lasers. Th ese 
  also only work out to a range of 64”, but don’t suﬀ er 
  from the other restrictions of standard laser sights. 
  However, the shooter must have some means of 
  perceiving IR light to use them (a -0 Limitation).
  Th e 64” range restriction for either type of 
  laser assumes a smaller, pistol-mounted laser sight. 
  Larger models — about the size of a conventional 
  ﬂ ashlight — are available for long arms. Th ese 
  have a range of about 8,000 meters (4,000”, or ﬁ ve 
  miles)... though of course that doesn’t mean the 
  weapon can ﬁ re that far. To simulate these, remove 
  the Limited Range (-¼) Limitation.
  In game terms, laser sights provide +2 OCV. 
  Small ones also provide +8 versus the Range 
  Modifier (enough to cancel the Range Modi-
  fier at their maximum range of 64”); larger ones 
  increase that to +14. At the GM’s option, only 
  half of the Range Skill Levels apply unless the 
  character Braces and/or Sets.
  Some devices combine a ﬂ ashlight (or spot-
  light) and a laser sight.
  Micrometer Sights
  A micrometer sight is a precisely-calibrated 
  sight that can be adjusted in micrometer incre-
  ments for accurate distance shooting. In game 
  terms it provides a signiﬁ cant number of Range 
  Skill Levels, but requires Extra Time to prepare for 
  use (a Full Phase, so all told aiming and shooting 
  with a micrometer sight requires an Extra Phase). 
  Th e character must take the Full Phase to adjust 
  the sight before every shot, unless the last target he 
  shot at is the same distance away from him as his 
  current target.
  Nightsight Scopes
  Nightsight scopes (sometimes referred to as 
  “starlight scopes”) provide passive light enhance-
  ment — rather than generating any light on their 
  own, they amplify the ambient light, thus theoreti-
  cally “turning night into day” for the person looking 
  through them (though the world seen through the 
  scope appears in a monochrome green, not color). 
  Th ey also allow the user to see infrared light. Th ey 
  don’t function in total darkness (since then there’s 
  no light for them to amplify), and they emit ultra-
  sonic sound (which animals, and characters with 
  proper equipment, can hear).
  In game terms, a nightsight scope provides a 
  PER Roll bonus to overcome darkness modiﬁ ers 
  — +2 to +4, depending on the sophistication of the 
  device. Th e Limitations on this are OAF (-1), Real 
  Weapon (-¼), Only To Counteract Darkness Penal-
  ties (-½), Only When Shooter Braces And/Or Sets 
  (-1), Requires Ambient Light (it won’t work in total 
  darkness; -¼), and Side Eﬀ ect (character suﬀ ers 
  a 2 x Eﬀ ect Vulnerability to Sight Group Flashes 
  based on bright light while looking through the 
  scope, and may experience a minor Sight Group 
  Flash from looking at a bright light, always occurs; 
  -½). Th e device also provides Detect Infrared Light 
  (Sight Group) with most of these same Limitations.
  Telescopic Sights
  Telescopic sights, or scopes, are telescope-like 
  devices that mount on top of a ﬁ rearm. Th ey’re 
  rated by how much they magnify the target. For 
  example, a x2.0 scope makes the target seem twice 
  as large, eﬀ ectively halving the range to it in terms 
  of shooting accuracy when the shooter takes the 
  time to aim. Additionally, telescopic sights amplify 
  ambient light slightly, and usually have illuminated 
  reticles, making it a little easier for the user to see 
  at night.
  In game terms, telescopic sights are bought as 
  both Range Skill Levels and the Telescopic Sense 
  Modiﬁ er for the Sight Group, all with the Limita-
  tions OAF (-1), Real Weapon (-¼), and Only When 
  Shooter Braces And/Or Sets (-1). Th ey also provide a 
  minor Sight Group PER Roll bonus that only coun-
  teracts the darkness penalty.
  Th ermal Sights
  Th ermal sights (also referred to as a thermal-
  imaging weapon sights, or TWS) are passive infra-
  red sensors — they perceive patterns of heat, such 
  as the body heat given oﬀ  by a person or animal, 
  or the heat of a vehicle’s engine. Th ey can “see” 
  through light obstacles, such as most foliage, but 
  not heavy ones like walls. Th ey require two minutes 
  to “warm up” when activated, and have a battery life 
  of about four to ﬁ ve hours.
  In game terms, thermal sights are Infrared 
  Perception (Sight Group) with OAF (-1), Extra 
  Time (2 Minutes to activate; -¾), Real Weapon (-
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  97 
  ¼), Only When Shooter Braces And/Or Sets (-1), 1 
  Continuing Fuel Charge lasting 5 Hours (-0).
  Targeting Computer
  Th e lastest advances in sighting and aiming 
  technology are targeting computers, which can 
  only be built into long arms such as assault riﬂ es 
  (though in more cinematic campaigns the GM 
  could waive that restriction if desired). Using its 
  built-in rangeﬁ nder, advanced nightsight device, 
  video imager (equivalent to a telescopic sight), 
  other sensors, and a dedicated ballistics computer, 
  a targeting computer can accurately track the range 
  to a target, improving the shooter’s chance of hit-
  ting the target or placing a launched grenade just 
  where he wants it to be when it explodes. Its battery 
  has about three hours of power.
  In game terms, a targeting computer pro-
  vides various OCV Levels and Range Skill Levels 
  with OAF (-1), Real Weapon (-¼), Only When 
  Shooter Braces And/Or Sets (-1), and 1 Con-
  tinuing Fuel Charge lasting 3 Hours (-0). Addi-
  tionally it incorporates a Rangefinder, Type III 
  Nightsight Scope, and a video imaging system 
  that’s equivalent to a x3 Telescopic Sight. The 
  cost listed on the Firearms Accessories Table 
  includes all of these devices (the listed RMod 
  bonus includes both the computer’s bonus and 
  the bonus from its “x3 Telescopic Sight”).
  SILENCERS
  Firearms make a lot of noise when fired. The 
  expanding gases that propel a bullet create a loud 
  “boom” as they leave the barrel, and the bullet 
  itself makes a “crack” as it breaks the sound bar-
  rier. The accompanying table lists the standard 
  Hearing PER Roll modifiers to hear various types 
  of guns being fired.
  Silencers, more accurately known as sound 
  suppressors, trap the exploding gases given oﬀ  
  when a gun is ﬁ red, thus muﬄ  ing the sound of the 
  explosion which propels the bullet forward. Silenc-
  ers use baﬄ  es and/or absorbent materials to pre-
  vent the gases from escaping.
  Silencers come in two types:  integral and 
  attached. An integral silencer is built into the gun 
  and can’t be detached. An attached silencer can be 
  put on or taken oﬀ  a gun as desired, but the muzzle 
  of the gun has to be specially threaded to accept a 
  silencer. Attaching or detaching this type of silencer 
  takes a Full Phase (or a Half Phase if a character 
  succeeds with a Fast Draw (Small Arms) roll). An 
  attached silencer increases a gun’s PER Mod (+1 
  for handguns, +2 or more for submachine guns and 
  larger arms).
  Most guns can be silenced, though subma-
  chine guns, riﬂ es, and any gun capable of automatic 
  ﬁ re need a silencer larger than those required for 
  semi-automatic handguns (in other words, silencers 
  aren’t universally compatible; treat them as appro-
  priate only for a single type of ﬁ rearm). Revolvers 
  cannot be silenced, because their open cylinder 
  allow so much gas to escape. Shotguns cannot 
  be silenced through conventional means, though 
  Silent shells are available (see page 75).
  Silencers tend to wear out — as more shots 
  are taken, they allow more and more noise to leak 
  through until they’re eﬀ ectively useless. For game 
  purposes most GMs don’t worry about this, but 
  GMs in some high-“realism” games might want to 
  give silencers Charges. Most modern silencers per-
  form reasonably well for several hundred (or even 
  thousand) shots.
  In game terms, you can build silencers one of 
  two ways. To create a “cinematic” silencer — one 
  that functions with the eﬃ  ciency of silencers in 
  movies — apply Invisible to Hearing Group (+¼) 
  to the ﬁ rearm as a naked Advantage, with the Limi-
  tations OAF (-1) and Real Weapon (-¼).
  More “realistic” silencers are built with Change 
  Environment to diminish — but not necessarily 
  entirely eliminate — the Hearing PER Roll modi-
  ﬁ er for various ﬁ rearms. Th e Firearms Accessories 
  Table lists the costs and qualities of various types 
  of “realistic” silencers. Of course, even if a silencer 
  completely negates a gun’s Hearing PER Roll modi-
  ﬁ er, that doesn’t mean a character can’t hear the gun 
  — just that he gets no bonus to do so.
  Some silencers also act as ﬂ ash suppressors; 
  characters could combine both accessories into one 
  device if the GM allows. Silencers are incompatible 
  with recoil compensators.
  Characters can make crude homemade silenc-
  ers if they have appropriate materials and succeed 
  with a Weaponsmith (Firearms) roll at -2. Th ese 
  function as Poor quality silencers, and only work 
  for one shot. A lot of objects can function as “one-
  time silencers”; for example, ﬁ ring through a pillow, 
  towel, or similar object can eﬀ ectively silence a 
  bullet.
  Other Firearm Sounds
  Silencers only muﬄ  e the sound of the explo-
  sion that launches a bullet; they do not aﬀ ect the 
  sounds of the gun’s parts operating or the “crack” 
  made by bullets as they break the sound barrier.
  To eliminate the supersonic crack, a gun has 
  to ﬁ re Subsonic ammunition (see page 71). Alter-
  nately, some silencers are drilled with small holes to 
  allow enough of the propellant gases to escape so 
  that the bullet does not travel fast enough to break 
  the sound barrier. Other silencers use “wipes” (a 
  type of baﬄ  e) to slow the bullet down to subsonic 
  speeds; these wear out quickly (in game terms, give 
  them 20-32 Charges) and prevent the shooter from 
  FIREARMS NOISE
  Type Of Firearm 
  Bonus To Hearing PER Rolls
  Assault Riﬂ e 
  +5
  Handgun 
  +3
  Riﬂ e 
  +5
  Shotgun 
  +5
  Submachine Gun 
  +4
  Other Situations 
  Bonus To Hearing PER Rolls
  Cycling of the action 
  +1
  Pulling back a gun’s hammer 
  +1
  Pumping a pump-action shotgun 
  +2
  Reloading a clip 
  +1
  Working a bolt action 
  +2
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  98 ■ Modern Weapons
  using any ammunition that expands on contact 
  with the target (such as Hollow Point or Frangible 
  rounds). Th is “slowing” eﬀ ect reduces the damage 
  caused by the bullet to about 75% of normal; use 
  the damage ﬁ gures for an equivalent Subsonic 
  cartridge. In game terms, you can build these “slow-
  ing silencers” by applying a Side Eﬀ ects Limitation 
  (silencer makes gun do 75% of its regular damage, 
  always occurs; -½).
  To eliminate the sound of the action cycling, a 
  gun needs a slide-stop (see below).
  To eliminate the sound of the trigger being 
  pulled and the hammer falling, a gun needs an elec-
  tronic trigger, which means it has to use Caseless 
  ammunition (see page 67).
  SLIDESTOP
  Silencers cannot aﬀ ect the mechanical action 
  of a gun as the action cycles, which makes a distinct 
  noise (+1 to Hearing PER Rolls to perceive). Semi-
  automatic ﬁ rearms can be ﬁ tted with a slide-stop 
  (also called a slide-lock) to prevent the action from 
  cycling. Th e only mechanical sounds made by guns 
  with this attachment are the trigger being pulled 
  and the hammer falling. However, guns with slide-
  stops can only ﬁ re a single shot at a time; characters 
  cannot use Autoﬁ re, Multiﬁ re, or Rapid Fire with 
  them. Furthermore, the shooter has to cycle the 
  action manually between shots (this requires a Half 
  Phase Action).
  In game terms, a slide-stop is typically bought 
  as follows:  Change Environment 1” radius, -1 to 
  Hearing PER Rolls, Reduced Endurance (0 END; 
  +½) (7 Active Points); OAF (-1), No Range (-½), 
  Real Weapon (-¼), Self Only (only counteracts the 
  noise caused by the gun’s action cycling; -½), Side 
  Eﬀ ects (prevents multiple shots, always occurs; -½) 
  (total cost:  2 points). (For a more cinematic slide-
  stop, buy the device as Invisible to Hearing Group, 
  using the same cost as for cinematic silencers.)
  Shotgun Accessories
  The following accessories are specific to 
  shotguns.
  ROPETHROWER
  Ropethrowers  are an attachment to the barrel 
  of a shotgun that uses the force of a ﬁ red shell to 
  shoot a rope and grapnel. In game terms, characters 
  can buy this as follows:  Swinging 10” (10 Active 
  Points); OAF (-1), Extra Time (Extra Phase; -¾), 
  Uses 1 Charge From A Shotgun RKA (-¼), Real 
  Weapon (-¼) (total cost:  3 points).
  SHELL ADAPTER
  A shell adapter allows a shotgun to ﬁ re normal 
  bullets. Th e caliber of bullet is dictated by the size 
  and type of shell adapter, but regardless of bullet 
  type, using a shell adapter imposes a -1 OCV 
  penalty on the shot. Inserting or removing a shell 
  adapter takes 1 Minute.
  In game terms, the best way to build this 
  device is to have it convert a shotgun into a Multi-
  power — one slot for shotgun rounds, one shot for 
  the standard bullet the character could ﬁ re with the 
  adapter, and Extra Time (1 Minute) on the Reserve 
  to represent the time it would take to switch slots. 
  Characters can build their own individual weapons 
  that way if desired (or if the GM prefers), but build-
  ing a shell adapter as a “generic” shotgun accessory 
  that way would be needlessly complex. Th erefore, 
  the Firearms Accessories Chart simply indicates a 
  cost of 1 Character Point (the GM can change this 
  if necessary).
  SHOTGUN BARREL FLATTENING
  A character can increase the spread pattern of 
  his shotgun by ﬂ attening the barrel slightly. Th is is 
  bought as an additional +¼ Advantage to expand 
  the shotgun’s normal Area Of Eﬀ ect (One Hex) into 
  Area Of Eﬀ ect (One Hex Doubled).
  SHOT SPREADER
  A shot spreader is essentially the opposite of a 
  choke:  it’s a device to increase the spread pattern of 
  shot as it emerges from the shotgun’s muzzle. Th is 
  allows the shooter to hit a lot of close targets with 
  devastating eﬀ ectiveness, but signiﬁ cantly decreases 
  a shotgun’s deadliness at greater ranges. In game 
  terms, a shot spreader changes a shotgun’s Area Of 
  Eﬀ ect (One Hex) to an Area Of Eﬀ ect (Cone), and 
  its Limited Range (20”; -¼) to No Range (-½). A 
  character should recalculate the cost of his shotgun 
  with these alterations.
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  99 
  FIREARMS ACCESSORIES TABLE
  Standard Firearms Accessories
  Name 
  A/R Cost 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Notes
  Brass Catcher
   10 Active Point gun 
  2/1 
  — 
  — 
  IPE (leaves no shell casings) (+¼)
   20 Active Point gun 
  5/2 
  — 
  — 
  IPE (leaves no shell casings) (+¼)
   30 Active Point gun 
  7/2 
  — 
  — 
  IPE (leaves no shell casings) (+¼)
   40 Active Point gun 
  10/4 
  — 
  — 
  IPE (leaves no shell casings) (+¼)
   50 Active Point gun 
  12/4 
  — 
  — 
  IPE (leaves no shell casings) (+¼)
   60 Active Point gun 
  15/5 
  — 
  — 
  IPE (leaves no shell casings) (+¼)
   70 Active Point gun 
  17/6 
  — 
  — 
  IPE (leaves no shell casings) (+¼)
   80 Active Point gun 
  20/7 
  — 
  — 
  IPE (leaves no shell casings) (+¼)
   90 Active Point gun 
  22/8 
  — 
  — 
  IPE (leaves no shell casings) (+¼)
   100 Active Point gun 
  25/9 
  — 
  — 
  IPE (leaves no shell casings) (+¼)
  Camera 
  25/10 
  — 
  — 
  Clairsentience (Sight Group), NR
  Flashlight 
  22/6 
  — 
  — 
  +4 Sight Group PER in darkness, LR (10” or more)
  Flash Suppressor
   10 Active Point gun 
  2/1 
  — 
  — 
  Invisible to Normal Sight (+¼)
   20 Active Point gun 
  5/2 
  — 
  — 
  Invisible to Normal Sight (+¼)
   30 Active Point gun 
  7/3 
  — 
  — 
  Invisible to Normal Sight (+¼)
   40 Active Point gun 
  10/4 
  — 
  — 
  Invisible to Normal Sight (+¼)
   50 Active Point gun 
  12/5 
  — 
  — 
  Invisible to Normal Sight (+¼)
   60 Active Point gun 
  15/7 
  — 
  — 
  Invisible to Normal Sight (+¼)
   70 Active Point gun 
  17/7 
  — 
  — 
  Invisible to Normal Sight (+¼)
   80 Active Point gun 
  20/9 
  — 
  — 
  Invisible to Normal Sight (+¼)
   90 Active Point gun 
  22/10 
  — 
  — 
  Invisible to Normal Sight (+¼)
   100 Active Point gun 
  25/11 
  — 
  — 
  Invisible to Normal Sight (+¼)
  Lanyard 
  9/2 
  — 
  — 
  Telekinesis (4 STR), Only On One Gun
  Rangeﬁ nder 
  3/1 
  — 
  — 
  Absolute Range Sense, OBS
  Recoil Compensator
   Type 1 
  3/1 
  +1 
  — 
  SE (+1 Hearing PER Rolls), Only Versus Recoil Penalties
   Type 2 
  6/2 
  +2 
  — 
  SE (+1 Hearing PER Rolls), Only Versus Recoil Penalties
   Type 3 
  9/3 
  +3 
  — 
  SE (+1 Hearing PER Rolls), Only Versus Recoil Penalties
  Sights and Scopes
  Collimating/Reﬂ ex 
  46/14 
  +2 
  +10 
  LR (125”), OBS; also provides +2 PER versus darkness
  Laser Sight
   Standard, Small 
  34/13 
  +2 
  +8 
  LR (64”), Not In Adverse Conditions
   Infrared, Small 
  34/14 
  +2 
  +8 
  LR (64”), User Must Be Able To Perceive IR Light
   Standard, Long Arm 
  52/21 
  +2 
  +14 
  Not In Adverse Conditions
   Infrared, Long Arm 
  52/23 
  +2 
  +14 
  User Must Be Able To Perceive IR Light
  Micrometer Sight 
  42/14 
  — 
  +14 
  OBS, Extra Phase to aim and shoot
  Nightsight Scope
   Type I 
  9/2 
  — 
  — 
  +2 PER versus darkness, Detect Infrared Light, OBS
   Type II 
  12/3 
  — 
  — 
  +3 PER versus darkness, Detect Infrared Light, OBS
   Type III 
  15/3 
  — 
  — 
  +4 PER versus darkness, Detect Infrared Light, OBS
  Telescopic Sight
   x2 
  20/7 
  — 
  +3 
  +3 vs. RMod for Sight Group, +1 PER vs. darkness, OBS
   x3 
  26/9 
  — 
  +4 
  +4 vs. RMod for Sight Group, +1 PER vs. darkness, OBS
   x4 
  38/11 
  — 
  +6 
  +6 vs. RMod for Sight Group, +1 PER vs. darkness, OBS
   x6 
  56/17 
  — 
  +9 
  +9 vs. RMod for Sight Group, +1 PER vs. darkness, OBS
   x8 
  74/23 
  — 
  +12 
  +12 vs. RMod for Sight Group, +1 PER vs. darkness, OBS
   x10 
  92/29 
  — 
  +15 
  +15 vs. RMod for Sight Group, +1 PER vs. darkness, OBS
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  100 ■ Modern Weapons
  Firearms Accessories Table (Continued)
  Name 
  A/R Cost 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Notes
  Th ermal Sight 
  5/1 
  — 
  — 
  Infrared Perception (Sight Group), OBS
  Targeting Computer 
  70/20 
  +2 
  +10 
  Type III Nightsight, x3 Telescopic Sight, Rangeﬁ nder, OBS
  Silencer, Cinematic
   10 Active Point gun 
  2/1 
  — 
  — 
  Invisible to Hearing Group (+¼)
   20 Active Point gun 
  5/2 
  — 
  — 
  Invisible to Hearing Group (+¼)
   30 Active Point gun 
  7/3 
  — 
  — 
  Invisible to Hearing Group (+¼)
   40 Active Point gun 
  10/4 
  — 
  — 
  Invisible to Hearing Group (+¼)
   50 Active Point gun 
  12/5 
  — 
  — 
  Invisible to Hearing Group (+¼)
   60 Active Point gun 
  15/7 
  — 
  — 
  Invisible to Hearing Group (+¼)
   70 Active Point gun 
  17/7 
  — 
  — 
  Invisible to Hearing Group (+¼)
   80 Active Point gun 
  20/9 
  — 
  — 
  Invisible to Hearing Group (+¼)
   90 Active Point gun 
  22/10 
  — 
  — 
  Invisible to Hearing Group (+¼)
   100 Active Point gun 
  25/11 
  — 
  — 
  Invisible to Hearing Group (+¼)
  Silencer, Realistic
   Small, Poor Quality 
  5/1 
  — 
  — 
  CE (-1 Hearing PER Rolls), Reduces/Eliminates Firing Noise
   Small, Average Quality 
  8/2 
  — 
  — 
  CE (-2 Hearing PER Rolls), Reduces/Eliminates Firing Noise
   Small, High Quality 
  11/3 
  — 
  — 
  CE (-3 Hearing PER Rolls), Reduces/Eliminates Firing Noise
   Large, Poor Quality 
  11/3 
  — 
  — 
  CE (-3 Hearing PER Rolls), Reduces/Eliminates Firing Noise
   Large, Average Quality 
  14/4 
  — 
  — 
  CE (-4 Hearing PER Rolls), Reduces/Eliminates Firing Noise
   Large, High Quality 
  17/5 
  — 
  — 
  CE (-5 Hearing PER Rolls), Reduces/Eliminates Firing Noise
  Slide-Stop 
  7/2 
  — 
  — 
  CE (-1 Hearing PER Rolls), Cancels Out Action’s Noise
  Shotguns Accessories
  Name 
  A/R Cost 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Notes
  Ropethrower 
  10/3 
  — 
  — 
  Swinging 10”, Extra Time (Extra Phase), Uses 1 Shotgun Charge
  Shell Adapter 
  -/1 
  — 
  — 
  Lets shotgun ﬁ re one type of bullet, 1 Minute to switch
  Shotgun Barrel Flattening 
  var/var 
  — 
  — 
  Increase to AE1 Doubled
  Shot Spreader 
  var/var 
  — 
  — 
  Changes shotgun to AEC and NR
  KEY/NOTES 
  All devices have the Limitations OAF (-1) and Real Weapon (-¼)
   
  A/R Cost:  Th e Active Point/Real Point cost of the accessory.
   
  OCV:  Th e OCV modiﬁ er the accessory provides, if any. See page 200-01 for information on how this is bought, 
  though the Two-Handed (-½) Limitation is not applied since these devices might be attached to handguns or 
  the like.
   
  RMod:  Th e Range Modiﬁ er modiﬁ er the accessory provides, if any. See page 200-01 for information on how 
  this is bought, though the Two-Handed (-½) Limitation is not applied since these devices might be attached to 
  handguns or the like.
   
  Notes:  Pertinent notes and information about the accessory.
   
  AEC:  Area Of Eﬀ ect (Cone)
   
  CE:  Change Environment
   
  IPE:  Invisible Power Eﬀ ects
   
  LR:  Limited Range
   
  NR:  No Range
   
  OBS:  Only When Shooter Braces And/Or Sets (-1)
   
  SE:  Side Eﬀ ects
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  101 
  FIREARMS MODIFICATIONS 
  AND CUSTOMIZATION
  Characters can modify, customize, or improve 
  their guns in many diﬀ erent ways. Listed below are 
  several examples, for which you can ﬁ nd the costs 
  in the accompanying table (most take the Limita-
  tions OAF (-1) and Real Weapon (-¼)). See Weap-
  onsmith, Dark Champions, page 83, for information 
  about the time and skills needed to make these 
  modiﬁ cations.
  Because the HERO System Attack Roll rules 
  make each +1 OCV very eﬀ ective, many of the 
  listed modiﬁ cations provide less than that — a +0.5 
  OCV modiﬁ er. To gain any beneﬁ t from these, a 
  character has to install two diﬀ erent modiﬁ cations 
  that each provide +0.5 OCV (for a total of +1). For 
  these purposes, a +0.5 OCV bonus costs 2 Charac-
  ter Points.
  Some of the modiﬁ cations are listed as costing 
  no points. To discourage PCs from always taking 
  them, the GM may want to change that to 1 Char-
  acter Point.
  Ambidextrous Conversion:  Most guns are made to 
  be shot by right-handed persons. Th is modiﬁ cation 
  makes the gun easily usable by persons of either 
  handedness.
  Barrel Coating:  A special microscopic coating 
  applied to the inside of the barrel. Th is smooths 
  the barrel, reduces fouling, and increases the gun’s 
  accuracy and the speed with which it can be ﬁ red.
  Barrel Fluting:  Fluting involves cutting radiused 
  grooves down the length of a riﬂ e’s barrel. Th is 
  allows the barrel to cool more quickly, thus extend-
  ing its lifespan. In game terms, this has no eﬀ ect, 
  but reduces a riﬂ e’s weight by about 560-700 grams.
  Clear Grips/Magazine:  Semi-automatic guns can be 
  equipped with clear plastic grips and/or magazines 
  so that the shooter can see how much ammunition 
  is left  at any time (checking ammo status is a Zero-
  Phase Action).
  Cryotreatment:  Exposing a gun to controlled tem-
  peratures of -300 degrees Fahrenheit strengthens 
  the steel in it. Th is decreases barrel warpage from 
  the heat of shooting and thus improves accuracy.
  Custom Grips/Stock:  A custom grips or stock, spe-
  cially molded to ﬁ t the user’s hand and arm, can 
  improve accuracy. Th is provides a +0.5 OCV bonus, 
  but imposes a -1 OCV penalty whenever anyone 
  else tries to use the gun.
  Electronic Trigger:  It’s possible to replace the mechani-
  cal trigger in some guns with an electronic trigger, 
  which is noiseless because it has no mechanical action 
  — ﬁ ring the gun is more like pressing a button than 
  pulling a trigger. However, this only works for guns 
  that ﬁ re Caseless ammunition, since an electronic 
  charge cannot activate Standard ammunition. Th is 
  modiﬁ cation does not work in conjunction with 
  Improved Trigger or Hair Trigger.
  Enlarged Magazine:  Using the Firearms Cost/
  Upgrade Tables (pages 76-93), you can increase 
  the size of a semi-automatic or automatic fire-
  arm’s magazine. Some modern designs, such as 
  the cylindrical magazine of the Calico M-950 or 
  the C-Mag drum magazine for various assault 
  rifles, pack a surprisingly large number of rounds 
  into a small space — some don’t even change the 
  weapon’s PER Mod.
  Fine Tuning:  General improvements by a gunsmith 
  can make a gun more accurate (+.5 or +1 OCV).
  Hair Trigger:  A hair trigger ﬁ res the gun with only 
  the slightest pressure (most triggers require several 
  pounds of pressure). Th is makes the gun quicker 
  to ﬁ re, which can be useful in a gunﬁ ght... but can 
  also increase the chance of an accidental ﬁ ring. If 
  a character’s Unluck activates or he rolls a fumble 
  (Dark Champions, page 187), an accidental shoot-
  ing is a deﬁ nite possibility. Th is modiﬁ cation does 
  not work in conjunction with Improved Trigger or 
  Electronic Trigger.
  Improved Bedding:  Riﬂ e barrels are “bedded” to 
  prevent excessive barrel movement, which nega-
  tively aﬀ ects aim. An improved bedding makes the 
  barrel even steadier, improving aim beyond that 
  of ordinary riﬂ es. Only riﬂ es can beneﬁ t from this 
  modiﬁ cation.
  Improved Firing Pin:  One of the factors aﬀ ecting 
  accuracy is locktime — the amount of time between 
  when the trigger is squeezed and the bullet is ﬁ red. 
  In this interval, even if it’s measured in microsec-
  onds, a shooter’s aim can wander. An Improved 
  Firing Pin, usually made of titanium, strengthens 
  the spring. Th is decreases locktime and increases 
  accuracy without adding to the weight of the gun.
  Improved Range:  A gunsmith can ﬁ ne-tune a 
  gun to improve its accuracy over long distances. 
  Although this is most commonly done with riﬂ es, 
  the procedure also works with handguns.
  Improved Trigger:  Modiﬁ cations to the trigger to 
  make it easier and smoother to use, thus improving 
  accuracy. Th is modiﬁ cation does not work in con-
  junction with Electronic Trigger or Hair Trigger.
  Personalization:  Some “smart” guns only work for 
  their owners, thus making it impossible for an 
  attacker to take the gun away and use it against its 
  owner. A smart gun has devices in its grip which 
  read the signal from a ring worn by the owner and 
  only ﬁ re if the hand holding the gun is wearing 
  the ring. (More technologically-advanced versions 
  might have ﬁ ngerprint or DNA readers built into 
  the grip, or the like.) In HERO System terms, smart 
  guns are Personal Foci instead of Universal Foci.
  Pistol Stock:  Some handguns have detachable, 
  riﬂ e-like stocks that the shooter can attach to sta-
  bilize the gun for long-distance shots. Attaching or 
  detaching the stock requires a Half Phase Action 
  (or a Zero-Phase Action if the character succeeds 
  with a Fast Draw (Small Arms) roll).
  Polygonal Riﬂ ing:  Guns with polygonal riﬂ ing have 
  a better gas seal, which creates the maximum “push” 
  possible on the bullet and decreases barrel friction. 
  Th is causes the bullet to travel faster and do more 
  damage (RKA +1 point).
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  102 ■ Modern Weapons
  Sawed-Off Shotgun:  A sawed-oﬀ  shotgun is one 
  that’s had most of its barrel cut oﬀ  for either or 
  both of two purposes:  to make it easier to conceal 
  or to cause the shot to spread more quickly. In 
  game terms, sawing oﬀ  a shotgun’s barrel changes 
  the shotgun’s Area Of Eﬀ ect (One Hex) to an Area 
  Of Eﬀ ect (Cone), and its Limited Range (20”; -¼) 
  to No Range (-½). Th e character should recalculate 
  the cost of his shotgun with these alterations. Addi-
  tionally, the shotgun’s PER Mod drops from the 
  usual +4 to +6 for most shotguns to +2 to +3.
  Characters can only convert double-barreled 
  shotguns into sawed-oﬀ  shotgun. Sawing oﬀ  a 
  pump-action shotgun would involve sawing oﬀ  the 
  magazine and pump as well.
  Size Reduction:  Removing or trimming away 
  unnecessary metal and parts of a gun can reduce 
  its size (i.e., PER Mod) without signiﬁ cantly aﬀ ect-
  ing its accuracy. In game terms, this changes the 
  weapon’s PER Mod.
  Streamlining:  By trimming and smoothing the 
  edges of a gun, a gunsmith can make it easier to 
  draw because it’s less likely to snag on holster mate-
  rial or clothing.
  Watertight:  A gunsmith can create and seal a gun 
  so that it’s watertight.
  Weight Reduction:  By trimming away unnecessary 
  metal and replacing some parts of the gun with 
  lighter-weight equivalents, a character can make his 
  gun weigh up to 25% less.
  FIREARMS MODIFICATIONS AND CUSTOMIZATION TABLE
  Name 
  A/R Cost 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Notes
  Ambidextrous Conversion 
  0 
  — 
  —
  Barrel Coating 
  2/1 
  +.5 
  +0
  Barrel Fluting 
  0 
  — 
  — 
  Reduces gun’s weight
  Clear Grips/Magazine 
  0 
  — 
  — 
  Shows how much ammuntion is left 
  Cryotreatment 
  2/1 
  +.5 
  +0
  Custom Grips/Stock 
  2/1 
  +.5 
  +0 
  -1 OCV for other users
  Electronic Trigger 
  7/2 
  — 
  — 
  CE (-1 Hearing PER Rolls), cancels out trigger’s noise, requires
   
   
   
   
  Caseless ammo
  Fine Tuning I 
  2/1 
  +.5 
  +0
  Fine Tuning II 
  5/2 
  +1 
  —
  Hair Trigger 
  1/1 
  — 
  — 
  +1 Lightning Reﬂ exes for shooting the gun
  Improved Bedding 
  2/1 
  +.5 
  +1
  Improved Firing Pin 
  2/1 
  +.5 
  +0
  Improved Range I 
  3/1 
  +0 
  +1 
  +1 PER Mod
  Improved Range II 
  6/2 
  +0 
  +2 
  +2 PER Mod
  Improved Trigger 
  2/1 
  +.5 
  +0
  Personalization 
  0 
  — 
  — 
  Makes gun a Personal Focus
  Pistol Stock 
  3/1 
  —  
  +1 
  +2 PER Mod
  Polygonal Riﬂ ing 
  var/var 
  — 
  — 
  +1 point RKA
  Sawed-Oﬀ  Shotgun 
  var/var 
  — 
  — 
  Changes shotgun to Area Of Eﬀ ect (Cone) and No Range
  Size Reduction I 
  0 
  — 
  — 
  -1 PER Mod
  Size Reduction II 
  0 
  — 
  -1 
  -2 PER Mod
  Streamlining 
  2/1 
  — 
  — 
  +1 to Fast Draw (Small Arms)
  Watertight 
  0 
  — 
  — 
  Makes gun watertight
  Weight Reduction 
  0 
  — 
  — 
  Makes gun weigh up to 25% less
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  103 
  Disguised Weapons 
   And Gadgets 
  Th e Concealment rules from pages 450-51 of 
  the HERO System 5th Edition, Revised rulebook pre-
  sume a character’s concealing Obvious, Accessible 
  Foci. Examples include a stilleto worn in an arm 
  sheath under a character’s sleeve, a small handgun 
  tucked into the back of his pants underneath his 
  sports jacket, or a straight razor hidden in a boot.
  But many of the firearms and other weapons 
  built for characters aren’t just hidden, they’re 
  disguised — in other words, designed not to look 
  like guns. Ever since guns were invented, people 
  have tried to think up clever ways to hide them 
  so they’re available for surprise attacks. In HERO 
  System terms, a disguised gun is an Inobvious 
  Accessible Focus. The Inobvious part of the 
  Focus Limitation corresponds to a Concealment 
  “Skill” of 13- (11- base roll, +2 for the fact that 
  the weapon is built into an object); extremely 
  well made concealed weapons may merit higher 
  Concealment “Skills.” (If a character’s building a 
  disguised weapon with Character Points, he has 
  to pay for this using the Skill Power; otherwise 
  the GM can simply assign the appropriate modi-
  fiers.) When a character tries to spot a disguised 
  object, he makes a PER Roll against the object’s 
  Concealment roll in a Skill Versus Skill Contest. 
  A successful roll only reveals that there’s some-
  thing unusual in the construction of the item; 
  the perceiving character has to perform a hands-
  on search in another PER Roll Versus Conceal-
  ment Roll Contest to open the weapon up or 
  determine what it does.
  Naturally, once a character actually uses a 
  disguised weapon, it’s no longer Inobvious. When 
  a character starts ﬁ ring bullets from his cigarette 
  case, its true function becomes apparent.
  Unless the GM rules otherwise, all disguised 
  guns should have a minimum -1 OCV penalty (and 
  no Range Skill Levels) to reﬂ ect the relative diﬃ  -
  culty of aiming them.
  See the Disguised Guns Table for some guide-
  lines regarding the capacity of disguised guns built 
  into various objects.
  DISGUISED GUNS TABLE
  Object 
  Ammunition Capacity
  Belt Buckle 
  1
  Beverage Can 
  3-8
  Book 
  6+
  Briefcase 
  6+ 
  Calculator 
  2-3
  Camera/Videorecorder 
  3+
  Cane/Crutch/Umbrella 
  10
  Cast (for broken arm) 
  8
  Cigarette 
  1
  Cigarette case 
  2-6
  Flashlight 
  10
  Gloves 
  1
  Knife Handle 
  1-3
  Lighter 
  1-2
  Lipstick 
  1
  Pen 
  1
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  104 ■ Modern Weapons
  T
  he accompanying tables list many guns and 
  other weapons characters might use.Th e 
  weapons are listed alphabetically by cat-
  egory, in these categories:
  Revolvers
  Semi-Automatic Pistols
  Submachine Guns
  Riﬂ es
  Assault Riﬂ es
  Machine Guns
  Shotguns
  Grenades
  Heavy Weapons
  Several categories of information are given 
  for these weapons. Some information (caliber, 
  number of shots, weight) derives from real-world 
  data, while some (OCV, damage) depends on the 
  application of the HERO System rules and can be 
  changed to suit individual campaigns and tastes.
  Th e weapons listed were chosen for a variety 
  of reasons:  commonality (either in real life or in 
  action-adventure movies and stories); interesting 
  technology; intriguing appearance; and the like. If 
  you don’t ﬁ nd the gun you’re looking for listed here, 
  you can easily use the listed guns (as well as the 
  Firearms Cost/Upgrades Tables on pages 76-93) as 
  guidelines for creating the one you want.
  Name:  Th e name of the weapon. Th is may include 
  a manufacturer and/or model number. 
  Cal:  Th e weapon’s caliber (for shotguns, this 
  becomes “Ga,” for Gauge). Th is is given in fractions 
  of an inch or in millimeters (mm).
  Many models of guns comes in multiple cali-
  bers, not just the one listed (this is particularly true 
  for semi-automatic handguns), and a gunsmith can 
  oft en rechamber a weapon to accept a diﬀ erent size 
  cartridge. So if you like the look of a gun but not 
  the caliber, feel free to change it to ﬁ re the type of 
  bullet you want. Upgrading a gun to a larger caliber 
  may diminish the number of rounds it can hold in 
  a magazine, while downgrading to a smaller caliber 
  may increase the weapon’s ammo capacity.
  OCV:  Th e weapon’s OCV modiﬁ er, bought as 
  described on page 63.
  RMod:  Th e weapon’s Range Modiﬁ er, bought as 
  described on page 63.
  Dam:  Th e damage the weapon does (usually 
  derived from the size of the bullet; see the Standard 
  Ammunition Damage Table on page 64). All ﬁ gures 
  are Killing Damage unless contained within paren-
  theses (which indicates Normal Damage).
  STUNx:  Th e STUN Modiﬁ er for the weapon. 1d6-
  1 is a normal STUN Modiﬁ er roll; 1d6 means the 
  weapon has a +1 Increased STUN Modiﬁ er, 1d6+1 
  a +2 Modiﬁ er, and so forth.
  Shots:  Th e number of shots in the gun’s cylinder 
  or magazine (in game terms, how many Charges 
  the gun has). Each gun comes with one “clip” of 
  ammunition unless noted otherwise. If a gun can 
  use more than one size clip, the largest or most 
  common clip is listed. Guns with a “clip” of 1 shot 
  are single-shot guns (oft en for target shooting) that 
  the user must reload aft er each shot.
  Th e listed number of Charges for semi-auto-
  matic ﬁ rearms does not include having one round 
  “in the pipe” (i.e., chambering one round, then 
  removing the magazine and replacing that round, 
  so that the gun carries +1 round).
  STR Min:  Th e STR Min necessary to use the 
  weapon eﬀ ectively. See pages 478-79 of the HERO 
  System 5th Edition, Revised rulebook for more infor-
  mation. Guns have the STR Min Does Not Add/Sub-
  tract Damage modiﬁ er, so a character without suf-
  ﬁ cient STR to ﬁ re a gun doesn’t do any less damage, 
  but does suﬀ er the speciﬁ ed OCV penalty.
  PER Mod:  Th e PER Roll modiﬁ er to perceive the 
  gun when it’s concealed. See pages 450-51 of the 
  HERO System 5th Edition, Revised rulebook for 
  more information.
  A/R Cost:  Th e Active Point/Real Point Cost of the 
  weapon, in Character Points. Th ese costs use the 
  expanded Killing Attack costs on Dark Champions, 
  page 95, and include the standard Power Modiﬁ ers 
  for various types of ﬁ rearms (as described on pages 
  62 and 71).
  Mass:  Th e weight of the gun, in kilograms. Typi-
  cally this is the unloaded weight; inserting a clip of 
  ammunition adds a few grams.
  Notes:  Any notes about the weapon. All notes and 
  abbreviations are explained at the end of the tables.
  NOTES
  1)  Th e H&K MK23 SOCOM (more formally, the 
  Mark 23 Mod 0) was developed by the U.S. Spe-
  cial Operations Command for America’s special 
  forces soldiers. It comes with a Small, High-Quality 
  silencer that also functions as a ﬂ ash suppressor, and 
  an underbarrel laser sight. It typically ﬁ res Subsonic 
  ammunition (this is accounted for in its damage).
  2)  Th e H&K P-11 is a ﬁ ve-shot pistol designed spe-
  ciﬁ cally for underwater ﬁ ring. It ﬁ res a silent, case-
  FIREARMS 
  TABLES
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  105 
  REVOLVERS
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  STR PER 
  A/R
  Name 
  Cal 
  OCV RMod 
  Dam 
  STUNx Shots 
  Min Mod 
  Cost 
  Mass Notes
  ADC Derringer 
  10mm 
  -1 
  -2 
  1½d6 
  1d6-1 
  2 
  6 
  +0 
  25/4 
  0.45
  Casull Fieldgrade 
  .454 
  +1 
  +0 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  5 
  12 
  +3 
  49/12 
  1.46
  Colt Anaconda 
  .44 M 
  +0 
  +0 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  6 
  11 
  +3 
  37/9 
  1.67
  Colt Detective 
  .38 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  6 
  9 
  +1 
  15/3 
  0.59
  Colt King Cobra 
  .357 M 
  +0 
  +0 
  1½d6 
  1d6-1 
  6 
  10 
  +2 
  25/6 
  1.30
  Colt Police Positive 
  .38 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  6 
  9 
  +1 
  15/3 
  0.45
  Colt Python 
  .357 M 
  +1 
  +0 
  1½d6 
  1d6-1 
  6 
  10 
  +2 
  30/8 
  1.36
  Derringer 
  .38 
  -2 
  -2 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  2 
  4 
  +0 
  15/3 
  0.45
  Freedom Arms M83 
  .50 AE 
  +0 
  +0 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  6 
  10 
  +2 
  44/10 
  1.53
  Korth Stainless 
  9mm 
  +1 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  6 
  9 
  +3 
  25/7 
  1.24
  Linebaugh 475 
  .475 
  +0 
  +0 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  5 
  10 
  +2 
  44/10 
  1.12
  Llama Comanche 
  .38 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  6 
  9 
  +2 
  15/3 
  1.03
  Llama Super Comanche 
  .44 M 
  -1 
  +0 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  6 
  12 
  +3 
  37/8 
  1.42
  Remington XP-100R 
  .350 
  +1 
  +2 
  1½d6 
  1d6-1 
  4 
  11 
  +4 
  36/10 
  2.00
  Rossi M851 
  .38 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  6 
  8 
  +2 
  15/3 
  0.85
  Ruger Redhawk 
  .44 M 
  +0 
  +0 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  6 
  11 
  +3 
  37/9 
  1.49
  Ruger Security Six 
  .357 M 
  +0 
  +0 
  1½d6 
  1d6-1 
  6 
  10 
  +2 
  25/6 
  0.95
  S&W Model 10 
  .38 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  6 
  7 
  +2 
  15/3 
  0.86
  S&W Model 19 
  .357 M 
  +0 
  +0 
  1½d6 
  1d6-1 
  6 
  9 
  +1 
  25/6 
  0.86
  S&W Model 27 
  .357 M 
  +0 
  +0 
  1½d6 
  1d6-1 
  6 
  10 
  +2 
  25/6 
  1.29
  S&W 29 Silhouette 
  .44 M 
  +0 
  +0 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  6 
  10 
  +3 
  37/9 
  1.53
  S&W Model 36 
  .38 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  5 
  7 
  +1 
  15/3 
  0.69
  S&W Model 57 
  .41 M 
  +0 
  +0 
  1½d6 
  1d6-1 
  6 
  10 
  +3 
  25/6 
  1.36
  S&W .500 Magnum 
  .50 S&W M 
  +0 
  +0 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  5 
  13 
  +3 
  44/10 
  2.06
  S&W 586/686 
  .357 M 
  +0 
  +0 
  1½d6 
  1d6-1 
  6 
  10 
  +2 
  25/6 
  1.39
  S&W 625 
  .45 ACP 
  +0 
  +0 
  2d6-1 
  1d6 
  6 
  10 
  +2 
  34/8 
  1.28
  S&W Model 640-1 
  .357 M 
  +0 
  +0 
  1½d6 
  1d6-1 
  6 
  10 
  +1 
  25/6 
  0.59
  Taurus 454 
  .454 
  +1 
  +0 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  5 
  12 
  +3 
  49/12 
  1.65
  Taurus 669/669VR 
  .357 M 
  +0 
  +0 
  1½d6 
  1d6-1 
  6 
  10 
  +3 
  25/6 
  1.05
  Weatherby Mark V 
  .308 
  +1 
  +2 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  1 
  13 
  +4 
  55/13 
  2.00
  Wesson Supermag 
  .357 M 
  +0 
  +0 
  1½d6 
  1d6-1 
  5 
  12 
  +3 
  25/6 
  1.84
  SEMI-AUTOMATIC PISTOLS
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  STR PER 
  A/R
  Name 
  Cal 
  OCV RMod 
  Dam 
  STUNx Shots 
  Min Mod 
  Cost 
  Mass Notes
  AA Arms AP9 
  9mm 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  20 
  11 
  +3 
  25/7 
  1.59
  Accu-Tek HC-380 
  .380 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  10 
  7 
  +1 
  15/4 
  0.74
  American C.O.P. 
  .357 M 
  -2 
  -2 
  1½d6 
  1d6-1 
  4 
  6 
  +0 
  25/5   
  0.79
  AMT Automag IV 
  .45 Win Mag +0 
  +1 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  7 
  10 
  +3 
  40/10 
  1.30
  AMT Automag V 
  .50 AE 
  +1 
  +0 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  7 
  13 
  +3 
  49/13 
  1.30
  AMT Backup 
  .380 
  +1 
  -1 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  5 
  10 
  +1 
  20/5 
  0.51
  AMT Javelina 
  10mm 
  +0 
  +1 
  1½d6 
  1d6-1 
  8 
  12 
  +3 
  28/7 
  1.10
  Australian SAP 
  .223 
  +1 
  +1 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  30 
  10 
  +5 
  53/16 
  1.80
  .44 Automag 
  .44 M 
  +0 
  +0 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  7 
  14 
  +4 
  37/9 
  1.50
  Beretta Model 84F 
  .380 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  13 
  10 
  +2 
  15/4 
  0.69
  Beretta Model 92/92FS 
  9x19mm 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  15 
  9 
  +2 
  20/6 
  1.00
  Beretta Model 8000 
  9x19mm 
  +1 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  15 
  9 
  +1 
  25/8 
  0.95
  Bren Ten 
  10mm 
  +1 
  +0 
  1½d6 
  1d6-1 
  11 
  9 
  +1 
  30/9 
  0.94
  Browning BDA 9C 
  9x19mm 
  +1 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  14 
  10 
  +2 
  25/8 
  0.91
  Browning Hi Power 
  9x19mm 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  20 
  7 
  +2 
  25/7 
  0.93
  Calico M-110 
  .22 LR 
  +1 
  +0 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  100 
  11 
  +3 
  29/9 
  1.70 
  RC1
  Calico M-950/Liberty  III 
  9x19mm 
  +1 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  100 
  12 
  +3 
  43/13 
  2.10 
  RC1
  Claridge Hi-Tec 
  9x19mm 
  +1 
  +1 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  30 
  10 
  +3 
  33/10 
  1.70
  Colt 2000 
  9x19mm 
  +1 
  +1 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  15 
  10 
  +2 
  28/9 
  0.81
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  106 ■ Modern Weapons
  Semi-Automatic Pistols (Continued)
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  STR PER 
  A/R
  Name 
  Cal 
  OCV RMod 
  Dam 
  STUNx Shots 
  Min Mod 
  Cost 
  Mass Notes
  Colt Double Eagle 
  10mm 
  +1 
  +0 
  1½d6 
  1d6-1 
  8 
  10 
  +2 
  30/8 
  1.09
  Colt Govt. Mk. IV 
  9x19mm 
  +1 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  9 
  9 
  +2 
  28/8 
  1.16 
  RC1
  Colt M1911/M1911A1 
  .45 ACP 
  +1 
  +0 
  2d6-1 
  1d6 
  7 
  9 
  +2 
  39/10 
  1.10
  CZ 75/CZ 85 
  9x19mm 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  15 
  9 
  +2 
  20/6 
  0.98
  CZ100 
  .40 
  +1 
  +1 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  10 
  9 
  +3 
  28/8 
  0.64
  Desert Eagle .41 
  .41 M 
  +1 
  +0 
  1½d6 
  1d6-1 
  9 
  13 
  +3 
  30/9 
  1.90
  Desert Eagle .50 
  .50 AE 
  +1 
  +0 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  9 
  13 
  +3 
  49/14 
  1.90
  D Max Model 100P 
  10mm 
  +1 
  +1 
  1½d6 
  1d6-1 
  30 
  11 
  +4 
  39/12 
  2.00
  FN Five SeveN 
  5.7x28mm 
  +1 
  +0 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  20 
  8 
  +2 
  24/7 
  0.62
  Glock 17L 
  9x19mm 
  +1 
  +1 
  1d6+2 
  1d6-1 
  19 
  9 
  +2 
  39/12 
  0.66 
  PR
  Glock 20 
  10mm 
  +0 
  +0 
  2d6-1 
  1d6-1 
  15 
  9 
  +1 
  30/8 
  0.64 
  PR
  Glock 21 
  .45 ACP 
  +0 
  +0 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  13 
  9 
  +1 
  39/11 
  0.83 
  PR
  Glock 27 
  .40 
  +1 
  +0 
  1d6+2 
  1d6-1 
  9 
  9 
  +2 
  30/8 
  0.62 
  PR
  Göncz GA-9 
  9x19mm 
  +1 
  +2 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  30 
  11 
  +4 
  36/12 
  1.80
  Grendel P-12 
  .380 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  11 
  10 
  +1 
  15/4 
  0.71
  Grendel P-31 
  .22 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6-1 
  1d6-1 
  30 
  10 
  +1 
  15/4 
  1.50
  Gyurza P-9/SR-1 Vektor 
  9x21mm 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  18 
  10 
  +2 
  25/7 
  1.18
  Hammerli 232 
  .22 
  +1 
  +1 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  6 
  9 
  +3 
  65/23 
  1.15 
  Micr, RC1
  Hammerli 280/SP20 
  .32 
  +1 
  +2 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  6 
  9 
  +2 
  7½3 
  1.20 
  Micr, RC1
  H&K HK4 
  .32 ACP 
  +1 
  +1 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  8 
  8 
  +2 
  23/7 
  0.48
  H&K MK 23 SOCOM 
  .458 
  +1 
  +1 
  2d6-1 
  1d6 
  12 
  10 
  +2 
  114/39 
  1.20 
  Sil (-3), FS, Laser, PR, 1
  H&K P7K3 
  .380 
  +1 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  13 
  9 
  +2 
  25/7 
  0.75 
  PR
  H&K P7M13 
  9x19mm 
  +1 
  +0 
  1d6+2 
  1d6-1 
  13 
  9 
  +2 
  30/9 
  0.80 
  PR
  H&K P9/P9S 
  9x19mm 
  +1 
  -1 
  1d6+2 
  1d6-1 
  9 
  9 
  +2 
  30/8 
  0.88 
  PR
  H&K P-11 
  7.62x36mm Fle +0 
  +0 
  1½d6 
  1d6-1 
  5 
  8 
  +2 
  68/17 
  1.20 
  AP, IMR2, IPE, LR(15”),
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Sil(-3), Watertight, 2
  H&K USP Compact 
  .45 
  +1 
  +0 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  8 
  10 
  +2 
  44/11 
  0.79 
  PR
  High  Standard Trophy 
  .22 LR 
  +1 
  +1 
  1d6-1 
  1d6-1 
  10 
  6 
  +2 
  20/6 
  1.25
  Jericho 941 
  .41 
  +1 
  +1 
  1½d6 
  1d6-1 
  11 
  10 
  +2 
  33/10 
  1.00
  Kahr K9 
  9x19mm 
  +1 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  7 
  8 
  +2 
  25/7 
  0.71
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  107 
  Semi-Automatic Pistols (Continued)
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  STR PER 
  A/R
  Name 
  Cal 
  OCV RMod 
  Dam 
  STUNx Shots 
  Min Mod 
  Cost 
  Mass Notes
  L.A.R. Grizzly .45 
  .45 Win Mag +1 
  +0 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  7 
  13 
  +3 
  42/11 
  1.49
  L.A.R. Grizzly 10mm 
  10mm 
  +1 
  +0 
  1½d6 
  1d6 
  7 
  12 
  +3 
  30/8 
  1.49
  Lorcin L-25 
  .25 ACP 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6  
  1d6-1 
  7 
  8 
  +2 
  15/4 
  0.41
  Luger P-08 
  .30 
  +1 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  32 
  8 
  +2 
  30/9 
  0.87
  MBA Gyrojet Pistol 
  13x36mm Gy 
  +2 
  +1 
  2d6-1 
  1d6-1 
  6 
  5 
  +2 
  53/14 
  0.50 
  IMR2, IPE
  Makarov P6 
  9x18mm R 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  8 
  10 
  +3 
  28/7 
  0.70 
  Sil (-2)
  Makarov PM 
  9x18mm R 
  +0 
  -1 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  8 
  6 
  +1 
  20/4 
  0.68
  Norinco Model 77B 
  9x19mm 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  9 
  9 
  +2 
  20/5 
  1.00
  O’Dwyer VLe 
  9x19mm Ca +1 
  +1 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  24 
  8 
  +3 
  51/16 
  0.75 
  NP, AF3, 3
  Para-Ordinance P13/P14 
  .45 ACP 
  +1 
  +0 
  2d6-1 
  1d6 
  13 
  10 
  +2 
  39/12 
  1.07
  Pardini/Fiocchi S&W 
  .32 
  +1 
  +1 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  5 
  10 
  +3 
  65/20 
  1.10 
  Micr
  Pardini/Fiocchi SPE 
  .22 LR 
  +1 
  +2 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  5 
  10 
  +3 
  23/8 
  1.05 
  Micr
  Ruger Mark II 
  .22 LR 
  +1 
  +1 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  10 
  10 
  +3 
  62/20 
  2.1 
  Micr
  Ruger Model P90DC 
  .45 ACP 
  +1 
  +0 
  2d6-1 
  1d6 
  7 
  10 
  +2 
  39/10 
  0.90
  Ruger P94 
  9x19mm 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  15 
  8 
  +2 
  54/19 
  0.93 
  Laser
  SIG P210-6 
  7.65x17mm 
  +1 
  -1 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  8 
  7 
  +2 
  20/5 
  0.98
  SIG/SAUER P226 
  9x19mm 
  +1 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  15 
  8 
  +2 
  25/11 
  0.70
  SIG/SAUER P229 
  .40 
  +0 
  -1 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  12 
  8 
  +2 
  20/5 
  0.83
  S&W ASP 
  9x19mm 
  +1 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  7 
  10 
  +2 
  25/7 
  0.62 
  Clear grips/magazine
  S&W Mark 22 Model 0 
  9x19mm 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  8 
  10 
  +3 
  28/7 
  0.74 
  Sil (-2), 4
  S&W Model 41 
  .22 LR 
  +1 
  +2 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  10 
  8 
  +3 
  23/8 
  1.20
  S&W Model 1006 
  10mm 
  +1 
  +0 
  1½d6 
  1d6-1 
  9 
  8 
  +3 
  30/9 
  0.80
  S&W Model 4506 
  .45 ACP 
  +1 
  +0 
  2d6-1 
  1d6 
  8 
  8 
  +3 
  39/10 
  1.15
  S&W Model 5904/5906 
  9x19mm 
  +1 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  15 
  8 
  +3 
  25/8 
  1.06
  S&W SIGMA 
  .40 
  +1 
  +1 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  15 
  10 
  +3 
  28/9 
  0.74
  Sphinx AT-2000 
  .40 
  +1 
  +1 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  10 
  9 
  +3 
  28/8 
  1.03
  Sphinx 3000 
  9x19mm 
  +1 
  +1 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  16 
  10 
  +3 
  28/9 
  1.04
  Steyr GB 
  9x19mm 
  +1 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  18 
  9 
  +3 
  30/9 
  0.84
  Steyr M40 
  .40 
  +1 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  10 
  9 
  +2 
  25/7 
  0.78
  Steyr SPP 
  9x19mm 
  +1 
  +1 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  30 
  11 
  +3 
  33/10 
  1.30
  Tokarev TT-33 
  7.62x26mm R +0 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  8 
  9 
  +2 
  20/5 
  0.80
  Walther OSP/GSP 
  .32 
  +1 
  +1 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  5 
  10 
  +3 
  23/6 
  1.20
  Walther P5/P38 
  9x19mm 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  8 
  8 
  +2 
  20/5 
  0.80
  Walther P99 
  9x19mm 
  +1 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  16 
  10 
  +2 
  25/8 
  0.72
  Walther PPK/S 
  .380 Auto 
  +1 
  -1 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  7 
  6 
  +1 
  20/5 
  0.59
  Wildey Magnum 
  .45 Win Mag +0 
  +0 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  7 
  13 
  +3 
  37/9 
  1.98
  SUBMACHINE GUNS
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  STR PER 
  A/R
  Name 
  Cal 
  OCV RMod 
  Dam 
  STUNx Shots 
  Min Mod 
  Cost 
  Mass Notes
  Agram 2000 
  9x19mm 
  +0 
  -1 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  32 
  12 
  +4 
  35/9 
  1.90 
  AF5
  Ares FMG 
  9x19mm 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  32 
  10 +2/+3 35/9 
  2.25 
  AF5, ET(FP), 5
  Baretta Model 93R 
  9x19mm 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  20 
  11 
  +2 
  33/10 
  1.12 
  AF3, RC1
  Beretta M12/PM-12S 
  9x19mm 
  +1 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  40 
  10 
  +5 
  45/13 
  3.00 
  AF5
  Bison 
  9x18mm R 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  64 
  11 
  +4 
  40/11 
  2.10 
  AF5, clear magazine
  Bushman IDW 
  .41 
  +1 
  +1 
  1½d6 
  1d6-1 
  32 
  10 
  +4 
  44/13 
  3.46 
  AF5
  Bushmaster 
  .223 
  +1 
  +1 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  30 
  12 
  +4 
  68/20 
  2.38 
  AF5
  BXP 
  9x19mm 
  +1 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  32 
  10 
  +5 
  40/12 
  2.50 
  AF5
  Calico 960A 
  9x19mm 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  100 
  10 
  +4 
  45/13 
  2.17 
  AF5
  Colt CAR-15 
  9x19mm 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  30 
  12 
  +5 
  45/14 
  2.78 
  AF5, FS
  Colt M733 Commando 
  5.56x45mm N +1 
  +0 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  30 
  12 
  +4 
  82/26 
  3.20 
  AF5, FS
  Colt M635 Commando 
  9x19mm 
  +1 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  32 
  12 
  +5 
  50/26 
  2.59 
  AF5, FS
  CZ Model 61 Skorpion 
  .32 Cz 
  +1 
  -1 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  20 
  8 
  +2 
  31/8 
  1.59 
  AF5
  FN P90 
  5.7x28mm 
  +1 
  +0 
  2d6 
  1d6-1 
  50 
  10 
  +4 
  65/16 
  2.50 
  AF5, Tum, clear magazine
  Glock 18C 
  9x19mm 
  +1 
  +1 
  1d6+2 
  1d6-1 
  19 
  9 
  +2 
  47/15 
  0.59 
  AF3, PR, RC1
  H&K MP5 or 54 
  9x19mm 
  +1 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  30 
  12 
  +4 
  40/12 
  2.60 
  AF5
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  108 ■ Modern Weapons
  Submachine Guns (Continued)
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  STR PER 
  A/R
  Name 
  Cal 
  OCV RMod 
  Dam 
  STUNx Shots 
  Min Mod 
  Cost 
  Mass Notes
  H&K MP5/10A3 
  10mm 
  +1 
  +0 
  1½d6 
  1d6-1 
  30 
  12 
  +4 
  49/15 
  2.67 
  AF5, clear magazine
  H&K MP53 
  5.56x45mm N +1 
  +0 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  25 
  12 
  +4 
  65/19 
  3.05 
  AF5
  H&K MP5K/SP89   
  9x19mm 
  +1 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  30 
  12 
  +4 
  40/12 
  2.00 
  AF5
  H&K MP5K-PDW 
  9x19mm 
  +1 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  15 
  12 
  +4 
  35/11 
  2.79 
  AF5
  H&K MP5SD3 
  9x19mm 
  +1 
  +0 
  1d6   
  1d6-1 
  30 
  12 
  +5 
  52/16 
  2.52 
  AF5, FS, Sil (-4)
  H&K MP7 
  4.6x30mm 
  +1 
  +1 
  2d6 
  1d6-1 
  40 
  12 
  +4 
  75/22 
  1.20 
  AF5
  H&K MP2000 
  9x19mm 
  +1 
  +1 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  30 
  10 
  +4 
  60/18 
  2.78 
  AF5, Sil (-5)
  H&K UMP 
  .45 ACP 
  +1 
  +1 
  2d6-1 
  1d6 
  25 
  11  
  +6 
  62/18 
  2.08 
  AF5
  H&K VP70 Z 
  9x19mm 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  18 
  9 
  +2 
  36/11 
  0.82 
  AF3, RC2
  Ilarco 180 SR/SB 
  .22 M 
  +1 
  +2 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  165 
  12 
  +6 
  56/17 
  2.60 
  AF8
  Ingram MAC-10 
  .45 ACP 
  +1 
  +0 
  2d6-1 
  1d6 
  32 
  12 
  +3 
  59/17 
  2.84 
  AF5
  Ingram MAC-11 
  .380 Auto 
  +1 
  +0 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  32 
  12 
  +3 
  31/9 
  1.59 
  AF5
  Intratec TEC-9 
  9x19mm 
  +0 
  -1 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  32 
  12 
  +4 
  35/9 
  1.40 
  AF5
  Intratec TEC-22 
  .22 LR 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  30 
  12 
  +4 
  21/6 
  1.50 
  AF5
  JATI MATIC 
  9x19mm 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  40 
  10 
  +5 
  40/11 
  1.65 
  AF5
  KFAMP Assault MP 
  9x19mm 
  +1 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  108 
  12 
  +4 
  50/15 
  2.65 
  AF5
  M3A1 “Grease Gun” 
  .45 ACP 
  +0 
  +0 
  2d6-1 
  1d6 
  30 
  12 
  +4 
  54/15 
  3.47 
  AF5 Only 
  Parker-Hale PDW 
  9x19mm 
  +1 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  32 
  10 
  +4 
  38/12 
  2.10 
  AF3, RC1, 6
  PPsh-41 
  7.62x25mm R +1 
  -1 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  35 
  8 
  +6 
  45/12 
  3.60 
  AF5
  Ruger MP9 
  9x19mm 
  +1 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  32 
  12 
  +4 
  40/12 
  3.00 
  AF5
  Sidewinder SS-1 
  9x19mm 
  +1 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  45 
  12 
  +4 
  45/13 
  2.49 
  AF5
  SITES Spectre M4 
  9x19mm 
  +1 
  +1 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  50 
  13 
  +5 
  48/14 
  2.90 
  AF5, 7
  S&W M-76 
  9x19mm 
  +0 
  +1 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  36 
  12 
  +4 
  43/12 
  3.29 
  AF5
  Stechkin APS 
  9x18mm R 
  +1 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  20 
  12 
  +3 
  40/12 
  0.76 
  AF5
  STEN Mark II 
  9x19mm 
  +1 
  +1 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  32 
  12 
  +4 
  43/13 
  2.80 
  AF5
  Sterling L2A3 
  9x19mm 
  +2 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  34 
  13 
  +4 
  50/15 
  2.72 
  AF5, 8
  Sterling L34A1 
  9x19mm 
  +2 
  -1 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  34 
  10 
  +4 
  61/17 
  3.50 
  AF5, Sil (-3)
  Steyr MPi69/MPi81 
  9x19mm 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  32 
  10 
  +4 
  35/10 
  3.10 
  AF5
  Steyr TMP 
  .41 
  +1 
  +0 
  1½d6 
  1d6-1 
  30 
  10 
  +4 
  49/15 
  1.30 
  AF5
  Th ompson M1-A1 
  .45 ACP 
  +0 
  +0 
  2d6-1 
  1d6 
  50 
  13 
  +6 
  61/17 
  4.70 
  AF5 
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  109 
  Submachine Guns (Continued)
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  STR PER 
  A/R
  Name 
  Cal 
  OCV RMod 
  Dam 
  STUNx Shots 
  Min Mod 
  Cost 
  Mass Notes
  Th ompson M-1928 
  .45 ACP 
  +0 
  +0 
  2d6-1 
  1d6 
  50 
  14 
  +6 
  61/17 
  4.90 
  AF5, 9
  Uzi 
  9x19mm 
  +1 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  40 
  12 
  +4 
  45/13 
  3.60 
  AF5
  Mini-Uzi 
  9x19mm 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  20 
  12 
  +3 
  35/10 
  2.65 
  AF5
  Micro-Uzi 
  9x19mm 
  +0 
  -1 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  15 
  12 
  +2 
  30/7 
  1.95 
  AF5
  Viking 
  9x19mm 
  +1 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  36 
  12 
  +3 
  45/13 
  2.72 
  AF5
  Walther MPK/MPL 
  9x19mm 
  +1 
  +1 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  32 
  12 
  +4 
  43/13 
  2.80 
  AF5
  Weaver PKS9 Ultralite 
  9x19mm 
  +1 
  +1 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  42 
  13 
  +5 
  48/14 
  2.77 
  AF5
  RIFLES
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  STR PER 
  A/R
  Name 
  Cal 
  OCV RMod 
  Dam 
  STUNx Shots 
  Min Mod 
  Cost 
  Mass Notes
  AA Beowulf 
  .50 
  +1 
  +2 
  3d6 
  1d6   
  7 
  15 
  +5 
  67/16 
  4.00 
  2H, RC1
  Anschutz Model 1913 
  .22 LR 
  +1 
  +2 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  1 
  10 
  +5 
  23/6  
  7.00 
  2H
  Armalite AR-50 
  .50 B 
  +1 
  +2 
  3d6 
  1d6   
  1 
  16 
  +7 
  73/15 
  15.45 
  2H, RC2
  Barrett Model 82A1 
  .50 B 
  +1 
  +4 
  3d6 
  1d6   
  11 
  15 
  +8 
  79/20 
  12.9 
  2H, RC2
  Barrett M468 
  6.8x43mm 
  +1 
  +2 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  28 
  12 
  +5 
  62/17 
  3.31 
  2H, RC2
  Barrett M99-1 
  .50 B 
  +1 
  +3 
  3d6 
  1d6   
  1 
  14 
  +7 
  76/16 
  9.54 
  2H, RC2
  Calico M-105 
  .22 LR 
  +1 
  +1 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  100 
  12 
  +6 
  29/8  
  2.59 
  2H
  Calico M951 Carbine 
  9x19mm 
  +1 
  +1 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  100 
  12 
  +6 
  46/13 
  2.16 
  2H, RC1
  Colt Sporter HBAR 
  .223 
  +1 
  +2 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  30 
  12 
  +7 
  56/15 
  3.40 
  2H
  Daewoo DR 200 
  .223 
  +1 
  +1 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  20 
  13 
  +6 
  53/14 
  4.10 
  2H
  D Max Carbine 
  10mm 
  +1 
  +0 
  1½d6 
  1d6-1 
  30 
  11 
  +6 
  36/10 
  3.00 
  2H
  DPMS Panther 
  .308 Win 
  +1 
  +0 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  10 
  14 
  +6 
  49/12 
  5.45 
  2H
  FN Model 30-11 
  7.62x51mm N +1 
  +2 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  10 
  14 
  +5 
  55/14 
  4.85 
  2H
  Galil Sniper 
  7.62x51mm N +1 
  +1 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  25 
  13 
  +5 
  60/16 
  6.40 
  2H
  Galil SASR 
  .308 
  +1 
  +1 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  25 
  13 
  +6 
  53/14 
  6.40 
  2H
  Grendel S-16 
  7.62x36mm 
  +1 
  +2 
  2d6-1 
  1d6 
  20 
  14 
  +5 
  73/20 
  4.80 
  2H, Sil (-5)
  H&H African 
  .450 M 
  +0 
  +2 
  2½d6 
  1d6 
  2 
  16 
  +5 
  56/11 
  4.60 
  2H
  H&K G3SG/1 
  7.62x51mm N +1 
  +1 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  20 
  10 
  +5 
  75/23 
  5.54 
  2H, FS
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  110 ■ Modern Weapons
  Riﬂ es (Continued)
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  STR PER 
  A/R
  Name 
  Cal 
  OCV RMod 
  Dam 
  STUNx Shots 
  Min Mod 
  Cost 
  Mass Notes
  H&K HK94SG1 
  9x19mm 
  +1 
  +1 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  30 
  14 
  +5 
  33/9 
  3.26 
  2H
  H&K PSG-1 
  7.62x51mm N +1 
  +2 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  20 
  15 
  +6 
  63/16 
  8.10 
  2H
  H&K SR-9 
  .308 
  +1 
  +1 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  5 
  13 
  +6 
  52/12 
  4.95 
  2H
  L96A1 
  .300 Win Mag +1 
  +2 
  2½d6 
  1d6 
  10 
  15 
  +6 
  61/15 
  6.00 
  2H
  M-1 Garand 
  .30-06 
  +0 
  +1 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  8 
  15 
  +7 
  47/10 
  4.40 
  2H
  M21 Sniper 
  7.62x51mm N +1 
  +2 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  20 
  15 
  +6 
  63/16 
  5.04 
  2H
  M40A3  
  7.62x51mm N +1 
  +2 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  5 
  15 
  +6 
  55/13 
  4.10 
  2H
  MBA Gyrojet Carbine 
  13mm Gy 
  +1 
  +2 
  2d6-1 
  1d6-1 
  6 
  8 
  +4 
  51/12 
  2.50 
  2H, IMR2, IPE
  McMillan M-87 
  .50 B 
  +1 
  +3 
  3d6 
  1d6 
  5 
  17 
  +8 
  70/16 
  9.52 
  2H
  McMillan M-89 
  .308 
  +1 
  +3 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  20 
  13 
  +6 
  69/18 
  7.00 
  2H, Sil (-5)
  McMillan M-93 
  12.7x99mm 
  +1 
  +3 
  3d6 
  1d6 
  20 
  15 
  +8 
  87/23 
  9.52 
  2H, RC2
  RAI Model 500 
  12.7x99mm 
  +1 
  +3 
  3d6 
  1d6 
  1 
  15 
  +7 
  70/14 
  15.15 
  2H
  Remington M24 
  7.62x51mm N +1 
  +2 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  10 
  13 
  +6 
  55/14 
  4.00 
  2H
  Remington M700 
  7.62x51mm N +1 
  +2 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  5 
  10 
  +6 
  55/13 
  3.41 
  2H
  Ruger Mini-14 
  5.56x45mm N +1 
  +1 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  30 
  10 
  +5 
  53/14 
  3.10 
  2H
  SAR-4800 
  .308 
  +1 
  +1 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  20 
  12 
  +6 
  60/16 
  4.30 
  2H
  SSG 3000 
  7.62x51mm N +1 
  +2 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  5 
  14 
  +7 
  70/19 
  5.40 
  2H, FS, RC1
  SKS Carbine 
  7.62x54mm R +1 
  +2 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  10 
  10 
  +7 
  55/14 
  3.90 
  2H
  Springﬁ eld M1903 
  .30-06 
  +1 
  +1 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  5 
  13 
  +5 
  52/12 
  3.94 
  2H
  Springﬁ eld SAR-8 
  .308 Win 
  +1 
  +0 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  20 
  14 
  +5 
  57/15 
  4.00 
  2H
  Steyr AMR IWS 2000 
  15.2mm Fle 
  +1 
  +3 
  3½d6 
  1d6 
  5 
  20 
  +8 
  141/30 
  18.00 
  2H, AP, IMR2, IPE, RC1
  Steyr SSG-69/69 PII 
  7.62x51mm N +1 
  +3 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  10 
  15 
  +6 
  58/15 
  4.37 
  2H
  SVD Dragunov 
  7.62x54mm R +1 
  +2 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  10 
  15 
  +8 
  67/19 
  4.30 
  2H, FS
  Technika Destroyer 
  14.5x114mm R +1 
  +2 
  3d6+1 
  1d6 
  5 
  16 
  +8 
  73/16 
  26.00 
  2H
  VSS Silent Sniper 
  9x39mm R 
  +1 
  +1 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  20 
  13 
  +6 
  57/16 
  2.60 
  2H, AP, Sil (-4)
  Walther WA-2000 
  7.62x66mm 
  +1 
  +4 
  2½d6 
  1d6 
  6 
  13 
  +6 
  88/24 
  7.91 
  2H, FS, RC3
  Winchester Model 70 
  .300 Win Mag +1 
  +2 
  2½d6 
  1d6  
  3 
  12  
  +6 
  61/13 
  3.90 
  2H
  ASSAULT RIFLES
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  STR PER 
  A/R
  Name 
  Cal 
  OCV RMod 
  Dam 
  STUNx Shots 
  Min Mod 
  Cost 
  Mass Notes
  AIWS 
  5x54mm 
  +1 
  +0 
  2d6 
  1d6-1 
  60 
  13 
  +6 
  72/19 
  3.14 
  2H, AF5, NP
  AK-47/AKM-47 
  7.62x39mm R +1 
  +1 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  30 
  14 
  +6 
  68/18 
  4.30 
  2H, AF5
  AK-74/AKS-74 
  5.45x39.5mm R +1 
  +1 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  30 
  14 
  +6 
  71/19 
  3.60 
  2H, AF5, RC1
  AR-18 
  5.56x45m N 
  +0 
  +0 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  40 
  10 
  +6 
  84/24 
  3.17 
  2H, AF5, FS
  Beretta AR 70/223 
  5.56x45mm N +0 
  +0 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  30 
  13 
  +5 
  75/22 
  3.54 
  2H, AF5, FS
  CETME C3 
  7.62x51mm N +1 
  +0 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  20 
  12 
  +5 
  75/19 
  4.20 
  2H, AF5
  Colt M4/M4A1 Carbine 
  5.56x45mm N +1 
  +1 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  30 
  12 
  +5 
  71/19 
  2.54 
  2H, AF5, FS
  Colt M16/M16A1 
  5.56x45mm N +1 
  +1 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  30 
  13 
  +6 
  71/19 
  3.18 
  2H, AF5, FS
  Colt M16A2/A4 
  5.56x45mm N +2 
  +1 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  30 
  13 
  +6 
  88/27 
  5.78 
  2H, AF5, FS
  Enﬁ eld L85A1/SA80 
  5.56x45mm N +1 
  +0 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  30 
  13 
  +7 
  68/18 
  4.60 
  2H, AF5, FS
  FA-MAS 
  5.56x45mm N +1 
  +2 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  25 
  10 
  +6 
  74/20 
  3.70 
  2H, AF5, FS
  FN-CAL 
  5.56x45mm N +1 
  +1 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  30 
  15 
  +6 
  83/24 
  3.00 
  2H, AF5, FS
  FN-F2000 
  5.56x45mm N +1 
  +2 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  30 
  15 
  +6 
  86/25 
  3.60 
  2H, AF5, FS
  FN-FAL 
  7.62x51mm N +1 
  +2 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  20 
  16 
  +7 
  98/27 
  4.25 
  2H, AF5, FS
  FN-FNC 
  5.56x45mm N +1 
  +1 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  30 
  15 
  +6 
  80/23 
  3.80 
  2H, AF5, FS
  Galil MAR 
  5.56x45mm N +1 
  +1 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  35 
  13 
  +4 
  92/27 
  2.98 
  2H, AF5, FS
  Galil SAR 
  7.62x51mm N +1 
  +2 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  25 
  13 
  +5 
  98/28 
  4.30 
  2H, AF5, FS
  H&K 33A2 
  5.56x45mm N +1 
  +1 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  40 
  15 
  +5 
  92/27 
  3.65 
  2H, AF5, FS
  H&K G3 
  7.62x51mm N +1 
  +3 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  30 
  15 
  +5 
  84/21 
  4.25 
  2H, AF5
  H&K G11 
  4.73x33mm Ca +2 
  +1 
  2d6 
  1d6-1 
  50 
  15 
  +5 
  71/19 
  3.65 
  2H, AF5, IPE, RC2, NP, 10
  H&K G33E/G41E 
  5.56x45mm N +1 
  +2 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  25 
  15 
  +5 
  86/25 
  3.65 
  2H, AF5, FS
  H&K G36 
  5.56x45mm N +1 
  +1 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  30 
  15 
  +5 
  83/24 
  3.43 
  2H, AF5, FS
  M-2 Carbine 
  .30 
  +0 
  +1 
  1½d6 
  1d6-1 
  30 
  14 
  +6 
  47/12 
  2.36 
  2H, AF5
  M-14/M-14A1 
  7.62x51mm N +1 
  +2 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  20 
  12 
  +7 
  8½1 
  4.12 
  2H, AF5
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  111 
  Assault Riﬂ es (Continued)
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  STR PER 
  A/R
  Name 
  Cal 
  OCV RMod 
  Dam 
  STUNx Shots 
  Min Mod 
  Cost 
  Mass Notes
  M-19 SPIW 
  Fle 
  +1 
  +0 
  1½d6 
  1d6-1 
  50 
  11 
  +5 
  80/21 
  2.68 
  2H, AF5, AP, IMR2, 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  IPE, NP
  OICW (M29) 
  5.56x45mm N +3 
  +11 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  30 
  15 
  +6 
  198/64 
  5.50 
  2H, AF5, FS, NP, 11
  Ruger AC556F 
  5.56x45mm N +1 
  +1 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  30 
  12 
  +5 
  83/25 
  3.15 
  2H, AF5, FS
  SATS-G3 
  7.62x51mm N +1 
  +1 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  20 
  15 
  +6 
  78/19 
  3.63 
  2H, AF5
  SIG 550/551 
  5.56x45mm N +1 
  +1 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  30 
  13 
  +6 
  83/25 
  4.10 
  2H, AF5, FS, clear 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  magazine
  SR88A 
  5.56x45mm N +1 
  +1 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  30 
  13 
  +5 
  83/25 
  3.66 
  2H, AF5, FS
  Stoner M22 or M23 
  5.56x45mm N +1 
  +1 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  30 
  12 
  +5 
  68/18 
  3.70 
  2H, AF5
  Steyr ACR 
  Fle 
  +1 
  +2 
  1½d6 
  1d6-1 
  30 
  12 
  +5 
  80/21 
  3.23 
  2H, AF5, AP, IMR2, 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  IPE, NP
  Steyr AUG 
  5.56x45mm N +1 
  +2 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  30 
  12 
  +5 
  86/25 
  3.60 
  2H, AF5, FS, 12
  Valmet 90 
  7.62x51mm N +1 
  +1 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  20 
  14 
  +5 
  95/27 
  3.90 
  2H, AF5, FS
  Vektor CR-21 
  5.56x45mm N +3 
  +11 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  30 
  12 
  +5 
  129/39 
  3.80 
  2H, AF5, FS, Coll
  MACHINE GUNS
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  STR PER 
  A/R
  Name 
  Cal 
  OCV RMod 
  Dam 
  STUNx Shots 
  Min Mod 
  Cost 
  Mass Notes
  Light Machine Guns 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  13
  Ares 5.56 LMG 
  5.56x45mm N +1 
  +1 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  200 
  14 
  +6 
  90/21 
  4.91 
  AF5, Bulky
  H&K Model 13 
  5.56x45mm N +1 
  +1 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  100 
  14 
  +6 
  95/22 
  5.40 
  AF5, Bulky
  H&K Model 21 
  7.62x51mm N +1 
  +2 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  250 
  15 
  +7 
  125/28 
  7.30 
  AF10, Bulky
  IMI Negev 
  5.56x45mm N +1 
  +1 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  250 
  14 
  +5 
  105/24 
  7.60 
  AF10, Bulky
  L7A2 
  7.62x51mm N +1 
  +2 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  250 
  15 
  +6 
  125/28 
  10.90 
  AF10, Bulky
  M60 
  7.62x51mm N +1 
  +1 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  250 
  16 
  +7 
  152/40 
  10.51 
  AF10, Bulky, FS
  M60E3 
  7.62x51mm N +1 
  +2 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  250 
  16 
  +7 
  155/41 
  8.60 
  AF10, Bulky, FS
  M249 SAW/FN Minimi 
  5.56x45mm N +1 
  +1 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  200 
  15 
  +7 
  105/23 
  6.85 
  AF10, Bulky
  PK 
  7.62x39mm R +1 
  +2 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  250 
  14 
  +7 
  108/25 
  10.00 
  AF10, Bulky
  RPD 
  7.62x39mm R +1 
  +2 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  100 
  14 
  +7 
  10½4 
  7.10 
  AF10, Bulky
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  112 ■ Modern Weapons
  Machine Guns (Continued)
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  STR PER 
  A/R
  Name 
  Cal 
  OCV RMod 
  Dam 
  STUNx Shots 
  Min Mod 
  Cost 
  Mass Notes
  Stoner M207/Mk 23 
  5.56x45mm N +1 
  +1 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  250 
  14 
  +7 
  105/24 
  5.65 
  AF10, Bulky
  Ultimax 100 Mk III 
  5.56x45mm N +1 
  +1 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  100 
  14 
  +6 
  103/29 
  5.50 
  AF5, Bulky, FS
  Heavy Machine Guns 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  13
  EX-34 Chain Gun 
  7.62x51mm N +1 
  +1 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  1500 
  18 
  +7 
  122/24 
  13.70 
  AF10, Bulky, Crew3
  FN-MAG/MAG-58 
  7.62x51mm N +1 
  +1 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  250 
  16 
  +6 
  122/25 
  11.00 
  AF10, Bulky, Crew3
  GAU 19/A 
  .50 B 
  +1 
  +1 
  3d6 
  1d6 
  1000 
  20 
  +7 
  154/29 
  33.60 
  AF10, Bulky, Crew3
  KPV 
  14.5x114mm +1 
  +4 
  3d6+1 
  1d6 
  1000 
  23 
  +8 
  179/35 
  49.25 
  AF10, Bulky, Crew3
  M2HB Heavy Barrel 
  .50 B 
  +1 
  +4 
  3d6 
  1d6 
  110 
  20 
  +7 
  163/32 
  38.00 
  AF10, Bulky, Crew3
  M134 Minigun 
  7.62x51mm N +1 
  +4 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  1500 
  18 
  +8 
  148/30 
  16.30 
  AF20, Bulky, Crew3
  XM-214 Six-Pac Minigun 5.56x45mm N +1 
  +4 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  1000 
  20 
  +7 
  139/26 
  15.00 
  AF20, Bulky, Crew3
  SHOTGUNS
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  STR PER 
  A/R
  Name 
  Gauge 
  OCV RMod 
  Dam 
  STUNx Shots 
  Min Mod 
  Cost 
  Mass Notes
  Generic Shotguns
  .410 Shot 
  .410 
  +0 
  +0 
  1½d6 
  1d6 
  5 
  8 
  +5 
  44/8 
  3.00 
  2H, AE1, LR(20”), RR, 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  RP
  .410 Shot, DB 
  .410 
  +0 
  +0 
  1½d6 
  1d6 
  2 
  8 
  +5 
  75/12 
  3.00 
  2H, AE1, AF2, 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  LR(20”), RR, RP
  .410 Shot, Sawed-Oﬀ  
  .410 
  +0 
  +0 
  1½d6 
  1d6 
  2 
  8 
  +3 
  94/15 
  2.25 
  2H, AEC, AF2, NR, 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  RR, RP
  .410 Slug 
  .410 
  +0 
  +0 
  1½d6 
  1d6 
  5 
  8 
  +5 
  31/6 
  3.00 
  2H, LR(50”)
  28, 24 Shot 
  28, 24 
  +0 
  +0 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  5 
  10 
  +5 
  52/10 
  3.00 
  2H, AE1, LR(20”), RR, 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  RP
  28, 24 Shot, DB 
  28, 24 
  +0 
  +0 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  2 
  10 
  +5 
  90/15 
  3.00 
  2H, AE1, AF2, 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  LR(20”), RR, RP
  28, 24 Shot, Sawed-Oﬀ  
  28, 24 
  +0 
  +0 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  2 
  10 
  +3 
  105/17 
  2.25 
  2H, AEC, AF2, NR, 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  RR, RP
  28, 24 Slug 
  28, 24 
  +0 
  +0 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  5 
  10 
  +5 
  37/6 
  3.00 
  2H, LR(50”)
  20, 16 Shot 
  20, 16 
  +0 
  +0 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  5 
  11 
  +5 
  61/12 
  3.00 
  2H, AE1, LR(20”), RR, 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  RP
  20, 16 Shot, DB 
  20, 16 
  +0 
  +0 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  2 
  11 
  +5 
  105/17 
  3.00 
  2H, AE1, AF2, 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  LR(20”), RR, RP
  20, 16 Shot, Sawed-Oﬀ  
  20, 16 
  +0 
  +0 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  2 
  11 
  +3 
  122/19 
  2.25 
  2H, AEC, AF2, NR, 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  RR, RP
  20, 16 Slug 
  20, 16 
  +0 
  +0 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  5 
  11 
  +5 
  44/9 
  3.00 
  2H, LR(50”)
  12 Shot 
  12 
  +0 
  +0 
  2½d6 
  1d6 
  5 
  12 
  +5 
  70/13 
  3.00 
  2H, AE1, LR(20”), RR, 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  RP
  12 Shot, DB 
  12 
  +0 
  +0 
  2½d6 
  1d6 
  2 
  12 
  +5 
  120/20 
  3.00 
  2H, AE1, AF2, 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  LR(20”), RR, RP
  12 Shot, Sawed-Oﬀ  
  12 
  +0 
  +0 
  2½d6 
  1d6 
  2 
  12 
  +3 
  140/22 
  2.25 
  2H, AEC, AF2, NR, 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  RR, RP
  12 Slug 
  12 
  +0 
  +0 
  2½d6 
  1d6 
  5 
  12 
  +5 
  50/10 
  3.00 
  2H, LR(50”)
  10 Shot 
  10 
  +0 
  +0 
  3d6 
  1d6 
  5 
  12 
  +5 
  79/15 
  3.00 
  2H, AE1, LR(20”), RR, 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  RP
  10 Shot, DB 
  10 
  +0 
  +0 
  3d6 
  1d6 
  2 
  12 
  +5 
  135/22 
  3.00 
  2H, AE1, AF2, 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  LR(20”), RR, RP
  10 Shot, Sawed-Oﬀ  
  10 
  +0 
  +0 
  3d6 
  1d6 
  2 
  12 
  +3 
  157/25 
  2.25 
  2H, AEC, AF2, NR, 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  +RR, RP
  10 Slug 
  10 
  +0 
  +0 
  3d6 
  1d6 
  5 
  12 
  +5 
  56/11 
  3.00 
  2H, LR(50”)
  4 Shot 
  4 
  +0 
  +0 
  3d6+1 
  1d6 
  5 
  13 
  +5 
  87/17 
  3.00 
  2H, AE1, LR(20”), RR, 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  RP
  4 Shot, DB 
  4 
  +0 
  +0 
  3d6+1 
  1d6 
  2 
  13 
  +5 
  150/25 
  3.00 
  2H, AE1, AF2, 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  LR(20”), RR, RP
  4 Shot, Sawed-Oﬀ  
  4 
  +0 
  +0 
  3d6+1 
  1d6 
  2 
  13 
  +3 
  175/28 
  2.25 
  2H, AEC, AF2, NR, 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  RR, RP
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  113 
  Shotguns (Continued)
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  STR PER 
  A/R
  Name 
  Gauge 
  OCV RMod 
  Dam 
  STUNx Shots 
  Min Mod 
  Cost 
  Mass Notes
  4 Slug 
  4 
  +0 
  +0 
  3d6+1 
  1d6 
  5 
  13 
  +5 
  62/12 
  3.00 
  2H, LR(50”)
  Speciﬁ c Shotguns
  AAI CAWS 
  Fle 
  +1 
  +0 
  3d6 
  1d6 
  12 
  12 
  +5 
  154/34 
  4.08 
  2H, AE1, AF3, IPE, 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  LR(50”), NP, RC1
  Atchisson Assault 
  12 
  +0 
  +0 
  2½d6 
  1d6 
  20 
  13 
  +6 
  140/31 
  5.20 
  2H, AF5, LR(50”)
  Benelli 121-M1 
  12 
  +1 
  +0 
  2½d6 
  1d6 
  8 
  12 
  +4 
  70/14 
  3.30 
  2H, AE1, LR(20”), RR, 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  RP
  Benelli M4/M1014 
  12 
  +1 
  +0 
  2½d6 
  1d6 
  6 
  12 
  +4 
  75/15 
  3.80 
  2H, AE1, LR(20”), RR, 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  RP
  Bernardelli B4 
  12 
  +0 
  +0 
  2½d6 
  1d6 
  8 
  12 
  +5 
  70/14 
  3.45 
  2H, AE1, LR(20”), RR, 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  RP
  Daewoo USAS-12 
  12 
  +0 
  +0 
  2½d6 
  1d6 
  28 
  13 
  +6 
  80/19 
  5.50 
  2H, AF5, LR(50”)
  Entry Team Striker 
  12 
  +0 
  +0 
  2½d6 
  1d6 
  12 
  10 
  +5 
  120/24 
  4.20 
  2H, AE1, AF3, 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  LR(20”), RR, RP
  Franchi PA3/215 
  12 
  +0 
  +0 
  2½d6 
  1d6 
  3 
  12 
  +3 
  50/9 
  2.27 
  2H, LR(50”)
  Franchi SPAS-12 
  12 
  +0 
  +0 
  2½d6 
  1d6 
  8 
  12 
  +5 
  70/14 
  4.35 
  2H, AE1, LR(20”), RR, 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  RP
  Franchi SPAS-15 
  12 
  +0 
  +0 
  2½d6 
  1d6 
  6 
  12 
  +5 
  70/13 
  3.80 
  2H, AE1, LR(20”), RR, 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  RP, 14
  Ithaca MAG-10 
  10 
  +0 
  +0 
  3d6 
  1d6 
  2 
  12 
  +4 
  56/10 
  4.87 
  2H, LR(50”)
  Ithaca Stakeout 
  20 
  +1 
  +0 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  4 
  11 
  +4 
  66/13 
  1.59 
  2H, AE1, LR(20”), RR, 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  RP
  Jackhammer Mk 3A-2 
  12 
  +0 
  +0 
  2½d6 
  1d6 
  10 
  13 
  +5 
  106/48 
  4.57 
  2H, AF5, LR(50”), NP, 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  15
  KS-23M 
  4 
  +0 
  +0 
  3d6+1 
  1d6 
  3 
  14 
  +5 
  87/15 
  3.20 
  2H, AE1, LR(20”), RR, 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  RP
  Mossberg M500 ATP8 
  12 
  +0 
  +0 
  2½d6 
  1d6 
  8 
  12 
  +4 
  70/14 
  3.10 
  2H, AE1, LR(20”), RR, 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  RP
  Mossberg 590 
  12 
  +0 
  +0 
  2½d6 
  1d6 
  9 
  12 
  +5 
  70/15 
  3.10 
  2H, AE1, LR(20”), RR, 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  RP
  Olin/H&K CAWS 
  12 
  +1 
  +0 
  2½d6 
  1d6 
  10 
  12 
  +5 
  65/15 
  4.32 
  2H, AF3, LR(50”), NP
  Remington 870 P 
  12 
  +0 
  +0 
  2½d6 
  1d6 
  8 
  12 
  +3 
  70/14 
  3.40 
  2H, AE1, LR(20”), RR, 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  RP
  Winchester 1300 
  12 
  +0 
  +0 
  2½d6 
  1d6 
  7 
  12 
  +5 
  70/14 
  3.10 
  2H, AE1, LR(20”), RR, 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  RP
  GRENADES
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  STR PER 
  A/R
  Name 
  Cal 
  OCV RMod 
  Dam 
  STUNx Shots 
  Min Mod 
  Cost 
  Mass Notes
  Grenade Launchers 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  16
  Armscor Multishot GL 
  40mm 
  +0 
  +1 
  130 STR 
  6 
  12 
   
  +7 
  133/20 
  5.30 
  MR(10”)
  Arwen 37 
  37mm 
  +1 
  +1 
  (8d6) 
  — 
  5 
  10 
  +6 
  48/10 
  3.10 
  LR(30”), 17
  BG15 
  40mm 
  +0 
  +0 
  110 STR 
  1 
  8 
   
  +6 
  110/14 
  0.90 
  MR(15”), underslung
  H&K 69A1/79 
  40mm 
  +0 
  +0 
  110 STR 
  1 
  8 
   
  +6 
  110/13 
  1.80 
  MR(7”)
  Mk 19 Model 3 
  40mm 
  +1 
  +1 
  2½d6X 
  1d6 
  100 
  13 
  +8 
  168/38 
  32.90 
  AF5, MGL
  M79 
  40mm 
  +0 
  +1 
  100 STR 
  1 
  8 
   
  +5 
  103/13 
  2.70 
  MR(10”)
  M203/PIM203 
  40mm 
  +0 
  +1 
  110 STR 
  1 
  8 
   
  +6 
  113/14 
  1.40 
  MR(15”), underslung
  MM-1 
  40mm 
  +0 
  +0 
  (8d6X) 
  — 
  12 
  10 
  +6 
  60/13 
  6.00 
  MR(6”)
  Talon 
  40mm 
  +0 
  +1 
  110 STR 
  1 
  8 
   
  +6 
  113/14 
  1.40 
  MR(15”)
  Grenade Rounds
  20/22mm Fragmentation 
  20 or 22mm 
  — 
  — 
  1½d6X 
  1d6 
  1 
  — 
  +2 
  44/10 
  0.40
  24mm Fragmentation 
  24mm 
  — 
  — 
  2d6X 
  1d6 
  1 
  — 
  +2 
  52/12 
  0.40 
  30mm Fragmentation 
  30mm 
  — 
  — 
  2d6+1X 
  1d6 
  1 
  — 
  +2 
  61/14 
  0.40
  40mm Fragmentation 
  40mm 
  — 
  — 
  2½d6X 
  1d6 
  1 
  — 
  +2 
  70/16 
  0.40
  52mm Fragmentation 
  52mm 
  — 
  — 
  3d6X 
  1d6 
  1 
  — 
  +2 
  79/19 
  0.40
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  114 ■ Modern Weapons
  Grenades (Continued)
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  STR PER 
  A/R
  Name 
  Cal 
  OCV RMod 
  Dam 
  STUNx Shots 
  Min Mod 
  Cost 
  Mass Notes
  20/22mm Concussive 
  20 or 22mm 
  — 
  — 
  (5d6X) 
  — 
  1 
  — 
  +2 
  37/9 
  0.40
  24mm Concussive 
  24mm 
  — 
  — 
  (6d6X) 
  — 
  1 
  — 
  +2 
  45/11 
  0.40
  30mm Concussive 
  30mm 
  — 
  — 
  (7d6X) 
  — 
  1 
  — 
  +2 
  52/12 
  0.40
  40mm Concussive 
  40mm 
  — 
  — 
  (8d6X) 
  — 
  1 
  — 
  +2 
  60/14 
  0.40
  52mm Concussive 
  52mm 
  — 
  — 
  (9d6X) 
  — 
  1 
  — 
  +2 
  67/16 
  0.40
  FERRET 
  40mm 
  — 
  — 
  Tear gas 
   
  1 
  — 
  +2 
  210/56 
  0.40 
  Indirect, 18
  M397A1 Airburst 
  40mm 
  — 
  — 
  3d6X 
  1d6 
  1 
  — 
  +2 
  79/19 
  0.40 
  19
  M433 HEDP 
  40mm 
  — 
  — 
  2½d6X 
  1d6 
  1 
  — 
  +2 
  90/21 
  0.40 
  AP
  Rubber Impact 
  40mm 
  — 
  — 
  (8d6) 
  — 
  1 
  — 
  +2 
  40/9 
  0.40
  Hand Grenades
  Fragmentation 
  — 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6X 
  1d6-1 
  1 
  RBS 
  +2 
  22/5 
  0.40  
  Fragmentation 
  — 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6+1X 1d6-1 
  1 
  RBS 
  +2 
  30/7 
  0.40
  Fragmentation 
  — 
  +0 
  +0 
  1½d6X 1d6-1 
  1 
  RBS 
  +2 
  37/8 
  0.40
  Fragmentation 
  — 
  +0 
  +0 
  2d6X 
  1d6-1 
  1 
  RBS 
  +2 
  45/10 
  0.40
  Concussive 
  — 
  +0 
  +0 
  (5d6X) 
  — 
  1 
  RBS 
  +2 
  22/5 
  0.40
  Concussive 
  — 
  +0 
  +0 
  (6d6X) 
  — 
  1 
  RBS 
  +2 
  30/7 
  0.40
  Concussive 
  — 
  +0 
  +0 
  (7d6X) 
  — 
  1 
  RBS 
  +2 
  37/8 
  0.40
  Concussive 
  — 
  +0 
  +0 
  (8d6X) 
  — 
  1 
  RBS 
  +2 
  45/10 
  0.40
  Smoke 
  — 
  +0 
  +0 
  CE 4” 
  — 
  1 
  RBS 
  +2 
  21/6 
  0.25 
  -3 Sight PER for 3 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Turns, 20 
  Stun Grenade 
  — 
  +0 
  +0 
  See text 
  — 
  1 
  RBS 
  +2 
  67/14 
  0.40 
  21
  Tear Gas 
  — 
  +0 
  +0 
  Tear gas 
  — 
  1 
  RBS 
  +2 
  200/53 
  0.25 
  22
  M460/M465 
  — 
  +0 
  +0 
  (6d6) 
  — 
  1 
  — 
  +2 
  45/9 
  0.40 
  AE1, NR, 23
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  115 
  HEAVY WEAPONS
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  STR PER 
  A/R
  Name 
  Cal 
  OCV RMod 
  Dam 
  STUNx Shots 
  Min Mod 
  Cost 
  Mass Notes
  Armbrust 300 
  67mm 
  +0 
  +0 
  6½d6 
  1d6 
  1 
  12 
  +6 
  275/30 
  6.30 
  2H, AE2, AP, ET(1T), 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  IPE, SFW, 24, 25
  ASP 30mm 
  30mm 
  +1 
  +1 
  3d6+1 
  1d6 
  100 
  14 
  +8 
  170/37 
  47.6 
  2H, AF5, AP, Crew2
  FIM-92A Stinger SAM 
  — 
  +2 
  +0 
  5d6X 
  1d6 
  1 
  12 
  +6 
  197/23 
  15.7 
  2H, Crew2, ET(1T), 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  IMR5, NRM, SFW, 24
  Flamethrower 
  — 
  +0 
  +0 
  See text 
   
  10 
  — 
  +9 
  191/67 
  22.7 
  AE Line or Cone (see 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  text), 26 
  Kovrov RPG-7V 
  85mm 
  +0 
  +0 
  7d6+1X 
  1d6 
  1 
  12 
  +6 
  192/21 
  9.25 
  2H, ET(EP), MR(5”), 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  SFW
  M18 Recoilless Riﬂ e 
  57mm 
  -1 
  +3 
  6d6+1 
  1d6 
  1 
  15 
  +8 
  18½9 
  21.0 
  2H, AP, Crew2, 27
  M47 Dragon 
  140mm 
  -1 
  +0 
  9d6 
  1d6 
  1 
  12 
  +5 
  236/22 
  17.0 
  2H, AP, Crew2, ET(1T), 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  MR(35”), SFW
  M67 Recoilless Riﬂ e 
  90mm 
  +0 
  +1 
  7d6+1 
  1d6 
  1 
  15 
  +7 
  195/22 
  15.9 
  AP, Crew2, 27
  M72A3 LAW Rocket 
  66mm 
  +0 
  +1 
  6½d6X 
  1d6 
  1 
  12 
  +5 
  228/26 
  2.13 
  2H, AP, ET(EP), SFW
  M202A1 Flash 
  66mm 
  +0 
  +0 
  6½d6X 
  1d6 
  4 
  13 
  +6 
  229/41 
  12.1 
  2H, ET(1T), SFW, 28
  MDHC Mk 153 SMAW 
  83mm 
  +0 
  +0 
  7d6+1X 
  1d6 
  1 
  12 
  +6 
  247/25 
  16.6 
  2H, AP, Crew2, 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  ET(1T), SFW
  Metal Storm Cannon 
  7.62mm 
  +1 
  +1 
  2d6+1 
  1d6 
  540 
  12 
  +10 174/35 
  50.0 
  AF40, AP, Crew5, NP, 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  29
  SA-7B Grail 
  70mm 
  +1 
  +0 
  7d6X 
  1d6 
  1 
  12 
  +6 
  267/29 
  4.71 
  ET(1T), IMR2, MR(250”), 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  NRM, SFW, 24
  Wire Guided Missile 
  — 
  +0 
  +0 
  8d6X 
  1d6 
  1 
  12 
  +6 
  420/56 
  64.0 
  AP (x2), Crew4, ET(1T),  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  IRM5, NRM
  KEY:
  AE1:  Area Of Eﬀ ect (One Hex)
  AE2:  Area Of Eﬀ ect (One Hex Doubled)
  AEC:  Area Of Eﬀ ect (Cone)
  AF:  Autoﬁ re; the number aft er the letters indicates the maximum 
  number of shots
  ACP:  Automatic Colt Pistol
  AP:  Armor Piercing
  Auto:  Automatic
  B:  Browning
  Ca:  Caseless
  CAWS:  Close Assault Weapon System
  Coll:  Collimating/reﬂ ex site
  Crew:  Crew-Served (number indicates standard size of crew)
  Cz:  Czech
  DB:  Double-barrelled
  ET:  Extra Time (1T means 1 Turn; EP means Extra Phase, FP 
  means Full Phase)
  Fle:  Flechette
  FS:  Flash Suppressor
  Gy:  Gyrojet
  FS:  Flash Suppressor
  H&K:  Heckler & Koch, a German gun manufacturer
  IMR:  Increased Maximum Range (the number indicates the mul-
  tiplier)
  IPE:  Invisible Power Eﬀ ects
  Laser:  weapon has a laser sight
  LAW:  Light Anti-tank Weapon
  LR:  Long Riﬂ e
  LR(X”):  Limited Range (number indicates range)
  M:  Magnum
  MGL:  Mounted Grenade Launcher. Th ese must be mounted on 
  a tripod or vehicle to be ﬁ red, and two or three men of ordinary 
  strength are needed to lift  them (i.e., they’re Bulky). 
  micr:  micrometer sights
  mm:  millimeter
  MR:  Minimum Range (a -¼ Limitation indicating the weapon 
  can’t aﬀ ect targets nearer than the indicated distance; see page 
  100)
  N:  NATO round
  NP:  Not produced (a weapon that was or is experimental, was 
  cancelled before it entered production, or the like)
  NR:  No Range
  NRM:  No Range Modiﬁ er
  Only:  Autoﬁ re only, no single shots (a -0 Limitation; see page 100)
  PR:  Polygonal riﬂ ing (the eﬀ ect of this is already listed in the 
  table’s damage ﬁ gure)
  R:  Russian
  RBS:  Range Based On STR
  RC:  Recoil Compensator (1, 2, or 3 indicates type)
  RL:  Russian Long
  RP:  Reduced Penetration
  RR:  Reduced By Range
  SAM:  Surface-to-Air Missile
  SFW:  Shoulder-ﬁ red weapon (characters need WF: Shoulder-
  Fired Weapons to use one of these properly, and they typically 
  have the Bulky and Extra Time Limitations)
  Sil:  Silenced (number in parentheses indicates penalty to Hearing 
  PER Rolls)
  S&W:  Smith & Wesson (an American gun manufacturer)
  Tum:  Tumbler (bullets have the tumbling eﬀ ect; see page 208; the 
  extra die of damage is already listed on the chart)
  Underslung:  A grenade launcher meant to be attached under-
  neath the barrel of an assault riﬂ e or like weapon; it can’t be used 
  if not so attached.
  WinMag:  Winchester Magnum
  X:  Explosion
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  116 ■ Modern Weapons
  less dart (for which you can use the Flechette and 
  Silent round rules). Th e rounds come pre-loaded in 
  a cylinder that can only be reloaded at the factory. 
  It has an electronic trigger and is waterproofed. 
  Above water its eﬀ ective range is about thirty 
  meters (15”); its eﬀ ective range underwater is about 
  half that.
  3)  The O’Dwyer Smartgun is an experimental 
  (as of 2004) creation of the MetalStorm com-
  pany. (Most attributes of the pistol are specula-
  tive.) It uses MetalStorm’s patented technology, 
  which fits multiple bullets into a barrel and fires 
  them one at a time with an electrical charge. 
  Since it fires electronically, it has few moving 
  parts, which minimizes recoil and increases 
  accuracy. (In game terms, it has the equivalent 
  of a Type 2 recoil compensator and an electronic 
  trigger.) Additionally, the gun only works for its 
  owner (who wears a special ring); others cannot 
  fire it (i.e., it’s a Personal Focus).
  The Smartgun has four barrels arranged in 
  a square pattern, each holding six 9mm bullets. 
  Alternately, the user can fill some barrels with 
  other rounds (typically non-lethal ones), then 
  select which barrel to use with a selector switch. 
  (In game terms, you could build this as a Multi-
  power; the gun in the weapon list is assumed to 
  fire Standard ammunition only.) It can fire up 
  to three bullets with a single pull of the trigger, 
  propelling them so fast that they all leave the 
  barrel before the recoil has time to throw off the 
  shooter’s aim. Thus, all three bullets strike the 
  target in nearly the same spot.
  4)  Th e S&W Mark 22 Model 0 “Hush Puppy” is 
  the standard suppressed pistol for U.S. Navy SEAL 
  teams. With special plugs, the user can carry it 
  underwater without damaging it (in game terms, 
  it’s bought as Waterproofed).
  5)  Th e Ares FMG is a folding submachine gun. Th e 
  weapon folds up into a 26.2 x 8.4 x 3.5 cm box, and 
  the user can unfold and ﬁ re it in less than two sec-
  onds (in game terms, it has the -¼ Limitation Extra 
  Time (Full Phase to activate). When it’s folded, use 
  the smaller PER Modiﬁ er.
  6)  Th e Parker-Hale PDW is built with a low cyclic 
  rate and other features that help to minimize 
  “climb” and make the gun easy to control. In game 
  terms, this makes it function as if equipped with a 
  Type 1 recoil compensator.
  7)  The Spectre M-4 commonly comes with a 
  four-column clip “file system,” thus allowing the 
  firer to carry 200 rounds of ammunition. This 
  counts as a “rapid reloading” device (see Dark 
  Champions, page 194).
  8)  Th ere is special “compact” version of the Sterling 
  L2A3 known as the Sterling Mark 7. In game terms, 
  it’s the same as the L2A3, but has a +3 PER Modiﬁ er.
  9)  Th e Th ompson M1928 is heavy, can jam easily 
  when it gets dirty, and can be noisy when carried. 
  In game terms, reduce all Activation Rolls for Mal-
  function by 1.
  10)  Th e H&K G11 is an experimental riﬂ e using 
  Caseless ammunition and many other advances 
  that kept weight and recoil to a minimum. Its mag-
  azines had clips on the sides so the user can carry 
  two extra magazines attached to the one in the 
  riﬂ e (this counts as a “rapid reloading” device; see 
  Dark Champions, page 194). Although it attracted 
  great interest in many quarters, the reuniﬁ cation of 
  Germany resulted in its never being manufactured; 
  only about 100 were produced. A squad automatic 
  weapon (SAW) version with 300 rounds was in 
  design when the program was cancelled.
  11)  The OICW (Objective Individual Combat 
  Weapon) is a weapons system being devel-
  oped by the U.S. Army to replace the current 
  M16A2/M203 assault rifle/grenade launcher 
  weapon issued to American soldiers. As of 2004, 
  the Army designates this weapon the M29, and 
  expects to place an initial order of approximately 
  45,000 units (costing $10,000-12,000 each, plus 
  $25-$30 each for the 20mm grenades) to be 
  fielded by special units by 2008-09.
  The OICW incorporates a 5.56mm assault 
  rifle with an under-mounted launcher for 
  20mm “smart” grenades. Its enhancements and 
  electronics include a targeting computer, infra-
  red/laser aiming device, laser range finder/
  digital compass/GPS tracking device, and a 
  thermal weapon sight. The targeting computer 
  uses the rangefinder and other electronics to 
  “program” the smart grenades to explode at a 
  predesignated range, significantly increasing 
  the chance of killing the target even if there’s 
  no direct hit. The grenades have a minimum 
  range of about 50m (25”) and a maximum 
  range of about 1000m (500”).
  Cost Power
  15 
  OICW:  Multipower, 60-point reserve; all 
  OAF (-1), STR Minimum (15; STR Mini-
  mum Cannot Add/Subtract Damage; -1¼), 
  Real Weapon (-¼), Two-Handed (-½)
  1u 
  1)  5.56x45mm Rounds:  RKA 2d6, +1 Auto-
  ﬁ re (5 shots; +½), Increased STUN Multiplier 
  (+¼), 30 Charges (+¼) (60 Active Points); 
  OAF (-1), STR Minimum (15; STR Mini-
  mum Cannot Add/Subtract Damage; -1¼), 
  Beam (-¼), Real Weapon (-¼), Two-Handed 
  (-½)
  1u 
  2)  20mm “Smart” Grenade Launcher:  RKA 
  1½d6, Explosion (+½), Increased Maximum 
  Range (500”; +¼) (50 Active Points); OAF 
  (-1), Minimum Range (25”; -¼), STR Mini-
  mum (15; STR Minimum Cannot Add/Sub-
  tract Damage; -1¼), Real Weapon (-¼), Two-
  Handed (-½), 6 Charges (-¾)
  2 
  Inherent Accuracy:  +1 OCV (5 Active 
  Points); OAF (-1), Real Weapon (-¼), Two-
  Handed (-½)
  1 
  Inherent Accuracy:  +1 versus Range Modi-
  ﬁ er (3 Active Points); OAF (-1), Real Weapon 
  (-¼), Two-Handed (-½)
  20 
  Targeting Computer:  See page 97
  7 
  Flash Suppressor:  Invisible to Normal Sight 
  (+¼) for up to a 60 Active Point ﬁ rearm (15 
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  117 
  Active Points); OAF (-1), Real Weapon (-¼)
  10 
  Camera:  Clairsentience (Sight Group), 1 
  Continuing Fuel Charge (easily recharged, 3 
  Hours; +¼) (25 Active Points); OAF (-1), No 
  Range (-½)
  1 
  Th ermal Sight:  Infrared Perception (Sight 
  Group) (5 Active Points); OAF (-1), Extra 
  Time (2 Minutes to activate; -¾), Real 
  Weapon (-¼), Only When Shooter Braces 
  And/Or Sets (-1), 1 Continuing Fuel Charge 
  lasting 5 Hours (-0)
  5 
  GPS Tracker:  Detect Exact Position On 
  Earth 16- (Radio Group) (10 Active Points); 
  OAF (-1)
  1 
  Compass:  Bump Of Direction (3 Active 
  Points); OAF (-1)
  Total cost:  64
  12)  Th e Steyr AUG can convert into a carbine, 
  riﬂ e, or light machine gun by switching barrels 
  and other attachments. If desired, characters could 
  build this weapon as a Multipower with the Limita-
  tion Extra Time (Full Phase to change slots; -½) on 
  the reserve.
  13)  Machine guns fall into two categories, Light 
  and Heavy. Light machine guns (LMGs) realisti-
  cally usually have a two-man ﬁ ring team, but they 
  don’t necessarily have to, so they don’t get the 
  Crew-Served Limitation. Th ey do, however, qualify 
  as Bulky Foci. Heavy machine guns (HMGs) take 
  the Crew-Served (3 men; -½) Limitation in addi-
  tion to Bulky; they have to be mounted on a tripod 
  or vehicle. Most machine guns are belt-fed, though 
  some LMGs can mount small boxes of about 30 
  rounds if necessary. 
  14)  Th e Franchi SPAS-15 is a semi-automatic mili-
  tary shotgun that ﬁ res an especially powerful 12-
  gauge shell. Th ese shells are too powerful for most 
  shotguns (they will not allow the breech to close if 
  used in them).
  15)  Th e Jackhammer Mark 3A-2, an experimental 
  weapon designed (but never manufactured) by 
  Pancor, has a casing made primarily of ﬁ berglass 
  and plastic, though the inner workings are still 
  steel. It uses a cylindrical magazine that holds 10 
  shells (in this example, it’s ﬁ lled with slugs). If nec-
  essary, the user can detach the magazine and use 
  it as a landmine! Th e magazine casing is designed 
  to withstand the blast so it can be reused. A special 
  silencer, with a life of 10 shots, can be attached to 
  the Jackhammer.
  Cost Power
  42 
  Pancor Jackhammer Mark 3A-2:  Multipower, 
  106 Active Points; all OAF (-1), Real Weapon 
  (-¼), 10 Charges for entire Multipower (-¼)
  2u 
  1)  Shotgun with Slugs:  RKA 2½d6, Autoﬁ re 
  (5 shots; +½), +1 Increased STUN Multiplier; 
  OAF (-1), Beam (-¼), Limited Range (50”; 
  -¼), STR Minimum (13; STR Minimum 
  Cannot Add/Subtract Damage; -1), Real 
  Weapon (-¼), Two-Handed (-½)
  4u 
  2)  Magazine As Landmine:  RKA 5½d6, Trig-
  ger (putting suﬃ  cient pressure on it; +¼); 
  OAF (-1), No Range (character must place 
  landmine; -½), Real Weapon (-¼), Requires 
  Multiple Charges (1 Charge for base 2½d6 
  damage, +1 DC per additional Charge; -0)
  Total cost:  48 points.
  16)  Grenade launchers are devices used to launch 
  grenade rounds. In game terms, most are bought as 
  STR with the Limitations OAF (-1), Real Weapon (-
  ¼), and Only To Make Standing Or Prone Th rows Of 
  Grenades (-2). Charges applies as an Advantage or 
  Limitation, as appropriate. Th e STR does not add to 
  the character’s STR for throwing purposes, it sub-
  stitutes for his STR. A launcher may also provide 
  a RMod bonus or penalty. Some of the multi-shot 
  grenade launchers are described as standard weap-
  ons, with one type of grenade chosen as a default, 
  for ease of presentation.
  Grenade rounds are the grenades fired from 
  a grenade launcher. They can’t be thrown like 
  hand grenades.
  Hand grenades are hand-thrown explosive 
  weapons; they can’t be launched from grenade 
  launchers. Th e character pulls the pin and throws 
  the grenade, which detonates aft er a short amount 
  of time. In game terms, it’s usually easiest to assume 
  that grenades explode in the Phase in which they’re 
  thrown; in campaigns emphasizing realism, the GM 
  may want to delay the explosion by 1-3 Segments.
  17)  Th e Arwen 37 is a British grenade launcher 
  that ﬁ res diﬀ erent types of 37mm grenades (for 
  game purposes, these have the same eﬀ ect as 40mm 
  grenades). Th e one in the table is loaded with 
  “impact” rounds, but any other grenade type could 
  be substituted.
  18)  Th e FERRET grenade round is a tear gas 
  grenade, built as follows. It has an armor-piercing 
  capability that allows it to penetrate walls and bar-
  riers before releasing the tear gas.
  Sight Group Flash 8d6, Area Of Eﬀ ect (4”; +1), 
  Continuous (+1), Delayed Recovery (+2), Indi-
  rect (can penetrate walls and similar barriers 
  within 30” of shooter; +¼) (210 Active Points); 
  OAF (-1), Limited Range (50”; -¼), Real 
  Weapon (-¼), 1 Continuing Charge lasting 1 
  Turn (-1¼). Total cost:  56 points.
  19)  Th e M397A1 is an “airburst” grenade. It con-
  tains a miniature fuse that “bounces” the grenade 
  into the air when it hits the ground, causing it to 
  explode at head level rather than at ground level. 
  When it’s used against a standing opponent, all 
  shots with this grenade should be considered High 
  Shots and the Hit Location rolled accordingly.
  20)  Th e smoke grenade is built as follows:
  Change Environment 4” radius, -3 to Sight 
  Group PER Rolls (21 Active Points); OAF (-1), 
  Range Based On STR (-¼), Real Weapon (-¼), 
  1 Continuing Charge lasting 3 Turns (-1). Total 
  cost:  6 points.
  21)  Th is is a generic stun grenade, built as follows:
  Energy Blast 3d6, NND (defense is any rPD; 
  +1), Explosion (+½) (37 Active Points); OAF 
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  118 ■ Modern Weapons
  (-1), Range Based On STR (-¼), Real Weapon 
  (-¼), 1 Charge (-2) (total cost:  8 points) plus 
  Sight and Hearing Group Flash 3d6, Explosion 
  (+½) (30 Active Points); OAF (-1), Linked (-
  ½), Range Based On STR (-¼), Real Weapon 
  (-¼), 1 Charge (-2) (total cost:  6 points). Total 
  cost:  14 points.
  22)  Here’s the eﬀ ect of the tear gas hand grenade:
  Sight Group Flash 8d6, Area Of Eﬀ ect (6”; +1), 
  Continuous (+1), Delayed Recovery (+2) (200 
  Active Points); OAF (-1), Range Based On STR 
  (-¼), Real Weapon (-¼), 1 Continuing Charge 
  lasting 1 Turn (-1¼). Total cost:  53 points.
  23)  Th e M460 is known as a “Th understrip.” It’s 
  30.5 x 7.6 x 2.5 cm and is made to slip underneath 
  doors or through open windows. Th e M465 is the 
  “Th under Rod,” a cylinder 35.5 cm long with a 1.7 
  cm diameter designed to slip through holes made 
  by a 12-gauge shotgun slug.
  24)  These are one-shot weapons — the rocket 
  tube is discarded after the rocket is fired. This 
  is bought as Charges which Never Recover (an 
  additional -2 Limitation).
  25)  Th e Armbrust 300 is a one-shot rocket 
  launcher designed to destroy tanks. It is smokeless, 
  ﬂ ashless, virtually noiseless, and uses a counter-
  weight system to eliminate most of the recoil and 
  backblast. Th is is bought as Invisible Power Eﬀ ects 
  (the special eﬀ ects of the power, but not its source, 
  are undetectable; +¼). Th e blast covers a 2” radius.
  26)  Flamethrowers are devices for projecting 
  ﬂ ame. Th ey consist of a bulky, heavy backpack 
  which holds the fuel (either ordinary liquid fuel, 
  thickened fuel, or various incendiary chemicals). 
  Th ickened fuels (such as napalm) tend to burn the 
  best and have the greatest range. 
  In HERO System terms, ﬂ amethrowers are 
  bought as Multipowers. Each slot is a Killing Attack. 
  Th e ﬁ rst slot creates a Line of ﬁ re, the second a 
  Cone. Both are Continuous (since the user can 
  simply hold down the trigger and keep ﬁ lling the 
  area with ﬂ ame) and Mobile (since the character 
  can “wave” the area of ﬂ ame back and forth slowly). 
  However, both of these slots also have a -0 Side 
  Eﬀ ect:  if the ﬂ amethrower is ﬁ red at a target which 
  is too close (closer than 3”) or is ﬁ red into the wind, 
  there’s an 11- chance that fuel will splash on the 
  ﬁ rer, inﬂ icting 1½d6 Killing Damage.
  Some ﬂ amethrowers have a third slot — an 
  Area of Eﬀ ect (Any Shape) that simulates the 
  ﬂ amethrower’s capacity to make “cold shots.” A cold 
  shot involves spraying unlit fuel onto an area, then 
  lighting it.
  A ﬂ amethrower has an overall number of 
  Charges indicating how many seconds’ worth of 
  fuel it has. However, the ﬁ res set by the ﬂ ame-
  thrower may continue to burn long aft er the user is 
  out of fuel, and ﬂ ammable objects that come into 
  contact with them may also catch ﬁ re (if the GM 
  prefers, he can charge Character Points for this, 
  using the same eﬀ ect as for Incendiary Ammuni-
  tion on page 69).
  Some sample ﬂ amethrowers include:  the 
  M2A1 and M9A1-7, American models with ten 
  seconds’ worth of fuel; the LPO-50, a Soviet ﬂ ame-
  thrower with nine seconds’ worth of fuel; and the 
  HAFLA-35L, a one-shot German ﬂ amethrower 
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  119 
  “pistol” with enough fuel to ignite an 8”x2” area. 
  Th e one in the list, and described below, is typical 
  of the American ﬂ amethrowers.
  Cost Powers
  55 
  Flamethrower:  Multipower, 191-point base; 
  all OAF Bulky (-1½), Real Weapon (-¼), 
  Two-Handed (-½), 10 Charges for entire 
  Multipower (-¼)
  5u 
  1)  Firebolt:  RKA 3d6, Area of Eﬀ ect (27” 
  Line; +1), Armor Piercing (+½), Continuous 
  (+1), Mobile (character can move Line 6” per 
  Phase, but starting hex of Line must always 
  remain in the hex immediately in front of 
  him; +¾) (191 Active Points); OAF Bulky (-
  1½), No Range (-½), Real Weapon (-¼), Side 
  Eﬀ ect (see text; -0), Two-Handed (-½)
  5u 
  2)  Wide-Angle Firebolt:  RKA 3d6, Area 
  of Eﬀ ect (15” Cone; +1), Armor Piercing 
  (+½), Continuous (+1), Mobile (character 
  can move Line 6” per Phase, but starting 
  hex of Line must always remain in the hex 
  immediately in front of him; +¾) (191 Active 
  Points); OAF Bulky (-1½), No Range (-½), 
  Real Weapon (-¼), Side Eﬀ ect (see text; -0), 
  Two-Handed (-½)
  2u 
  3)  Cold Shot:  RKA 3d6, Area of Effect 
  (5” Any Area; +1), Armor Piercing (+½) 
  (112 Active Points); OAF Bulky (-1½), 
  Extra Time (a minimum of an Extra Phase 
  between spraying the fuel and lighting it; 
  -¾), No Range (-½), Real Weapon (-¼), 
  Two-Handed (-½)
  Total cost:  67 points.
  27)  Th e M18 57mm and M67 90mm Recoilless 
  Riﬂ es are single-shot, reloadable weapons ﬁ red 
  from the shoulder or from a tripod (they use WF: 
  Shoulder-Fired Weapons). Th e typical ammunition 
  is an AP round, but high explosive and others are 
  available. Th ey are Bulky Foci, and have the same 
  “backblast” Side Eﬀ ect as the M202A1.
  28)  Th e M202A1 Flash is a four-shot napalm 
  rocket launcher ﬁ ring the M74 napalm rocket. It’s 
  built as follows:
  RKA 6½d6, Explosion (-1 DC/2”; +¾), +1 
  Increased STUN Multiplier (+¼) (200 Active 
  Points); OAF Bulky (-1½), Extra Time (1 
  Turn; -1¼), Real Weapon (-¼), Side Eﬀ ect 
  (has a backblast of an RKA 1d6, Area Of Eﬀ ect 
  (4” Cone) behind it, always occurs; -0), Two-
  Handed (-½), 4 Charges (-1) (total cost:  36 
  points) plus RKA 1 point, Area Of Eﬀ ect (equal 
  to size of Explosion; +2½), Continuous (+1), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END to enable Uncon-
  trolled eﬀ ect; +½), Sticky (only aﬀ ects ﬂ am-
  mables; +¼), Uncontrolled (eﬀ ect ends when it 
  runs out of fuel or oxygen, or someone extin-
  guishes the ﬂ ames; +½) (29 Active Points); 
  OAF Bulky (-1½), Activation Roll 13- (-¾), 
  Linked (-½), Real Weapon (-¼), Two-Handed 
  (-½), 4 Charges (-1) (total cost:  5 points). Total 
  cost:  41 points.
  29)  Th e MetalStorm Cannon is a putative heavy 
  weapon that would take full advantage of the Met-
  alStorm ﬁ ring technology described above for the 
  O’Dwyer VLe “smart gun.” In theory the Metal-
  Storm system of stacking bullets in the barrel of a 
  gun and then ﬁ ring the bullets electronically could 
  allow for a cyclic rate of ﬁ re (i.e., an ideal, theoreti-
  cal maximum assuming no need to reload or other 
  problems) of a million rounds per minute, given a 
  gun with about 36 barrels.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  120 ■ Modern Weapons
  OTHER 
  WEAPONS
  G
  uns aren’t the only weapons modern-day 
  characters use (or have used against them). 
  Th ey’ll come into contact with many other 
  implements of destruction during their 
  adventuring careers.
  HAND-TO-HAND 
  COMBAT WEAPONS
  Sometimes characters can’t fight their 
  enemies at range with guns — they have to get 
  in close and use their fists and any weapons 
  designed for such fighting.
  CLUBS
  A “club” is any object a character can use 
  to do do Normal Damage to another character 
  in combat. Clubs that characters pay Character 
  Points (or Resource Points) for are built with the 
  Power Hand-To-Hand Attack and usually have the 
  Advantage Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) and 
  the Limitations OAF (-1), Real Weapon (-¼), and 
  Hand-To-Hand Attack (-½). Th e accompanying 
  table lists several, ranging from actual weapons 
  to “weapons of opportunity” characters might lay 
  their hands on during a ﬁ ght. Characters can also 
  throw some of these objects, doing the maximum 
  of their STR damage or the object’s DEF+BODY, 
  whichever is less.
  KNIVES
  Knives and similar bladed weapons — prison 
  “shanks,” bayonets, perhaps even the occasional 
  sword — are common in many games. Th ey’re built 
  as HKAs with the Advantage Reduced Endurance (0 
  END; +½) and the  the Limitations OAF (-1) and 
  Real Weapon (-¼).
  Some knives are made to be thrown. Th ese 
  have the Advantage Range Based On STR (+¼) (or, 
  more elaborately, are built as a Multipower, with 
  one HKA slot, and one slot with HKA, Range Based 
  On STR, 1 Recoverable Charge, and Lockout). At 
  the GM’s option, characters can throw knives with-
  out RBS, but at a -2 OCV penalty (characters can 
  eliminate this penalty by buying the WF Th rown 
  Standard Knives).
  Th e accompanying table lists several bladed 
  weapons common to the modern-day action-adven-
  ture genre, and their Active and Real Point costs.
  EXPLOSIVES
  An explosive is a substance which rapidly cre-
  ates tremendous heat and pressure when properly 
  activated. Explosives are generally divided into 
  “low” and “high” types, as explained below. In the 
  HERO System, working with explosives is a func-
  tion of the Skill Demolitions. 
  Th e accompanying table lists suggested 
  damage ratings for explosives. However, because 
  determining a particular bomb’s power depends 
  upon how it’s constructed and other variables, these 
  ﬁ gures should be considered guidelines the GM 
  can alter or adapt as he sees ﬁ t.
  LOW EXPLOSIVES
  Low explosives, also known as deﬂ agrating 
  explosives, do not really explode — they burn very, 
  very quickly. Th ey create relatively low pressure and 
  more of an eﬀ ect of “heaving” than of shattering (or 
  “brisance”). However, using a suﬃ  cient quantity of 
  low explosive causes a detonating eﬀ ect similar to 
  high explosives (see below).
  Th e low explosive most commonly used today 
  is black powder (and its modern improvement, 
  smokeless powder), a mixture of carbon (char-
  coal, 15%), sulfur (10%), and potassium nitrate 
  (saltpetre, 75%). It’s basically insensitive to impact 
  and friction, requiring a ﬂ ame and/or heat to ini-
  tiate the explosion. For bullets, an impact-sensi-
  tive explosive charge ignites the powder; for pipe 
  bombs and other improvised munitions, a fuse of 
  some sort is required. Working with black powder 
  is easy; the GM should add +1 to +3 to a character’s 
  Demolitions roll in appropriate circumstances.
  HIGH EXPLOSIVES
  High, or detonating, explosives have such a 
  rapid chemical reaction when activated that they 
  produce immense pressure and shattering force 
  (brisance). Detonation waves from high explosives 
  oft en exceed 20,000 feet per second. 
  High explosives can be further divided into 
  two types. Th e ﬁ rst is primary or initiating explo-
  sives. Fire/heat, impact, or friction can readily 
  detonate these substances. Because of this sensi-
  tivity, they’re rarely used for actual demolitions 
  — instead, they’re used in initiating devices (such 
  as blasting caps) to set oﬀ  safer explosives. Primary 
  explosives include diazodinitrophenol (DDNP), 
  fulminate-chlorate mixtures, lead azide, lead styph-
  nate, mercury fulminate, silver azide, and silver 
  fulminate.
  Th e second type of high explosive is the sec-
  ondary (or noninitiating) explosive. Th ese are mixed 
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  121 
  together to produce the right combination of sen-
  sitivity, brisance, and stability for particular jobs. 
  Th e most important secondary explosives include 
  ammonium picrate, cyclonite (RDX and HMX), 
  dynamite, and TNT.
  DETONATION METHODS
  Th ere are ﬁ ve main types of fuses, or meth-
  ods of detonating the primer charge that sets oﬀ  a 
  bomb:
  ■ ﬂ ame fuses
  ■ chemical fuses
  ■ electric fuses (including radio-controlled fuses)
  ■ mechanical fuses (including impact fuses and 
  “tremblers” that trigger a bomb if it’s moved)
  ■ pressure fuses (which go oﬀ  when a certain amount 
  of pressure is applied, whether by foot [as with land 
  mines] or by reaching a certain barometric pressure 
  [as with some terrorist bombs placed on airplanes]).
  Th e type of fuse chosen depends on the explo-
  sive used and the type of bomb. Flame works for 
  black powder, for example, but not for plastique. An 
  elaborate radio-controlled electrical fuse or a pres-
  sure fuse isn’t needed for a kamikaze bombing run 
  with a truckful of dynamite, but would be ideal for 
  many types of terrorist bombings.
  Simple fuses impose no penalty to Demoli-
  tions rolls to disarm the explosive. Complex electri-
  cal, chemical, mechanical, or pressure fuses could 
  impose a -1 to -4 penalty to Demolitions.
  MODERN HAND-TO-HAND WEAPONS TABLE
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  Damage STUNx STR Min BODY 
  DEF 
  Mass 
  A/R Cost 
  Notes
  Clubs
  Blackjack 
  0 
  2d6 N 
  — 
  5 
  2 
  3 
  0.50 
  15/5
  Bottle 
  0 
  1d6 N 
  — 
  3 
  1 
  1 
  1.0 
  N/A 
  Aft er the ﬁ rst hit, a bottle no longer functions 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  as an HA, but rather as an HKA ½d6.
  Brass Knuckles 
  0 
  2d6 N 
  — 
  5 
  2 
  3 
  0.5 
  15/5
  Brick 
  0 
  2d6 N 
  — 
  8 
  2 
  5 
  2.0 
  N/A
  Chain 
  0 
  3d6 N 
  — 
  8 
  3-4 
  5 
  2.0 
  N/A
  Chair/stool 
  0 
  2-4d6 N 
  — 
  10 
  3-5 
  3-5 
  5.0 
  N/A
  Claw hammer 
  0 
  3d6 N 
  — 
  5 
  2 
  3 
  0.9  
  N/A 
  Th e hammer’s claw is an HKA 1 point.
  Lead Pipe 
  0 
  3d6 N 
  — 
  8 
  2 
  5 
  0.5 
  N/A
  Nightstick/Billy club 0 
  3d6 N 
  — 
  8 
  3 
  3 
  0.9 
  22/8
  Pistol butt 
  0 
  2d6 N 
  — 
  8 
  2 
  3 
  Var 
  15/5
  Riﬂ e butt 
  0 
  3d6 N 
  — 
  10 
  3 
  3 
  Var 
  22/8
  Roll of coins in ﬁ st 0 
  1d6 N 
  — 
  3 
  1 
  2 
  0.02 
  N/A
  Shot gloves 
  0 
  2d6 N 
  — 
  8 
  2 
  3 
  1.50 
  15/5 
  Gloves with pockets on the outside of the 
  ﬁ ngers ﬁ lled with lead shot. Th ey impose a 
  -2 penalty on all DEX Rolls and Agility Skill 
  Rolls involving the hands, and a -2 OCV pen-
  alty on attacks which require the hand to grip 
  or use a weapon (a Side Eﬀ ect [-½]).
  Tire iron 
  0 
  3d6 N 
  — 
  8 
  3 
  5 
   
  N/A
  Tonfa 
  0 
  3d6 N 
  — 
  8 
  3 
  3 
   
  22/8
  Two-by-Four 
  0 
  3d6 N 
  — 
  8 
  2 
  3 
   
  N/A
  Knives And Bladed Weapons
  Bayonet 
  0 
  1d6-1 
  0 
  6 
  3 
  5 
  0.8 
  18/8
  Combat knife# 
  0 
  1d6-1 
  0 
  6 
  3 
  5 
  0.8 
  21/8 
  Can Be Th rown
  Fiberglass knife* 
  0 
  ½d6 
  0 
  4 
  2 
  5 
  0.4 
  20/9 
  Can Be Th rown, IPE (metal detectors)
  Machete 
  0 
  1d6 
  0 
  10 
  5 
  5 
  1.1 
  22/8
  Punch dagger 
  0 
  ½d6 
  0 
  4 
  2 
  5 
  0.3 
  15/7
  Shank, shiv# 
  0 
  ½d6 
  0 
  4 
  2 
  5 
  0.4 
  17/7 
  Can Be Th rown
  Stiletto& 
  0 
  ½d6 AP 
  0 
  5 
  3 
  5 
  0.7 
  22/9 
  Can Be Th rown
  Survival knife# 
  0 
  1d6-1 
  0 
  6 
  3 
  5 
  0.8 
  21/8 
  Can Be Th rown
  Switchblade# 
  0 
  ½d6 
  0 
  4 
  2 
  5 
  0.3 
  17/7 
  Can Be Th rown
  Trenchknife# 
  0 
  1d6/2d6 N 
  0 
  6 
  3 
  5 
  1.0 
  21/10 
  HKA Can Be Th rown
  Adding Damage:
   #:  Add +1 DC of damage per full +6.25 points of STR used above the STR Minimum.
  *:  Add +1 DC of damage per full +7.5 points of STR used above the STR Minimum.
  &:  Add +1 DC of damage per full +8.75 points of STR used above the STR Minimum.
  See the Key and Notes for the Firearms Tables on page 252 for an explanation of abbreviations and terms. Th e “N” in the damage column 
  stands for “Normal Damage.”
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  122 ■ Modern Weapons
  TYPES OF EXPLOSIVES
  Here are some of the common types of explo-
  sives used in the modern world for various indus-
  trial, military, criminal, and terrorist activities.
  Ammonium Picrate
  Ammonium picrate (or explosive D) is made 
  of picric acid and ammonium. It’s used in situations 
  calling for an explosive that’s particularly resistant 
  to impact. For example, ammonium picrate is 
  sometimes used in anti-tank shells because of its 
  ability to pierce armor without exploding — tests 
  have shown it can be ﬁ red through twelve inches of 
  armor and detonate on the other side! Picric acid 
  itself is explosive, but is no longer used militarily 
  because of its sensitivity. Th ere is no modiﬁ er to 
  Demolitions for working with ammonium picrate. 
  ANFO
  ANFO, a combination of ammonium nitrate 
  and fuel oil, is a favorite of terrorists because its 
  ingredients are all legally available — the Okla-
  homa City bombing, for example, involved an 
  ANFO bomb. ANFO’s legitimately used in mining, 
  construction, and other industries. Th ere is no 
  modiﬁ er to Demolitions for working with ANFO.
  Ammonoium nitrate absorbs water easily. If 
  it’s not stored in a watertight container or environ-
  ment, it may not detonate as well (reduce damage 
  by 25-50%).
  Dynamite
  Invented by Alfred Nobel in 1867, dynamite 
  is a combination of nitroglycerin and various 
  substances which absorb large amounts of the 
  nitroglycerin, making it relatively safe to handle 
  (it’s still sensitive to ﬁ re/heat and extreme impact, 
  and if it gets wet tends to break down and becomes 
  as volatile as nitroglycerine). Th e manufacturing 
  process incorporates antacids and other stabilizers 
  to make dynamite even safer to use. Today, demoli-
  tions experts use various mixtures of explosives 
  and bases to achieve diﬀ erent results. For example, 
  there’s gelatin dynamite which has great water resis-
  tance and more blasting power than comparable 
  dynamites, and can be molded into crude shapes. 
  Another development is low-freezing dynamite, 
  which works well in extremely cold conditions. 
  Using dynamite adds +1 or +2 to a character’s 
  Demolition roll in appropriate circumstances.
  Dynamite has many commercial uses (such as 
  the construction industry). Th at means it’s widely 
  available (though it usually requires a license or 
  other authorization to purchase); it’s generally sold 
  in sticks.
  Foam Explosive
  Foam explosive is an explosive substance with 
  the appearance and consistency of shaving cream or 
  the like. Designed primarily for detonating landmines, 
  it can stick to objects and delivers a low-powered 
  blast — but one that’s strong enough to make a mine 
  go oﬀ , or open a door. Compared to other explosives, 
  it makes very little noise, so it’s ideal for some of the 
  covert missions characters perform. Working with it 
  entails no Demolitions penalty.
  Initiators
  Initiators are explosive devices used to start 
  larger explosions. Th ey include blasting caps and 
  detonating cord.
  Blasting caps, both basic and electric, are small 
  cylindrical devices used to initiate explosions. Th ey 
  consist of a base charge (usually RDX or PETN), a 
  priming charge (usually lead azide or silver azide), 
  and a ﬂ ash charge (usually lead styphnate), all 
  contained in an aluminum or copper shell. Mer-
  cury fulminate used to be an important blasting 
  cap ingredient, but is no longer commonly used. 
  A basic blasting cap is set oﬀ  by a fuse, whereas 
  an electrical blasting cap has two wires running 
  through it that let the demolitionist detonate it with 
  electricity (allowing for precise timing of an explo-
  sion). Working with blasting caps (e.g., crimping 
  them onto a timing fuse and detonating cord) can 
  be quite dangerous, imposing a -2 to the Demoli-
  tions roll. 
  Detonating cord (detcord, also called pri-
  macord) is a cord made with a core of sensitive 
  explosive (such as PETN or RDX) surrounded by a 
  plastic or cloth covering. It’s usually used together 
  with blasting caps, and enables the demolitionist to 
  time explosions precisely. Working with it entails 
  no Demolitions penalty.
  Lead Azide
  Lead azide (Pb(N3)2) is a primary explosive 
  used in a variety of military explosives and in ini-
  tiators. It tends to be more stable than many other 
  primary explosives, particularly at higher tem-
  peratures, so a cover charge of lead styphnate (or 
  another more sensitive explosive) is oft en added to 
  ensure detonation. A related chemical, silver azide, 
  is more powerful and is used similarly, but is more 
  sensitive to heat. Th ere’s no modiﬁ er to Demoli-
  tions for working with lead azide. 
  Mercury Fulminate
  Mercury fulminate (mercuric cyanate, 
  HgC2N2O2) is a grey-white powder that explodes at 
  160o C (320o F). It’s both a primary and a secondary 
  explosive, and is sensitive to electricity, ﬁ re/heat, 
  impact, and friction (-2 to Demolitions rolls in 
  appropriate circumstances). It was discovered in 
  the late 1600s, and was used for many years in ini-
  tiators and commercial explosives. Because cheaper 
  and better replacements were found, it fell out of 
  use in the 1970s, but characters may still chance 
  across some here and there, or even discover an 
  illegal lab manufacturing it for terrorists.       
  Nitroglycerin
  Th is explosive oil or liquid was discovered by 
  Ascanio Sobrero in 1846. It’s one of the principal 
  ingredients in dynamite. By itself, nitroglycerin is 
  extremely sensitive and very dangerous to handle 
  (-3 or more to Demolitions rolls), so it’s rarely used 
  without stabilizers. 
  PETN
  PETN (pentaerythritol tetranitrate) was 
  invented in 1891. It’s cheaply and easily produced, 
  and is as strong as nitroglycerin but safer to handle. 
  Because it’s almost insoluble, it’s commonly used 
  SHAPED CHARGES
  A shaped charge allows 
  the force of an explosion 
  to be aimed, roughly. 
  Pressure waves are emit-
  ted by an explosion 
  at right angles to the 
  explosive, so by shaping 
  the explosive, a bomber 
  can provide some direc-
  tion to the force of the 
  explosion. A shaped 
  charge typically uses a 
  cone of metal or glass 
  surrounded by a high-
  strength explosive (such 
  as TNT or RDX). Th e 
  detonation vaporizes the 
  cone and projects it in 
  the desired direction as 
  an immensely hot and 
  powerful “jet” of par-
  ticles. Th is jet strikes the 
  target and literally forces 
  it to “ﬂ ow” away from 
  the point of impact. 
  However, a shaped 
  charge only uses a small 
  percentage of the force 
  of the explosion (about 
  15%), so the explosion is 
  not totally contained or 
  channeled.
  Setting up a shaped 
  charge requires a Demo-
  litions roll at -0 to -3, 
  depending upon the 
  circumstances and the 
  materials available.
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  123 
  for underwater demolitions work. Th ere’s a -1 mod-
  iﬁ er to Demolitions for working with PETN.
  RDX And HMX
  RDX (cyclonite) is one of the most common 
  military explosives in use today. HMX is similar, 
  but denser and with a higher melting point and 
  explosion temperature. Both are white crystalline 
  solids that are extremely stable. Th ey’re usually 
  mixed with TNT to desensitize them. RDX is as 
  powerful as nitroglycerin, HMX is slightly more 
  powerful.
  RDX is used to produce plastique, or plastic 
  explosive (PE), of which Semtex (a combination 
  of RDX and PETN, in varying ratios) is one vari-
  ety. PEs are about 80% RDX and 20% oils, waxes, 
  and plastics. They’re very stable, requiring both 
  heat and impact to detonate — a blasting cap or 
  other initiator will do it, but by itself an electri-
  cal charge, fire, or impact won’t set plastique off. 
  Plastique can be safely molded into an infinite 
  number of forms, and is extremely powerful, 
  even in small amounts — a single block (0.56 kg) 
  can create a 30 cm square hole in 10mm thick 
  steel plate! Thus, PEs are a favorite of the mili-
  tary, terrorists, and criminals. The American mil-
  itary uses four types designated C1 through C4, 
  each of which is useful in a different temperature 
  range. C4, for example, remains plastic down to 
  -70o F, and does not leak up to 170o F.
  RDX is also the primary ingredient in many 
  military composite explosives, such as Composite 
  A3 and Composition B4.
  Working with RDX, HMX, plastique, or 
  other composite explosives including RDX or 
  HMX  adds +1 to +2 to Demolitions rolls in 
  appropriate circumstances.  
  TNT
  TNT (trinitrotoluene), which diﬀ ers from 
  dynamite, is one of the principal military explo-
  sives. Made from toluene and nitric acid, it’s stable 
  and insensitive to impact, friction, and electricity 
  (+1 to +2 to Demolitions rolls). It does not read-
  ily absorb water, and may be stored indeﬁ nitely in 
  temperate areas.
  TNT is usually melted and used to ﬁ ll bombs, 
  either by itself or in combination with other sub-
  stances (binary explosives):  ammonium nitrate 
  (amatol); ammonium picrate (picratol); HMX 
  (octol); PETN (pentolite); RDX (cyclotol); RDX 
  and ammonium (torpex); tetryl (tetrytol); and so 
  forth. TNT binary explosives can be very powerful 
  — for example, cyclotol and pentolite have deto-
  nation pressures as high as 4,000,000 pounds per 
  square inch.
  Incendiaries
  Incendiaries are chemicals designed to start 
  ﬁ res and/or burn people. Th ey’re usually used in 
  ﬁ rebombs and ﬂ amethrowers, but characters may 
  also want to build incendiary grenades, pellets, 
  and other weapons. Working with incendiaries is a 
  function of the Demolitions Skill.
  Fire Bottle/Molotov Cocktail
  A fire bottle is a primitive incendiary gre-
  nade — a bottle filled with gasoline and sulfuric 
  acid, then wrapped in a rag or piece of paper. Just 
  prior to use, the wrapper is soaked with a sugar-
  potassium chlorate mixture (which is very sensi-
  tive). Upon impact, the chemicals mix and the 
  reaction ignites the gasoline. The Molotov cock-
  tail, a bottle filled with some flammable liquid 
  and with a rag stuffed in the top and lit, counts 
  as a crude fire bottle. 
  Gelled Gasoline
  Gelled gasoline is ordinary gasoline which 
  has been gelled by the use of chemicals or impro-
  vised substances (such as soap powder, lye, wax, or 
  animal blood). Charcoal may be added to increase 
  the mixture’s ﬂ ammability. Essentially, gelled gaso-
  line is a primitive form of napalm (see below), and 
  like napalm it sticks to surfaces. Working with it 
  imposes a -1 penalty to Demolitions rolls.
  Incendiary Brick
  Th is object looks like an ordinary brick, but 
  is made of potassium chlorate, sulfur, sugar, iron 
  ﬁ lings, and wax. It burns relatively slowly and is 
  normally used to set ﬁ re to buildings and other 
  ﬂ ammable objects. Creating or using one imposes 
  no Demolitions penalty.
  Magnesium
  Th e metallic element magnesium is an incen-
  diary substance which burns at very high tempera-
  tures and is easily manufactured and handled. It 
  can get hot enough to melt mild steels, and oft en 
  scatters molten bits of metal about, increasing the 
  chances of setting secondary ﬁ res. Even worse, 
  using water to try to put out a magnesium ﬁ re may 
  create an explosive mix of hydrogen and some 
  other gases. Working with magnesium imposes no 
  Demolitions penalty.
  Napalm
  Modern napalm is made of gasoline, ben-
  zene, and polystyrene thickener. Earlier forms of 
  napalm were advanced forms of gelled gasoline, but 
  modern napalm is a liquid. It’s used by militaries 
  for many diﬀ erent kinds of weapons. By varying 
  the amount of thickener and the additives, a demo-
  litionist can impart diﬀ erent properties to it (such 
  as increased burning time, increased ﬂ uidity, and 
  so forth). Napalm sticks to surfaces (even vertical 
  ones), so the victim cannot simply wipe it oﬀ .
  Napalm is not self-igniting — it requires some 
  sort of initiating heat (such as from an electric 
  spark or another incendiary substance) to set oﬀ . 
  Working with it imposes no Demolitions penalty. 
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  124 ■ Modern Weapons
  EXPLOSIVES AND INCENDIARIES
  Name 
  Suggested Effect 
  Scaling
  Explosives
  Ammonium Picrate (1 liter) 
  EB 9d6 Explosion 
  +1d6 per +1 liter
  ANFO 
  (0.45 kg) 
  EB 10d6 Explosion +1d6 per +0.45
  Black powder (0.45 kg) 
  EB 2d6 Explosion 
  +1d6 per +0.45 kg
  Dynamite (one .25 kg stick) 
  EB 5d6 Explosion 
  +1d6 per +1 stick
  Foam explosive (one .25 kg can) 
  EB 4d6 Explosion per quarter-can used 
  +1d6 per +quarter can
  HMX (0.45 kg) 
  EB 13d6 Explosion 
  +2d6 per +0.45 kg
  Initiator 
   
   Blasting cap 
  RKA 1 point 
  +1 point per +1 cap
   Detonating cord (.3 m) 
  RKA ½d6 
  +½d6 per +.3 meter
  Lead azide (0.45 kg) 
  EB 12d6 Explosion 
  +2d6 per +0.45 kg
  Mercury fulminate (0.45 kg) 
  EB 9d6 Explosion 
  +1d6 per +0.45 kg
  Nitroglycerin (1 liter) 
  EB 12d6 Explosion 
  +2d6 per +1 liter
  PETN (1 liter) 
  EB 13d6 Explosion 
  +2d6 per +1 liter
  RDX (0.45 kg) 
  EB 12d6 Explosion 
  +2d6 per +0.45 kg
   Plastique (one 0.56 kg block) 
  EB 15d6 Explosion 
  +5d6 per +1 block
  TNT (0.45 kg) 
  EB 12d6 Explosion 
  +1d6 per +0.45 kg
   Amatol (0.45 kg) 
  EB 12d6 Explosion 
  +1d6 per +0.45 kg
   Cyclotol (0.45 kg) 
  EB 14d6 Explosion 
  +1d6 per +0.45 kg
   Pentolite (0.45 kg) 
  EB 14d6 Explosion 
  +1d6 per +0.45 kg
   Tetrytol (0.45 kg) 
  EB 13d6 Explosion 
  +1d6 per +0.45 kg
   Torpex (0.45 kg) 
  EB 10d6 Explosion 
  +1d6 per +0.45 kg
  Incendiaries 
   
  Fire bottle/Molotov cocktail 
  RKA 1-2d6, 1 Hex, 1 Turn/Charge 
  N/A
  Gelled gasoline (1 liter) 
  RKA 3d6, Explosion, 1 Turn/Charge 
  Increase size of Explosion by a +¼ Advan-
  tage for each +2 liters
  Incendiary brick 
  RKA 1d6, 1 Turn/Charge 
  N/A
  Magnesium (0.25 kg) 
  RKA ½d6, 1 Turn/Charge 
  RKA +1 point per +.25 kg, to a maximum 
  of +10 points
  Napalm (1 liter) 
  RKA 2d6, Explosion, 1 Turn/Charge 
  Increase size of Explosion by a +¼ Advan-
  tage for each +1 liter
  Paraﬃ  n-Sawdust 
  RKA 1½d6, 1 Turn/Charge 
  Th ermite (one 0.10 kg pellet) 
  RKA 2d6, Armor Piercing, 1 Hex, 1 Turn/Charge 
  RKA +1 point per +.10 kg, to a maximum 
  of +10 points
   Th ermate (one 0.10 kg pellet) 
  RKA 2½d6, Armor Piercing, 1 Hex, 1 Turn/Charge 
  RKA +1 point per +.10 kg, to a maximum 
  of +10 points
  White Phosphorus (0.25 liter) 
  RKA 3d6, Armor Piercing; Trigger (on contact with 
  RKA +1 point per +0.25 liter, to a 
   
   air), 1 Turn/Charge; plus Change Environment 2”  
  maximum of +10 points
   
  radius (smoke cloud), -3 to Sight Group PER Rolls, 
   
  1 Turn/Charge 
   
  For explosives, the GM may substitute the equivalent DCs in Killing Damage, if preferred.
  Incendiary devices, and many explosives, set ﬂ ammable objects on ﬁ re (sometimes their heat alone ignites nearby objects). Th e GM can 
  apply the incendiary eﬀ ect from Incendiary bullets (page 206) if desired.
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  125 
  Paraﬃ  n-Sawdust
  Th is incendiary is a simple mix of paraﬃ  n wax 
  or beeswax and sawdust. It burns slowly and is used 
  to set ﬁ re to ﬂ ammable objects and buildings. It can 
  be carried and stored safely; working with it pro-
  vides a +2 Demolitions bonus.
  Th ermite
  Th ermite is made of powdered ferric oxide 
  and powdered or granular aluminum. When lit it 
  creates molten iron aluminum oxide, and can pro-
  duce temperatures as high as 2,400o C under proper 
  conditions. It has many commercial uses (such as 
  welding) in addition to its military applications.
  Thermite requires strong heat to ignite it 
  (more than a match), so igniter materials (such 
  as magnesium, white phosphorus, or depleted 
  uranium flakes) are added when it’s used for 
  military purposes. (In game terms, working with 
  it involves no Demolitions penalty.) However, its 
  stability also means characters can safely carry 
  and store it, and that it burns strongly once lit. 
  It’s easy to use in cold and windy situations, and 
  can burn through metal containers to ignite any 
  flammable objects they hold.
  Demolitionists can mix thermite with pyro-
  technic agents to form a more volatile compound 
  called thermate. Neither thermite and thermate can 
  be doused with water.
  White Phosphorus
  White phosphorus (WP, or “Willie Pete”) is 
  most oft en used to ignite other incendiaries, but 
  can be used on its own. It is pyrophoric (self-ignit-
  ing) — it burns on contact with air. It’s stored 
  underwater. Working with it entails a -2 Demoli-
  tions penalty.
  A WP incendiary consists of white phosphorus 
  dissolved in carbon disulﬁ de (or some other solvent 
  to keep it away from air). To use it, a demolition-
  ist pours it on the item he wants to burn. Once the 
  solvent evaporates, the WP bursts into ﬂ ame, creat-
  ing large clouds of dense white smoke. For military 
  purposes, sometimes plastic white phosphorus 
  (PWP) is used; this is a rubbery solution that binds 
  the WP together so it cannot disperse freely. WP 
  cannot be doused with water.
  RESTRAINTS AND 
  NON-LETHAL WEAPONS
  Not every weapon needs to kill or injure the 
  target. Sometimes it’s suﬃ  cient — even desirable 
  — to simply incapacitate an enemy.
  BLINDING LASER
    
  Although portable laser weapons able 
  to deliver enough energy to kill a target are not 
  (yet) technologically feasible, military engineers 
  have developed laser weapons intended to blind 
  an opponent or visual sensor (either temporarily 
  or permanently). Th ere are two models:  a small 
  model which mounts underneath the barrel of an 
  assault riﬂ e; and a larger model with much greater 
  range and power.
  Underbarrel Blinding Laser:  Sight Group Flash 
  4d6 (20 Active Points); OAF (-1), Real Weapon 
  (-¼), 12 Charges (-¼). Total cost:  8 points.
  Blinding Laser
  Cost Power
  48 
  Blinding Laser:  Multipower, 105-point base, 
  32 Charges for entire Multipower (+¼); all 
  OAF Bulky (-1½), Real Weapon (-¼)
  1u 
  1)  Dazzling Setting:  Sight Group Flash 6d6, 
  Increased Maximum Range (525”; +¼); OAF 
  Bulky (-1½), Real Weapon (-¼)
  3u 
  2)  Blindness Setting:  Major Transform 7d6 
  (sighted person or sensor to blind person or 
  sensor); OAF Bulky (-1½), All Or Nothing 
  (-½), Limited Target (sighted beings/objects; 
  -¼), Real Weapon (-¼)
  Total cost:  52 points.
  HANDCUFFS
  Handcuﬀ s and various related restraints (such 
  as thumbcuﬀ s, legcuﬀ s, and ﬂ exible plastic-strip 
  restraints) are bought as Entangles with several 
  Limitations. See Contortionist, Dark Champions 
  page 69, and Lockpicking, Dark Champions page 73, 
  for rules on escaping from them.
  Handcuffs:  Entangle 3d6 (standard eﬀ ect: 
  3 BODY), 6 DEF, Takes No Damage From 
  Attacks (+½) (67 Active Points); OAF (-1), 
  Cannot Form Barriers (-¼), Set Eﬀ ect (hands 
  only; -1), Does Not Prevent Use Of Accessible 
  Foci (-1), No Range (-½), Must Follow Grab 
  Or Target Must Be Willing (-½), 1 Recoverable 
  Charge (-1¼), Can Be Escaped Automatically 
  With Modiﬁ ed Lockpicking Or Contortionist 
  Roll (-½). Total cost:  9 points.
  MACE/PEPPER SPRAY
  Mace and pepper spray are chemical agents 
  designed to blind an attacker (and in the process 
  cause some discomfort and pain). Th ey come in 
  small spray canisters, and are oft en carried by 
  women and corrections oﬃ  cers. Th e spray may be 
  liquid, or it may be a foam. In either case, it can get 
  around glasses and other forms of eye protection 
  that do not oﬀ er total protection; only solid eye 
  coverings, such as goggles or a sealed helmet, oﬀ er 
  a defense against this weapon.
  Mace/Pepper Spray:  Sight Group Flash 5d6, 
  NND (defense is solid eye covering; +1), Delayed 
  Recovery (+2) (100 Active Points); OAF (-1), 
  No Range (-½), Real Weapon (-¼), 12 Charges 
  (-¼) (total cost:  33 points) plus Energy Blast 
  3d6, NND (defense is solid eye covering; +1) 
  (30 Active Points); OAF (-1), No Range (-½), 
  Real Weapon (-¼), 12 Charges (-¼) (total cost:  
  10 points). Total cost:  43 points.
  PNUEGUN
  Th e PnueGun is a small tube which uses com-
  pressed carbon dioxide to ﬁ re a small, hard beanbag 
  up to 150 feet. Th e force of the impact is enough to 
  stun a man and knock him down.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  126 ■ Modern Weapons
  PnueGun:  Energy Blast 6d6 (30 Active 
  Points); OAF (-1), Limited Range (22”; -¼), 
  Real Weapon (-¼), 1 Charge (-2). Total cost:   
  7 points.
  SHOCKBATON
  This riot control baton contains a small bat-
  tery capable of providing a localized high-volt-
  age shock. It also emits a loud crackling noise to 
  frighten off attackers.
  Cost Power
  2 
  Schockbaton — Baton:  HA +2d6 (10 Active 
  Points); OAF (-1), Hand-To-Hand Attack 
  (-½), Real Weapon (-¼)
  27 
  Shockbaton — Incapacitating Touch:  Energy 
  Blast 8d6 NND (defense is insulated ED; +1) 
  (80 Active Points); OAF (-1), No Range (-½), 
  Real Weapon (-¼), 12 Charges (-¼)
  Total cost:  29 points.
  SLICKNESS SPRAY
  Th is is a chemical spray or foam, such as the 
  product Riotril, which coats hard surfaces (stairs, 
  roads, ﬂ oors, and the like) so that they become too 
  slick to stand on. Criminals and rioters can’t keep 
  their feet, and cars that drive across slicked-up 
  roads lose traction and control. Aft er the substance 
  dries, it can be peeled up easily.
  Slickspray:  Change Environment 16” radius 
  (normal hard surfaces to extremely slippery 
  hard surfaces), -4 to DEX Rolls to move on (34 
  Active Points); OAF (sprayer; -1), Only Aﬀ ects 
  Characters Who Are Moving On Th e Ground 
  (-¼), Real Weapon (-¼), 1 Continuing Charge 
  lasting 5 Minutes (-¾). Total cost:  11 points.
  SONIC AND ACOUSTIC WEAPONS
  Th e military has experimented with sonic 
  weapons and riot-control devices for many years. 
  High-pitched, high-decibel sound can cause head-
  aches, feelings of nausea, confusion, vertigo, and 
  similar symptoms with no visible cause. Sound 
  below the pitch of human hearing is also danger-
  ous — it can shake buildings and rupture internal 
  organs in some cases. Sonic (or acoustic) weapons 
  could be set for low-intensity or high-intensity (in 
  other words, nonlethal or lethal eﬀ ects). Th ey can 
  be used oﬀ ensively, or defensively (for example, 
  to set up a “barrier” which would eﬀ ect anyone 
  walking into it). Sonic weapons can even penetrate 
  buildings to aﬀ ect the occupants (in HERO System 
  terms, they’re Indirect).
  Cost Power
  20 
  Sonic Cannon:  Multipower, 32-point base, 
  100 Charges for entire reserve (+¾);  all OAF 
  Bulky (-1½), Real Weapon (-¼)
  1u 
  1)  Nonlethal Pain Eﬀ ect:  Energy Blast 2d6, 
  NND (defense is Hearing Flash Defense, 
  earplugs, or solid coverings over the ears; 
  +1), Continuous (+1), Indirect (+¼); OAF 
  Bulky (-1½), Limited Range (20”; -¼), Real 
  Weapon (-¼)
  1u 
  2)  Lethal Eﬀ ect:  RKA ½d6, Continuous 
  (+1), Indirect (+¼); OAF Bulky (-1½), Lim-
  ited Range (20”; -¼), Real Weapon (-¼)
  1u 
  3)  Vertigo Eﬀ ect:  DEX Drain 1d6, Limited 
  Range (20”; +¼), Continuous (+1), Indirect 
  (+¼); OAF Bulky (-1½), Real Weapon (-¼)
  Total cost:  23 points.
  Sonic Barrier Generator:  Energy Blast 4d6, 
  NND (defense is Hearing Flash Defense, ear-
  plugs, or solid coverings over the ears; +1), 
  Area Of Eﬀ ect (24” Line; +1¼), Continuous 
  (+1), Indirect (+¼) (90 Active Points); OAF 
  Bulky (-1½), No Range (device generates the 
  line directly from itself; -½), Real Weapon (-¼). 
  Total cost:  28 points.
  STICKY FOAM
  Sticky foam, or sprayfoam, is a rapid-harden-
  ing foam used to restrain prisoners, rioters, and 
  similar targets. Th e dispenser is a ﬂ amethrower-
  like backpack tank with a spraygun that attaches 
  to the tank via a hose. Th e foam is so sticky and 
  quick-setting that it can instantly trap targets; it’s 
  virtually impossible to remove without a special 
  liquid solvent.  Th e U.S. Marines used this technol-
  ogy in Somalia in 1995. Potential problems arise 
  include the fact that the solvent is potentially toxic, 
  the spray can be lethal if sprayed directly into the 
  target’s face (he suﬀ ocates), and the weapon has a 
  very short range and aﬀ ects an entire area indis-
  criminately.
  Sprayfoam:  Entangle 3d6, 3 DEF, Area Of 
  Eﬀ ect (One Hex Doubled; +¾) (52 Active 
  Points); OAF Bulky (-1½), Cannot Form Bar-
  riers (-¼), Limited Range (5”; -¼), Side Eﬀ ect 
  (victim can suﬀ ocate if sprayed directly in the 
  face; -0), Susceptible (to special solvent; -¼), 16 
  Charges (-0). Total cost:  16 points.
  TASERS
  Tasers shock the victim with 2,000 or more 
  volts of electricity — enough to knock him out, but 
  not kill him (though a character could create a taser 
  with lethal levels of voltage). Th ey come in two 
  varieties. Th e ﬁ rst works over a short range. It proj-
  ects a small metal dart into the victim; the dart’s 
  attached to the weapon via a wire down which the 
  electricity travels. Characters need WF: Small Arms 
  to use this type of taser. Th e other type, used with 
  WF: Fist-Loads, requires the character to touch the 
  target with the device.
  Taser (Ranged):  Energy Blast 8d6, NND 
  (defense is insulated ED; +1) (80 Active Points); 
  OAF (-1); Limited Range (4”; -¼), 1 Recover-
  able Use (-1¼). Total cost:  23 points.
  Taser (Non-Ranged):  Energy Blast 8d6, NND 
  (defense is insulated ED; +1) (80 Active Points); 
  OAF (-1); No Range (-½), 12 Charges (-¼). 
  Total cost:  29 points.
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  127 
  I
  n the modern world, the most terrifying weap-
  ons a nation or group can wield are so-called 
  “weapons of mass destruction”:  chemical 
  weapons, biological weapons, and nuclear 
  bombs capable of killing thousands or millions of 
  people in mere seconds or hours.
  Because of these weapons’ incredible destruc-
  tive capabilities, GMs frequently use them as plot 
  elements in HERO System scenarios. Th erefore, 
  GMs and players alike may ﬁ nd it helpful to have 
  an understanding of how they work, and how to 
  simulate their eﬀ ects in game terms. Of course, 
  most of the time the exact eﬀ ects of the weapon 
  don’t matter — it’s just a plot device and doesn’t 
  need a write-up. But occasionally it could matter 
  — for example, when a PC’s base of operations is 
  located on the edges of a nuclear blast’s eﬀ ect and 
  the GM must answer the question of exactly what 
  happens to him and his vital equipment.
  CHEMICAL AND 
  BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS
  Second only to nuclear weapons (see below) in 
  their capacity for killing large numbers of people, 
  chemical and biological weapons are cheap and 
  relatively easy to make. Th ey’re increasingly used in 
  warfare, especially by Th ird World nations that can’t 
  make nuclear weapons. Because of the intrigue 
  that surrounds them, the ease with which they can 
  be manufactured and used, and the vast numbers 
  of deaths they can cause, chemical and biological 
  weapons are likely to be the subject of many sce-
  narios, so this section brieﬂ y discusses the major 
  types of them and provides HERO System statistics 
  for several.
  Biological Weapons
  Biological weapons come in four basic types:  
  bacterial infections (which cause plague, anthrax, 
  brucellosis, and typhoid fever); fungal infections 
  (which cause desert fever); rickets infections 
  (which cause typhus, purple fever, and Queensland 
  fever); and viral infections (which cause smallpox, 
  yellow fever, and some of the deadlier kinds of ﬂ u).
  Discussing various types of diseases, and the 
  biological mechanisms by which they infect people, 
  is beyond the scope of this book. Th e GM can use 
  the examples given below — which involve anthrax, 
  brucellosis, and bubonic plague, three diseases 
  frequently used as biological weapons — to create 
  other bioweapons if he desires.
  Th ese biological weapons are built using 
  Drain, which has No Range. Th eir range depends 
  on the launching system used to ﬁ re them (if any). 
  Th e listed defense against them is the appropriate 
  Immunity; a character can also protect himself by 
  remaining within a hermetically-sealed, airtight 
  environment during the lifespan of the biological 
  organisms involved — which in some cases may 
  be years or decades (the Extra Time Limitations 
  provide a description of the basic course of the dis-
  ease, but victims may remain infectious for longer 
  periods, and in some cases the biological organisms 
  remain viable for much longer).
  BUBONIC PLAGUE “THE BLACK DEATH”
  Th is disease is ypically carried by ﬂ eas that live 
  on rats, and passed on to humans when the ﬂ eas 
  bite them aft er the rats come into close contact with 
  people. Bubonic plague is oft en referred to as “the 
  black death” because of the black buboes (swell-
  ings) and black skin blotches it causes (from inter-
  nal bleeding). It attacks quickly, typically killing the 
  victim within ﬁ ve days aft er exposure. Mere hours 
  aft er contracting the disease, the victim begins 
  to feel chilled, feverish, nauseous, and eventually 
  delirious. He also experiences severe pain, boils, 
  and black buboes as large as an apple in the armpits 
  and groin which ooze pus and blood. An even more 
  virulent form, pneumonic plague, spreads through 
  the air and causes continuous fever and the spitting 
  of blood instead of swelling.
  Curing bubonic plague requires treatment with 
  streptomycin or tetracycline within the ﬁ rst 15 hours 
  of the onset of symptoms. Beyond that point, the dis-
  ease has progressed too far to save the victim.
  Bubonic Plague Bioweapon, First Effect:  Drain 
  CON 5d6, Delayed Return Rate (points return 
  at the rate of 5 per Week; +1¾), NND (defense 
  is Life Support [Self-Contained Breathing 
  or appropriate Immunity]; +1) (187 Active 
  Points); OAF Bulky (-1½), Extra Time (one 
  hour’s onset time [sometimes more]; -3), Grad-
  ual Eﬀ ect (5 Days, 1d6/day; -1¾), Real Weapon 
  (-¼), 1 Charge (-2). Total cost:  20 points.
  Bubonic Plague Bioweapon, Second Effect:  
  Drain STR 5d6, Delayed Return Rate (points 
  return at the rate of 5 per Week; +1¾), NND 
  (defense is Life Support [Self-Contained 
  Breathing or appropriate Immunity]; +1) (187 
  Active Points); OAF Bulky (-1½), Extra Time 
  (begins to aﬀ ect victim one day aft er ﬁ rst eﬀ ect; 
  -4), Gradual Eﬀ ect (5 Days, 1d6/day; -1¾), 
  Real Weapon (-¼), 1 Charge (-2). Total cost:  
  18 points.
  WMDs
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  128 ■ Modern Weapons
  Bubonic Plague Bioweapon, Third Effect:  
  Drain COM 3d6, Delayed Return Rate 
  (points return at the rate of 5 per Week; 
  +1¾), NND (defense is Life Support [Self-
  Contained Breathing or appropriate Immu-
  nity]; +1) (112 Active Points); OAF Bulky 
  (-1½), Extra Time (begins to affect victim 
  one day after first effect; -4), Gradual Effect 
  (3 Days, 1d6/day; -1¾), Real Weapon (-¼), 1 
  Charge (-2). Total cost:  11 points.
  Bubonic Plague Bioweapon, Fourth Effect:  
  Drain BODY 5d6, Delayed Return Rate 
  (points return at the rate of 5 per Week; +1¾), 
  NND (defense is Life Support [Self-Contained 
  Breathing or appropriate Immunity]; +1) (187 
  Active Points); OAF Bulky (-1½), Extra Time 
  (begins to aﬀ ect victim one day aft er second 
  eﬀ ect; -4), Gradual Eﬀ ect (5 Days, 1d6/day; -
  1¾), Real Weapon (-¼), 1 Charge (-2). Total 
  cost:  18 points.
  Bubonic Plague Bioweapon, total cost:  67 
  points.
  For the pneumonic variety of the plague, 
  increase the Drain BODY to 6d6, and make all 
  eﬀ ects Sticky (representing the ease with which the 
  disease passes from person to person).
  INHALATION ANTHRAX
  Anthrax, a particularly deadly disease can 
  contaminate an area for decades and make it totally 
  unﬁ t for human habitation. Diﬀ erent types of 
  anthrax spread by contact, ingestion, or inhalation; 
  this bioweapon uses the inhalation form of the dis-
  ease. Several days aft er a person becomes infected, 
  he suﬀ ers fever, fatigue, and coughing. Th ereaft er 
  he oft en seems to improve slightly, but then expe-
  riences shock and dies within 24 hours despite 
  attempts at treatment.
  Inhalation Anthrax Bioweapon, First Effect:  
  Drain CON 3d6, Delayed Return Rate (points 
  return at the rate of 5 per Week; +1¾), NND 
  (defense is Life Support [Self-Contained 
  Breathing or appropriate Immunity]; +1) (112 
  Active Points); OAF Bulky (-1½), Extra Time 
  (½d6+1 days’ onset time [sometimes more];
  -4), Gradual Eﬀ ect (6 Hours, 1d6/2 hours; -
  1½), Real Weapon (-¼), 1 Charge (-2). Total 
  cost:  11 points.
  Inhalation Anthrax Bioweapon, Second Effect:  
  Drain END 4d6, Delayed Return Rate (points 
  return at the rate of 5 per Week; +1¾), NND 
  (defense is Life Support [Self-Contained 
  Breathing or appropriate Immunity]; +1) (150 
  Active Points); OAF Bulky (-1½), Extra Time 
  (½d6+1 days’ onset time [sometimes more];
  -4), Gradual Eﬀ ect (6 Hours, 1d6/1½ hours;
  -1½), Real Weapon (-¼), 1 Charge (-2). Total 
  cost:  15 points.
  Inhalation Anthrax Bioweapon, This Effect:  
  Drain BODY 6d6, Delayed Return Rate 
  (points return at the rate of 5 per Week; +1¾), 
  NND (defense is Life Support [Self-Contained 
  Breathing or appropriate Immunity]; +1) (225 
  Active Points); OAF Bulky (-1½), Extra Time 
  (begins to aﬀ ect victim one day aft er ﬁ rst eﬀ ect 
  has taken full eﬀ ect; -4), Gradual Eﬀ ect (6 
  Hours, 1d6/2 hours; -1½), Real Weapon (-¼), 
  1 Charge (-2). Total cost:  22 points.
  Inhalation Anthrax Bioweapon, total cost:  48 
  points.
  Chemical Weapons
  “Chemical weapons” refers to any sort of 
  gas, lethal or otherwise, that’s used as a weapon 
  (some are also used in liquid form). Th ey range 
  from simple irritating and incapacitating gases to 
  gases so lethal that the merest whiﬀ  of them causes 
  almost instant unconsciousness and death. Th ey’re 
  grouped into two diﬀ erent categories, incapacitat-
  ing and lethal, based on their eﬀ ect. 
  Chemical weapons are built using Powers that 
  have No Range, or take the No Range (-½) Limita-
  tion. Th eir range depends on the launching system 
  used to ﬁ re them (if any).
  INCAPACITATING AGENTS
  Incapacitating agents render the target inca-
  pable of ﬁ ghting without killing him. Th ere are two 
  kinds:  physical and psychological.
  Physical Incapacitating Agents
  Physical incapacitators aﬀ ect the target’s health 
  and physical ability to ﬁ ght. Examples include:
  CN/CS:  CN and CS are lachrymatory gases (tear 
  gases) that cause uncontrollable weeping and 
  coughing. Th e stronger tear gases used by the mili-
  tary may also sicken and incapacitate the victim 
  (add to CS/CN the eﬀ ects of ES gas). CS smells 
  something like apple blossoms, CN like pepper.
  CN/CS Gas Shell:  Sight Group Flash 12d6, Area 
  Of Eﬀ ect (24” Radius; +1), Continuous (+1), 
  Delayed Recovery (+2) (300 Active Points); 
  OAF (-1), No Range (-½), Real Weapon (-¼), 1 
  Continuing Charge lasting 3 Turns (removed by 
  high winds or rain; -1). Total cost:  80 points.
  ES:  ES gas makes the victim extremely nauseous 
  and diarrhetic. Th e discomfort and weakness last 
  for about a day, give or take.
  ES Gas Shell:  Drain CON 4d6, Area Of Eﬀ ect 
  (17” Radius; +1), Continuous (+1), Delayed 
  Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 
  per 6 Hours; +1¼), NND (defense is Life Sup-
  port [Self-Contained Breathing or appropriate 
  Immunity]; +1) (210 Active Points); OAF (-1), 
  Real Weapon (-¼), 1 Continuing Charge last-
  ing 3 Turns (removed by high winds or rain; 
  -1) (total cost:  65 points) plus Drain END 4d6, 
  Area Of Eﬀ ect (13” Radius; +1), Continuous 
  (+1), Delayed Return Rate (points return at 
  the rate of 5 per 6 Hours; +1¼), NND (defense 
  is Life Support [Self-Contained Breathing 
  or appropriate Immunity]; +1) (210 Active 
  Points); OAF (-1), Linked (-½), Real Weapon 
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  129 
  (-¼), 1 Continuing Charge lasting 3 Turns 
  (removed by high winds or rain; -1) (total cost:  
  56 points) plus Drain STR 3d6, Area Of Eﬀ ect 
  (17” Radius; +1¼), Continuous (+1), Delayed 
  Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 
  per 6 Hours; +1¼), NND (defense is Life Sup-
  port [Self-Contained Breathing or appropriate 
  Immunity]; +1) (165 Active Points); OAF (-1), 
  Linked (-½), Real Weapon (-¼), 1 Continuing 
  Charge lasting 3 Turns (removed by high winds 
  or rain; -1) (total cost:  44 points). Total cost:  
  165 points.
  Sneezing Powder:  Here’s an example of a neutraliz-
  ing agent, an incapacitating agent designed to neu-
  tralize just one person for a short period of time:  a 
  powder that induces uncontrollable sneezing
  Entangle 5d6, 5 DEF, Takes No Damage From 
  Attacks (+½) (75 Active Points); OAF Fragile 
  (-1¼), No Defense (-1½), Range Based On STR 
  (-¼), Does Not Work In Winds Or Rain (-¼), 1 
  Charge (-2). Total cost:  12 points.
  Vomiting Gases:  Vomiting or regurgitant gases, 
  such as some forms of DM (adamsite), induce 
  retching, coughing, sneezing, and similar symp-
  toms that eﬀ ectively incapacitate the victim In 
  concentrated doses (such as if used indoors), they 
  sometimes prove fatal. Th e eﬀ ects of mild exposure 
  usually fade within about 30 minutes; stronger 
  exposures may aﬀ ect the victim for hours.
  Vomiting Gas Shell:  Drain CON 3d6, Area 
  Of Eﬀ ect (11” Radius; +1), Continuous (+1), 
  Delayed Return Rate (points return at the rate 
  of 5 per 20 Minutes; +¾), NND (defense is Life 
  Support [Self-Contained Breathing or appropri-
  ate Immunity]; +1) (142 Active Points); OAF 
  (-1), Real Weapon (-¼), 1 Continuing Charge 
  lasting 3 Turns (removed by high winds or rain; 
  -1) (total cost:  44 points) plus Entangle 6d6, 
  6 DEF, Takes No Damage From Attacks (+½), 
  Area Of Eﬀ ect (11” Radius; +1), Continuous 
  (+1) (210 Active Points); OAF (-1), Does Not 
  Work Against Targets With Life Support (Self-
  Contained Breathing or appropriate Immu-
  nity) (-½), Linked (-¼), No Range (-½), Real 
  Weapon (-¼), Susceptible (eﬀ ects of Entangle 
  end immediately if victim is removed from gas 
  cloud and gets one recovery of Drained points of 
  CON; -1), 1 Continuing Charge lasting 3 Turns 
  (removed by high winds or rain; -1) (total cost:  
  38 points). Total cost:  82 points.
  Psychological Incapacitating Agents
  Psychological incapacitators weaken the 
  victim’s mental acumen and oft en cause hallucina-
  tions and psychotic behavior. LSD has been used 
  as a psychological incapacitator; another type is 
  BZ, whose eﬀ ects are similar to LSD. Th e problem 
  with these agents is that the victim’s actions are 
  not controllable — sometimes, making a soldier 
  hallucinate or become psychotic is the last thing 
  the enemy wants (though a master criminal deter-
  mined to wreak havoc in a city may think it’s just 
  what he needs). Th us, use of these agents is infre-
  quent at best.
  LSD/BZ Gas Shell:  Drain INT 2d6, Area Of 
  Eﬀ ect (10” Radius; +1¼), Continuous (+1), 
  Delayed Return Rate (points return at the rate 
  of 5 per 20 Minutes; +¾), NND (defense is Life 
  Support [Self-Contained Breathing or appro-
  priate Immunity]; +1) (100 Active Points); 
  OAF (-1), Real Weapon (-¼), 1 Continuing 
  Charge lasting 3 Turns (removed by high winds 
  or rain; -1) (total cost:  31 points) plus Mental 
  Illusions 8d6, Area Of Eﬀ ect (10” Radius; +1), 
  Continuous (+1), NND (defense is Life Sup-
  port [Self-Contained Breathing or appropri-
  ate Immunity]; +1) (160 Active Points); OAF 
  (-1), Based On CON (ED applies; -1), Linked 
  (-¼), No Conscious Control (cannot control the 
  hallucinations the victim experiences; -1), No 
  Range (-½), Real Weapon (-¼), 1 Continuing 
  Charge lasting 3 Turns (removed by high winds 
  or rain; -1) (total cost:  27 points). Total cost:  
  58 points.
  LETHAL AGENTS
  Lethal agents come in five types:  asphyxi-
  ants; blistering agents; haemotoxins; nerve gases; 
  and toxins.
  Asphyxiants
  Asphyxiant gases kill by disrupting the 
  body’s ability to breath and attacking the respira-
  tory tract. The two best-known types are chlo-
  rine and phosgene. Phosgene is a colorless gas 
  with the odor of new-mown hay. It causes the 
  victim to cough, choke, and drown in his own 
  mucus and bodily fluids.
  Phosgene Gas Shell:  RKA 6d6, Area of Eﬀ ect 
  (576” [about 0.7 miles]; +2), Continuous (+1), 
  NND (defense is LS [Self-Contained Breathing 
  or appropriate Immunity]; +1), Does BODY 
  (+1) (540 Active Points); OAF (-1), No Range 
  (-½), Real Weapon (-¼), 1 Continuing Charge 
  lasting 3 Turns (removed by high winds or rain; 
  -1). Total cost:  144 points.
  Blistering Agents
  Blistering agents (also called vesicants) cause 
  horrible burns and blisters to exposed skin. If they 
  contact the eyes, they permanently blind the victim. 
  If directly inhaled, they kill. Th ey can also cause 
  death indirectly if the sores they create become 
  infected or if the suﬀ ering victim commits suicide 
  (a not uncommon result).
  Victims who survive the initial attack of a 
  blistering agent take months to heal — the ulcerat-
  ing sores caused by the gas scab over, and then the 
  scabs fall oﬀ  and the sores ulcerate once more. In 
  addition to the horrible sores, a surviving victim 
  may suﬀ er from bronchopneumonia. 
  Blistering agents may come in two forms:  gas 
  (the most common) or liquid. Th e best known 
  blistering agent is mustard gas (also known as HD), 
  including distilled mustard (which is colorless and 
  smells like garlic) and nitrogen mustard (which is 
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  130 ■ Modern Weapons
  colorless and smells like ﬁ sh or soap). Similar to 
  mustard gas is Lewisite, which has similar eﬀ ects 
  but is stronger (RKA 6d6).
  Mustard Gas Shell
  Mustard Gas Shell, First Effect (burns, blis-
  ters, and ulcerating sores):  Drain DEX, 
  CON, BODY, and COM 2d6, four Charac-
  teristics simultaneously (+1), Area of Effect 
  (480” [about 0.5 miles]; +2¼), Continuous 
  (+1), Delayed Return Rate (points return 
  at the rate of 5 per 3 Months; +2¼), NND 
  (defense is LS [Self-Contained Breathing or 
  appropriate Immunity]; +1), Does BODY 
  (+1) (190 Active Points); OAF (-1), Real 
  Weapon (-¼), 1 Continuing Charge lasting 3 
  Turns (removed by high winds or rain; -1). 
  Total cost:  58 points.
  Mustard Gas Shell, Second Effect (death from 
  inhalation):  RKA 5d6, Area of Eﬀ ect (480” 
  [about 0.5 miles]; +2), Continuous (+1), NND 
  (defense is LS [Self-Contained Breathing or 
  appropriate Immunity]; +1), Does BODY (+1) 
  (450 Active Points); OAF (-1), No Range (-½), 
  Real Weapon (-¼), 1 Continuing Charge last-
  ing 3 Turns (removed by high winds or rain; 
  -1). Total cost:  120 points.
  Mustard Gas Shell, Third Effect (blindness):  
  Major Transform 5d6 (sighted person to blind 
  person, heals back via eye transplant), Area of 
  Eﬀ ect (480” [about 0.5 miles]; +2), Continu-
  ous (+1), NND (defense is LS [Self-Contained 
  Breathing or appropriate Immunity]; +1), Does 
  BODY (+1) (450 Active Points); OAF (-1), 
  Limited Target (sighted beings; -¼), No Range 
  (-½), Real Weapon (-¼), 1 Continuing Charge 
  lasting 3 Turns (removed by high winds or rain; 
  -1). Total cost:  112 points.
  Mustard Gas Shell, total cost:  290 points.
  Haemotoxins
  Haemotoxins attack the blood and the circu-
  latory system. Th ey tend to cause instant uncon-
  sciousness, followed by death within seconds from 
  respiratory failure. Cyanide acid and cyanogen gas 
  are the two most common forms; for more infor-
  mation, refer to Poisons, below.
  Nerve Gases
  Nerve gases are among the most feared chemi-
  cal warfare agents. Th ese colorless and odorless 
  gases attack the central nervous system, disrupting 
  nerve transmissions throughout the body. A single 
  drop of the liquid form or a whiﬀ  of the gaseous 
  form can be fatal within ﬁ ve to ten minutes.
  Initially, exposure to a nerve agent causes the 
  victim’s nose to run and his vision to blur. He has 
  diﬃ  culty breathing, and he soon begins to vomit 
  and/or defecate. Mental disturbances come next, 
  followed by coma, spasms, paralysis, and death 
  from respiratory failure. Atropine (a poisonous 
  substance) and oxime are antidotes, but still leave 
  the victim incapacitated for days. 
  Nerve gases come in two basic types:  the 
  “G” and “V” series. Th e “G” series includes Tabun 
  (GA), Sarin (GB, the gas used in the Aum Shinrikyo 
  subway attacks in Tokyo), and Soman (GD). Th e 
  faster-acting “V” series includes VE, VM, and VX.
  Nerve Gas Shell:  RKA 8d6, Area of Eﬀ ect (768” 
  [about 0.95 miles]; +2), Continuous (+1), NND 
  (defense is LS [Self-Contained Breathing or 
  appropriate Immunity]; +1), Does BODY (+1) 
  (720 Active Points); OAF (-1), Gradual Eﬀ ect 
  (16 Minutes, 1d6/2 minutes; -¾), No Range
  (-½), Real Weapon (-¼), 1 Continuing Charge 
  lasting 3 Turns (removed by high winds or rain; 
  -1). Total cost:  160 points.
  Toxins
  Toxins include phytotoxins and zootoxin (poi-
  sons derived from plants and animals, respectively; 
  see Poisons, below) and microbe toxins. Microbe 
  toxins are poisons created by microscopic organ-
  isms. Th ey include B (an enterotoxin) and TZ (a 
  saxitoxin, frequently found in spoiled mollusks or 
  shellﬁ sh; .05 of a gram can kill a human being). 
  Th e best-known microbe toxin is botulin, 
  also called X or A, which causes botulism (a lethal 
  form of food poisoning). From .00007-.00015 of a 
  gram of botulin is enough to kill, depending upon 
  whether it’s ingested or enters the body via a wound 
  or injection. About 1-2 hours aft er being infected 
  (i.e., aft er being exposed to the microbes via a gas 
  or eating contaminated food), the victim begins 
  to suﬀ er from gastrointestinal cramps, vomiting, 
  abdominal pain, dryness of the mouth, and motor 
  and visual disturbances. Death follows from paraly-
  sis of the respiratory system.
  Botulin Gas Shell:  RKA 4d6, Area of Eﬀ ect 
  (384” [about 0.5 miles]; +2), Continuous (+1), 
  NND (defense is LS [Self-Contained Breathing 
  or appropriate Immunity]; +1), Does BODY 
  (+1) (360 Active Points); OAF (-1), Extra Time 
  (1-2 hours’ onset time; -3), Gradual Eﬀ ect (4 
  Hours; 1d6/hour; -1¼), No Range (-½), Real 
  Weapon (-¼), 1 Continuing Charge lasting 
  3 Turns (removed by high winds or rain; -1). 
  Total cost:  45 points.
  Not all toxins are designed to aﬀ ect humans 
  and animals. Phytotoxic agents are poisonous sub-
  stances manufactured for use against plants, to 
  clear away vegetation and allow soldiers to see the 
  enemy. Th e best-known phytotoxic agent is Agent 
  Orange, used by the United States in Vietnam.
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  131 
  NUCLEAR WEAPONS
  Even more terrifying than biological and 
  chemical weapons are nuclear weapons. Whereas 
  chemical and biological warfare agents may have 
  the capacity to aﬀ ect everyone in a particular area, 
  nuclear weapons can instantaneously wipe out 
  entire cities and kill tens of thousands of people 
  (if not hundreds of thousands or millions). Th e 
  major nations of the world possess enough nuclear 
  weapons to kill most of Earth’s population in a 
  very few minutes (and, according to some theories, 
  condemn the survivors to a slow, painful death 
  from radiation or “nuclear winter”). As of early 
  2005, countries known or suspected to possess 
  nuclear weapons (or nuclear capability and materi-
  als) include the United States, several former Soviet 
  states (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan), 
  the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Iran, 
  Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, and South Africa. 
  Many others have expressed strong interest in cre-
  ating their own nuclear bombs.
  How Nuclear Bombs Work
  Th ere are basically two types of nuclear 
  bombs:  ﬁ ssion bombs and fusion bombs. Fission 
  bombs work by splitting apart the large atoms of 
  the elements uranium or plutonium. On detona-
  tion, the bomb uses high explosives to force two 
  chunks of the ﬁ ssionable material together, thus 
  splitting one atom, which causes a chain reaction 
  of ﬁ ssioning atoms and a tremendous release of 
  energy. Scientists refer to the smallest amount of 
  uranium or plutonium needed to achieve this chain 
  reaction as the “critical mass.”
  Fusion bombs are generally three to four times 
  as powerful as ﬁ ssion bombs. Th ey work by fusing 
  two or more atoms together to form a diﬀ erent ele-
  ment. Usually they fuse deuterium atoms to form 
  helium-3, or deuterium and tritium atoms to form 
  helium-4. To cause this result, a fusion bomb uses a 
  ﬁ ssion bomb as a “trigger.”
  For either type of bomb, the amount of mate-
  rial needed to produce the nuclear explosion is sur-
  prisingly small — approximately 25 kg (55 pounds) 
  of enriched uranium, or a mere 8 kg (18 pounds) of 
  plutonium, are all that’s needed to make a bomb as 
  powerful as the one used on Hiroshima (the United 
  States and Russia can make a miniature nuke out of 
  as little as 2.7 kg [6 pounds] of plutonium, but ter-
  rorists and criminals do not have such resources). 
  Th is makes it easy for the GM to run all sorts of 
  scenarios involving the theft  or smuggling of ura-
  nium or plutonium (both of which are produced in 
  certain types of nuclear reactors).
  Th e construction of the bomb mechanism 
  itself is far easier than acquiring the uranium or 
  plutonium — in the past, college undergraduates 
  have designed workable nuclear devices using only 
  declassiﬁ ed United States government documents 
  and readily available materials. It would certainly 
  be possible for clever terrorists, unscrupulous sci-
  entists (including former Soviet nuclear scientists 
  hired by criminals), or master villains to do the 
  same. However, the machinery and technological 
  parts needed to build the bomb may not be so easy 
  to acquire; in many cases they are quite rare, and 
  require highly specialized skills to build or use.
  Physicists rate the force of a nuclear explosion 
  by comparing it to an equivalent amount of tons 
  of TNT. A kiloton equals a thousand tons of TNT, 
  and a megaton equals a million tons. Th e smallest 
  American nuclear explosive is .1 kiloton, and vari-
  ous nations have bombs ranging into the tens of 
  megatons or higher. Nuclear warheads have been 
  placed on every type of launch system, from rela-
  tively short-range artillery to intercontinental bal-
  listic missiles (ICBMs).
  The Effects Of A 
  Nuclear Explosion
  Th is section describes the eﬀ ects of a one-
  megaton (1 MT) nuclear bomb using the HERO 
  System 5th Edition rules. Common Limitations 
  for the nuclear bomb described below include:  
  OAF Bulky (-1½), 1 Charge which Never Recov-
  ers and destroys bomb (-4 or less; in some cases 
  this Charge lasts for more than a single Phase); 
  No Range (the launching system must supply the 
  Range for the bomb; -½); and Requires A Systems 
  Operation Roll (-½) (total -6½, less with a Con-
  tinuing Charge).
  Th e eﬀ ects of a nuclear explosion can be 
  roughly summarized as follows:
  ■ initial explosion (immediate release of radiation, 
  thermal blast/ﬂ ash, electromagnetic pulse [EMP])
  ■ blast wave and wind eﬀ ects
  ■ ﬁ res, and
  ■ lingering radiation and fallout.
  Many of a nuke’s eﬀ ects include the Advantage 
  Explosion. For ease of game play, ignore any other 
  Advantages on the power when calculating the 
  dropoﬀ  of the Explosion — just subtract 1 DC per 
  hex (or other indicated distance) as if there were no 
  other Advantages on the power.
  Ground Bursts And Air Bursts
  Many of a nuke’s eﬀ ects vary substantially 
  depending upon whether the attack was a “ground 
  burst” or an “air burst.”
  In a ground burst, some or all of the nuclear 
  ﬁ reball touches the ground. A ground burst creates 
  a large mushroom cloud, a crater, and tremors. For 
  example, a 1 MT bomb creates approximately a 200 
  meter (100”) crater 50-70 meters (25-35”) deep (in 
  ordinary soil), and its mushroom cloud may be as 
  much as thirteen miles wide and ten miles high.
  In an air burst, the fireball does not touch 
  ground. For a 1 MT bomb, this means it would 
  have to be detonated about 2,000 feet to half a 
  mile above the ground). An air burst nuclear 
  explosion doesn’t create a crater or tremors, but 
  has a greater EMP.
  NUCLEAR 
  VARIABILITY
  Much of the informa-
  tion in this section 
  is subject to change 
  depending on many 
  diﬀ erent factors. Th e 
  weather, the topogra-
  phy, the accuracy of 
  the bomb, and how 
  perfectly it detonates 
  can all aﬀ ect the actual 
  explosion and the eﬀ ects 
  it has. Furthermore, a 
  lot of the information 
  about nuclear explo-
  sions (whether public 
  or classiﬁ ed) remains 
  subject to interpretation 
  and debate. Th is book 
  features what the author 
  deems the best informa-
  tion; in some cases it’s 
  been altered slightly to 
  ﬁ t the game better. Play-
  ers who prefer to rely 
  on other data or inter-
  pretations can easily 
  recalculate the eﬀ ects 
  of the bomb to ﬁ t their 
  own ideas.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  132 ■ Modern Weapons
  FIRST EFFECT:  IMMEDIATE RADIATION
  First, a nuclear explosion releases tremendous 
  amounts of radiation (in the form of neutrons and 
  gamma rays). Th e radiation doesn’t cover as large 
  an area as the heat or blast eﬀ ects, but is nonetheless 
  deadly (particularly to Desolidiﬁ ed characters who 
  might otherwise survive the explosion). Scientists 
  measure the amount of radiation released in roent-
  gens and Roentgen Absorbed Dose (rads), which 
  describe the eﬀ ects of radiation on humans (see Star 
  Hero, pages 282-83, for more information). A 1 MT 
  bomb irradiates about a 1 mile (1.6 km, or 804.5”) 
  radius area with over 19,000 rads, enough to kill 
  humans instantly (if near the blast) or within minutes 
  or hours (if slightly farther away). However, by 2 miles 
  this drops oﬀ  to about 24 rads, which is not likely to 
  have much eﬀ ect on humans. People caught between 
  one and two miles are likely to absorb enough radia-
  tion to cause them a slow and painful death in days or 
  weeks. Humans lacking special equipment or senses 
  cannot detect radiation (this sort of intense burst 
  doesn’t even do STUN damage), but survivors feel its 
  eﬀ ects for the rest of their lives (however short those 
  lives may be).
  Initial Radiation:  Drain BODY 20d6, Delayed 
  Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 per 
  Week; +1¾), NND (defense is Life Support 
  [Safe Environment:  High Radiation]; +1), Does 
  BODY (+1), Area Of Eﬀ ect (One Hex Doubled, 
  but targets in outer ring of hexes take only 
  half damage; +¾), Aﬀ ects Desolidiﬁ ed (+½), 
  Continuous (+1), Invisible Power Eﬀ ects (cre-
  ation of radiation ﬁ eld is perceivable, ﬁ eld itself 
  aft erwards is not; +½), MegaArea (each hex 
  is 1 mile wide and broad; +½) (1,600 Active 
  Points); OAF Bulky (-1½), Gradual Eﬀ ect 
  (everyone takes half of their damage immedi-
  ately; and the other half as 1d6 per Day; -1), 
  Requires A Systems Operation Roll (no Active 
  Point penalty; -¼), 1 Continuing Charge which 
  lasts 1 Hour, Never Recovers, and destroys 
  bomb (-2¼) (total cost:  266 points) plus Drain 
  CON 10d6, Delayed Return Rate (points return 
  at the rate of 5 per Week; +1¾), NND (defense 
  is Life Support [Safe Environment:  High Radi-
  ation]; +1), Area Of Eﬀ ect (One Hex Doubled, 
  but targets in outer ring of hexes take only half 
  damage; +¾), Aﬀ ects Desolidiﬁ ed (+½), Con-
  tinuous (+1), Invisible Power Eﬀ ects (creation 
  of radiation ﬁ eld is perceivable, ﬁ eld itself aft er-
  wards is not; +½), MegaArea (each hex is 1 
  mile wide and broad; +½) (700 Active Points); 
  OAF Bulky (-1½), Linked (-½) Gradual Eﬀ ect 
  (everyone takes half of their damage immedi-
  ately; and the other half as 1d6 per Day; -1), 
  Requires A Systems Operation Roll (no Active 
  Point penalty; -¼), 1 Continuing Charge which 
  lasts 1 Hour, Never Recovers, and destroys 
  bomb (-2¼) (total cost:  108 points). Total cost:  
  374 points.
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  133 
  SECOND EFFECT:  FLASH
  When a nuclear bomb explodes, it immedi-
  ately releases about one-third to one-half of its 
  energy in the form of a blast of thermal energy. Th e 
  nuclear ﬁ reball formed by the explosion of a 1 MT 
  bomb is as hot as the heart of the sun and is more 
  than 300 feet (about 45”) wide less than a thou-
  sandth of a second aft er detonation. It continues 
  to grow (and to rise oﬀ  the ground) until it’s about 
  2,000 feet to half a mile (403”) wide. Th e heat and 
  light energy travel at just under the speed of light, 
  and last for about two seconds.
  One of the eﬀ ects from this release of energy 
  is that persons looking in the direction of the blast 
  suﬀ er ﬂ ash-blindness or permanent eye damage 
  (retinal burns and possibly total blindness) because 
  of the brightness of the light. Estimates on the 
  reach of this eﬀ ect range from 13 miles to 27 miles 
  (21 km to 43.2 km) during the day, and 53 miles to 
  70 miles (112 km) at night (for the eﬀ ect calculated 
  below, ranges of approximately 50 miles [40,250”] 
  at night and 13 miles [10,465”] in the daytime have 
  been chosen).
  Th is eﬀ ect is a Transform that covers a smaller 
  area in the daytime. Victims who take twice their 
  BODY from the eﬀ ect are permanently blinded. 
  Other victims suﬀ er varying degrees of eye injury 
  (with minuses to Sight Group PER Rolls) and heal 
  from them as they would normally. In game terms, 
  the Partial Transform Advantage represents this:  a 
  victim who suﬀ ers a Cosmetic Transform suﬀ ers 
  a -2 to all Sight Group PER Rolls; one who suﬀ ers 
  a Minor Transform suﬀ ers a -4 to all Sight Group 
  PER Rolls.
  Cost Power
  27 
  Blinding Flash:  Major Transform 9d6 
  (sighted beings to blind beings, heals back 
  via eye transplantation or the like), Partial 
  Transform (+½) (202 Active Points); 
  OAF Bulky (-1½), Limited Target (sighted 
  beings; -¼), No Range (-½), Requires A 
  Systems Operation Roll (no Active Point 
  penalty; -¼), 1 Charge which Never Recovers 
  and destroys bomb (-4)
  14 
  Daytime Flash:  Explosion (+½) and Mega-
  Area (each hex is 1 km wide and broad; +¼) 
  for Blinding Flash (102 Active Points); OAF 
  Bulky (-1½), Limited Target (sighted beings; 
  -¼), No Range (-½), Requires A Systems 
  Operation Roll (no Active Point penalty; -¼), 
  1 Charge which Never Recovers and destroys 
  bomb (-4)
  4 
  Nighttime Flash:  Increase to Explosion (-1 
  DC/2”; +¾) and MegaArea (each hex is 1 km 
  wide and broad; +¼) for Blinding Flash (+33 
  Active Points); OAF Bulky (-1½), Only At 
  Night (-½), Limited Target (sighted beings; 
  -¼), No Range (-½), and Requires A Systems 
  Operation Roll (no Active Point penalty; -¼), 
  1 Charge which Never Recovers and destroys 
  bomb (-4)
  Total cost:  45 points
  THIRD EFFECT:  THERMAL BLAST
  All of the heat and light described above do 
  more than just blind people. Th e heat energy vapor-
  izes metals, ignites tremendous ﬁ res (see below), 
  and burns people. Th e heat travels at just under the 
  speed of light and lasts for about two seconds.
  Thermal Blast:  RKA 20d6, Explosion (dropoﬀ  
  as indicated by accompanying table; +½), 
  MegaArea (1” = ½ km, or about 1/3 mile; +¼) 
  (525 Active Points); OAF Bulky (-1½), No 
  Range (-½), Requires A Systems Operation Roll 
  (no Active Point penalty; -¼), 1 Charge which 
  Never Recovers and destroys bomb (-4). Total 
  cost:  72 points.
  Th e accompanying chart (based primarily on 
  one found in the book Weapons, by the Diagram 
  Group) summarizes the exact eﬀ ects and range of a 
  1 MT thermal blast. An object suﬀ ers lesser burns if 
  it’s colored white (subtract up to 3 DC), and greater 
  burns if it’s black (add up to 3 DC). Th e same 
  applies to people, based on their clothing. For notes 
  on the possible eﬀ ects of ﬁ res, see below.
  FOURTH EFFECT:  ELECTROMAGNETIC 
  PULSE EMP
  When a nuclear bomb explodes, the radia-
  tion it emits ionizes atoms for many miles around 
  (with some airbursts, for more than 50 miles!). Th is 
  takes mere fractions of a second, but can generate 
  thousands of volts of radio wave-like energy. Th is 
  energy doesn’t aﬀ ect humans, but it disrupts or 
  destroys electrical circuits.
  EMP:  Dispel 20d6, all Electrical Circuit powers 
  simultaneously (+2), Area Of Eﬀ ect (26” 
  Radius; +1), MegaArea (each 1” = 1 km wide 
  and broad; +¼), Indirect (attacks all parts of 
  objects, such as all walls in a building, +¾), 
  Invisible Power Eﬀ ects (creation of EMP is 
  perceivable, ﬁ eld itself aft erwards is not; +½) 
  (330 Active Points); OAF Bulky (-1½), No 
  Range (-½), Requires A Systems Operation Roll 
  NUCLEAR WEAPON THERMAL BLAST RADIUS
  Minimum Range 
  Maximum Range 
  Game Range 
  Damage 
  Effects
  0 
  2.25 miles 
  up to 1500” 
  20-16d6 
  Metals vaporize
  1.8 miles 
  3.5 miles 
  1501-2500” 
  15-10d6 
  Metals melt
  3.25 miles 
  7.1 miles 
  2501-5000” 
  9-6d6 
  Rubber and plastic  ignites and melts
  5.1 miles 
  8.0 miles 
  5001-6000” 
  5-4d6 
  Wood and other ﬂ am- mables burst into 
  ﬂ ame or char
  7.5 miles 
  10.2 miles 
  6001-7200” 
  4-3d6 
  Skin suﬀ ers third- degree burns
  9.25 miles 
  13.25 miles 
  7201-10000” 
  3-2d6 
  Skin suﬀ ers second- degree burns
  11.5 miles 
  18.3 miles 
  10001-14732” 
  1d6 
  Skin suﬀ ers ﬁ rst- degree burns
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  134 ■ Modern Weapons
  (no Active Point penalty; -¼), 1 Charge which 
  Never Recovers and destroys bomb (-4). Total 
  cost:  45 points.
  FIFTH EFFECT:  BLAST WAVE
  Th e blast wave is probably the most devastating 
  part of a nuclear explosion. Th e force of the explo-
  sion creates massive pressure that travels outward 
  in a wave, accompanied by incredibly strong winds. 
  Sometimes this eﬀ ect reﬂ ects oﬀ  of the ground, 
  thereby increasing its own power (a “mach wave”). 
  Scientists refer to the blast eﬀ ect as “static overpres-
  sure” (SO), and measure it in pounds per square inch 
  (psi) over the standard atmospheric pressure. Th e 
  extreme increase in pressure can destroy buildings 
  miles away from the center of the blast because it 
  aﬀ ects all parts of the building and crushes the struc-
  ture. Anybody inside when a building collapses is 
  likely to die. But SO has relatively little eﬀ ect on soft , 
  malleable objects like human beings — as little as 
  5 psi obliterates the average residential house, but a 
  human can withstand 30 psi before suﬀ ering injury. 
  Unless the GM rules otherwise for some reason, the 
  SO should not aﬀ ect characters, unless the characters 
  are unusually non-resilient (for example, they’re 
  made of metal or the like).
  However, the intense winds, known as 
  “dynamic pressure” (DP), do aﬀ ect humans. Th ey 
  pick up all of the rubble, shards of glass, bits of 
  metal, and other debris created by the SO and 
  throw it against everything in their path, such as 
  people. Th ey also overturn cars, uproot trees, pull 
  people out of buildings, and slam people against 
  other objects with lethal force. As a result, one way 
  or another a 1 MT blast kills or injures everyone 
  within about ﬁ ve miles.
  The effects of the blast wave can last for 
  several seconds, depending upon the size of the 
  bomb; with a 1 MT bomb, they should last no 
  more than half a Turn. The accompanying table, 
  also adapted from Weapons, describes the effects 
  of a 1 MT blast wave.
  Cost Power
  140 
  Blast Wave (Static Overpressure):  RKA 20d6, 
  Explosion (dropoﬀ  as indicated by accom-
  panying table; +½), MegaArea (1” = ½ km, 
  or about 1/3 mile, wide and broad; +¼), 
  Continuous (+1), Indirect (attacks all parts 
  of objects, such as all walls in a building, +¾) 
  (1,050 Active Points); OAF Bulky (-1½), No 
  Range (-½), Requires A Systems Operation 
  Roll (no Active Point penalty; -¼),  Little 
  Or No Eﬀ ect On Soft , Malleable Objects 
  (including living creatures; -1), 1 Continu-
  ous Charge lasting 6 Segments which Never 
  Recovers and destroys bomb (-3¼)
  161 
  Blast Wave (Winds):  RKA 20d6, Explosion 
  (dropoﬀ  as indicated by accompanying 
  table; +½), MegaArea (1” = ½ km, or about 
  1/3 mile, wide and broad; +¼), Continu-
  ous (+1), Double Knockback (+¾) (1,050 
  Active Points); OAF Bulky (-1½), No Range 
  (-½), Requires A Systems Operation Roll 
  (no Active Point penalty; -¼), 1 Continu-
  ous Charge lasting 6 Segments which Never 
  Recovers and destroys bomb (-3¼)
  Total cost:  301 points.
  SIXTH EFFECT:  NEGATIVE PRESSURE
  Aft er the explosion creates the static over-
  pressure and winds blowing outward, air has to 
  rush back in to ﬁ ll the vacuum left  by the outrush-
  ing winds. Th is eﬀ ect, though much gentler than 
  dynamic pressure, can still cause damage due to 
  blown objects and the like.
  Negative Pressure:  RKA 3d6, Area Of Eﬀ ect 
  (9” Radius; +1), MegaArea (1” = 1 km wide 
  and broad; +¼), Continuous (+1) (146 Active 
  Points); OAF Bulky (-1½), No Range (-½), 
  Requires A Systems Operation Roll (no Active 
  Point penalty; -¼), 1 Continuous Charge last-
  ing 1 Turn which Never Recovers and destroys 
  bomb (-3¼). Total cost:  22 points.
  SEVENTH EFFECT:  FIRES
  Th e tremendous heat generated by a nuclear 
  explosion ignites any ﬂ ammable objects not 
  destroyed outright. Th e so-called “ﬁ re zone” within 
  which this eﬀ ect occurs covers a 5-10 mile radius 
  for a 1 MT bomb. However, the bomb’s blast wave 
  may put out many ﬁ res (the GM decides whether 
  this occurs, and to what extent it ameliorates the 
  ﬁ re damage).
  Ignite Flammable Objects:  RKA 1 point, Area 
  Of Effect (16” Radius; +2), MegaArea (1” = 1 
  km wide and broad; +¼), Continuous (+1), 
  Indirect (attacks all parts of objects, such 
  as all walls in a building, +¾), Penetrating 
  (+½), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½), 
  Sticky (only affects flammables; +¼), Uncon-
  trolled (keeps burning until extinguished or 
  fuel is consumed; +½) (34 Active Points); 
  OAF Bulky (-1½), No Range (-½), Requires 
  A Systems Operation Roll (no Active Point 
  penalty; -¼). Total cost:  10 points.
  BLAST WAVE TABLE
  Range 
  Game Range Damage 
  Effects
  Up to 1.4 miles 
  up to 1127” 
  20-16d6 30 psi/670 mph winds:  total destruction
  1.5-1.8 miles 
  1128-1449” 
  15-11d6 20 psi/470 mph winds:  massive structures 
  and reinforced concrete destroyed
  1.9-2.0 miles 
  1450-1610” 
  10-9d6 
  15 psi/380 mphwinds:  multistory buildings 
  damaged and sometimes destroyed
  2.1-2.5 miles 
  1611-2013” 
  8-7d6 
  10 psi/290 mph winds:  factories and 
  commercial structures destroyed
  2.6-3.1 miles 
  2014-2496” 
  6d6 
  7 psi/225 mph winds:  residential structures 
  destroyed
  3.2-3.8 miles 
  2497-3059” 
  5d6 
  5 psi/160 mph winds:  residential and light 
  commercial structures badly damaged or 
  destroyed
  3.9-4.8 miles 
  3060-3864” 
  4d6 
  3 psi/116 mph winds:  walls of steel-framed 
  buildings blown away, dwellings badly 
  damaged, vehicles overturned, persons in 
  the open killed
  4.9-5.9 miles 
  3865-4750” 
  3-2d6 
  2 psi/70 mph winds:  wooden buildings and 
  similar structures damaged
  6.0-10.0 miles 
  4751-8050” 
  2-1d6 
  1 psi/48 mph winds:  little appreciable aﬀ ect
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  135 
  It’s possible for the ﬁ res to join together in two 
  ways to cause even more damage. First, there could 
  be a conﬂ agration:  the ﬁ res spread out of control 
  and devastate many square miles of still-standing 
  structures and plant life. Second, and even worse, 
  is the ﬁ restorm, in which the ﬁ res join together 
  in a central area and begin to suck in oxygen. Th e 
  inrushing oxygen feeds the ﬁ re, turning it into a 
  raging, self-sustaining inferno that only ends when 
  it destroys everything ﬂ ammable. No one can accu-
  rately predict whether a ﬁ restorm will start; Hiro-
  shima suﬀ ered one but Nagasaki, which is hillier, 
  only experienced a conﬂ agration.
  In game terms, this eﬀ ect is a Continuous Aid; 
  for these purposes, assume the bomb has SPD 2.
  Firestorm:  Aid Fire Powers 4d6, two Fire 
  Powers (the RKA and the maximum eﬀ ect 
  of this Aid) simultaneously (+½), Can Add 
  Maximum Of 60 Points’ Worth Of Fire Powers, 
  Delayed Return Rate (points fade at the rate of 
  5 per Hour; +1), Area Of Eﬀ ect (25” Radius; 
  +1), MegaArea (1” = ½ km, or about 1/3 mile, 
  wide and broad; +¼), Continuous (+1), Trigger 
  (when Ignite Flammable Objects takes eﬀ ect; 
  +¼), Uncontrolled (keeps working until ﬁ res 
  burn out or are extinguished; +½), Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½) (348 Active Points); 
  OAF Bulky (-1½), Activation Roll 11- (-1), 
  Requires A Systems Operation Roll (no Active 
  Point penalty; -¼). Total cost:  93 points.
  EIGHTH EFFECT:  RADIATION, FALLOUT, 
  AND NUCLEAR WINTER
  Th e lingering radiation created by a nuclear 
  detonation can last weeks, months, or years. It’s 
  been estimated that 1 MT explosion would force 
  the evacuation of all people in a 4,900 square mile 
  area around the explosion for at least a week (and 
  in the 1,400 square mile area immediately around 
  the explosion for a month or more). As a basic 
  rule of thumb, GMs can use the seven-tenths rule:  
  seven hours aft er the explosion, the radiation levels 
  drop to one-tenth of what they were one hour aft er 
  the explosion; 49 (7 x 7) hours aft erwards, 1/100th, 
  and so forth. For the eﬀ ects of radiation, refer to 
  pages 282-83 of Star Hero. Remember that in some 
  genres (like Champions), radiation can have some 
  unusual eﬀ ects.
  In addition to the localized radiation, the 
  radioactive debris kicked into the atmosphere by a 
  nuclear explosion eventually descends to Earth as 
  fallout. Th e pattern of fallout from a given nuclear 
  explosion depends mainly on how high it goes and 
  what the prevailing weather conditions (particu-
  larly the wind) are like.
  Lastly, a few authorities believe a large nuclear 
  exchange would kick so much dust and smoke 
  into the air that it would blot out the sun, creating 
  “nuclear winter.” In the worst-case scenario, this 
  would mean the extinction of life on Earth as tem-
  peratures dropped below freezing and food pro-
  duction became impossible. However, many experts 
  question these doomsday predictions, and in any 
  event it would require a major nuclear exchange 
  to create this eﬀ ect (something that’s unlikely to 
  happen in most gaming campaigns).
  Because the eﬀ ects of radiation, fallout, and 
  nuclear winter are so unpredictable, no game statis-
  tics are given for them. Th e GM should adjudicate 
  their eﬀ ects on his campaign himself. 
  NUCLEAR BOMB COST AND EFFECTS SUMMARY
  So, here are the total eﬀ ects and costs for a 1 MT nuclear bomb:
  Effect 
  Effects 
  Active Points 
  Real Points
  Radiation burst 
  Drain BODY 20d6 + Drain CON 10d6 
  2,300 
  374
  Flash 
  Major Transform 9d6 (to blind person) 
  337 
  45
  Th ermal blast 
  RKA 20d6 
  525 
  72
  EMP 
  Dispel 20d6, all Electrical Circuit powers 
  330 
  45
  Blast, SO 
  RKA 20d6 
  1,050 
  140
  Blast, winds 
  RKA 20d6 
  1,050 
  161
  Negative pressure  
  RKA 3d6 
  146 
  22
  Ignite object 
  RKA 1 point, Penetrating, Sticky, Uncontrolled 
  34 
  10
  Firestorm 
  Aid Fire Powers 4d6 
  348 
  93
  Total: 
   
  6,120 
  962
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  136 ■ Modern Weapons
  A
  lthough not precisely “weapons,” poisons 
  have been used by assassins and murders 
  for centuries, and are common features 
  in many campaigns (particularly Dark 
  Champions and Fantasy Hero games). Besides the 
  threat of venomous animals, characters may have 
  to deal with unscrupulous courtiers introducing 
  poison into their food and drink at the King’s feast, 
  assassins wielding poison-smeared blades, jungle 
  tribesmen with poisoned blowgun darts, and the 
  like. Poisoning has become less common as a form 
  of killing in the modern world because of the ready 
  availability of guns and knives, but characters will 
  still ﬁ nd plenty of assassins and killers out there 
  using poisons. In many cases, poisons are the 
  weapon of choice because they are virtually unde-
  tectable, or because their delayed eﬀ ect allows the 
  assassin to get far away from his victim and/or to 
  strike days before the victim develops symptoms 
  and dies.
  In HERO System terms, lethal poisons are typi-
  cally built as RKAs, NND Does BODY (the defense 
  being the appropriate Life Support [Immunity]), 
  OAF Fragile, No Range, and Charges. Nonlethal 
  poisons, such as knockout drugs, are usually bought 
  as Drains (oft en with NND as well); many lethal 
  poisons also have a Linked Drain CON eﬀ ect (since 
  even if someone survives the poison, it makes him 
  weak and ill). Gradual Eﬀ ect is a common Limita-
  tion for either type, but not necessarily required; so 
  is Extra Time (representing an onset time before 
  the Gradual Eﬀ ect starts to occur).
  USING POISONS
  Characters can use poison in many diﬀ erent 
  ways.
  INTRODUCING THE POISON
  An attacker can introduce a poison into a 
  character’s body in one of three ways. 
  Injected Poisons
  Th e ﬁ rst is injection — the poison is violently 
  placed into the body by means of an animal’s 
  stinger, a bladed or pointed weapon, or the like. 
  Th is type of poison takes the Limitation HKA Must 
  Do BODY Damage (-½), since it’s Linked or related 
  to an HKA of some sort that must pierce the skin. 
  Charges is another common Limitation, represent-
  ing the contents of a poison reservoir, the amount 
  of poison smeared on a blade, or the like.
  Venomous animals obviously don’t need 
  to make any Skill Rolls or the like to ready their 
  venoms. Applying poison to a blade for use against 
  an enemy normally does not require a Skill Roll, 
  either, provided the character has plenty of time 
  (at least 5 Minutes) and a peaceful environment in 
  which to do the job. If the character has to apply 
  the poison more quickly, crisis conditions exist 
  (such as being in the middle of a battle), or the 
  GM wants to restrict the use of poison, a character 
  who’s applying poison to a weapon must make a 
  DEX Roll. If the roll succeeds, he applies the poison 
  without diﬃ  culty. If it fails by 1-3, the poison was 
  improperly applied and has no eﬀ ect; the character 
  has simply wasted the poison. If it fails by 4, the 
  character accidentally poisons himself and takes 
  damage (either full damage, or something less, 
  depending on the GM’s judgment).
  Animals’ venoms do not expire or become 
  weakened as long as the animal lives. However, at 
  the GM’s option, a poison placed on a blade or the 
  like wears oﬀ  if not used (every successful use of it 
  consumes a Charge, of course). For every hour that 
  passes since the poison was applied, either remove 
  one Charge, or reduce all remaining Charges by 1 
  Damage Class.
  In most cases, the poison on a blade is visible, 
  and has an odor; characters may make a PER Roll 
  to perceive it. Poisons built with the Invisible Power 
  Eﬀ ects Advantage don’t suﬀ er from this drawback.
  Ingested Poisons
  Second, characters can ingest a poison, either 
  by eating/drinking it, or in the case of poison gas 
  inhaling it. An attacker has to get the poison to 
  the victim some way — hide it in his wine, pump 
  it into the room he’s in — so he can take it into 
  his body. Gaseous poisons take no Limitation 
  (except perhaps one reflecting the fact that they 
  don’t work in high winds or rain), but GMs may 
  allow other ingested poisons to take a -½ Limita-
  tion, Must Be Ingested.
  Introducing poison into someone’s food 
  requires planning and skill. Either the attacker 
  must have access to the character’s food as it’s being 
  cooked/prepared, or he has to put the poison in it 
  right before he gives it to the character. To do the 
  latter, he has to hide his actions from the charac-
  ter in some way — either conceal the food/drink 
  behind something for a second, or make a Sleight 
  Of Hand roll (opposed by the character’s PER Roll).
  When a character confronts food and drink 
  he suspects may be poisoned, he can ask for a 
  PER Roll to try to detect the toxin. (In the case 
  of poisons so strong they’re diﬃ  cult to conceal in 
  food, the GM may allow a PER Roll regardless of 
  whether the character asks for one.) If the poison 
  matches or blends in with the color of the food/
  POISONS
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  137 
  drink, the character receives no bonus to his PER 
  Roll (and may even suﬀ er a penalty); if the two 
  don’t match, he may receive a +1 or +2 bonus. Th e 
  character may also taste a tiny amount of the food/
  drink in the hope of detecting the poison without 
  exposing himself to a damaging dose. If the food/
  drink has a strong ﬂ avor, he receives no bonus (and 
  may even suﬀ er a penalty); if the poison overpow-
  ers the ﬂ avor of the food/drink, he gets a +1 (or 
  higher) bonus.
  Contact Poisons
  Lastly, some poisons are so lethal that simply 
  touching them can kill a character — even the tini-
  est amount seeps through the skin and into the 
  body. Contact poisons don’t take any unusual Limi-
  tations, though they sometimes have Trigger (when 
  character touches poisoned object; +¼). Characters 
  can apply and detect contact poisons as they do 
  injected poisons.
  EFFECTS OF POISON
  Typically, the purpose of poison is to kill. How-
  ever, not all poisons have fatal eﬀ ects; some just make 
  the victim sick or dizzy, or knock him out.
  In the real world, poisons generally make the 
  victim feel ill, then cause cramps, convulsions, and 
  eventually death (see below for many examples). 
  Sometimes they have other minor eﬀ ects, like 
  raising (or lowering) body temperature, causing 
  drowsiness or drunkenness-like eﬀ ects, impairing 
  the senses slightly, or mildly discoloring some part 
  of the body. In a Fantasy setting, poisons can have 
  many horriﬁ c eﬀ ects that heighten the drama of the 
  situation. Th ey could, for example, cause extreme 
  insanity prior to death, strongly discolor the vic-
  tim’s body, make the victim bleed from the pores, 
  or the like. Players and GMs should be ﬁ endishly 
  clever in their descriptions of a poison’s eﬀ ects.
  CREATING POISONS
  Characters who want to make their own poi-
  sons must buy the Professional Skill Brew Poison (in 
  Fantasy or pre-modern settings) or the Science Skill 
  Pharmacology/Toxicology (in modern or advanced 
  societies). Making poisons requires the proper equip-
  ment — kettles, glassware, ingredients, and the like. In 
  Fantasy campaigns, many alchemists brew poisons, 
  since they’ve already got the supplies.
  To make a poison, a character must make 
  a Skill Roll. Th is takes a minimum of 1 Minute 
  per 10 Active Points in the poison, and may take 
  much longer. Th e character suﬀ ers a penalty of -1 
  per 10 Active Points to his Skill Roll, but may gain 
  extra time bonuses for taking longer than the pre-
  scribed amount of time. Th e GM may impose other 
  bonuses or penalties as he sees ﬁ t.
  If the character’s roll succeeds, he has made the 
  poison properly, and now has a number of “doses” 
  equal to the Charges in the poison’s HERO System 
  write-up. If the roll fails by 1-3, he fails to create the 
  poison — or, in the GM’s discretion, may create a 
  much weaker toxin. If the roll fails by 4 or more, 
  the character not only does not create any poison at 
  all, but in the GM’s discretion he may have suﬀ ered 
  some calamity (a laboratory explosion or the like).
  Harvesting Poison
  Characters who ﬁ ght venomous animals and 
  monsters may have the chance to “harvest” poison 
  from the corpses of their defeated foes. Th e GM 
  must ﬁ rst determine if the creature has any poison 
  left ; it may have used it all up in battle, or the char-
  acters’ attacks could have pierced its reservoir and 
  spilled all the venom. (If necessary, determine this 
  randomly; on a roll of 11-, the animal’s venom res-
  ervoir is intact.)
  To harvest the poison reservoir, a character 
  must make a roll. If he has an appropriate Knowl-
  edge Skill (such as KS: Animals), he only has to 
  make a DEX Roll to do the job properly. If he lacks 
  an appropriate KS, he must make an 8- roll (to 
  judge where to ﬁ nd the reservoir) and make a DEX 
  Roll. If any of these rolls fail, the character loses all 
  the poison.
  Once a character has extracted a venom res-
  ervoir, he must store it properly, or else the venom 
  evaporates, expires, or weakens. Use the rules for 
  injected poisons, above, but diminish the venom 
  per day, rather than per hour.
  POISON IN THE CAMPAIGN
  In Heroic-level games, characters typically 
  can buy poisons with money instead of Character 
  Points. Th is may cause problems in the game. Eager 
  for its potent oﬀ ensive power, characters may sud-
  denly invest heavily in poisons and use them con-
  stantly, throwing oﬀ  campaign balance.
  Gamemasters who want to restrict the use 
  of poison in the campaign have several options. 
  First, make poisons diﬃ  cult to create and obtain. 
  Lengthen the creation time (and increase the perils 
  of poison-brewing). Make poison so rare that 
  it’s diﬃ  cult to ﬁ nd in the market, and incredibly 
  expensive to purchase. Possession of poison may 
  also be illegal, causing characters further problems 
  when they try to buy or carry it.
  Second, make poisons diﬃ  cult to use. Increase 
  the speed with which they weaken or evaporate. 
  Require a character to make a DEX Roll in every 
  Phase he uses a poisoned weapon, with failure 
  meaning he has accidentally poisoned himself. Give 
  poison-using characters a Reputation Disadvantage 
  that makes it hard for them to live or work with 
  folk who object to poison use.
  Th ird, if necessary, forbid characters to use 
  poison altogether. Aft er all, it’s not heroic — it’s 
  something assassins, thieves, and other Evil people 
  do. While heavy-handed, this method may prove 
  the best and easiest for many campaigns.
  HEALING AND POISONS
  Most poisons have antidotes. If someone 
  administers the antidote to a poisoning victim, the 
  toxin causes no further damage, but the antidote 
  does not heal damage already taken.
  In most cases, use of Paramedics should have 
  little, if any, eﬀ ect on a poison that’s already in a 
  character’s system. Th e GM should only allow a char-
  acter to make Paramedics rolls to diminish the eﬀ ect 
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  138 ■ Modern Weapons
  of poison if he has special knowledge of the subject 
  — such as KS: Poisons or the like. Of course, the GM 
  can always make exceptions; for example, if a char-
  acter got to a snakebite victim right aft er he was bit, 
  perhaps the character could use his Paramedics Skill 
  to put a torniquet on the wound, make an incision, 
  and suck out some of the poison. But once the poison 
  starts to degrade a person’s ﬂ esh, internal organs, and/
  or nervous system, oft en there’s nothing medicine can 
  do to help him (particularly the primitive medicine of 
  Fantasy-era settings).
  A spell or ability using the Healing Power 
  can heal damage already taken from poison, but it 
  doesn’t stop further damage from accruing if the 
  poison has a Gradual Eﬀ ect. However, at the GM’s 
  option, a character could use a Healing-based spell 
  to counteract “future” poison damage from a poison 
  already in the character’s system. Alternately, this 
  may require a Transform (poisoned person to non-
  poisoned person).
  CLASSIFYING POISONS
  Since the defense against most poisons is 
  Life Support (Immunity), you should classify any 
  poison you create (thus deﬁ ning the proper Immu-
  nity for it). You have two options.
  First, you can use the categories already 
  deﬁ ned for Immunity (see page 198 of the HERO 
  System 5th Edition, Revised). Although simple and 
  easy, this method lacks Fantasy ﬂ avor.
  Second, you can create categories speciﬁ c to 
  your campaign, based on the source of the poison, 
  who makes it, and other factors (this is particu-
  larly appropriate for Fantasy Hero campaigns). 
  Th e accompanying text box provides an example 
  system, using as a guideline a cost of 2 Character 
  Points for poisons speciﬁ c to a race, group, or loca-
  tion, and 3 Character Points for poisons from spe-
  ciﬁ c types of animals or plants.
  EXAMPLE REAL-WORLD 
  POISONS
  In addition to these poisons, you can find 
  other examples on pages 28-30 of the HERO 
  System Bestiary.
  ABRIN
  Abrin is a phytotoxin (poison derived from 
  plants) found in the seeds of a tropical plant vari-
  ously known as jequirity bean, precatory bean, 
  paternoster pea, or rosary pea (Abrus precatorius). 
  Th e onset of its eﬀ ects usually occurs within two 
  days, but may take only a few hours; they include 
  vomiting, diarrhea, gastrointestinal problems, 
  convulsions, coma, and death from cardiac failure. 
  Abrin may also cause ulcers in the mouth. Even a 
  single bean from this plant can be fatal to a child or 
  a weak adult. Immunity to abrin costs 1 point. 
  Abrin:  Drain CON 2d6, Delayed Return Rate 
  (points return at the rate of 5 per Day; +1½), 
  NND (defense is Life Support [appropriate 
  Immunity]; +1) (70 Active Points); OAF Fragile 
  (-1¼), Extra Time (onset time begins no earlier 
  than 6 Hours aft er victim ingests poison; -3½), 
  Gradual Eﬀ ect (6 Hours, 1d6/3 Hours; -1½), 
  Linked (to RKA; -½), Must Be Ingested (-½), 
  4 Charges (-1) (total cost:  8 points) plus RKA 
  4d6, NND (defense is Life Support [appropriate 
  Immunity]; +1), Does BODY (+1) (180 Active 
  Points); OAF Fragile (-1¼), No Range (-½), 
  Extra Time (onset time begins no earlier than 6 
  Hours aft er victim ingests poison; -3½), Grad-
  ual Eﬀ ect (6 Hours, 1d6/1½ Hours; -1½), Must 
  Be Ingested (-½), 4 Charges (-1) (total cost:  19 
  points). Total cost:  27 points.
  ACONITE
  Th is phytotoxin comes from the roots of the 
  aconite plant (Aconitum napellus), also known as 
  monk’s-hood or wolfsbane. It’s also found in the 
  leaves and roots of larkspur.
  In its pure form, aconitine, this poison is a 
  white crystalline alkaloid. It’s extremely virulent 
  and fast-acting — death occurs almost instanta-
  neously following ingestion. Aconitine can also be 
  absorbed through the skin. Symptoms in longer-
  lasting cases (which usually last no more than an 
  hour or two) include tingly skin (an important 
  “giveaway” symptom in many cases), numbness or 
  burning of the mouth and throat, stomach pain, 
  vomiting, loss of coordination, feeling “cold,” diar-
  rhea, convulsions, and death from cardiac and 
  respiratory failure. Doctors cannot detect aconite 
  via an autopsy unless they run special tests. Immu-
  nity to aconite costs 2 points.
  Aconite:  Drain CON 2d6, Delayed Return 
  Rate (points return at the rate of 5 per Day; 
  +1½), NND (defense is Life Support [appro-
  priate Immunity]; +1), Invisible Power Eﬀ ects 
  (can’t be detected with autopsy; +¼) (75 Active 
  Points); OAF Fragile (-1¼), Linked (to RKA;
  -½), Must Be Ingested (-½), 4 Charges (-1) (total 
  EXAMPLE FANTASY 
  IMMUNITIES
  Cost 
  Poison
  3 
  Animal Poisons (other than serpent and 
  spider poisons)
  2 
  Deep Elf Poisons
  2 
  Orcish Poisons
  3 
  Plant Poisons of the Eastern Realms
  3 
  Plant Poisons of the Western Realms
  3 
  Serpent Poisons
  2 
  Poisons of the Silverleaf Guild
  3 
  Spider Poisons
  2 
  Tornathian Ingested Poisons
  2 
  Toxins of Th fn
  3 
  Turakian Poisons
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  139 
  cost:  18 points) plus RKA 5d6, NND (defense 
  is Life Support [appropriate Immunity]; +1), 
  Does BODY (+1), Invisible Power Eﬀ ects (can’t 
  be detected with regular autopsy; +¼) (244 
  Active Points); OAF Fragile (-1¼), No Range
  (-½), Must Be Ingested (-½), 4 Charges (-1) 
  (total cost:  57 points). Total cost:  75 points.
  ANTIMONY
  Antimony is a silvery-white metallic element 
  that can kill if ingested. It does not dissolve in water. 
  Available in many common items (for example, cer-
  tain kinds of batteries, glass, enamels, and matches), 
  it can be used as an immediate poison or as a 
  chronic (long-term) poison in small doses (such as 
  in someone’s food). With a large dose, the onset of 
  the symptoms is immediate; they include depression, 
  violent vomiting, severe diarrhea, gastrointestinal 
  pain, unconsciousness, and spasms. Death follows 
  in 30 minutes to several hours from circulatory and 
  respiratory failure. When used in small doses over 
  a long period, antimony causes extreme depres-
  sion, nausea, and loss of appetite; it eventually kills 
  through exhaustion. In this case the victim probably 
  won’t realize he’s being poisoned. Antimony tends 
  to preserve the body and inhibits decomposition. 
  Immunity to antimony costs 2 points.
  Antimony (chronic poisoning):  Drain CON 2d6, 
  Delayed Return Rate (points return at the rate 
  of 5 per Day; +1½), NND (defense is Life Sup-
  port [appropriate Immunity]; +1) (70 Active 
  Points); OAF Fragile (-1¼), Gradual Eﬀ ect 
  (small doses given over the course of 1 month, 
  -2¼), Linked (to RKA; -½), Must Be Ingested 
  (-½), 4 Charges (-1) (total cost:  11 points) 
  plus RKA 3d6+1, NND (defense is Life Sup-
  port [appropriate Immunity]; +1), Does BODY 
  (+1) (150 Active Points); OAF Fragile (-1¼), 
  No Range (-½), Gradual Eﬀ ect (small doses 
  given over the course of 1 month, -2¼), Must 
  Be Ingested (-½), 4 Charges (-1) (total cost:  23 
  points). Total cost:  34 points.
  ARSENIC
  Arsenic, an element, is one of the poisons most 
  oft en used by killers in murder mysteries because 
  it’s so readily available (it has many uses in indus-
  try, gardening, and other ﬁ elds). In its pure form it’s 
  a lustrous, brittle, grey-colored metal with a smell 
  like garlic but no particular taste. In other forms, it 
  may be yellow, white, or red; and a powder (usually 
  odorless), a gas, or a liquid. A concentrated dose 
  can kill within hours once it takes eﬀ ect, but may 
  not begin taking eﬀ ect for up to a few days. Th e 
  symptoms include severe stomach pain, vomiting, 
  diarrhea, thirst, cold and clammy skin, leg cramps, 
  depression, collapse, delirium, convulsions, coma, 
  and death from dehydration and heart failure in 
  6-12 hours. If the victim survives the attack, he 
  experiences stomach pain, decreased reﬂ exes, and a 
  burning sensation on the soles of his feet. 
  Arsenic is most oft en administered in small 
  doses over a long period of time, just like antimony 
  (use that write-up for chronic arsenic poisoning). 
  Long-term eﬀ ects include loss of appetite and 
  weight, irritability and depression, nausea, numb-
  ness and/or itchiness of the skin, mottled pigmen-
  tation on the hands and feet, jaundiced skin, and 
  a thickening of the nails. Death eventually occurs 
  from dehydration and heart failure.
  Doctors can easily detect arsenic in an autopsy 
  by performing simple tests. Th e victim’s stomach 
  occasionally becomes crimson-colored and/or has 
  small arsenic particles in it. Arsenic is also readily 
  detectable in urine, hair, and other bodily sub-
  stances. Immunity to arsenic costs 3 points.
  Arsenic (concentrated dose):  Drain CON 2d6, 
  Delayed Return Rate (points return at the rate 
  of 5 per Day; +1½), NND (defense is Life Sup-
  port [appropriate Immunity]; +1) (70 Active 
  Points); OAF Fragile (-1¼), Extra Time (onset 
  time begins no earlier than 3 Hours aft er victim 
  ingests poison; -3), Gradual Eﬀ ect (6 Hours, 
  1d6/3 Hours; -1½), Linked (to RKA; -½), Must 
  Be Ingested (-½), 4 Charges (-1) (total cost:  8 
  points) plus RKA 3d6, NND (defense is Life 
  Support [appropriate Immunity]; +1), Does 
  BODY (+1) (135 Active Points); OAF Fragile 
  (-1¼), No Range (-½), Extra Time (onset time 
  begins no earlier than 3 Hours aft er victim 
  ingests poison; -3), Gradual Eﬀ ect (6 Hours, 
  1d6/2 Hours; -1½), Must Be Ingested (-½), 4 
  Charges (-1) (total cost:  15 points). Total cost:  
  23 points.
  ATROPINE
  Atropine is an alkaloid derived from the bel-
  ladonna plant (Atropa belladonna). A neurotoxin 
  (a poison that attacks the central nervous system 
  and its functions), it kills within 24 hours aft er 
  ingestion (sometimes longer) by interfering with 
  the respiratory system. Its initial symptoms appear 
  within three hours, and include a dry mouth, 
  dilated pupils, staggering and loss of coordination, 
  a ﬂ ushed face and dry skin, increased heartbeat 
  and respiration, and restlessness and manic activ-
  ity (symptoms similar to drunkenness in some 
  respects). Later, the victim goes into depression and 
  stupor, his face becomes bluish from lack of oxygen, 
  his heartbeat slows, and he dies from asphyxia. 
  Immunity to atropine costs 1 point.
  Atropine:  RKA 4d6, NND (defense is Life Sup-
  port [appropriate Immunity]; +1), Does BODY 
  (+1) (180 Active Points); OAF Fragile (-1¼), No 
  Range (-½), Extra Time (onset time begins no 
  earlier than 3 Hours aft er victim ingests poison; 
  -3), Gradual Eﬀ ect (1 Day, 1d6/6 Hours; -1¾), 
  Must Be Ingested (-½), 4 Charges (-1). Total 
  cost:  20 points.
  CROTIN
  Crotin (or croton) is a phytotoxin derived 
  from the seeds of certain shrubs in the southwest 
  United States, Asia, Africa, and some Paciﬁ c islands  
  (for example, Croton tiglium, the purging croton). 
  It causes burning pains in the mouth and stomach, 
  vomiting, bloody diarrhea, collapse, and death 
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  140 ■ Modern Weapons
  within 10-15 minutes to a few hours. Immunity to 
  crotin costs 1 point.
  Crotin:  RKA 3d6, NND (defense is Life Sup-
  port [appropriate Immunity]; +1), Does BODY 
  (+1) (135 Active Points); OAF Fragile (-1¼), 
  No Range (-½), Extra Time (onset time begins 
  no earlier than 10-15 Minutes aft er victim 
  ingests poison; -2), Gradual Eﬀ ect (1 Hour, 
  1d6/20 Minutes; -1¼), Must Be Ingested (-½), 
  4 Charges (-1). Total cost:  18 points.
  CURARE
  Curare, one of the most infamous poisons, 
  derives from a variety of South American plants. 
  It must be injected into the body (it’s harmless if 
  swallowed), so it’s frequently used to coat darts, 
  blades, and other weapons. It kills almost immedi-
  ately by paralyzing the nervous system. Two anaes-
  thetic drugs, Pavulon and succinylcholine, have 
  similar eﬀ ects. Immunity to curare costs 3 points. 
  Curare:  RKA 4d6, NND (defense is Life Sup-
  port [appropriate Immunity]; +1), Does BODY 
  (+1) (180 Active Points); OAF Fragile (-1¼), 
  No Range (-½), HKA Must Do BODY (-½), 4 
  Charges (-1). Total cost:  42 points.
  CYANIDE
  Hydrogen cyanide, another common poison, 
  may be used in liquid, powder, or gaseous form. 
  It is a salt of prussic acid, and sees wide use 
  in industrial processes such as photography, 
  engraving, gold mining, steel hardening, and 
  electroplating. It’s available naturally in the 
  seeds or pits of peaches, apricots, apples, and 
  wild cherries. Its various salts include potassium 
  cyanide, mercuric cyanide, and sodium cyanide. 
  The salts are all whitish, crystalline powders, and 
  are not lethal until dissolved in acid, produc-
  ing hydrogen cyanide gas (which is colorless). 
  Exposure to cyanide gas (the most common 
  form) causes almost instantaneous death due to 
  paralysis of the nervous system and attacks on 
  the circulatory system. Liquid cyanide is used in 
  “suicide capsules” hidden in fictional spies’ teeth; 
  the powdered and liquid forms have been used 
  to poison foods and over-the-counter medicines 
  (50-200 mg are enough to kill an adult in 15 
  minutes or less).
  Cyanide smells like almonds to approxi-
  mately 40% of the population (the ability to smell 
  it is genetic). Doctors can easily detect its use via 
  autopsy because it turns the skin and blood a bright 
  red or pinkish color, and it may corrode the stom-
  ach if ingested. However, these eﬀ ects dissipate with 
  time as the cyanide in the blood decomposes. 
  Immunity to cyanide (in all of its forms) costs 
  3 points.
  Cyanide Gas Shell:  RKA 5d6, Area of Eﬀ ect 
  (480” [about 0.5 miles]; +2), Continuous (+1), 
  NND (defense is LS [Self-Contained Breathing 
  or appropriate Immunity]; +1), Does BODY 
  (+1) (450 Active Points); OAF (-1), No Range 
  (range is provided by shell’s launching system; 
  -½), Real Weapon (-¼), 1 Continuing Charge 
  lasting 3 Turns (removed by high winds or rain; 
  -1). Total cost:  120 points.
  Cyanide Suicide Tooth:  RKA 5d6, NND 
  (defense is Life Support [appropriate Immu-
  nity]; +1), Does BODY (+1) (225 Active 
  Points); OIF (-½), No Range (-½), Self Only 
  (-½), Must Be Ingested (-½), 1 Charge (-2). 
  Total cost:  45 points.
  DIGITOXIN
  Also known as digoxin, this extremely lethal 
  poison is used in some forms as digitalis, a heart 
  medicine. It derives from the plant foxglove. Its 
  symptoms include loss of appetite, nausea and 
  vomiting, diarrhea, decreased pulse and heartbeat, 
  fatigue, convulsions, and death from respiratory 
  failure. Death may occur almost immediately or 
  take up to about one hour. Immunity to digitoxin 
  costs 1 point.
  Digitoxin:  Drain CON 2d6, Delayed Return 
  Rate (points return at the rate of 5 per Day; 
  +1½), NND (defense is Life Support [appropri-
  ate Immunity]; +1) (70 Active Points); OAF 
  Fragile (-1¼), Gradual Eﬀ ect (may take up 
  to 1 Hour; -0), Linked (to RKA; -½), Must Be 
  Ingested (-½), 4 Charges (-1) (total cost:  16 
  points) plus RKA 4d6, NND (defense is Life 
  Support [appropriate Immunity]; +1), Does 
  BODY (+1) (180 Active Points); OAF Fragile 
  (-1¼), No Range (-½), Gradual Eﬀ ect (may 
  take up to 1 Hour; -0), Must Be Ingested (-½), 4 
  Charges (-1) (total cost:  42 points). Total cost:  
  58 points.
  HEMLOCK
  Th is plant comes in two varieties:  poison 
  hemlock and water hemlock. Poison hemlock is 
  found in the temperate parts of North and South 
  America, Europe, Asia, and northern Africa. It is 
  most toxic when ﬂ owering. It is an ingested neuro-
  toxin which causes gradual paralysis and weakness, 
  ending in death from respiratory failure. Water 
  hemlock, one of the most toxic plants on Earth, 
  grows in temperate regions and is also an ingested 
  neurotoxin; its symptoms include stomach pains, 
  nausea, vomiting, excessive salivation, diarrhea, 
  convulsions, and death. Immunity to hemlock 
  (both varieties) costs 1 point.
  Poison Hemlock:  Drain CON 2d6, Delayed 
  Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 
  per Day; +1½), NND (defense is Life Support 
  [appropriate Immunity]; +1) (70 Active Points); 
  OAF Fragile (-1¼), Extra Time (onset time 
  begins no earlier than 1 Minute aft er victim 
  ingests poison; -1½), Gradual Eﬀ ect (6 Hours, 
  1d6/3 Hours; -1½), Linked (to RKA; -½), Must 
  Be Ingested (-½), 4 Charges (-1) (total cost:  8 
  points) plus RKA 3½d6, NND (defense is Life 
  Support [appropriate Immunity]; +1), Does 
  BODY (+1) (165 Active Points); OAF Fragile 
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  141 
  (-1¼), No Range (-½), Extra Time (onset time 
  begins no earlier than 1 Minute aft er victim 
  ingests poison; -1½), Gradual Eﬀ ect (6 Hours, 
  1d6/1½ Hours; -1½), Must Be Ingested (-½), 4 
  Charges (-1) (total cost:  23 points). Total cost:  
  31 points.
  Water Hemlock:  Drain CON 2d6, Delayed 
  Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 
  per Day; +1½), NND (defense is Life Sup-
  port [appropriate Immunity]; +1) (70 Active 
  Points); OAF Fragile (-1¼), Extra Time (onset 
  time begins no earlier than 1 Minute aft er 
  victim ingests poison; -1½), Gradual Eﬀ ect (1 
  Hour, 1d6/30 Minutes; -1¼), Linked (to RKA;
  -½), Must Be Ingested (-½), 4 Charges (-1) (total 
  cost:  10 points) plus RKA 5d6, NND (defense is 
  Life Support [appropriate Immunity]; +1), Does 
  BODY (+1) (225 Active Points); OAF Fragile
  (-1¼), No Range (-½), Extra Time (onset time 
  begins no earlier than 1 Minute aft er victim 
  ingests poison; -1½), Gradual Eﬀ ect (1 Hour, 
  1d6/12 Minutes; -1¼), Must Be Ingested (-½), 
  4 Charges (-1) (total cost:  32 points). Total cost:  
  42 points.
  INSULIN
  Insulin is a drug used to treat diabetes. In 
  excessive quantities, it causes hypoglycemia, fatigue, 
  irreversible brain damage, and death. Doctors can’t 
  detect its during an autopsy without the use of 
  sophisticated radioimmunoassay tests. Immunity to 
  insulin costs 1 point.
  Insulin:  RKA 3d6, NND (defense is Life Support 
  [appropriate Immunity]; +1), Does BODY (+1), 
  Invisible Power Eﬀ ects (can’t be detected with 
  regular autopsy; +¼) (146 Active Points); OAF 
  Fragile (-1¼), Extra Time (onset time begins no 
  earlier than 1 Hour aft er victim is exposed to 
  poison; -3), Gradual Eﬀ ect (1 Day, 1d6/8 Hours; 
  -1¾), No Range (-½), HKA Must Do BODY
  (-½), 4 Charges (-1). Total cost:  16 points.
  MUSHROOMS
  The Amanita genus of mushrooms is deadly 
  poisonous to humans. Unfortunately, these 
  mushrooms closely resemble several edible spe-
  cies. If ingested, they cause abdominal pain and 
  cramps, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and possibly 
  liver damage or jaundice. The victim will seem 
  to improve for about two days, but then ongoing 
  damage to his nervous system will finally kill 
  him; there may be weakness or hallucinations 
  prior to death. Death is not automatic; depend-
  ing upon the species of mushroom the fatality 
  rate ranges from 15-90%. Immunity to poisonous 
  mushrooms costs 2 points.
  Poisonous Mushroom:  Drain CON 3d6, 
  Delayed Return Rate (points return at the rate 
  of 5 per Day; +1½), NND (defense is Life Sup-
  port [appropriate Immunity]; +1) (105 Active 
  Points); OAF Fragile (-1¼), Extra Time (onset 
  time begins no earlier than 1 Hour aft er victim 
  ingests poison; -3), Gradual Eﬀ ect (up to 1 
  Week, 1d6/1 Day; -2), Linked (to RKA; -½), 
  Must Be Ingested (-½), 4 Charges (-1) (total 
  cost:  11 points) plus RKA 2½d6, NND (defense 
  is Life Support [appropriate Immunity]; +1), 
  Does BODY (+1) (120 Active Points); OAF 
  Fragile (-1¼), No Range (-½), Extra Time 
  (onset time begins no earlier than 1 Hour aft er 
  victim ingests poison; -3), Gradual Eﬀ ect (up to 
  1 Week, 1d6/1 Day; -2), Must Be Ingested (-½), 
  4 Charges (-1) (total cost:  13 points). Total cost:  
  24 points.
  NICOTINE
  Nicotine, one of the principal substances in 
  cigarettes (and thus easily obtained by straining 
  it from tobacco), is extremely toxic. It can work if 
  inhaled or ingested; it can also be absorbed through 
  the skin. A few drops of pure nicotine can kill an 
  adult human within an hour by causing respiratory 
  failure; symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diar-
  rhea, confusion, dizziness, and diﬃ  culty breathing. 
  Immunity to nicotine costs 2 points.
  Nicotine:  Drain CON 2d6, Delayed Return 
  Rate (points return at the rate of 5 per Day; 
  +1½), NND (defense is Life Support [appropri-
  ate Immunity]; +1) (70 Active Points); OAF 
  Fragile (-1¼), Extra Time (onset time begins 
  no earlier than 1 Minute aft er victim ingests 
  poison; -1½), Gradual Eﬀ ect (1 Hour, 1d6/30 
  Minutes; -1¼), Linked (to RKA; -½), Must Be 
  Ingested (-½), 4 Charges (-1) (total cost:  10 
  points) plus RKA 4½d6, NND (defense is Life 
  Support [appropriate Immunity]; +1), Does 
  BODY (+1) (210 Active Points); OAF Fragile 
  (-1¼), No Range (-½), Extra Time (onset time 
  begins no earlier than 1 Minute aft er victim 
  ingests poison; -1½), Gradual Eﬀ ect (1 Hour, 
  1d6/12 Minutes; -1¼), Must Be Ingested (-½), 
  4 Charges (-1) (total cost:  30 points). Total cost:  
  40 points.
  RICIN
  Ricin is a phytotoxin derived from the seeds 
  of the castor oil plant (Ricinus communis), which 
  is found in the United States and the tropics. Even 
  tiny amounts of pure ricin can be fatal. When 
  used as a poison, it acts slowly, over the course of 
  several days, but its symptoms are indistinguish-
  able from many illnesses. Th ey include:  burning 
  of the mouth, throat and stomach; abdominal pain 
  and vomiting; diarrhea; convulsions; paralysis; and 
  death from respiratory failure. Immunity to ricin 
  costs 1 point.
  Ricin:  Drain CON 2d6, Delayed Return Rate 
  (points return at the rate of 5 per Day; +1½), 
  NND (defense is Life Support [appropriate 
  Immunity]; +1) (70 Active Points); OAF Frag-
  ile (-1¼), Extra Time (onset time of 2 hours to 
  2 days; -3), Gradual Eﬀ ect (up to several days; 
  -1¾), Linked (to RKA; -½), Must Be Ingested 
  (-½), 4 Charges (-1) (total cost:  8 points) plus 
  RKA 5d6, NND (defense is Life Support [appro-
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  142 ■ Modern Weapons
  priate Immunity]; +1), Does BODY (+1) (225 
  Active Points); OAF Fragile (-1¼), No Range
  (-½), Extra Time (onset time of 2 hours to 2 
  days; -3), Gradual Eﬀ ect (up to several days; 
  -1¾), Must Be Ingested (-½), 4 Charges (-1) 
  (total cost:  25 points). Total cost:  33 points.
  ROBIN
  Robin is a phytotoxin derived from the bark 
  of the North American locust tree (Robinia pseu-
  dacacia). It is eﬀ ective when ingested, and kills 
  within days dues to paralysis of the central nervous 
  system. Immunity to robin costs 1 point.
  Robin:  Drain CON 2d6, Delayed Return Rate 
  (points return at the rate of 5 per Day; +1½), 
  NND (defense is Life Support [appropriate 
  Immunity]; +1) (70 Active Points); OAF Frag-
  ile (-1¼), Extra Time (onset time of 2 hours to 
  2 days; -3), Gradual Eﬀ ect (up to several days; 
  -1¾), Linked (to RKA; -½), Must Be Ingested 
  (-½), 4 Charges (-1) (total cost:  8 points) plus 
  RKA 3d6, NND (defense is Life Support [appro-
  priate Immunity]; +1), Does BODY (+1) (135 
  Active Points); OAF Fragile (-1¼), No Range
  (-½), Extra Time (onset time of 2 hours to 2 
  days; -3), Gradual Eﬀ ect (up to several days; 
  -1¾), Must Be Ingested (-½), 4 Charges (-1) 
  (total cost:  15 points). Total cost:  23 points.
  STRYCHNINE
  Strychnine is an alkaloid phytotoxin derived 
  from the seeds of the nuxvomica tree (Strychnos 
  nux-vomica) of India and Hawaii. Fift y to 100 mil-
  ligrams is enough to kill a human being (usually by 
  injection or ingestion [it has a bitter taste]). Death 
  can occur in a minute or two, but may take up to 
  two hours.
  Strychnine attacks the central nervous system, 
  increasing its sensitivity. Symptoms generally 
  appear within ﬁ ve to 15 minutes. At ﬁ rst, the victim 
  experiences muscle twitches and diﬃ  culty breath-
  ing, but then suﬀ ers extremely violent convulsions 
  in which all the body’s muscles contract at once. 
  Convulsive ﬁ ts last 1-2 minutes, and usually aft er 
  about three or four of them the victim dies from 
  respiratory and cardiac distress. Any sound or 
  light can trigger another convulsion. Th e victim 
  remains alert between attacks. Aft er death the facial 
  muscles contort so the victim has a risus sardonicus, 
  or sardonic rictus grin. Th e grin soon fades, and 
  thereaft er doctors must perform special blood tests 
  to detect the use of strychnine. Immunity to strych-
  nine costs 3 points.
  Strychnine:  RKA 5d6, NND (defense is Life 
  Support [appropriate Immunity]; +1), Does 
  BODY (+1), Invisible Power Effects (can’t 
  be detected with regular autopsy; +¼) (244 
  Active Points); OAF Fragile (-1¼), No Range 
  (-½), Extra Time (onset time of 1 Minute to 
  2 hours; -1½), Gradual Effect (5 Minutes, 
  1d6/Minute; -¾), Must Be Ingested (-½), 4 
  Charges (-1). Total cost:  37 points.
  TETRODOTOXIN
  Tetrodotoxin (or tetraodontoxin) is an 
  extremely potent zootoxin derived from the fugu, 
  or puﬀ er ﬁ sh. Puﬀ er ﬁ sh is a delicacy in Japan, but 
  if improperly prepared is deadly poisonous. Th e 
  dangers of tetrodotoxin are also known in Haiti, 
  where it is one of the ingredients in the powder 
  used to turn people into “zombies” (see Th e Ulti-
  mate Mystic, page 120).
  A neurotoxin, tetrodotoxin can kill in mere 
  minutes in even tiny doses (.01 mg) if injected 
  or ingested — but for unknown reasons it’s only 
  lethal about 60% of the time (pure tetrodotoxin, 
  such as an assassin might use, might be 100% 
  fatal). The victim experiences tingling sensations, 
  loss of coordination, excessive salivation, weak-
  ness, nausea, vomiting, convulsions, and death 
  from respiratory paralysis. There is no known 
  antidote. Immunity to tetrodotoxin costs 1 point 
  (3 points for Japanese people or others who fre-
  quently consume puffer fish).
  Tetrodotoxin:  Drain CON and DEX 2d6, two 
  Characteristics simultaneously (+½), Delayed 
  Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 
  per Day; +1½), NND (defense is Life Support 
  [appropriate Immunity]; +1) (80 Active Points); 
  OAF Fragile (-1¼), Extra Time (onset time of 
  at least 1 Minute; -1½), Gradual Eﬀ ect (5 Min-
  utes, 1d6/2.5 minutes; -½), Linked (to RKA;
  -½), Must Be Ingested (-½), 4 Charges (-1) (total 
  cost:  13 points) plus RKA 3d6, NND (defense 
  is Life Support [appropriate Immunity]; +1), 
  Does BODY (+1) (135 Active Points); OAF 
  Fragile (-1¼), No Range (-½), Extra Time 
  (onset time of at least 1 Minute; -1½), Gradual 
  Eﬀ ect (5 Minutes, 1d6/1.5 minutes; -½), Must 
  Be Ingested (-½), 4 Charges (-1) (total cost:  22 
  points). Total cost:  35 points.
  THALLIUM
  Th allium is a poisonous metal. Typically, it’s 
  used as a poison aft er being irradiated, because 
  radiation breaks it down into a microscopic powder 
  that can’t be removed from the body once ingested. 
  Th e victim slowly dies of radiation poisoning. 
  Immunity to thallium costs 1 point.
  Thallium:  Drain CON and BODY 5d6, two 
  Characteristics simultaneously (+½), Delayed 
  Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 
  per Month; +2), NND (defense is Life Support 
  [appropriate Immunity]; +1), Does BODY (+1) 
  (275 Active Points); OAF Fragile (-1¼), Extra 
  Time (onset time of at least 1 Minute; -1½), 
  Gradual Eﬀ ect (1 Week, 1d6/approximately 1 
  day; -2), HKA Must Do BODY (-½), 4 Charges 
  (-1). Total cost:  38 points.
  
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Three
  143 
  EXAMPLE FICTIONAL 
  POISONS
  Here are three example fictional poisons 
  suitable for many games (primarily Fantasy 
  Hero campaigns).
  Jekkara’s Wine:  Named for the God of Death, 
  this ingestable poison works well with beer or 
  ale, whose taste it resembles (-2 PER to detect in 
  those substances; +0 to detect in any other food). 
  The victim feels no effect for the first hour, 
  giving the poisoner time to escape. Thereafter 
  he becomes ill, and typically dies within the next 
  few minutes, though a strong (i.e., high BODY) 
  victim may survive.
  Drain CON 3d6, Delayed Return Rate (points 
  return at the rate of 5 per Hour; +1), NND 
  (defense is Life Support [appropriate Immu-
  nity]; +1) (90 Active Points); OAF Fragile 
  (easily spilled or diluted poison; -1¼), 1 Charge 
  (-2), Must Be Ingested (-½), Extra Time (onset 
  time begins 1 Hour aft er victim consumes 
  poison; -3), Gradual Eﬀ ect (15 Minutes; 1d6/5 
  Minutes; -¾), Linked (to RKA; -½) (total cost:  
  10 points) plus RKA 3d6, NND (defense is Life 
  Support [appropriate Immunity]; +1), Does 
  BODY (+1) (135 Active Points); OAF Frag-
  ile (easily spilled or diluted poison; -1¼), No 
  Range (-½), 1 Charge (-2), Must Be Ingested (-
  ½), Extra Time (onset time begins 1 Hour aft er 
  victim consumes poison; -3), Gradual Eﬀ ect 
  (10 Minutes; 1d6/5 minutes; -¾) (total cost:  15 
  points). Total cost:  25 points.
  Silverleaf Chumetha Poison:  One of many poisons 
  developed by the feared Silverleaf Guild (a notori-
  ous band of assassins), chumetha is an injected 
  poison used primarily on throwing blades and dag-
  gers. It causes almost instant pain, if not death.
  RKA 3½d6, NND (defense is Life Support 
  [appropriate Immunity]; +1), Does BODY (+1) 
  (165 Active Points); OAF Fragile (easily spilled 
  or diluted poison; -1¼), No Range (range, if 
  any, must be supplied by thrown weapon; -½), 
  4 Charges (-1), HKA Must Do BODY (-½). 
  Total cost:  39 points.
  Red Tears:  A contact poison typically used for 
  traps, Red Tears takes its name from the eﬀ ect it has 
  on the victim. Within a few minutes of getting it 
  on his skin, the victim becomes violently ill (oft en 
  vomiting), and blood begins to ooze from his eyes 
  as if he were crying bloody tears (it may also ooze 
  from the mouth, nose, and under the ﬁ ngernails). 
  Death almost inevitably follows shortly thereaft er.
  Drain CON 4d6, Delayed Return Rate (points 
  return at the rate of 5 per Hour; +1), NND 
  (defense is Life Support [appropriate Immu-
  nity]; +1), Trigger (when character touches 
  poisoned object; +¼) (130 Active Points); 
  OAF Fragile (easily spilled or diluted poison; 
  -1¼), 4 Charges (-1), Extra Time (onset time 
  begins 1 Turn aft er victim touches poisoned 
  object; -1¼), Gradual Eﬀ ect (4 Minutes; 1d6/1 
  Minute; -½), Linked (to RKA; -½) (total cost:  
  24 points) plus RKA 5d6, NND (defense is Life 
  Support [appropriate Immunity]; +1), Does 
  BODY (+1), Trigger (when character touches 
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  144 ■ Modern Weapons
  poisoned object; +¼) (244 Active Points); OAF 
  Fragile (easily spilled or diluted poison; -1¼), 
  No Range (-½), 4 Charges (-1), Extra Time 
  (onset time begins 1 Turn aft er victim touches 
  poisoned object; -1¼), Gradual Eﬀ ect (5 Min-
  utes; 1d6/1 Minute; -¾) (total cost:  42 points). 
  Total cost:  66 points.
  TAILORING POISONS
  Characters can tailor poisons to their speciﬁ c 
  needs in many ways.
  CONVERTING AN INGESTED POISON TO 
  AN INJECTED POISON
  Since HKA Must Do BODY (-½) and Must 
  Be Ingested (-½) both have the same Limitation 
  value, you can easily change an ingested poison to 
  an injected one (or vice-versa) simply by switching 
  Limitations, if appropriate.
  BINARY POISONS
  Th is is a variety of poison the user administers 
  in two or more parts. None of the parts is lethal on 
  its own — they can only kill when brought together. 
  For example, an assassin might feed his victim the 
  ﬁ rst part with dinner, then coat the victim’s aft er-
  dinner cigar with the other part. In HERO System 
  terms, you can build a binary poison by applying 
  the Advantage Trigger (poison takes eﬀ ect when all 
  parts have been successfully administered; +¼) to a 
  standard poison.
  DMSO
  DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide) is not a poison, 
  but a method of poison delivery. It converts 
  ingested or injectable poisons into contact poisons 
  — it allows such chemicals to transmit through the 
  skin. In game terms, a poison + DMSO “cocktail” 
  changes to a contact poison, which involves adding 
  the Trigger Advantage and removing relevant Limi-
  tations.
  TIMERELEASE METHODS
  It’s possible to coat an ingested poison with 
  other chemicals or place it inside tiny beads. Th is 
  has the eﬀ ect of delaying the onset of the poison by 
  as much as two days (depending upon the poison 
  and the time-release mechanism used). Characters 
  may buy this as the Advantage Time Delay (+¼) for 
  the poison.
  
  MODERN EQUIPMENT
  Chapter Four
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  146 ■ Modern Equipment
  G
  uns and knives aren’t the only types of 
  gear characters need.  There’s a whole 
  array of other equipment, from body 
  armor to nightsight devices to micro-
  electronic “bugs” to all kinds of vehicles, that 
  help them with their war on crime.  This chapter 
  describes some of that gear.
  But before they can use gear, characters have 
  to obtain it (the same goes for weapons). How they 
  obtain it depends on both setting considerations 
  and game rules considerations. For these purposes, 
  equipment is divided into four types:
  Standard:  Equipment is Standard if an ordinary, 
  law-abiding citizen could acquire it without too 
  much diﬃ  culty or the need to obtain a special 
  license (or other form of permission). Th is includes 
  a lot of equipment — many types of ﬁ rearms, some 
  types of body armor and surveillance devices, and 
  so on — but not most law enforcement/military 
  equipment such as submachine guns, grenades, and 
  advanced body armors.
  Street-Level Equipment:  Equipment is Street-Level 
  if it is low-level industrial, law enforcement, or 
  military equipment not commonly available to law-
  abiding citizens. Th is includes submachine guns 
  and assault riﬂ es, many types of explosives, many 
  types of body armor, and the like (but not heavy 
  equipment such as machine guns or anti-tank rock-
  ets). It also includes equipment which characters 
  need a license (or other form of permission) to buy, 
  such as some security and surveillance devices.
  In games using the Resource Point rules, the 
  ability to buy Street-Level equipment with Equip-
  ment Points is a 3-point Perk.
  Military Equipment:  Equipment is Military if it is 
  mid-level industrial, law enforcement, or military 
  equipment not commonly available to law-abiding 
  citizens. Th is includes some heavy weapons (such 
  as machine guns and most types of grenades) and 
  some types of body armor, but not really heavy 
  weapons (such as ﬂ amethrowers, anti-tank missiles, 
  or the like).
  In games using the Resource Point rules, the 
  ability to buy Military equipment with Equipment 
  Points is a 5-point Perk.
  Advanced Military Equipment:  Equipment is 
  Advanced Military if it’s too dangerous, large, 
  rare, expensive, or restricted to qualify as Mili-
  tary. This includes any type of military vehicle or 
  heavy weapon.
  In games using the Resource Point rules, the 
  ability to buy Advanced Military equipment with 
  Equipment Points is a 10-point Perk.
  Obtaining Equipment In 
  The Campaign World
  In the campaign setting, typically characters 
  can acquire equipment in four ways:  buy it; steal it; 
  requisition it; or create it.
  BUY IT
  Th e most common method of obtaining 
  equipment is to buy it. Standard equipment tends 
  to be readily and easily available this way, and may 
  not even be that expensive.
  For Street-Level, Military, and Advanced 
  Military equipment, things aren’t necessarily that 
  simple. Th e character may need a license, permis-
  sion from an administrative governmental agency, 
  or the like just to buy the equipment (assuming 
  he can aﬀ ord it). Many types of equipment won’t 
  be available at all; they’ll be restricted to only cer-
  tain military or government users. Th at forces the 
  character to go to the black market (or at least grey 
  market) to do his shopping, and what he’s looking 
  for may or may not be available. See below for rules 
  for buying restricted items.
  STEAL IT
  Characters can also obtain equipment by steal-
  ing it (or in similar ways, such as taking gear from 
  defeated foes). Standard goods are pretty easy to 
  steal; characters may not even need any special 
  Skills to do so. Th e more advanced and dangerous 
  types of gear are protected by increasingly tight 
  security — everything from locks and alarms to 
  guards and advanced protective technology. And 
  this assumes, of course, that a character can ﬁ nd 
  what he wants available for theft . Locating a “target” 
  for theft  may prove more diﬃ  cult than actually 
  stealing it.
  REQUISITION IT
  In campaigns where the PCs belong to a large 
  organization — such as the military or an intel-
  ligence agency — characters may have the ability to 
  requisition gear.
  Characters can generally requisition any type 
  of Standard equipment, assuming their organiza-
  tion has what they want (or can obtain it), their 
  demands are not excessive, and they’re not having 
  any diﬃ  culties with the organization or their 
  superior oﬃ  cers. Usually Standard gear is available 
  when it’s requested, or within one hour at most.
  Requisitioning Street-Level equipment is more 
  diﬃ  cult. Unless he has explicit permission from 
  an authorized oﬃ  cial to requisition a particular 
  ACQUIRING 
  EQUIPMENT
  
  147 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Four
  item, a character has to make a Bureaucratics roll 
  at -3 to requisition Street-Level gear. Military and 
  Advanced Military gear are even tougher — they 
  require Bureaucratics rolls at -6 and -9, respectively. 
  Of course, even if a character successfully puts in a 
  requisition request, he may not get the gear imme-
  diately. If it’s not in stock, he may have to wait days 
  or weeks until what he wants is available.
  Th e ability to requisition equipment comes from 
  the Membership Perk (or the like) that a character 
  pays for when he joins an organization. But it’s not a 
  free pass to get any weapon or gadget the character 
  wants — if characters abuse it that way, or the GM 
  treats their requisition requests leniently, the cam-
  paign may quickly become unbalanced. Th e GM can 
  control characters’ ability to requisition gear in two 
  ways. First, he can rule that some types of equipment 
  are only available to characters if they have permis-
  sion from an authorized superior oﬃ  cer — and since 
  the superior oﬃ  cer is an NPC, the GM can have him 
  grant or deny permission as desired. Second, he can 
  rule that the requested item simply isn’t available for 
  some reason (aft er all, not even the largest organiza-
  tion has unlimited resources).
  Regardless of how they obtain it, characters 
  who requisition gear are responsible for it. If it’s 
  a durable good of some sort (such as a riﬂ e or a 
  car), they’re expected to keep it in good condition, 
  use it responsibly, and return it intact at the end of 
  the mission for which they requisitioned it. If it’s 
  a usable good, such as ammunition, they probably 
  have to ﬁ le reports indicating how they used it, and 
  return any unused portions. A character who fails 
  to return requisitioned equipment, who returns 
  requisitioned equipment in damaged condition, or 
  fails to ﬁ le the proper reports may soon ﬁ nd that 
  he’s not allowed to requisition equipment anymore.
  CREATE IT
  Lastly, characters with the appropriate Skills 
  can create the equipment they want. In some ways 
  this poses the most problems for the GM, since it’s 
  largely unrestricted — the GM can’t reasonably tell 
  a character who’s bought Weaponsmith that he can’t 
  build a gun, since that’s what the Skill is for. How-
  ever, a responsible GM can control the process in 
  legitimate ways if the PCs start to abuse their ability 
  to build gear.
  First, he can strictly follow rules concerning how 
  long such projects take. As noted on Dark Champions, 
  page 83, building a new gun from scratch takes 1d6 
  weeks, possibly more. Given the busy life of most 
  adventurers, it may take characters a lot more than 1-6 
  calendar weeks to get the work done.
  Second, just because characters have the Skills 
  they need doesn’t mean they have the resources 
  required. Creating equipment requires tools (oft en 
  highly specialized ones), a workspace, and most of 
  all the right raw materials. Finding and buying the 
  raw materials and tools may be as expensive, dif-
  ﬁ cult, and dangerous a process as buying the item 
  the character wants to build.
  Th ird, for some highly specialized or cutting-
  edge technological developments, the GM may 
  require characters to buy one or more Background 
  Skills to represent their knowledge of the subject. 
  For example, a character who wants to design a 
  new type of “armor piercing frangible” ammunition 
  might have to buy SS: Ballistics and/or KS: Fran-
  gible Ammunition.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  148 ■ Modern Equipment
  PRICES TABLE
  Weapons 
  Equipment Category 
  Price Range
  Assault riﬂ e 
  Military 
  $3,000-20,000
  Grenades (any type, per grenade)
   20/22mm 
  Military 
  $20-25
   24mm 
  Military 
  $20-25
   30mm 
  Military 
  $25-30
   40mm 
  Military 
  $10-14
   52mm 
  Military 
  $12-16
  Handgun 
  Standard 
  $50-2,000
  Knife 
  Standard 
  $20-100
  Machine gun 
  Advanced Military 
  $4,000-30,000
  Riﬂ e, hunting 
  Standard 
  $500-3,000
  Riﬂ e, military 
  Military 
  $500-5,000
  Shotgun, hunting 
  Standard 
  $500-2,000
  Shotgun, military 
  Military 
  $800-4,000
  Submachine gun 
  Street-Level 
  $1,000-5,000
  Ammunition*
  .22 
  Standard 
  $5-8
  .32, .38 
  Standard 
  $5-8
  .40, 9mm 
  Standard 
  $5-8
  .357 M, .41 M, 10mm 
  Standard 
  $8-12
  .45 ACP, 11mm 
  Standard 
  $5-8
  .44 M, .45 Win Mag 
  Standard 
  $8-12
  .223, 5.56mmN 
  Standard 
  $10-15
  .50 AE, 7.62mmN 
  Standard 
  $10-15
  .410 gauge shot or slugs 
  Standard 
  $10-15
  28, 24 gauge shot or slugs 
  Standard 
  $10-15
  20, 16 gauge shot or slugs 
  Standard 
  $10-15
  12 gauge shot or slugs 
  Standard 
  $12-18
  10 gauge shot or slugs 
  Standard 
  $12-18
  4 gauge shot or slugs 
  Standard 
  $15-20
  Firearms Accessories
  Brass Catcher 
  Standard 
  $40-120
  Camera 
  Military 
  $2,000-5,000
  Flashlight 
  Standard 
  $100-250
  Flash Suppressor 
  Standard 
  $150-300
  Lanyard 
  Standard 
  $20-30
  Rangeﬁ nder 
  Standard 
  $150-300
  Recoil Compensator
   Type 1 
  Standard 
  $80-150
   Type 2 
  Standard 
  $100-200
   Type 3 
  Standard 
  $150-300
  Sights and Scopes
  Collimating/Reﬂ ex 
  Standard 
  $250-2,000
  Laser Sight
   Standard, Small 
  Standard 
  $300-500
   Infrared, Small 
  Military 
  $400-600
   Standard, Long Arm 
  Standard 
  $450-900
   Infrared, Long Arm 
  Military 
  $500-1,000
  Micrometer Sight 
  Standard 
  $50-300
  Nightsight Scope
   Type I 
  Standard 
  $1,000-2,500
   Type II 
  Standard 
  $2,000-4,000
   Type III 
  Street-Level 
  $4,000-8,000
  Telescopic Sight
   x2 
  Standard 
  $100-200
   x3 
  Standard 
  $150-300
   x4 
  Standard 
  $250-600
   x6 
  Standard 
  $400-800
   x8 
  Standard 
  $500-1,100
   x10 
  Standard 
  $800-1,700
  
  149 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Four
  Sights and Scopes (Cont.) 
  Equipment Category 
  Price Range
  Targeting Computer 
  Advanced Military 
  $12,000-20,000
  Th ermal Sight 
  Military 
  $4,000-10,000
  Silencer
  Small, Poor Quality 
  Street-Level 
  $150-300
  Small, Average Quality 
  Street-Level 
  $200-400
  Small, High Quality 
  Street-Level 
  $500-1,000
  Large, Poor Quality 
  Street-Level 
  $500-1,000
  Large, Average Quality 
  Street-Level 
  $600-900
  Large, High Quality 
  Street-Level 
  $750-1,200
  Slide-Stop 
  Street-Level 
  $250-500
  Gear 
  Equipment Category 
  Price Range
  Body Armor†
  Level I 
  Standard 
  $200-300
  Level II-A 
  Standard 
  $250-500
  Level II 
  Standard 
  $300-700
  Level III-A 
  Standard 
  $350-1,100
  Level III plates
   Metal 
  Street-Level 
  $100-150
   Ceramic 
  Street-Level 
  $150-250
   Polyethylene 
  Street-Level 
  $300-400
  Level IV plates
   Metal 
  Street-Level 
  $125-175
   Ceramic 
  Street-Level 
  $200-300
   Polyethylene 
  Street-Level 
  $350-600
  Anti-IR Coating 
  Military 
  $250
  Combat Wear
  Ballistic Face Shield 
  Street-Level 
  $45-80
  Camouﬂ age Clothing 
  Standard 
  $30-120
  Combat Vest 
  Street-Level 
  $350-500
  Gas Mask 
  Standard 
  $75-200
  Helmet 
  Standard 
  $120-300
  Holsters 
  Standard 
  $20-50
  Security Devices
  Motion Detector 
  Standard 
  $25-100
  Pressure Plate 
  Standard 
  $25-100
  Sensory Equipment
  Bomb Detector 
  Standard 
  $100-200
  Bugging equipment
   Bugs, various 
  Street-Level 
  $100-500
   Bug detector 
  Standard 
  $150-300
  Drug Detector 
  Standard 
  $150-300
  Nightsight Goggles
   Generation 1 
  Standard 
  $200-400
   Generation 2 
  Street-Level 
  $400-800
   Generation 3 
  Military 
  $1,200-4,000
  Radios, standard 
  Standard-Military 
  $50-1,000
  Radios, encrypted 
  Military-Advanced Military 
  $200-1,200  
  Satellite Link 
  Advanced Military 
  $100,000 or more
  Surveillance Scopes 
  Street-Level 
  $250-350
  TEMPEST Gear 
  Street-Level 
  $1,000-4,000
  Th ermalvision Devices 
  Street-Level 
  $1,200-4,000
  Wolf’s Ears  
  Street-Level 
  $800-2,000
  Underwater Equipment
  SCUBA Equipment 
  Standard 
  $850-6,000
  SCBA Equipment 
  Standard 
  $1,000-8,000
  *:  Ammunition prices are for a 20-round box, and assume Standard ammunition, shot, or slugs. For exotic rounds, the 
  GM should multiply the price in proportion to the usefulness; additionally, many exotic rounds count as Street-Level or 
  Military equipment.
  †:  Prices listed for soft  body armor are for 11- coverage. For 14- coverage, multiply the price by 30-60%.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  150 ■ Modern Equipment
  Obtaining Equipment 
  In Game Terms
  In game terms, there are three ways characters 
  can obtain equipment:  Character Points; Resource 
  Points; and Money.
  CHARACTER POINTS
  If a character’s willing to spend Character 
  Points on a piece of equipment, he doesn’t have to 
  justify where he got it or jump through any other 
  hoops — he can provide whatever explanation he 
  wants. However, the GM still has to approve the 
  gear; just because a character has the Character 
  Points to buy an H&K G11 doesn’t mean the GM 
  will let him have it.
  See page 456 of the HERO System 5th Edition, 
  Revised for rules about buying equipment.
  RESOURCE POINTS
  In campaigns using the optional Resource 
  Points rules (Dark Champions, page 150), char-
  acters use their Equipment Points to “buy” equip-
  ment. But that doesn’t free them of the obligation to 
  explain where they got the gear — they can’t simply 
  allot their Equipment Points to any item they feel 
  like and claim they have it. Before a character can 
  allocate Equipment Points to have an item in his 
  Kit, that item has to be in his Armory, and that 
  means he has to obtain it in the game somehow 
  (buy, steal, build, or the like). Additionally, for 
  equipment more advanced than Standard, he has 
  to have the appropriate Perk (see Dark Champions, 
  pages 88, 153).
  MONEY
  In campaigns that don’t use the Resource 
  Points rules, characters typically get their equip-
  ment by buying it (and if Resource Points are 
  used, they can buy equipment for their Armor-
  ies). This is where the Money Perk can have a sig-
  nificant affect on play, and possibly even unbal-
  ance the campaign if the characters have too 
  much money combined with too much access to 
  sources of powerful equipment.
  However, just because characters have money 
  doesn’t mean they can automatically obtain any 
  equipment they want just by paying the market 
  price. As mentioned above, many factors can com-
  plicate the process. Buying equipment is a three-
  stage process. First the characters have to ﬁ nd what 
  they want. Th en they have to negotiate a price. 
  Finally, the transfer of goods must take place. Each 
  of these stages is fraught with potential diﬃ  culties 
  and adventure possibilities.
  Finding Th e Goods
  The first step in buying equipment is find-
  ing what the character wants for sale. In the case 
  of Standard equipment, this is usually no prob-
  lem — all the character has to do is consult the 
  proper catalog/sales flyer/website/salesperson 
  and place his order. If the item isn’t available 
  immediately, he’ll probably receive it within a 
  week, or at most two.
  Street-Level equipment isn’t so readily acces-
  sible. It may be for sale, but usually not to just 
  anyone who asks. In game terms, the character 
  has to either (a) have access to a legal source for 
  the item, and the proper license/permission to 
  purchase that item, or (b) succeed with a Street-
  wise roll at -3 to find someone who’s willing 
  to sell to him on the black market (or perhaps 
  grey market). The character may need to falsify 
  licenses or other documentation with Forgery 
  as part of this process, conceal his identity with 
  Disguise, or the like. Locating the right seller and 
  obtaining the goods typically takes a minimum 
  of a day, and may involve a week or more of leg-
  work, phone calls, and shadowy meetings.
  For Military equipment, the process is simi-
  lar, though the black market is almost certainly 
  the character’s only resource. He has to succeed 
  with a Streetwise roll at -6 to find someone who’s 
  willing to sell to him, and this takes a minimum 
  of a week, and possibly as much as a month. 
  During this time he may have to meet with sev-
  eral prospective sellers and try to convince them 
  of his trustworthiness — an excellent oppor-
  tunity for some roleplaying... and if things go 
  wrong, maybe a close-quarters gunfight!
  Advanced Military equipment is even more 
  diﬃ  cult to obtain, requiring success on a Streetwise 
  roll at -9 and a minimum of two weeks’ time to 
  locate. Due to the blatant illegality of buying and 
  selling such equipment, the persons involved are 
  likely to be very dangerous... and very suspicious 
  of any irregularities or problems. If things don’t go 
  as planned, they’re inclined to shoot ﬁ rst and ask 
  questions later (assuming they didn’t plan to kill 
  the characters and take their money regardless).
  Negotiating A Price
  In many cases, there’s no ﬁ xed price for the 
  sort of equipment characters want. Standard gear 
  has clearly-established prices, and some Street-
  Level equipment might as well. But most Street-
  Level and better gear has a black market price that 
  can ﬂ uctuate wildly based on demand, quality/scar-
  city of the goods, the relationship between buyer 
  and seller, the seller’s perception of the buyer’s des-
  peration, and other factors. Th e table on page 148 
  lists some suggested price ranges for various types 
  of weapons and gear, but these are only guidelines 
  — the GM should alter or adapt them as he sees ﬁ t.
  Th e prices listed in the Prices Table are legal 
  prices — what a character who’s legally entitled to 
  buy the item would pay in a fair market transac-
  tion. For a grey market transaction, multiply the 
  listed price by x2 to x5. For a black market transac-
  tion, multiply the listed price by x3 to x10.
  If the GM wants to roleplay the negotiation 
  of the price, characters can use their Trading Skills 
  to dicker. (If a character doesn’t have Trading, 
  he can use Persuasion at -2; if he has Persuasion, 
  Seduction, or some other relevant Skill in addi-
  tion to Trading, he can use it as Complementary to 
  Trading.) Aft er a period of appropriate roleplay-
  ing (oﬀ er, counter-oﬀ er, veiled threats, bluﬃ  ng...), 
  both parties make their role in a Skill Versus Skill 
  
  151 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Four
  Contest, modiﬁ ed by the GM to reﬂ ect the quality 
  of the roleplaying and other factors. If the seller 
  wins, the price goes up ﬁ ve percent (5%) per point 
  by which his roll exceeded the buyer’s roll from 
  the base price the GM sets; if the buyer wins, the 
  price goes down ﬁ ve percent (5%) per point. In any 
  event, either party can choose to walk away from 
  the deal at any time; no one has to accept a deal he’s 
  not happy with.
  Transfer Of Goods
  Aft er buyer and seller reach an agreement, 
  they have to physically exchange the money for the 
  goods. Th e speciﬁ cs of this process depend on the 
  goods being bought and the currency used. In most 
  cases, the deal is a relatively simple one involving 
  the physical exchange of the purchased good for 
  cash. (Cinematically, characters seem able to ﬁ t a 
  million dollars or more in a briefcase; realistically, a 
  million dollars in United States currency is far too 
  large to ﬁ t in any briefcase.) It’s at this point that a 
  double-cross is most likely to occur — one side or 
  the other may try to get away with goods and cash 
  alike. Th e GM should play the situation for maxi-
  mum tension and excitement, if appropriate.
  Of course, alternate arrangements are pos-
  sible. Characters might conduct the entire transac-
  tion remotely, negotiating with a trusted seller via 
  phone or Internet and paying by electronic transfer. 
  Th e seller may want something other than cash 
  — diamonds, bearer bonds, other weapons, the 
  performance of some service. Th e possibilities for 
  adventure are practically endless.
  Once the characters have the goods, they may 
  have to ﬁ gure out how to transport them. If they’re 
  just buying a few guns, that’s probably no prob-
  lem. If they bought missiles, a tank, or ﬁ ft y pallets 
  of 5.56mm ammunition, hopefully they planned 
  ahead. Given the value of their cargo, they’d best 
  beware hijackers and other such problems.
  Contacts
  Other than Money, the Perk that tends to be 
  the most useful when it comes to buying and sell-
  ing equipment is Contacts. Many a character has a 
  Contact who’s a fence, an underworld armorer, or a 
  black market arms dealer. Finding such a Contact 
  and establishing a business relationship with him, 
  or explaining the history between the two charac-
  ters as part of a PC’s background, can add an enjoy-
  able dimension to the campaign.
  A Contact who can provide characters with 
  signiﬁ cant help when it comes to acquiring equip-
  ment almost always counts as having “extremely 
  useful Skills or resources” and “signiﬁ cant Contacts 
  of his own.” It’s not uncommon for him to have 
  “access to major institutions” as well.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  152 ■ Modern Equipment
  W
  ith all the bullets, knives, clubs, explo-
  sives, and other dangers they’re likely 
  to encounter, characters want gear to 
  defend themselves with almost as much 
  as they want weapons.
  BODY ARMOR
  Modern science oﬀ ers soldiers and law 
  enforcement oﬃ  cers high-tech body armor which 
  is as eﬀ ective as any suit of metal armor worn by 
  the knights of old. Th e Body Armor Table lists 
  some sample armors for characters to use.
  Body armor is typically bought as PD and ED 
  Armor with the following Limitations:  OIF (-½), 
  Activation Roll (roll and value vary), Half Mass 
  (-½), and Real Armor (-¼). Th e diﬀ erent entries 
  for Activation Roll (which represent how much of 
  the body the armor protects; see pages 487-88 of 
  the HERO System 5th Edition, Revised) reﬂ ect vary-
  ing levels of realism/cinematic action. Generally, a 
  Mass of Normal Mass is a good approximation of 
  “realistic,” if you prefer that.
  The Real Armor Limitation signifies that 
  the armor is often uncomfortable, needs mainte-
  nance to continue to function properly, and may 
  impede the character. At the GM’s option, if the 
  armor has an Activation Roll higher than 11-, 
  the character suffers a -1 penalty on appropriate 
  DEX Rolls and Agility Skill rolls for each point 
  above 11- (for example, an Activation Roll 13- 
  means a -2 penalty).
  Characters can make soft  body armor conceal-
  able (under suﬃ  ciently bulky clothes) by convert-
  ing it from an OIF to an IIF (-¼). Hard body armor 
  cannot realistically be made concealable.
  BODY ARMOR TYPES
  Roughly speaking, body armor comes in two 
  types:  soft and hard. Soft body armor is made 
  of Kevlar or other substances (see below) that 
  are tightly woven so they spread the impact of 
  the bullet and prevent it from penetrating. Hard 
  body armor is made of plates of ceramic, metal, 
  or other substances, usually contained in pockets 
  in soft armor.
  BODY ARMOR SUBSTANCES
  Typical soft  body armor is made from Kevlar, 
  a name trademarked by DuPont for products made 
  with aramid ﬁ bers. Kevlar 29, the form most oft en 
  used in body armor, is ﬁ ve times as strong as steel and 
  does not burn (though it carbonizes at temperatures 
  about 800o Fahrenheit). Although Kevlar body armor 
  DEFENSIVE 
  EQUIPMENT
  
  153 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Four
  REALISM AND 
  BODY ARMOR
  Th e HERO System rules 
  aren’t design to precisely 
  model how body armor 
  works “realistically” – as 
  always, the rules err on 
  the side of dramatic 
  action. If you want body 
  armor to function a 
  little more “realistically,” 
  consider all handgun 
  rounds to have the 
  Reduced Penetration 
  Limitation when used 
  against body armor. 
  Th at way heavy riﬂ e 
  rounds still have a good 
  chance to get through 
  the lighter armors, but 
  less powerful handgun 
  rounds do not.
  BODY ARMOR TABLE
   
   
  Activation
  Type Of Armor 
  DEF 
  Roll 
  A/R Cost 
  Mass 
  Notes
  Soft Body Armor
  Kevlar (normal)
   Level I 
  3 
  14- 
  9/3 
  3.0
   Level I 
  3 
  11- 
  9/3 
  2.2
   Level II-A 
  6 
  14- 
  18/6 
  8.75
   Level II-A 
  6 
  11- 
  18/5 
  6.25
   Level II 
  7 
  14- 
  21/8 
  12.25
   Level II 
  7 
  11- 
  21/6 
  8.75
   Level III-A 
  8 
  14- 
  24/9 
  17.5
   Level III-A 
  8 
  11- 
  24/7 
  12.5
  Kevlar (enhanced), Spectra, Vectran
   Level I 
  4 
  14- 
  12/4 
  4.4
   Level I 
  4 
  11- 
  12/4 
  3.15
   Level II-A 
  7 
  14- 
  21/8 
  12.25
   Level II-A 
  7 
  11- 
  21/6 
  8.75
   Level II 
  8 
  14- 
  24/9 
  17.5
   Level II 
  8 
  11- 
  24/7 
  12.5
   Level III-A 
  9 
  14- 
  27/10 
  24.5
   Level III-A 
  9 
  11- 
  27/8 
  17.5
  Biosteel, carbon nanotubes
   Level I 
  5 
  14- 
  15/5 
  6.15
   Level I 
  5 
  11- 
  15/5 
  4.4
   Level II-A 
  8 
  14- 
  24/9 
  17.5
   Level II-A 
  8 
  11- 
  24/7 
  12.5
   Level II 
  9 
  14- 
  27/10 
  24.5
   Level II 
  9 
  11- 
  27/8 
  17.5
   Level III-A 
  10 
  14- 
  30/11 
  35.0
   Level III-A 
  10 
  11- 
  30/9 
  25.0
  Hard Body Armor
  Ceramic or polyethylene plates
  Level III
   Chest and back 
  +3 
  9- 
  9/2 
  1.3 
  Hit Locations 10-11
   Chest, sides, back 
  +3 
  10- 
  9/3 
  1.75 
  Hit Locations 10-11, including sides
  Level IV
   Chest and back 
  +3 
  9- 
  11/3 
  1.3 
  Hardened (+¼),  Hit Locations 10-11
   Chest, sides, back 
  +3 
  10- 
  11/3 
  1.75 
  Hardened (+¼),  Hit Locations 10-
  11, including sides
  Metal plates
  Level III
   Chest and back 
  +2 
  9- 
  6/2 
  0.95 
  Hit Locations 10-11
   Chest, sides, back 
  +2 
  10- 
  6/2 
  1.25 
  Hit Locations 10-11, including sides
  Level IV
   Chest and back 
  +2 
  9- 
  7/2 
  0.95 
  Hardened (+¼),  Hit Locations 10-11
   Chest, sides, back 
  +2 
  10- 
  7/2 
  1.25 
  Hardened (+¼),  Hit Locations 10-
  11, including sides
  Other Options
  Anti-IR Coating 
  — 
  — 
  14/6 
  — 
  Change Environment (-2 to Infrared 
  Perception PER Rolls), 0 END, Per-
  sistent; No Range, Self Only
  Armored Clothing 
  2 
  14- 
  6/2 
  2.0
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  154 ■ Modern Equipment
  is less eﬀ ective against bladed weapons than against 
  bullets, it is still approximately 98% eﬀ ective against 
  such attacks (in game terms, its PD does not take any 
  sort of Limitation). Kevlar deteriorates over time from 
  exposure to ultraviolet light or human sweat. It’s also 
  less eﬀ ective when wet (-1 DEF) unless waterproofed. 
  It can be woven with ﬁ berglass, graphite ﬁ bers, or 
  metal ﬁ bers to increase its strength, or chemically 
  treatened to make it tougher.
  Spectra, an ultradense plastic, is another mate-
  rial currently used to make body armor. It’s about 
  ten times as strong as steel, or approximately twice 
  as strong as Kevlar.
  As of 2004, several other substances are being 
  developed for potential use in soft  body armor; they’re 
  listed on the Body Armor Table for GMs interested in 
  running “near future” games, or games in which the 
  PCs have technology more advanced than standard. 
  Vectran is an artiﬁ cial ﬁ ber that’s ﬁ ve to ten times as 
  strong as steel, or up to twice as strong as Kevlar. Bio-
  steel is a spider silk ﬁ ber that’s genetically produced 
  using goats; it’s up to 20 times as strong as steel (or 
  as much as four times as strong as Kevlar). A third 
  possibility is carbon nanotube ﬁ bers, which are even 
  stronger than biosteel.
  Hard body armors protect the wearer with plates 
  made of steel, ceramic, or polyethylene. Steel loses its 
  protective ability less quickly aft er multiple hits, and 
  is cheaper. But ceramics and polyethylene provide 
  better protection for only a third to half the weight of 
  steel. Th e plates are typically inserted into pockets in 
  soft  body armor, and thus are deﬁ ned in game terms 
  as adding DEF to the DEF of soft  armor. (If a charac-
  ter wears a plate by itself, consider it to provide DEF 
  equal to 8 + its bonus over Hit Locations 10-11.)
  Body armor can be treated to reduce the wear-
  er’s heat signature, making him harder to see with 
  thermal scopes (i.e., with Infrared Perception).
  BODY ARMOR RATINGS
  Th e Body Armor Table uses a system devel-
  oped by the National Institute of Justice for ranking 
  body armor. Here are the ratings and some of the 
  types of bullets they’re supposed to stop:
  Rating 
  Resists These Rounds
  Level I 
  .22 LR, .32, .38
  Level II-A 
  .45 ACP, low-velocity .357 
  Magnum, low-velocity 
  9mm, 12 gauge buckshot
  Level II 
  High-velocity .357 
  Magnum, low-velocity .44 
  Magnum, 10mm
  Level III-A 
  High-velocity 9mm, high-
  velocity .44 Magnum, .308 
  Win
  Level III 
  12 gauge slugs, 7.62mm, 
  .308 Win, .30 carbine
  Level IV 
  .30-06 AP
  Th ese ratings are used to determine the DEF 
  the armor provides based on the average damage of 
  the major rounds in question — not the maximum 
  damage, since sometimes body armor doesn’t work 
  as well as expected (and sometimes it works better). 
  Body armor’s eﬀ ectiveness depends on many factors.
  Th e accompanying Body Armor Table lists the 
  following for each type of body armor:  the DEF 
  (the PD/ED Armor it provides), A/R Cost (the 
  armor’s cost in Active and Real Points), Mass (the 
  armor’s weight in kilograms, using the rules on 
  pages pages 487-88 of the HERO System 5th Edition, 
  Revised), and any other pertinent information.
  Characters may wear sectional body armor. 
  For example, a character might have a suit of Level 
  II body armor protecting most of his person (Acti-
  vation Roll 14-), but Level IV ceramic plates around 
  his torso (Hit Locations 10-13, Activation Roll 10-). 
  Standard rules for sectional defenses apply.
  COMBAT WEAR
  Uniforms and body armor aren’t the only 
  things that characters might wear into combat.
  Headgear
  A variety of protective gear is available to 
  cover a character’s head and/or face.
  GAS MASK
  Effect: 
  Life Support: Self-Contained 
  Breathing plus Sight Group 
  Flash Defense, Only Protects 
  Against Tear Gas-Type Flashes
  Target/Area Affected: Self
  Duration: 
  Constant/Persistent
  Range: 
  Self
  Charges: 
  1 Continuing Fuel Charge/0 
  END
  Breakability: 
  4 DEF
  Description:  A gas mask covers the entire head and 
  either screens out harmful gases or gives the wearer 
  his own self-contained air supply for a short time. 
  Th is protection extends to tear gas.
  Game Information:  Life Support: Self-Contained 
  Breathing (10 Active Points); OIF (-½), 1 Con-
  tinuing Fuel Charge (easy to replenish, 1 Hour; -0) 
  (total cost:  costs 7 points) plus Sight Group Flash 
  Defense (10 points) (10 Active Points); OIF (-½), 
  Only Protects Against Tear Gas-Type Flashes (-1) 
  (total cost:  4 points). Total cost:  11 points.
  HELMETS AND FACE SHIELDS
  Effect: 
  Armor (8 PD/8 ED) on the head
  Target/Area Affected: Self
  Duration: 
  Persistent
  Range: 
  Self
  END Cost: 
  0
  Breakability: 
  8 DEF
  Description:  None of the suits of body armor 
  described above protect the head; for that, a char-
  acter needs to wear a helmet. Th e PASGT helmet, 
  the standard headgear of the modern U.S. military, 
  is made of polyethylene or improved aramid ﬁ bers, 
  making it more protective than the older steel 
  
  155 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Four
  helmets but lighter in weight. Some versions are 
  shaped to allow the wearer to easily mount a night-
  vision device or communications equipment.
  Game Information:  Armor (8 PD/ED) (24 Active 
  Points); OIF (-½), Activation Roll (protects Loca-
  tions 3-4; -2), Half Mass (-½), Real Armor (-¼). 
  Total cost:  6 points.
  Options:
  1)  Face Shields:  Some soldiers and police oﬃ  cers 
  also wear ballistic face shields — large plates of trans-
  parent protective material designed to protect the 
  wearer’s face. Th ey oﬀ er relatively little resistance to 
  bullets; their main purpose is to keep thrown rocks 
  and debris from hitting the wearer in front (this 
  also counts as a defense against NND Sight Group 
  Flashes deﬁ ned as thrown mud, powder, or the like). 
  Some model face shields are worn on their own, 
  others attach to a helmet. Character also, or alter-
  nately, buys:  Armor (3 PD/3 ED) (9 Active Points); 
  OIF (-½), Activation Roll (protects Location 4 when 
  attacked from the front; -2), Half Mass (-½), Real 
  Armor (-¼). Total cost:  2 points.
  Holsters
  Most holsters just do what the typical holster 
  is designed to:  carry a gun safely. But some types 
  provide other beneﬁ ts.
  CONCEALMENT HOLSTER
  Effect: 
  +1 to Concealment for a par-
  ticular handgun
  Target/Area Affected: Self
  Duration: 
  Constant
  Range: 
  Self
  END Cost: 
  0
  Breakability: 
  1 DEF
  Description:  A Concealment holster is specially 
  designed to help a character conceal a particular 
  type of handgun.
  Game Information:  +1 to Concealment (2 Active 
  Points); IIF (-¼), Only For Hiding A Particular 
  Handgun (-2). Total cost:  1 point.
  FAST DRAW HOLSTER
  Effect: 
  +1 to Fast Draw
  Target/Area Affected: Self
  Duration: 
  Constant
  Range: 
  Self
  END Cost: 
  0
  Breakability: 
  1 DEF
  Description:  Th is type of holster is specially 
  designed to allow the shooter to draw his gun 
  quickly. (A variant on this is the springsleeve hol-
  ster, which keeps a small gun hidden up a charac-
  ter’s sleeve and uses a spring to thrust it into his 
  hand when he ﬂ exes his arm properly.)
  Game Information:  +1 to Fast Draw (Small Arms) 
  (2 Active Points); OIF (-½). Total cost:  1 point.
  Tactical Vests And Clothing
  CAMOUFLAGE CLOTHING
  Effect: 
  +1 to Stealth in appropriate 
  settings
  Target/Area Affected: Self
  Duration: 
  Constant
  Range: 
  Self
  END Cost: 
  0
  Breakability: 
  1 DEF
  Description:  Th e military has camouﬂ age uniforms 
  for all sorts of environments (for example, arctic, 
  desert, forest/jungle, mountains, and urban), and 
  Dark Champions characters can certainly use this 
  sort of clothing. Th e GM determines when camo 
  clothing oﬀ ers a bonus to its wearer.
  Game Information:  +1 to Stealth (2 Active Points); 
  OIF (-½), Only Works In Appropriate Settings
  (-1). Total cost:   1 point.
  COMBAT VEST
  Effect: 
  Armor (4 PD/4 ED) plus various 
  weapons
  Target/Area Affected: Self/Varies
  Duration: 
  Persistent/varies
  Range: 
  Self/varies
  END Cost: 
  0/varies
  Breakability: 
  4 DEF
  Description:  Th is vest not only provides the wearer 
  with protection in the torso region, it allows him to 
  carry several weapons and gadgets easily. Charac-
  ters can design their own vests with individualized 
  selections of equipment.
  Game Information:
  Cost Power
  4 
  Armored Vest:  Armor (4 PD/4 ED); OIF
  (-½), Activation Roll 11- (-1), Half Mass
  (-½), Real Armor (-¼)
  17 
  Combat Vest Weapons:  Multipower:  25-
  point reserve; all OIF (multiple OAFs, -½)
  1u 
  1) .41 Handgun:  RKA 1½d6; OAF (-1), 
  Beam (-¼), Real Weapon (-¼), STR Mini-
  mum (10, STR Minimum Doesn’t Add/
  Subtract Damage; -1), 2 clips of 12 Charges 
  each (-0)
  1u 
  2)  Combat Knife:  HKA 1d6 (up to 2d6 with 
  STR); OAF (-1), Real Weapon (-¼)
  1u 
  3)  Smoke Grenades:  Change Environment 
  4” radius, -3 to Sight Group PER Rolls; 
  OAF (-1), Range Based On STR (-¼), Real 
  Weapon (-¼), 4 Continuing Charges last-
  ing 1 Turn each (-½)
  1u 
  4)  Flashlight:  Sight Group Images 1” radius, 
  +3 to PER Rolls; OAF (-1), Only To Create 
  Light (-1), 1 Continuing Fuel Charge lasting 
  1 Hour (-0)
  Total cost:  25 points.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  156 ■ Modern Equipment
  POLICEMAN’S BELT
  Effect: 
  Various weapons and useful 
  tools
  Target/Area Affected: Varies
  Duration: 
  Varies
  Range: 
  Varies
  END Cost: 
  Varies
  Breakability: 
  1 DEF
  Description:  Th is is a slight variation on the tradi-
  tional “Sam Browne” belt worn by police oﬃ  cers. 
  Characters can also design their own belts with 
  individualized selections of equipment.
  Game Information:
  Cost Powers
  53 
  Policeman’s Belt:  Multipower, 80-point 
  reserve; all OIF (-½)
  1u 
  1)   .41 Handgun:  RKA 1½d6; OAF
  (-1), Beam (-¼), Real Weapon (-¼), STR 
  Minimum (10, STR Minimum Doesn’t Add/
  Subtract Damage; -1), 2 clips of 12 Charges 
  each (-0)
  1u 
  2)  Handcuﬀ s:  Entangle 3d6 (standard eﬀ ect: 
  3 BODY), 6 DEF, Takes No Damage From 
  Attacks (+½) (67 Active Points); OAF (-1), 
  Cannot Form Barriers (-¼), Set Eﬀ ect (hands 
  only; -1), Does Not Prevent Use Of Acces-
  sible Foci (-1), No Range (-½), Must Follow 
  Grab Or Target Must Be Willing (-½), 1 
  Recoverable Charge (-1¼), Can Be Escaped 
  Automatically With Modiﬁ ed Lockpicking 
  Or Contortionist Roll (-½)
  1u 
  3)  Tonfa:  HA +3d6, Reduced Endurance (0 
  END; +½); OAF (-1), Hand-To-Hand Attack 
  (-½), Real Weapon (-¼)
  3u 
  4)  Pepper Foam Spray:  Sight Group Flash 
  5d6, NND (defense is solid eye covering; +1); 
  OAF (-1), No Range (-½), Real Weapon (-¼), 
  12 Charges (-¼) plus Energy Blast 3d6, NND 
  (defense is solid eye covering; +1); OAF 
  (-1), No Range (-½), Real Weapon (-¼), 12 
  Charges (-¼)
  1u 
  5)  Flashlight:  Sight Group Images 1” radius, 
  +3 to PER Rolls; OAF (-1), Only To Create 
  Light (-1), 1 Continuing Fuel Charge lasting 
  1 Hour (-0)
  1u 
  6)  Walkie-Talkie:  Radio Listen and Transmit 
  (Radio Group); OAF (-1), Aﬀ ected As Hear-
  ing Group As Well As Radio Group (-¼)
  Total cost:  61 points
  
  157 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Four
  S
  ometimes he who perceives the enemy 
  first lives longest. These devices help 
  characters perform reconnaissance, com-
  municate with each other, detect enemies 
  and other threats, and in general perceive the 
  world around themselves.
  COMMUNICATIONS GEAR
  A group of characters — such as a team of PC 
  heroes — needs a way to stay in touch with each 
  other. Proper battleﬁ eld communications oft en 
  contributes more to winning battles and ensuring 
  the success of a mission than heavy ﬁ repower or 
  the best body armor.
  RADIOS
  Effect: 
  Radio Perception/Transmission
  Target/Area Affected: Self
  Duration: 
  Persistent 
  Range: 
  Self
  END Cost: 
  0
  Breakability: 
  2 DEF
  Description:  Th e typical communications gear for 
  the modern era is the radio, which characters can 
  buy in several diﬀ erent forms, as described below.
  Game Information:
  Radio Handset:  Radio Perception/Transmission 
  (Radio Group) (10 Active Points); OAF (-1), 
  Aﬀ ected As Hearing Group As Well As Radio 
  Group (-¼), 1 Continuing Fuel Charge (battery, 
  Easy to obtain; 6 Hours; -0). Total cost:  4 points.
  Radio Headset:  Radio Perception/Transmission 
  (Radio Group) (10 Active Points); OIF (-½), 
  Aﬀ ected As Hearing Group As Well As Radio 
  Group (-¼), 1 Continuing Fuel Charge (battery, 
  Easy to obtain; 6 Hours; -0). Total cost:  6 points.
  Concealed Radio Headset:  Radio Perception/
  Transmission (Radio Group) (10 Active Points); 
  IIF (-¼), Aﬀ ected As Hearing Group As Well As 
  Radio Group (-¼), 1 Continuing Fuel Charge 
  (battery, Easy to obtain; 6 Hours; -0). Total cost:  
  7 points.
  Options:
  1)  Advanced Radios:  In campaigns focusing on 
  advanced technology, the GM might allow charac-
  ters to substitute High-Range Radio Perception for 
  Radio Perception/Transmission:
  HRRP Handset:  HRRP (Radio Group) (12 Active 
  Points); OAF (-1), Aﬀ ected As Hearing Group 
  As Well As Radio Group (-¼), 1 Continuing 
  Fuel Charge (battery, Easy to obtain; 6 Hours; 
  -0). Total cost:  5 points.
  HRRP Headset:  HRRP (Radio Group) (12 Active 
  Points); OIF (-½), Aﬀ ected As Hearing Group As 
  Well As Radio Group (-¼), 1 Continuing Fuel 
  Charge (battery, Easy to obtain; 6 Hours; -0). 
  Total cost:  7 points.
  Concealed HRRP Headset:  HRRP (Radio Group) 
  (12 Active Points); IIF (-¼), Aﬀ ected As Hearing 
  Group As Well As Radio Group (-¼), 1 Con-
  tinuing Fuel Charge (battery, Easy to obtain; 6 
  Hours; -0). Total cost:  8 points.
  2)  Cell Phones:  Alternately, in a game that takes 
  place in an urban area, characters may rely on 
  cellular phones instead of radios. Many modern 
  cell phones allow characters to send images as 
  well as sound.
  Cellular Phone:  HRRP (Radio Group) (12 Active 
  Points); OAF (-1), Aﬀ ected As Sight And Hear-
  ing Group As Well As Radio Group (-½), Cel-
  lular Phone-Band Communications Only (-1), 1 
  Continuing Fuel Charge (battery, Easy to obtain; 
  6 Hours; -0). Total cost:  3 points.
  ENCRYPTED COMMUNICATIONS
  Sometimes the ability to communicate 
  doesn’t do characters much good if they can’t 
  conceal what they’re saying. In the HERO System, 
  there are several ways to represent encrypting 
  and decrypting transmissions:
  Concealed
  Th e ﬁ rst is to apply the Concealed Sense Modi-
  ﬁ er to the Sense doing the transmitting. In this case 
  the special eﬀ ect of the Sense Modiﬁ er could be 
  one of two things:  either “the transmission cannot 
  be detected” (which is what Concealed is normally 
  used for); or “even if detected, the transmission 
  cannot be understood.” Th e end result is the same 
  — the enemy doesn’t have a transmission he can 
  comprehend (though in the latter case, intercepting 
  the transmission may be enough for the enemy to 
  determine the point of transmission). Decrypting 
  this sort of encryption requires decoding equip-
  ment built with an Enhanced Sense that can “per-
  ceive” through the encryption. If a character buys a 
  set of radios (or the like) which all have Concealed, 
  it’s safe to assume each of them can understand 
  SENSORY 
  EQUIPMENT
  BATTLE CODES
  Another way for char-
  acters to keep their 
  communications secret 
  is to develop their own 
  unique language — a 
  “battle code,” if you will. 
  When used with an 
  encryption system, a 
  unique language (or a 
  very rare real-world one, 
  such as Navajo) provides 
  a double layer of secu-
  rity. However, it may be 
  vulnerable to characters 
  or equipment with the 
  Universal Translator 
  Talent.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  158 ■ Modern Equipment
  (decrypt) the transmissions of the others — the 
  encryption/decryption process is programmed or 
  hardwired into the devices.
  Encrypted Radio Handsets:  Radio Perception/
  Transmission (Radio Group), Concealed (-5 
  to Radio Group PER Rolls), Usable Simultane-
  ously (up to eight persons at once; +1) (30 Active 
  Points); OAF (-1), Aﬀ ected As Hearing Group 
  As Well As Radio Group (-¼), 1 Continuing 
  Fuel Charge (battery, Easy to obtain; 6 Hours; 
  -0). Total cost:  13 points.
  Improved Encrypted Radio Handsets:  Radio 
  Perception/Transmission (Radio Group), Con-
  cealed (-10 to Radio Group PER Rolls), Usable 
  Simultaneously (up to eight persons at once; 
  +1) (40 Active Points); OAF (-1), Aﬀ ected As 
  Hearing Group As Well As Radio Group (-¼), 
  1 Continuing Fuel Charge (battery, Easy to 
  obtain; 6 Hours; -0). Total cost:  18 points.
  Alternately, instead of relying on the fallible 
  (but more “realistic”) Concealed, characters can 
  buy Invisible Power Eﬀ ects (invisible to tracing) 
  for their radios. Th at way, no matter how good a 
  Systems Operation roll an enemy makes, he won’t 
  be able to perceive the transmission (he may not 
  receive it at all, or at best it sounds like meaningless 
  static from which he can determine nothing).
  Ultimate Encrypted Radio Handsets:  Radio Per-
  ception/Transmission (Radio Group), Invisible 
  To Tracing (+¼), Usable Simultaneously (up 
  to eight persons at once; +1) (22 Active Points); 
  OAF (-1), Aﬀ ected As Hearing Group As Well 
  As Radio Group (-¼), 1 Continuing Fuel Charge 
  (battery, Easy to obtain; 6 Hours; -0). Total cost:  
  10 points.
  Language Variable Power Pool
  Another way to scramble transmissions is a 
  Variable Power Pool for Languages. Only a person 
  with another radio device, programmed with the 
  same “language,” can understand what’s being sent. 
  Th is method requires the GM’s permission, since 
  characters can’t buy Skills in Power Frameworks 
  without the GM’s approval — but since this is an 
  intriguing, fun, and not especially abusive con-
  struct, most GMs allow it.
  To encrypt a transmission, the characters 
  simply agree on which Language their radios will 
  use. Th ey don’t necessarily have to be real languages; 
  the characters can simply call them Language A, 
  Language B, and so on. Identifying the language 
  precisely doesn’t matter; the Languages are just a 
  way to represent the special eﬀ ect of “encrypted 
  communications” in HERO System terms.
  Th e Language VPP method is cheap and easy, 
  but it has some drawbacks. A successful Cryptogra-
  phy roll can decrypt a scrambler “language,” but the 
  users can counter the cryptographer by changing the 
  computer-generated “language” at frequent intervals. 
  Th is constitutes changing the Pool and requires 1 
  Minute. To change the Pool in just a Full Phase, the 
  character must buy a Skill to do so, though GMs could 
  let characters use Cryptography or Systems Operation 
  instead of making them buy a separate Skill.
  Radio Handset with Scrambled Transmission 
  Option:  Radio Perception/Transmission (Radio 
  Group) (10 Active Points); OAF (-1), Aﬀ ected As 
  Hearing Group As Well As Radio Group (-¼), 1 
  Continuing Fuel Charge (battery, Easy to obtain; 
  6 Hours; -0) (total cost:  4 points) plus Variable 
  Power Pool (Scrambler Pool), 4 base + 2 control 
  cost; OAF (-1), Only For One Language At A 
  Time (-1), 1 Continuing Fuel Charge (battery, 
  Easy to obtain; 6 Hours; -0) (total cost:  5 points). 
  Total cost:  9 points.
  Th is sort of scrambling is also vulnerable to 
  certain types of decryption equipment. In game 
  terms, you can represent that equipment with Uni-
  versal Translator that Requires A Systems Opera-
  tion Roll.
  Mind Link
  Another way to create a closed, untappable 
  communications system is Mind Link. Th e char-
  acter deﬁ nes the number of radios he has, and that 
  tells him how many people he can communicate 
  with at once. (Alternately, he can buy Mind Link 
  to Link with one other person who has bought the 
  same power.) For true privacy/encryption, leave the 
  Mind Link as a Mental Power, meaning that only 
  other characters with appropriate Mental Powers, 
  or decryption devices built with those Mental 
  Powers, can penetrate the communications net. 
  More realistically, characters should apply the Limi-
  tation Aﬀ ected As Radio And Hearing Groups, Not 
  Mental Group (-½) — that way things like Darkness 
  to the Radio Group can block their transmissions.
  Closed Radio Link (Type 1):  Mind Link, speciﬁ c 
  group of up to any 8 minds, No LOS Needed (35 
  Active Points); OAF (-1), Aﬀ ected As Radio And 
  Hearing Groups, Not Mental Group (-½), Does 
  Not Provide Mental Awareness (-¼), 1 Con-
  tinuing Fuel Charge (battery, Easy to obtain; 6 
  Hours; -0). Total cost:  13 points.
  Closed Radio Link (Type 2):  Mind Link, any one 
  mind, No LOS Needed (25 Active Points); OAF 
  (-1), Only Can Be Maintained With Others 
  Who Have Mind Link (-1), Aﬀ ected As Radio 
  And Hearing Groups, Not Mental Group (-½), 
  Does Not Provide Mental Awareness (-¼), 1 
  Continuing Fuel Charge (battery, Easy to obtain; 
  6 Hours; -0). Total cost:  7 points.
  Cryptography
  Th e fourth method is to give the radio equip-
  ment its own Cryptography Skill to represent its 
  ability to encrypt its transmissions (and to decrypt 
  those it receives, though as long as two users agree 
  on the form of encryption the decryption is auto-
  matic). Decrypting this sort of encryption requires 
  decoding equipment built with its own Cryptog-
  raphy Skill to crack the code in a Skill Versus Skill 
  Contest; Systems Operation may serve as a Com-
  plementary Skill.
  THE RANGE OF 
  TRANSMIT
  Usually it’s not neces-
  sary to establish an 
  exact range over which 
  a Sense with the Trans-
  mit Sense Modiﬁ er can 
  “broadcast” — the GM 
  can simply establish 
  ranges for Transmit on 
  a case-by-case basis, 
  depending on special 
  eﬀ ects, the technology 
  used in the campaign, 
  common sense, and 
  dramatic sense. In situa-
  tions where knowing the 
  exact range is important, 
  GMs can use one of two 
  methods.
  For strict precision, give 
  any Sense with Transmit 
  a broadcast range of 1 
  kilometer per Active 
  Point. To increase this 
  range, apply the MegaS-
  cale Advantage, with the 
  +¼ level increasing it to 
  10 km per Active Point, 
  and so on up the Mega-
  Scale Table from there. 
  Characters may need 
  to apply MegaScale as a 
  naked Advantage, or put 
  Senses in a Multipower 
  (one slot MegaScaled, 
  one not), to create both 
  short-range and long-
  range communications 
  systems.
  For more “dramatic” 
  results, assume a trans-
  mission can reach any-
  where within an area 
  deﬁ ned by the GM (one 
  city, one nation, one 
  planet, one solar system, 
  or the like). For each +5 
  Character Points, the 
  character can increase 
  the range of transmis-
  sion by one step down 
  the MegaScale Table.
  
  159 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Four
  Radio Handset with Encryption System:  Radio 
  Perception/Transmission (Radio Group) (10 
  Active Points); OAF (-1), Aﬀ ected As Hearing 
  Group As Well As Radio Group (-¼), 1 Con-
  tinuing Fuel Charge (battery, Easy to obtain; 6 
  Hours; -0) (total cost:  4 points) plus Cryptog-
  raphy 20- (25 Active Points); OAF (-1), Only 
  To Encrypt/Decrypt Its Own Transmissions (-
  1), 1 Continuing Fuel Charge (battery, Easy to 
  obtain; 6 Hours; -0) (total cost:  8 points). Total 
  cost:  12 points.
  Systems Operation
  Similarly, a radio could be built with its own 
  Systems Operation Skill. Th e character trying to 
  send an encrypted transmission makes a Systems 
  Operation roll to reﬂ ect his ability to hide/encrypt 
  the transmission; a character trying to intercept 
  the transmission makes a competing roll to locate/
  decrypt it. In either case, Computer Programming, 
  Cryptography, and/or Electronics may act as Com-
  plementary Skills.
  Radio Handset with Encryption System:  Radio 
  Perception/Transmission (Radio Group) (10 
  Active Points); OAF (-1), 1 Continuing Fuel 
  Charge (battery, Easy to obtain; 6 Hours; -0) 
  (total cost:  4 points) plus Systems Operation 
  20- (25 Active Points); OAF (-1), Only To 
  Encrypt/Decrypt Its Own Transmissions (-1), 
  1 Continuing Fuel Charge (battery, Easy to 
  obtain; 6 Hours; -0) (total cost:  8 points). Total 
  cost:  12 points.
  SIGHT ENHANCEMENT 
  GEAR
  Mankind has long sought for ways to improve 
  peoples’ ability to see. Here are some modern 
  devices that do just that.
  BINOCULARS
  Effect: 
  +6 versus the Range Modiﬁ er 
  for Sight Group
  Target/Area Affected: Self
  Duration: 
  Constant
  Range: 
  Self
  END Cost: 
  0
  Breakability: 
  2 DEF
  Description:  Binoculars increase a character’s abil-
  ity to see over a distance by magnifying the subject 
  viewed. Th ey range from small versions (including 
  monoculars) that provide only slight ampliﬁ cation, 
  to larger military and hunting models that also 
  have electronic readouts on distance, direction, and 
  the like.
  Game Information:  +6 versus the Range Modi-
  ﬁ er for Sight Group (9 Active Points); OAF (-1). 
  Total cost:  4 points.
  Options:
  1)  Large Binoculars:  Increase to +10 versus the 
  Range Modiﬁ er for Sight Group (15 Active Points); 
  OAF (-1) (total cost:  7 points) plus Absolute Range 
  Sense (3 Active Points); OAF (-1) (total cost:  1 
  point) plus Bump Of Direction (3 Active Points); 
  OAF (-1) (total cost:  1 point). Total cost:  9 points.
  NIGHTSIGHT DEVICES
  Effect: 
  +2 to +4 to Sight Group PER 
  Rolls, Only To Counteract Dark-
  ness Penalties
  Target/Area Affected: Self
  Duration: 
  Constant
  Range: 
  Self
  Charges: 
  1 Continuing Fuel Charge
  Breakability: 
  2 DEF
  Description:  Nightsight devices, sometimes known as 
  night vision devices (NVDs), allow a character to see 
  at night by amplifying ambient light (such as star-
  light). Th e user, who suﬀ ers from a slightly decreased 
  ﬁ eld of vision, sees the world in a monochrome 
  green, but he can see much more clearly in darkened 
  conditions than someone without such enhance-
  ment. A nightsight device also allows the user to 
  see infrared light (not heat patterns; that requires a 
  thermal vision device [see below]), and may have a 
  short-range infrared “ﬂ ashlight” attached to improve 
  visibility, allow him to read maps, and so forth. 
  However, an NVD won’t  function in total darkness 
  (it needs light to amplify). Nightsight devices emit 
  ultrasonic sound (which animals, and characters 
  with proper equipment, can hear).
  Nightsight devices come in three “generations,” 
  and the higher the generation, the more sophis-
  ticated (and expensive) the device. In campaigns 
  featuring more advanced (perhaps ﬁ ctionally 
  advanced) technology, it may be possible to shrink 
  these oft en bulky devices down to much smaller 
  sizes — perhaps even to lenses that would ﬁ t in the 
  eyeholes of a mask.
  Game Information:
  Nightsight Goggles (Generation 1):  +2 to Sight 
  Group PER Rolls (4 Active Points); OAF (-1), 
  Only To Counteract Darkness Penalties (-½), 
  Requires Ambient Light (it won’t work in total 
  darkness; -¼), Side Eﬀ ect (character suﬀ ers a 2 x 
  Eﬀ ect Vulnerability to Sight Group Flashes based 
  on bright light while looking through the scope, 
  and may experience a minor Sight Group Flash 
  from looking at a bright light, always occurs;
  -½), 1 Continuing Fuel Charge (battery, Easy 
  to obtain; 3 Hours; -0) (total cost:  1 point) plus 
  Detect Infrared Light (Sight Group) (3 Active 
  Points); OAF (-1), Linked (-½), 1 Continuing 
  Fuel Charge (battery, Easy to obtain; 3 Hours; 
  -0) (total cost:  1 point). Total cost:  2 points.
  Nightsight Goggles (Generation 2):  As above, 
  but +3 to Sight Group PER Rolls (6 Active 
  Points for the ﬁ rst power). 9 Active Points; 
  total cost 3 points.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  160 ■ Modern Equipment
  Nightsight Goggles (Generation 3):  As above, but 
  +4 to Sight Group PER Rolls (8 Active Points 
  for the ﬁ rst power). 11 Active Points; total cost 
  3 points.
  Infrared “Flashlight”:  Sight Group Images, +3 to 
  PER Rolls (19 Active Points); OAF (-1), Limited 
  Range (2”; -¼), Only To Create Infrared Light
  (-1½), 1 Continuing Fuel Charge (easily refu-
  eled, 1 Hour; -0). Total cost:  5 points.
  SURVEILLANCE SCOPE
  Effect: 
  Clairsentience (Sight Group)
  Target/Area Affected: Self
  Duration: 
  Constant
  Range: 
  No Range
  Charges: 
  1 Continuing Fuel Charge
  Breakability: 
  4 DEF
  Description:  A surveillance scope is a viewing device 
  consisting of a ﬂ exible ﬁ ber optic cable with a minia-
  turized camera on one end. Th e other end connects to 
  a viewing system (a device similar in size and shape 
  to a laptop computer or portable television set; some 
  scopes have much smaller viewing systems for easy 
  portability). Th e user can insert the cable under doors, 
  through holes in walls, around corners, or the like to 
  see into other areas without exposing himself to attack 
  (or, in some cases, letting the persons being viewed 
  know they’re under surveillance). A similar device, the 
  borescope, can be drilled through a wall or door to 
  look beyond it (characters can also use borescopes to 
  look inside locked briefcases and other closed objects 
  without having to open them). Th e user can make a 
  Stealth roll to keep the people under surveillance from 
  detecting the scope’s presence, if appropriate.
  Game Information:  Clairsentience (Sight Group) 
  (20 Active Points); OAF (-1), Limited Perspec-
  tive (character has a limited range of vision 
  when using scope; -¼), No Range (-½), 1 Con-
  tinuing Fuel Charge (battery, Easy to obtain; 1 
  Hour; -0). Total cost:  7 points.
  Options:
  1)  Nightsight Surveillance Scope:  Add Generation 
  1 nightsight device. 24 Active Points; total cost 9 
  points.
  THERMALVISION DEVICE
  Effect: 
  Infrared Perception (Sight 
  Group) 
  Target/Area Affected: Self
  Duration: 
  Constant
  Range: 
  Self
  Charges: 
  1 Continuing Fuel Charge
  Breakability: 
  1 DEF
  Description:  Th ermalvision devices allow a character 
  to see heat patterns and traces, making it possible to 
  see people (and many objects) in the dark based on 
  their body heat. Th ey have many mundane applica-
  tions, such as detecting overheating components in 
  electronic or mechanical equipment.
  Game Information:  Infrared Perception (Sight 
  Group) (5 Active Points); OAF (-1), 1 Con-
  tinuing Fuel Charge (battery, Easy to obtain; 2 
  Hours; -0). Total cost:  2 points.
  
  161 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Four
  BUGS AND BUG 
  DETECTORS
  Bugs are electronic tracking and/or listening 
  devices. Th ere are two basic kinds:  those that emit 
  a simple radio signal which can be traced (such as 
  a character might put in an enemy’s car so he could 
  ﬁ nd the car anywhere in the city); and those that are 
  actually miniature microphones and/or cameras, 
  allowing a listener to hear or view what occurs in the 
  vicinity of the bug. Either type of bug needs to be 
  properly placed so that it’s hidden but works as well 
  as possible. Th is oft en involves sneaking into some-
  one’s oﬃ  ce or home to plant the bug, and requires 
  the Bugging and Concealment Skills for best results. 
  Of course, where there are bugs, there are devices 
  to detect and neutralize them as well, even if they’re 
  hidden inside walls or phone systems.
  STANDARD VISUAL BUG
  Effect: 
  Clairsentience (Sight Group)
  Target/Area Affected: Special
  Duration: 
  Constant
  Range: 
  800”
  Charges: 
  1 Continuing Fuel Charge
  Breakability: 
  7 DEF
  Description:  Th is is the typical sort of device used 
  for visual electronic surveillance of a ﬁ xed location. 
  It broadcasts what it “sees” over a range of one mile. 
  Unless there’s a direct wire connection between 
  the bug and the reception equipment (which is 
  unlikely), anything that interferes with radio trans-
  missions can disrupt the bug’s transmission tem-
  porarily or permanently. Because it’s an Obvious 
  Focus, a character has to use his Concealment Skill 
  (with Bugging as a Complementary Skill) to hide it.
  Th is bug has an internal battery able to power 
  it for up to one week. Th e longer the bug’s range, 
  the larger its batteries have to be... but the easier it 
  is to detect. Some visual bugs are extremely small 
  (for example, pinhole lenses about 1/8 inch across), 
  but most are at least a little larger than that.
  Game Information:  Clairsentience (Sight Group), 
  8x Range (800”, or 1 mile), 1 Continuing Fuel 
  Charge (battery, Easy to obtain; 1 Week; +¾) (61 
  Active Points); OAF (-1), No Range (character 
  must place bug at perception point before he can 
  use the power; -½), Aﬀ ected As Radio Group As 
  Well As Sight Group (-¼). Total cost:  22 points.
  Options:
  1)  High-Powered Bug:  Increase to 16x Range 
  (1,600”). 4700 Active Points; total cost 25 points.
  2)  Low-Powered Bug:  Decrease to 2x Range (200”). 
  44 Active Points; total cost 16 points.
  3)  Standard Audio Bug:  Th is is the same sort of bug, 
  but it picks up and transmits sound rather than 
  visual images. Some of them are as small as pencil 
  erasers. Change to Clairsentience (Hearing Group). 
  61 Active Points; total cost 22 points.
  4)  Standard Visual And Audio Bug:  Th is bug picks 
  up and transmits both visual images and sound. 
  Change to Clairsentience (Sight and Hearing 
  Groups). 79 Active Points; total cost 29 points.
  5)  Landline Connection:  Th is bug has a direct, wired 
  connection between itself and the unit that receives 
  the image it transmits, making it much more dif-
  ﬁ cult to disrupt the transmission. Remove Aﬀ ected 
  As Radio Group As Well As Sight Group (-¼). Total 
  cost:  24 points.
  6)  Disguised Bug:  Th is form of the Standard Bug 
  is built into, or made to look like, an everyday 
  object — a radio, a clock, a smoke detector, or just 
  about anything else you can think of. Someone 
  who examines the bug closely or takes it apart will 
  soon realize what it is (or at least that it’s not what it 
  looks like). Change OAF (-1) to IAF (-½):
  Standard Visual:  Total cost 27 points
  Standard Audio:  Total cost 27 points
  Standard Visual And Audio:  Total cost 35 points.
  7)  Hard-To-Find Bug:  Th is bug’s transmissions are 
  particularly diﬃ  cult to ﬁ nd with bug detectors for 
  some reason. Usually bugs like these are a little 
  larger than normal, and thus harder to hide and 
  easier to ﬁ nd than a normal bug. Add Concealed 
  (-6 to PER Rolls with Detect Bugs).
  Standard Visual:  72 Active Points; total cost 26 
  points.
  Standard Audio:  72 Active Points; total cost 26 
  points.
  Standard Visual And Audio:  89 Active Points; 
  total cost 32 points.
  Disguised Standard Visual:  72 Active Points; 
  total cost 32 points.
  Disguised Standard Audio:  72 Active Points; 
  total cost 32 points.
  Disguised Standard Visual And Audio:  89 Active 
  Points; total cost 39 points.
  8)  Undercover Agent Audio Bug:  Th is “bug” is a lis-
  tening device worn by an undercover police oﬃ  cer 
  (or the like). Concealed under the clothes, it trans-
  mits voices and noises in the wearer’s vicinity to a 
  nearby receiver. To the Standard Audio Bug, add 
  Mobile Perception Point. 70 Active Points; total cost 
  25 points (for an OAF version) or 31 points (for 
  an IAF version disguised as a a pen, a calculator, a 
  watch, or the like).
  TRACKING BUG
  Effect: 
  Images to Radio Group, +4 to 
  PER Rolls
  Target/Area Affected: 32” Radius
  Duration: 
  Constant
  Range: 
  RBS
  Charges: 
  1 Continuing Recoverable 
  Charge lasting 1 Week
  Breakability: 
  1 DEF
  Description:  Th is is a device which characters can 
  attach to cars and other moving objects to follow 
  them. It emits a distinctive radio signal which 
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  162 ■ Modern Equipment
  identiﬁ es the bug’s location. Tracking the beacon 
  requires any specialized radio-perceiving device 
  (one such device is assumed to come with the 
  Tracking Bug when the character buys it, but he 
  could also use other radio equipment if necessary).
  Th e Tracking Bug can reliably be “picked up” 
  on tracking equipment primarily within a 32” 
  radius. However, much like a character can see the 
  beam from a ﬂ ashlight from far away without being 
  inside the beam, characters outside the 32” radius 
  may still be able to track the Tracer, if the GM so 
  permits:  from 33-64”, the Image is at only +2 to 
  PER Rolls; from 65-125”, it’s at +0; from 126-250” 
  it’s at -2; beyond that it would require an Extraordi-
  nary Skill Roll to locate it.
  Game Information:  Images to Radio Group, +4 
  to PER Rolls, Increased Size (32” radius; +1¼), 
  Usable As Attack (allows character to “stick” the 
  Image to a target; +1), Range Based On STR 
  (+¼),1 Continuing Recoverable Charge lasting 
  1 Week (stops functioning if it gets wet or expe-
  riences severe radio interference; +1) (76 Active 
  Points); IAF Fragile (-¾), Set Eﬀ ect (detectable 
  signal; -1), Image Only Perceivable On Special 
  Radio Frequencies (-0). Total cost:  28 points.
  Options:
  1)  Strong Bug:  Increase to +6 to PER Rolls. 103 
  Active Points; total cost 37 points.
  2)  Weak Bug:  Decrease to +2 to PER Rolls. 49 
  Active Points; total cost 18 points.
  3)  Broad-Signal Bug:  Increase to Increased Size (125” 
  radius; +1¾). 85 Active Points; total cost 31 points.
  WIRETAP
  Effect: 
  Clairsentience (Hearing Group), 
  Only For Deﬁ ned Phones
  Target/Area Affected: Deﬁ ned phone(s)
  Duration: 
  Constant
  Range: 
  800” (see text)
  Charges: 
  1 Continuing Fuel Charge
  Breakability: 
  7 DEF
  Description:  Th is bug is installed in a telephone (or, 
  in some cases, on a telephone trunk line leading to 
  an entire oﬃ  ce, entire building, or the like). It picks 
  up and transmits all conversation that takes place 
  over that phone, but doesn’t hear other sounds.
  Game Information:  Clairsentience (Hearing 
  Group), 8x Range (800”, or 1 mile), 1 Continu-
  ing Fuel Charge (battery, Easy to obtain; 1 Week; 
  +¾) (61 Active Points); OAF (-1), No Range 
  (character must place bug at perception point 
  before he can use the power; -½), Can Only Hear 
  Sound From Speciﬁ c Telephone(s) (-1), Aﬀ ected 
  As Radio Group As Well As Sight Group (-¼). 
  Total cost:  16 points.
  Options:
  1)  Strong Wiretap:  Increase to 16x Range (1,600”). 
  70 Active Points; total cost 19 points.
  2)  Weak Wiretap:  Decrease to 2x Range (200”). 44 
  Active Points; total cost 12 points.
  3)  Fax Tap:  Similar devices exist to monitor and 
  capture information coming through fax machine 
  phone lines. Change to Clairsentience (Radio 
  Group). Total cost:  16 points.
  
  163 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Four
  BUG DETECTOR
  Effect: 
  Detect Bugs 16-
  Target/Area Affected: Self
  Duration: 
  Constant
  Range: 
  10”
  Charges: 
  1 Continuing Charge
  Breakability: 
  4 DEF
  Description:  Th is devices detects bugs by perceiving 
  the radio waves they generate. Th is means it only 
  detects “active” bugs — bugs which are transmit-
  ting while the Detector is in use. It cannot detect 
  bugs which are turned oﬀ  or inactive (and some 
  types of bugs are harder to detect than others), nor 
  bugs using infrared light or other media than radio 
  waves. Its batteries provide enough power for a 
  total of one hour of operation.
  Game Information:  Detect Active Bugs 16- 
  (Radio Group), Increased Arc Of Perception (360 
  Degrees) (17 Active Points); OAF (-1), Aﬀ ected 
  As Sight Group As Well As Radio Group (-½), 
  Limited Range (10”; -¼), 1 Continuing Fuel 
  Charge (Easy to replace batteries, 1 Hour; -0). 
  Total cost:  6 points.
  Options:
  1)  Strong Bug Detector:  Increase to Detect Active 
  Bugs 20-. 21 Active Points; total cost 8 points.
  2)  Weak Bug Detector:  Decrease to Detect Active 
  Bugs 13-. 14 Active Points; total cost 5 points.
  MISCELLANEOUS 
  SENSORY DEVICES
  BOMB DETECTOR
  Effect: 
  Detect Explosives 16-
  Target/Area Affected: Self
  Duration: 
  Constant
  Range: 
  Self
  END Cost: 
  0
  Breakability: 
  2 DEF
  Description:  Th is device detects nearby explosive 
  substances by identifying the chemical vapors 
  they give oﬀ . It needs to be near the explosives for 
  approximately two seconds to detect them.
  Game Information:  Detect Explosives 16- (Smell/
  Taste Group) (12 Active Points); OAF (-1), Extra 
  Time (Extra Phase; -¾). Total cost:  4 points.
  DRUG DETECTOR
  Effect: 
  Detect Illegal Drugs 14-
  Target/Area Affected: Self
  Duration: 
  Constant
  Range: 
  Self
  END Cost: 
  0
  Breakability: 
  2 DEF
  Description:  A Drug Detector senses the chemical 
  vapors given oﬀ  by illegal drugs. It can usually “sniﬀ  
  out” drugs even if they’re hidden inside objects or 
  their odor is “masked” by other substances. It does 
  not indicate which drugs are present, and must be 
  reasonably close to the drugs to detect them.
  Game Information:  Detect Illegal Drugs 14- 
  (Smell/Taste Group) (10 Active Points); OAF (-1). 
  Total cost:   5 points.
  SATELLITE LINK
  Effect: 
  Various viewing abilities
  Target/Area Affected: Self
  Duration: 
  Constant
  Range: 
  Self
  END Cost: 
  Varies
  Breakability: 
  9 DEF
  Description:  Th is gadget uses the world-spanning 
  satellite network to give the user a view of anything 
  seen by satellite! Th e character uses the link to tap 
  into the network and obtain a “feed” from it showing 
  whatever can be seen in the target area at that time. 
  Th ere may not always be a satellite available that’s 
  watching what a character wants to see; in game 
  terms, if the Activation Roll fails, the character’s 
  objective is in a “blind zone” (either because no satel-
  lite is “on target” or because weather blocks his view).
  If there’s a satellite in position, the character 
  can see a lot — given the powerful IR and UV 
  capabilities of many satellites, a link might be able 
  to read the heat patterns of a building to determine 
  its layout, how many people are in it (and where 
  they are), and so forth.
  A typical Satellite Link requires a large system 
  of computer banks and monitors that must be kept 
  in a Base.
  At the GM’s option, in a high-tech campaign it 
  might be possible for characters to have a Satellite 
  Link that only requires a laptop computer, or even a 
  viewing device mounted on a bracer or large wrist-
  watch-like device. For a laptop, change OAF Immo-
  bile (-2) to OAF (-1) (total cost:  20 points); for a 
  bracer, change it to OIF (-½) (total cost:  26 points).
  Game Information:
  Cost Power
  9 
  Satellite Link (Worldwide Viewing):  Clairsen-
  tience (Sight Group), MegaScale (1” = 1,000 
  km, can scale down to 1” = 1 km; +1¼); OAF 
  Immobile (-2), Activation Roll 11- (can only 
  see target area if satellites are available; -1), 
  Requires A System Operations Roll (-½), 
  Limited Vision (can only see what a satellite 
  could see; -½)
  1 
  Satellite Link (IR Capability):  Infrared Per-
  ception (Sight Group); OAF Immobile (-2), 
  Linked (-½)
  1 
  Satellite Link (UV Capability):  Ultraviolet 
  Perception (Sight Group); OAF Immobile 
  (-2), Linked (-½)
  3 
  Satellite Link (Penetrating IR Capability):  N-
  Ray Perception (stopped by anything that 
  would block powerful IR sensors) (Sight 
  Group); OAF Immobile (-2), Linked (-½)
  Total cost:  14 points.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  164 ■ Modern Equipment
  TEMPEST EQUIPMENT
  Effect: 
  Detect Computer Radio Emis-
  sions 14-
  Target/Area Affected: Self
  Duration: 
  Constant
  Range: 
  Self
  Charges: 
  1 Continuing Fuel Charge
  Breakability: 
  3 DEF
  Description:  TEMPEST stands for “Transient Elec-
  tromagnetic Pulse Emanation Standard.” It refers to 
  the amount of electromagnetic radiation given oﬀ  
  by various types of computer equipment (monitors, 
  cables, motherboards, and so forth). Using what’s 
  known as van Eck technology, TEMPEST gear 
  monitors and records everything that passes across 
  a computer’s screen by perceiving and “reading” 
  the electromagnetic radiation. Th is won’t necessar-
  ily work over long distances (the normal rules for 
  applying the Range Modiﬁ er to PER Rolls applies), 
  and anything that provides the computer with 
  Power Defense automatically blocks TEMPEST 
  reading (as will placing a sheet of metal between 
  the computer and the TEMPEST gear).
  Game Information:  Detect Computer Radio 
  Emissions 14- (Radio Group) (10 Active Points); 
  OAF (-1), Blocked By Power Defense (-½), 1 
  Continuing Fuel Charge (batteries, Easy to 
  obtain; 10 Hours; -0). Total cost:  4 points.
  WOLF’S EARS
  Effect: 
  +4 PER for Hearing Group plus 
  Hearing Group Flash Defense 
  (10 points)
  Target/Area Affected: Self
  Duration: 
  Constant
  Range: 
  Self
  Charges: 
  1 Continuing Fuel Charge
  Breakability: 
  2 DEF
  Description:  Th is device serves two purposes. First, 
  it enhances the user’s hearing. Second, it screens 
  out all sounds above a certain level, preventing the 
  wearer from being deafened by explosions or gun-
  shots.
  Game Information:
  Cost Power
  5 
  Wolf’s Ears (Hearing Enhancement):  +4 PER 
  for Hearing Group; OIF (-½), 1 Continuing 
  Fuel Charge (battery, Easy to obtain; 6 Hours; 
  -0)
  7 
  Wolf’s Ears (Hearing Protection):  Hearing 
  Group Flash Defense (10 points); OIF (-½), 
  1 Continuing Fuel Charge (battery, Easy to 
  obtain; 6 Hours; -0)
  Total cost:  12 points.
  
  165 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Four
  H
  ere are a few more pieces of equipment that 
  don’t belong in the categories above, or which 
  are only appropriate for certain types of char-
  acters or campaigns. As always, characters 
  should get the GM’s approval before introducing any 
  unusual devices into the game.
  COSTUMED VIGILANTE 
  GADGETS
  Here are a few gadgets that costumed vigilan-
  tes might use. Th ey’re not particularly “realistic” (or 
  at least, not entirely), but they’re perfectly appropri-
  ate for many campaigns.
  BILLY CLUB 
  Effect: 
  HA +3d6, Energy Blast 6d6, 
  Swinging 10”, Clinging
  Target/Area Affected: Varies
  Duration: 
  Varies
  Range: 
  Varies
  END Cost: 
  Varies
  Breakability: 
  6 DEF
  Description:  A popular multi-purpose weapon and 
  tool among martial artists and costumed vigilantes, 
  the billy club looks like an ordinary stick-like club 
  about a foot long and an inch or so in diameter, but 
  it has several other uses and built-in devices. First, 
  in addition to hitting people with it, the character 
  can throw it at his foes; he must get it back (oft en 
  by devoting a single Combat Skill Level to making 
  it bounce back to him) before he can use the club 
  for any purpose again. Second, the club can project 
  a high-strength line and hook, allowing the user to 
  swing (but if he does so, he can’t use the club for 
  anything else that Phase while the line retracts). 
  Th ird, the club can extend just the hook, allowing 
  the user to hold onto the club and hang from any 
  projection or niche on a wall or slippery surface.
  Game Information:
  Cost Powers
  15 
  Billy Club:  Multipower, 30-point reserve; 
  all OAF (-1)
  1u 
  1)  Club:  HA +3d6; OAF (-1), Hand-To-
  Hand Attack (-½)
  1u 
  2)  Hurled Club:  Energy Blast 6d6; OAF (-1), 
  Range Based On STR (-¼), 1 Recoverable 
  Charge (-1¼), Lockout (cannot use any slot 
  in Multipower until Charge is recovered; -½)
  1u 
  3)  Swingline:  Swinging 10”; OAF (-1), Lock-
  out (cannot use any other slot in same Phase 
  in which Swinging is used; -½)
  1u 
  4)  Hanging Onto Projections:  Clinging 
  (normal STR); OAF (-1), Requires A STR 
  Roll (-½), Cannot Resist Knockback (-¼), No 
  Movement Allowed (-½)
  Total cost:  19 points.
  Options:
  1)  Strong Billy Club:  Increase reserve to 40 points, 
  and HA to +5d6, Energy Blast to 8d6, and Swinging 
  to 20”. Total cost:  24 points.
  2)  Simple Billy Club:  Th is form of Billy Club lacks all 
  the bells and whistles; it’s just intended for use as a 
  weapon. Remove Slots 3 and 4. Total cost:  17 points.
  GLIDER CAPE
  Effect: 
  Gliding 12”
  Target/Area Affected: Self
  Duration: 
  Constant
  Range: 
  Self
  END Cost:  
  1
  Breakability: 
  2 DEF
  Description:  Th e character’s cape is designed with a 
  special aerodynamic shape, and is cleverly reinforced, 
  so he can glide through the air while wearing it.
  Game Information:  Gliding 12” (12 Active 
  Points); OAF (-1), Costs Endurance (-½). Total 
  cost:  5 points.
  Options:
  1)  Faster Glider Cape:  Increase to Gliding 15”. 15 
  Active Points; total cost 6 points.
  2)  Slower Glider Cape:  Decrease to Gliding 8”. 8 
  Active Points; total cost 3 points.
  3)  Realistic Glider Cape:  Th e character’s ability to 
  glide depends on his holding his body a certain 
  way; if he moves the wrong way or tries to perform 
  other actions than just gliding, he falls to earth. Add 
  Requires A PS: Use Glider Cape Roll (-¼) and Ges-
  tures (throughout; -½). Total cost:  4 points.
  4)  Parachute Cape:  Th e character cannot actually 
  glide, but his cape can act as a parachute to keep 
  him from hurting himself in falls. Add Limited 
  Movement (character cannot gain altitude, and 
  must move at least 12” downward for every 1” for-
  ward; -½). Total cost:  4 points.
  5)  Concealable Hangglider:  Th e character’s cape 
  doesn’t normally allow him to glide, but it (or his 
  costume) conceals a hangglider-like device that lets 
  him glide once it’s activated. Change OAF (-1) to 
  IAF (-½) and add Extra Time (Full Phase to acti-
  vate; -¼). Total cost:  5 points.
  MISCELLANEOUS
  EQUIPMENT
  FAST CARS
  Characters oft en use 
  or encounter vehicles 
  in their adventures 
  — everything from sleek 
  sportscars, to powerful 
  combat helicopters and 
  jetﬁ ghters, to mighty 
  tanks. For nearly 200 
  sample vehicles, most 
  of them appropriate to 
  the modern-day action-
  adventure genre, see Th e 
  Ultimate Vehicle and Th e 
  HERO System Vehicle 
  Sourcebook.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  166 ■ Modern Equipment
  MULTIBRACER
  Effect: 
  Swinging 12” and various 
  Attack Powers
  Target/Area Affected: Varies
  Duration: 
  Varies
  Range: 
  Varies
  Charges/END Cost: 
  Varies
  Breakability: 
  10 DEF
  Description:  Much like the Billy Club, the Multi-
  Bracer is a combination weapon/tool popular with 
  martial artists and costumed vigilantes. Th e bracer 
  has ﬁ ve sections, each with a speciﬁ c device built 
  into it:  a blaster; a swingline; a knockout gas pellet 
  projector; a tangleweb pellet projector; and a ﬂ ash 
  pellet projector.
  Game Information:
  Cost Power
  33 
  Multi-Bracer:  Multipower, 50-point reserve; 
  all OIF (-½)
  1u 
  1)  Swingline:  Swinging 12”; OIF (-½)
  2u 
  2)  Blaster:  RKA 2½d6 OIF (-½), 
  8 Charges (-½)
  2u 
  3)  Knockout Gas Pellets:  Energy Blast 4d6, 
  NND (defense is Life Support [Self-
  Contained Breathing or appropriate Immu-
  nity]; +1), Explosion (+½); OIF (-½), 8 
  Charges (-½)
  2u 
  4)  Mini-Bolos:  Entangle 5d6, 5 DEF; OIF 
  (-½), 8 Charges (-½)
  2u 
   5)  Flash Pellets:  Sight Group Flash 6d6, 
  Explosion (+½); OIF (-½), 8 Charges (-½)
  Total cost:  42 points.
  Options:
  1)  Strong Bracer:  Increase reserve to 60 points, 
  Slot 1 to Swinging 20”, Slot 2 to RKA 2½d6 Armor 
  Piercing, Slot 3 to Explosion (-1 DC/3”; +1), Slot 
  4 to Entangle 6d6, 6 DEF, and Slot 5 to Flash 8d6. 
  Total cost:  53 points.
  2)  Weak Bracer:  Decrease reserve to 40 points, Slot 
  1 to Swinging 10”, Slot 2 to RKA 1d6, Slot 3 to EB 
  3d6, Slot 4 to Entangle 4d6, 4 DEF, and Slot 5 to 
  Flash 5d6. Total cost:  35 points.
  3)  Multi-Pistol:  Th is form of the weapon is a 
  pistol, not a bracer. Change OIF (-½) to OAF (-1) 
  throughout. Total cost:  34 points.
  UTILITY BELT
  Effect: 
  Various
  Target/Area Affected: Varies
  Duration: 
  Varies
  Range: 
  Varies
  END Cost: 
  Varies
  Breakability: 
  6 DEF
  Description:  A utility belt is a way to carry numer-
  ous small devices a character may ﬁ nd useful in 
  crimeﬁ ghting or combat situations. If a belt is not 
  to the character’s taste, other possibilities include a 
  vest, a harness or bandolier with cartridge belt-like 
  pockets, or the like.
  Th e Utility Belt listed below carries an enormous 
  number of gadgets, and creative players can undoubt-
  edly think of more. A character may buy any or all of 
  these gadgets, as desired. Th e GM may prefer to have a 
  character pick a limited number of them — say, 15 or 
  20 at most — to keep things from getting out of hand.
  Game Information:
  Cost Power
  20 
  Utility Belt:  Multipower, 30-point reserve; 
  OIF (-½)
  1u 
  1)  Advanced Lockpick Set:  +2 to Lockpick-
  ing; OAF (-1)
  1u 
  2)  Billy Club:  HA +3d6, Reduced Endur-
  ance (0 END; +½); OAF (-1), Hand-To-Hand 
  Attack (-½)
  1u 
  3)  Bomb Defusing Kit:  +2 to Demolitions; 
  OAF (-1), Only To Defuse Bombs (-¼)
  1u 
   4)  Boomerang:  Energy Blast 4d6, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½); OAF (-1)
  1u 
  5)  Calculator:  Lightning Calculator; 
  OAF (-1)
  1u 
  6)  Crime Scene Kit:  +2 to Criminology; 
  OAF (-1), 8 Charges (-½) 
  1u 
  7)  Fake Bomb:  Sight and Hearing Group 
  Images 1” radius, -5 to PER Rolls; OAF (-1), 1 
  Charge (-2), Set Eﬀ ect (fake bomb; -1)
  1u 
  8)  Fear Darts:  Drain PRE 2d6, Range Based 
  On STR (+¼); OAF (-1), Must Target Non-
  Armored Hit Locations (-¼), 6 Charges (-¾)
  1u 
  9)  Flashlight:  Sight Group Images 1” radius, 
  +4 PER Rolls; OAF (-1), Only To Create 
  Light (-1), Limited Range (10”; -¼), 1 Con-
  tinuing Fuel Charge (refueled by recharging, 
  easy to obtain; 1 Hour; -0)
  1u 
  10)  Flash Pellets:  Sight Group Flash 2d6; 
  OAF (-1), 6 Charges (-¾), Range Based On 
  STR (-¼)
  1u 
  11)  Freeze Gas:  Minor Transform 3d6 
  (normal object to frozen stiﬀ  object, “heal” 
  by thawing out at normal rate); OAF (-1), 4 
  Charges (-1), Limited Target ( Freeze Gas is 
  for use against the working parts of an alarm, 
  a bomb, and so forth, not against living crea-
  tures; -½)
  1u 
  12)  Laser Torch:  RKA 1 point, Penetrating 
  (x2; +1); OAF (-1), No Range (-½), 1 Con-
  tinuing Fuel Charge lasting 5 Minutes (bat-
  tery, easy to replace;  -½)
  1u   
  13)  Medkit:  +2 to Paramedics; OAF (-1), 4 
  Charges (-1) 
  
  167 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Four
  1u 
  14)  Miniature Climbing Rig:  +2 to Climbing; 
  OAF (-1)
  1u 
  15)  Mini-bolos:  Entangle 3d6, 3 DEF; OAF 
  (-1), 3 Charges (-1¼)
  1u 
  16)  Mini-camera:  Eidetic Memory; OAF 
  (-1), Visual Images Only (-½)
  1u 
  17)  Mini-Console:  HRRP (Radio Group); 
  OAF (-1)
  1u 
  18)  Mini-radios:  Mind Link, up to 4 minds 
  at once; OAF (-1), Aﬀ ected As Hearing And 
  Radio Groups, Not Mental Group (-¼), 
  Only Works With Others Who Have Same 
  Mind Link (-1)
  1u 
  19)  Mini-recorder:  Eidetic Memory; OAF 
  (-1), Sound Only (-½)
  1u 
  20)  Nightsight Monocular:  Infrared Percep-
  tion (Sight Group) and +6 versus Range 
  Modiﬁ er for Sight Group; OAF (-1)
  1u 
  21)  Painkillers:  Physical and Energy 
  Damage Reduction, Resistant, 25%; OAF 
  (-1), 2 Continuing Charges lasting 1 Hour 
  each (-0)
  1u 
  22)  Paint Tag Bomb:  Cosmetic Transform 
  4d6 (normal person to person painted bright 
  red, heal by washing with vinegar), Partial 
  Transform (+½); OAF (-1), 4 Charges (-1), 
  Range Based On STR (-¼)
  1u 
  23)  Parabolic Mini-Mike:  +6 versus Range 
  Modiﬁ er for Hearing Group; OAF (-1)
  1u 
  24)  Rebreather:  Life Support (Expanded 
  Breathing:  Breathe Underwater); OAF (-1), 
  1 Continuing Fuel Charge (refueled through 
  recharging system, easy to obtain; 1 Hour; -0)
  1u 
  25)  Security Systems Analyzer:  +2 to Secu-
  rity Systems; OAF (-1)
  1u 
  26)  Sleep Gas Pellets:  Energy Blast 3d6, 
  NND (defense is Life Support [Self-Con-
  tained Breathing or appropriate Immunity]; 
  +1); OAF (-1), 6 Charges (-¾), Range Based 
  On STR (-¼)
  1u 
  27)  Smoke Pellets:  Darkness to Sight Group 
  3” radius; OAF (-1), 8 Continuing Charges 
  lasting 1 Turn each (removed by high winds 
  or rain; -0), Range Based On STR (-¼)
  1u 
  28)  Swingline:  Swinging 10”, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½); OAF (-1)
  1u 
  29)  Th ermite Pellets I:  RKA 1d6, Armor 
  Piercing (+½), Explosion (+½); OAF (-1), 6 
  Charges (-¾), Range Based On STR (-¼)
  1u 
  30)  Th ermite Pellets II:  RKA 1d6, Continuous 
  (+1); OAF (-1), 6 Continuing Charges lasting 
  1 Turn each (-¼), Range Based On STR (-¼)
  1u 
  31)  Th rowing Blades:  HKA ½d6 (up to 
  1d6+1 w/ STR), Armor Piercing (+½), Auto-
  ﬁ re (3 shots; +¼), Range Based On STR 
  (+¼); OAF (-1), 6 Recoverable Charges (-¼)
  1u 
  32)  Vertigo Darts:  Drain DEX 2d6, Range Based 
  On STR (+¼); OAF (-1), Must Target Non-
  Armored Hit Locations (-¼), 6 Charges (-¾)
  1u 
  33)  Weakness Darts:  Drain STR 2d6, 
  Range Based On STR (+¼); OAF (-1), 
  Must Target Non-Armored Hit Locations 
  (-¼), 6 Charges (-¾)
  Total cost:  53 points (assuming character buys 
  all slots)
  SECURITY DEVICES
  Here are a few examples of devices used to 
  secure areas. Characters who want to inﬁ ltrate 
  those areas covertly have to use Security Systems to 
  bypass or defeat them.
  MOTION DETECTOR
  Effect: 
  Detect Moving Persons/Objects 
  15-
  Target/Area Affected: Self (8” protected area)
  Duration: 
  Persistent
  Range: 
  Self (8” protected area)
  END Cost: 
  0
  Breakability: 
  8 DEF
  Description:  Motion detectors use ultrasonic sound 
  (or sometimes microwaves or other forms of energy) 
  to detect whether anything is moving in their ﬁ eld 
  of “vision” (which extends for about 50 feet in front 
  of them). When someone moves into the protected 
  area, he disturbs the “ﬁ eld,” and the device registers 
  this and activates the alarm. Th ey’re best used in 
  high-security areas with hard surfaces where no 
  movement is expected (i.e., where guards don’t 
  patrol, there are no pets or cuckoo clocks, and so 
  on). Rooms with soft  or absorbent surfaces (such as 
  thick carpet or heavy drapes) absorb more sound, so 
  ultrasonic motion detectors don’t work well in them 
  (reduce the device’s PER Roll by -2 or more).
  Ultrasonic versions of this alarm can only 
  cover a single enclosed area (since the sound waves 
  bounce oﬀ  walls and other solid surfaces). However, 
  a single microwave-based motion sensor may cover 
  multiple rooms (because microwaves reﬂ ect oﬀ  
  metal, but not oﬀ  glass, wallboard, wood, and the 
  like). Because microwave-based motion detectors 
  perceive through solid objects, they can be hidden 
  behind a piece of furniture, a cover, or the like. On 
  the other hand, this means a microwave-based 
  motion detector might be triggered by innocu-
  ous movement outside the building it’s installed 
  in (such as a passing bird or car), and ﬂ uorescent 
  lights and radio transmissions can sometimes cause 
  false alarms.
  Some poor-quality motion detectors won’t 
  register objects moving slowly. In game terms, this 
  usually means moving at no greater speed than 
  1” per Turn. Th is requires a Stealth roll (in addi-
  tion, the GM may require characters to make EGO 
  Rolls to force themselves to move that slowly). If 
  the character succeeds with his Stealth roll exactly, 
  the sensor suﬀ ers a -1 penalty to its PER Roll; each 
  point by which the Stealth roll is made beyond that 
  increases the penalty by another -1. Better models 
  can’t be fooled by slow movement, and will even 
  detect the presence of immobile objects that aren’t 
  normally in the area they cover.
  Defeating motion sensors is diﬃ  cult, at best. 
  Th e easiest thing to do is avoid them, but if that’s 
  not possible, sometimes characters can overload or 
  jam them with devices designed to broadcast the 
  same frequency of sound (in game terms, such a 
  device is a Change Environment that reduces the 
  motion detector’s PER Roll). Another possibility 
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  168 ■ Modern Equipment
  would be to wear garments made of sound-absor-
  bent material (even thick cloth or fur might do); 
  this, too, would be deﬁ ned as a Change Environ-
  ment that diminished the device’s PER Roll. If 
  characters can get to the device’s receiver without 
  triggering it, covering up the receiver (say, with 
  tape) may render it “blind” (or at least signiﬁ cantly 
  reduce its PER Roll), though newer models have 
  “anti-masking” features that trigger an alarm if any 
  object is placed too close to them.
  Game Information:
  Cost Power
  4 
  Motion Detector:  Detect Moving Per-
  sons/Objects 15- (Radio Group) (11 Active 
  Points); OIF Immobile (-1½), Limited Range 
  (8”; -¼)
  13 
  Secured System:  Change Environment 1” 
  radius, -6 on Security Systems rolls, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; -½), Persistent (-½) (40 
  Active Points); OIF Immobile (-1½), Self 
  Only (only aﬀ ects attempts to ﬁ nd or neu-
  tralize the system itself; -½)
  Total cost:  17 points.
  Options:
  1)  High-Quality System:  Increase to Detect Moving 
  Persons/Objects 17-. 13 Active Points (total cost 5 
  points); total cost of device 18 points.
  2)  Poor-Quality System:  Decrease to Detect Moving 
  Persons/Objects 13-. 9 Active Points (total cost 3 
  points); total cost of device 16 points.
  3)  Disguised System:  Change OIF Immobile (-1½) 
  to IIF Immobile (-1¼). Total cost:
  Standard:  17 points.
  High-Quality:  18 points.
  Poor-Quality:  17 points.
  4)  More Secure Device:  Th is type of motion detec-
  tor is harder to bypass or defeat. Change to -8 on 
  Security Systems rolls. 52 Active Points (total cost 
  17 points); total cost of device 21 points.
  5)  Less Secure Device:  Th is type of motion detec-
  tor is easier to bypass or defeat. Change to -3 on 
  Security Systems rolls. 22 Active Points (total cost 7 
  points); total cost of device 11 points.
  PRESSURE PLATES, MATS, AND SWITCHES
  Effect: 
  Detect Sufﬁ cient Weight/Pres-
  sure 16-
  Target/Area Affected: Self
  Duration: 
  Persistent
  Range: 
  Self
  END Cost: 
  0
  Breakability: 
  4 DEF
  Description:  Placed under carpets, entry mats, and 
  the like, pressure plates (also known as switch mats) 
  trigger an alarm if any weight is placed on them. (If 
  necessary, they can be programmed to ignore small 
  weights, like the weight of a guard dog.) Advanced 
  ones are too sensitive to fool, but poorer-quality 
  ones can be defeated by characters who distribute 
  their weight — for example, by placing a sheet of 
  plywood or thick plastic over the plate before step-
  ping on it. Other ways to defeat a pressure plate are 
  to short it out, to cut the power to it (or its feed to 
  the alarm system), or to avoid stepping on it (by 
  climbing along the walls or ceiling, for example).
  Pressure plates can also be used in the oppo-
  site way:  they’re placed underneath an object (such 
  as an antique in a display case), and if the object 
  is removed (i.e., the pressure is lift ed), they trig-
  ger an alarm. In this case they’re oft en known as 
  pressure switches. Characters can defeat a pressure 
  switch in a variety of ways, including in some cases 
  a simultaneous replacement of the removed object 
  with one of equal weight (this requires a Sleight Of 
  Hand roll at the same penalty for Security Systems 
  rolls). More sensitive models — pressure transduc-
  ers — register any change of pressure (increased or 
  decreased) and are much harder to defeat (increase 
  the penalty for defeating them by -2).
  Game Information:
  Cost Power
  4 
  Pressure Plate:  Detect Suﬃ  cient Weight/
  Pressure 16- (Touch Group) (10 Active 
  Points); OIF Immobile (-1½)
  7 
  Secured System:  Change Environment 1” 
  radius, -3 on Security Systems rolls, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½), Persistent (+½) 
  (22 Active Points); OIF Immobile (-1½), Self 
  Only (only aﬀ ects attempts to ﬁ nd or neu-
  tralize the system itself; -½)
  Total cost:  11 points.
  Options:
  1)  High-Quality System:  Increase to Detect Suf-
  ﬁ cient Weight/Pressure 18-. 12 Active Points (total 
  cost 5 points); total cost of device 12 points.
  2)  Poor-Quality System:  Decrease to Detect Suf-
  ﬁ cient Weight/Pressure 14-. 8 Active Points (total 
  cost 3 points); total cost of device 10 points.
  3)  Disguised System:  Change OIF Immobile (-1½) 
  to IIF Immobile (-1¼). Total cost:
  Standard:  12 points.
  High-Quality:  13 points.
  Poor-Quality:  11 points.
  4)  More Secure Device:  Th is type of pressure plate 
  is harder to bypass or defeat. Change to -4 on 
  Security Systems rolls. 28 Active Points (total cost 9 
  points); total cost of device 13 points.
  5)  Less Secure Device:  Th is type of pressure plate 
  is easier to bypass or defeat. Change to -2 on Secu-
  rity Systems rolls. 16 Active Points (total cost 5 
  points); total cost of device 9 points.
  
  169 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Four
  SPY GADGETS
  Spies, both real and cinematic, are known for 
  the many clever devices they use to perform their 
  clandestine tasks. Here are a few examples:
  Real-World Spy Gadgets
  Th e following gadgets are all examples of 
  espionage gadgets actually built and used.
  .22 BALLPOINT PEN GUN
  Effect: 
  RKA 1d6-1
  Target/Area Affected: One character
  Duration: 
  Instant
  Range: 
  60”
  Charges: 
  1 Charge
  Breakability: 
  2 DEF
  Description:  Th is single-shot gun looks like an ordi-
  nary fountain pen. By pulling back and releasing 
  the “cap,” the user ﬁ res it... though it’s not very accu-
  rate, so he’d better be close to his target.
  Game Information:  RKA 1d6-1 (12 Active 
  Points); IAF (-½), Beam (-¼), Inaccurate 
  (character is half OCV, and the Range Modi-
  ﬁ er accrues in 3” increments; -¼), Real Weapon
  (-¼), 1 Charge (-2). Total cost:  3 points.
  CONCEALED LOCKPICKS
  Effect: 
  Concealment 16-, Only To Hide 
  Lockpick Set 
  Target/Area Affected: Self
  Duration: 
  Constant
  Range: 
  Self
  END Cost: 
  0
  Breakability: 
  1 DEF
  Description:  A character may need to carry a set of 
  lockpicks into a location without anyone detecting 
  them. Th is set is specially concealed inside a pen 
  or like object. Since characters don’t normally pay 
  Character Points for ordinary tools, it’s bought as 
  a highly-Limited form of Concealment; for tools 
  characters pay points for (such as lockpicks good 
  enough to provide a Skill Roll bonus), you can 
  simply buy them as IAFs instead of OAFs.
  Game Information:  Concealment 16- (17 Active 
  Points); IAF (-½), Only To Hide Lockpick Set (-2). 
  Total cost:  5 points.
  TIE CAMERA
  Effect: 
  Eidetic Memory, Visual Images 
  Only
  Target/Area Affected: Self
  Duration: 
  Constant
  Range: 
  Self
  Charges:  
  1 Continuing Fuel Charge
  Breakability: 
  1 DEF
  Description:  Th is miniature camera takes pictures 
  through a special tie-tack that keeps the agent’s 
  necktie in place. It’s triggered by an activator con-
  cealed in the agent’s pants pocket, and has enough 
  ﬁ lm for 50 shots.
  Game Information:  Eidetic Memory (5 Active 
  Points); IAF (-½), Visual Images Only (-1), 1 
  Continuing Fuel Charge (ﬁ lm, easily replaced, 
  50 Seconds; -¾). Total cost:  1 point.
  Cinematic Spy Gadgets
  And here are a few spy gadgets that you’ll only 
  ﬁ nd in spy movies, comic books, and the like.
  AUTOMOBILE ACCESSOR
  Effect: 
  Security Systems and Elec-
  tronics 20-, Only Work On 
  Automobiles
  Target/Area Affected: Self
  Duration: 
  Constant
  Range: 
  Self
  END Cost: 
  0
  Breakability: 
  5 DEF
  Description:  Th is devices uses radio and ultrasonic 
  broadcasts to (a) disarm any automobile security 
  devices, and (b) start any automobile without 
  the key. It’s small enough to carry concealed in a 
  pocket, but is obviously something unusual.
  Game Information:
  Cost Power
  8 
  Automobile Accessor (Defeat Security):  Secu-
  rity Systems 20- (25 Active Points); OAF (-1), 
  Only Works On Automobile Security Devices 
  (-1)
  8 
  Automobile Accessor (Start Automobiles):  
  Electronics 20- (25 Active Points); OAF (-1), 
  Only To “Hotwire” Motor Automobiles (-1)
  Total cost:  16 points.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  170 ■ Modern Equipment
  LASER WATCH
  Effect: 
  RKA 1 point, Penetrating plus 
  other abilities
  Target/Area Affected:  One character/Self
  Duration: 
  Instant/Constant
  Range: 
  No Range/Self
  Charges: 
  16 Charges/0 END
  Breakability: 
  2 DEF
  Description:  In addition to being a top-notch chro-
  nometer, this watch functions as a compass, GPS 
  tracking unit, and miniature laser torch.
  Game Information:
  Cost Power
  1 
  Laser Watch (Chronometer):  Absolute Time 
  Sense (3 Active Points); OAF (-1)
  2 
  Laser Watch (Concealed Compass):  Bump Of 
  Direction (3 Active Points); IAF (-½)
  5 
  Laser Watch (GPS Tracker):  Detect Exact 
  Position On Earth 14- (Radio Group) (8 
  Active Points); IAF (-½)
  3 
  Laser Watch (Laser Torch):  RKA 1 point, 
  Penetrating (+½) (7 Active Points); IAF (-½), 
  No Range (-½), 16 Charges (-0)
  Total cost:  11 points.
  XRAY CAMERA
  Effect: 
  N-Ray Perception and Eidetic 
  Memory
  Target/Area Affected: Self
  Duration: 
  Constant
  Range: 
  Self
  Charges: 
  1 Continuing Fuel Charge
  Breakability: 
  2 DEF
  Description:  Th is seemingly ordinary camera can 
  be tuned to emit x-rays that let the character see 
  through solid objects (and, if desired, take pictures 
  of what he sees).
  Game Information:
  Cost Power
  5 
  X-Ray Camera (X-Ray Viewing):  N-Ray 
  Perception (Sight Group) (blocked by lead or 
  gold) (10 Active Points); IAF (-½), Concen-
  tration (½ DCV throughout use; -½), 1 Con-
  tinuing Fuel Charge (battery, easily replaced, 
  1 Hour; -0)
  1 
  X-Ray Camera (Photography):  Eidetic 
  Memory (5 Active Points); OAF (-1), Visual 
  Images Only (-1), 1 Continuing Fuel Charge 
  (ﬁ lm, easily replaced, 50 Seconds; -¾)
  Total cost:  6 points.
  UNDERWATER EQUIPMENT
  Here’s some gear characters need for underwa-
  ter missions.
  SCUBA EQUIPMENT
  Effect: 
  Life Support (Self-Contained 
  Breathing)
  Target/Area Affected: Self
  Duration: 
  Constant
  Range: 
  Self
  Charges: 
  1 Continuing Fuel Charge
  Breakability: 
  2 DEF
  Description:  SCUBA (self-contained underwater 
  breathing apparatus, or simply SCBA for models 
  designed for out-of-water use) equipment allows a 
  swimmer to remain underwater for long periods of 
  time by breathing oxygen supplied by tanks worn 
  on the back. When the user exhales, he creates a 
  trail of bubbles.
  Game Information:  Life Support (Self-Contained 
  Breathing) (10 Active Points); OAF (-1), 1 Con-
  tinuing Fuel Charge (oxygen tanks, Easy to 
  obtain; 1 Hour; -0). Total cost:  5 points.
  Options:
  1)  Rebreather:  A rebreather is an improved form of 
  SCUBA technology, usable by characters who have 
  TF: SCUBA. Unlike SCUBA gear, it does not create 
  a trail of bubbles to give away the swimmer’s posi-
  tion. Instead of releasing the swimmer’s exhaled 
  air, a rebreather recirculates, puriﬁ es, and supple-
  ments it with fresh oxygen, thus allowing the user 
  to breathe it again. Th is has the additional eﬀ ect of 
  extending the time the user can remain underwater, 
  but also tends to limit him to dives of no more than 
  about 30 feet (5”, or up to 7” for no more than about 
  ﬁ ve minutes). Change to:  Life Support (Self-Con-
  tained Breathing), Invisible Power Eﬀ ects (leaves 
  no bubble trail; +¼) (12 Active Points); OAF (-1), 
  1 Continuing Fuel Charge (oxygen tanks, Easy to 
  obtain; 2 Hours; -0). Total cost:  6 points.
  
  SCIENCE FICTION 
  EQUIPMENT
  Chapter Five
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  172 ■ Science Fiction Equipment
  W
  eapons are among Humanity’s oldest 
  technology, and are an area where prog-
  ress is still rapid. Oﬀ ensive systems and 
  defenses are locked in a never-ending 
  round of escalation.
  MELEE WEAPONS
  As advanced as weapons may get, sometimes 
  nothing beats a good, old-fashioned club or axe. 
  Melee weapons crop up in SF frequently, both in 
  the ﬁ sts of primitive natives and in the hands of 
  characters also versed in the use of blasters and 
  teleporters.
  ALIEN BLADES
  It has become common in recent ﬁ lm and 
  television SF to give alien cultures their own unique 
  bladed weapons. Th is usually allows for a certain 
  amount of “ethnic bad-ass” eﬀ ect — someone from 
  another culture armed with a weird or archaic 
  weapon is always more eﬀ ective than a regular guy 
  with a regular sword or knife.
  Most alien weapons are simply varieties of 
  HKA with spiky bits for added coolness. Th ere 
  are some principles to keep in mind, however. 
  One is that size matters — an alien species uses 
  weapons appropriate to its members’ average size 
  and strength. About 1/20 (one-twentieth) of lift ing 
  capacity is right. Another factor is alien anatomy. 
  Boneless or tentacled aliens go for swinging weap-
  ons like axes and broadswords; short-limbed spe-
  cies may prefer thrusting weapons. It’s also worth 
  considering the anatomy of what the aliens usually 
  ﬁ ght. Aliens with natural body armor may develop 
  armor-piercing hand weapons like rapiers and dag-
  gers, or whips and garrotes to entangle and strangle.
  Alien Blade Weapons
  Here are a few alien blade weapons from the 
  Terran Empire setting:
  Ackálian Sickle:  Th e traditional hand weapon of 
  the Ackálians, this is a one-handed sharp blade 
  curved forward to strike point-ﬁ rst. Th e outer edge 
  is sometimes sawtoothed for backhand slashes. 
  Ackálians are strong enough to ﬁ ght with one in 
  each hand, and normally carry sickles in scabbards 
  strapped to the thighs. Price:  660 credits, or more.
  HKA 1d6 (plus STR), Reduced Endurance (0 
  END; +½) (22 Active Points); OAF (-1), STR 
  Minimum (12; -½), Real Weapon (-¼). Total 
  cost:  8 points.
  Mon’dabi Cha’shur:  Th e cha’shur is a weapon similar 
  to an axe, but with a slightly downward-curving 
  spike attached to the upper outer edge of the blade, 
  pointing forward. Heavy, and oft en unwieldy, the 
  weapon was originally designed to punch through 
  the thick skins of Mon’da’s many fearsome reptilian 
  predators. Price:  1,350 credits, or more.
  HKA 2d6 (plus STR), Reduced Endurance (0 
  END; +½) (45 Active Points); OAF (-1), STR 
  Minimum (15; -¾), Real Weapon (-¼). Total 
  cost:  15 points.
  Se’ecra Wrist-Blades:  Worn by the insectoid Se’ecra, 
  this weapon consists of a heavy leather or metal 
  wrist-band with one or more blades projecting out-
  ward. Th e shape and number of blades varies, but 
  most have one to three blades that curve forward. 
  Price:  450 credits, or more.
  HKA ½d6 (plus STR), Reduced Endurance (0 
  END; +½) (15 Active Points); OAF (-1), STR 
  Minimum (7; -½), Real Weapon (-¼). Total 
  cost:  5 points.
  ENERGY BLADES
  A mainstay of Space Opera SF ever since 
  Star Wars, energy blades have a variety of names:  
  lightsabers, force swords, laser-blades, and so forth. 
  Typically, they are rare, diﬃ  cult to build, and/or 
  restricted to a limited group of warriors. Possible 
  explanations for them include molecularly-thin 
  force-ﬁ elds or energy ﬁ elds, molecularly-thin wire 
  stiﬀ ened by an internal force-ﬁ eld, and force-ﬁ elds 
  containing a laser bolt or superheated plasma. Th e 
  blade can cut through any matter with its subatom-
  ically sharp “edge”; only another energy blade, or a 
  force-ﬁ eld of some sort, can stop an energy blade. 
  See Star Hero, page 44, for a possible Martial Arts 
  style for energy blades.
  A character armed with an energy blade can 
  oft en use it to do other things besides cut, slash, and 
  block. He may be able to deﬂ ect energy bolts (Mis-
  sile Deﬂ ection), or even ﬁ re them himself from his 
  blade (EB, RKA). A skilled user can weave such a 
  “web” around himself that anyone who comes close 
  gets hurt (RKA, Area Of Eﬀ ect: One Hex, Trigger, 
  No Range).
  Presented below are two examples. One is a 
  basic Energy Sword, which damages not only that 
  which it strikes, but any matter which strikes it. Th e 
  other is a more sophisticated Force Blade, that can 
  also project a protective force screen around its 
  wielder. Both require WF: Energy Blades.
  SCIENCE FICTION 
  WEAPONS
  
  173 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Five
  Energy Sword:  RKA 3d6, NND (defense is ED 
  Force Field/Force Wall, or being blocked by 
  another energy blade; +1), Does BODY (+1), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) (157 Active 
  Points); OAF (-1), No Range (-½) (total cost:  
  63 points) plus RKA 2d6, NND (defense is 
  ED Force Field/Force Wall, or being blocked 
  by another energy blade; +1), Does BODY 
  (+1), Continuous (+1), Damage Shield (+½), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) (150 Active 
  Points); OAF (-1), Linked (-¼), Only Aﬀ ects 
  Material Objects Which Strike Blade (-½) 
  (total cost:  54 points). Total cost:  117 points. 
  Price:  184,200 credits, or more.
  Cost Force Blade
  117 
  Force Blade:  As Energy Sword, above
  12 
  Force Screen:  Force Field (6 PD/10 ED), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) (24 Active 
  Points); OAF (-1)
  Total cost:  129 points. Price:  198,600 credits, or more
  Miscellaneous Science Fiction Melee Weapons
  Here are a few more example melee weapons. 
  Each requires its own WF to use properly.
  Electric Whip:  Also known as an Energy Whip, this 
  weapon looks like a whip made out of a glowing 
  strand of energy. Essentially, it’s a blaster with a highly 
  limited range, since the energy lash can only reach so 
  far; however, skilled users can wrap the energy-strand 
  around a target, causing him to keep taking damage 
  until freed. Price:  3,000 credits, or more.
  EB 8d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) (60 
  Active Points); OAF (-1), Limited Range (4”; 
  -¼) (total cost:  27 points) plus Continuous 
  (+1) for power (40 Active Points); OAF (-1), 
  Requires A Sleight Of Hand Roll (-½), Victim 
  May Cancel Eﬀ ect By Spending One Full Phase 
  Unwrapping Self (-½) (total cost:  13 points). 
  Total cost:  40 points.
  Inertial Gloves:  Th ese are heavy gauntlets equipped 
  with rubber science inertia-enhancing generators. 
  Th e user triggers the eﬀ ect in mid-swing, so the 
  gloves hit like a freight train. Price:  1,680 credits, 
  or more.
  HA +5d6, Double Knockback (+¾), Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½) (56 Active Points); 
  OIF (-½), Hand-To-Hand Attack (-½). Total 
  cost:  28 points.
  Stun Rod:  Law enforcement agents and soldiers 
  on peacekeeping missions have long wished for a 
  reliable way to subdue people without deadly force. 
  Stun rods are the answer — a short baton with a 
  contact-triggered neural stun pulse. Th e victim 
  feels no pain, only numbness and weakness. Price:  
  2,250 credits.
  EB 6d6, NND (defense is ED Force Field; +1), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) (75 Active 
  Points); OAF (-1), No Range (-½). Total cost:  
  30 points.
  RANGED WEAPONS
  As popular as melee weapons may be, in most 
  cases they can’t beat a ranged weapon, whether it’s 
  a chemical-propellant gun or the most advanced 
  disintegrator available. Here are some of the types 
  of ﬁ rearms available in Star Hero settings.
  ADVANCED FIREARMS
  During the past few centuries, guns have 
  steadily improved in several areas:  rate of fire, 
  range, accuracy, and hitting power. But there’s 
  still plenty of room for improvement. Some of 
  these can be combined, making for really devas-
  tating weapons.
  Rate Of Fire:  Early twenty-ﬁ rst century automatic 
  riﬂ es can ﬁ re half a dozen rounds per second, emp-
  tying a clip in less than a minute. More compact 
  ammunition and other new technologies could 
  improve both rate of ﬁ re and ammo capacity.
  Range:  Improved propellants, like liquid-explo-
  sive guns (which inject propellant into the barrel 
  behind the bullet so it continues to accelerate until 
  it leaves the muzzle) could dramatically increase 
  the range (and damage) of riﬂ es. Th e drawback is 
  bulkier ammunition and fewer shots, though other 
  improvements may mitigate these diﬃ  culties.
  Accuracy:  Electronic sights and targeting computers 
  built into a riﬂ e or a soldier’s helmet could improve 
  accuracy, especially at long range. As electronics get 
  smaller, “smart bullets” become possible. Th ey would 
  have tiny sensors, a miniscule computer brain, and 
  ﬁ ns for guidance. Th e bullet could actually correct for 
  wind, avoid tumbling in ﬂ ight (unless that’s desired), 
  and even track a moving target to hit. Naturally, smart 
  bullets wouldn’t be cheap.
  Damage:  High-velocity bullets from a liquid-
  propellant gun would naturally hit harder and do 
  more damage. Scientists are also working on tiny 
  shaped-charge warheads to blast through armor. 
  Science ﬁ ction bullets could incorporate all of these 
  advances, and ones as yet unforeseen. Some might 
  have cores of degenerate matter, making each one 
  hit like a cannonball. Th e ultimate bullet would 
  hold a small amount of antimatter in magnetic sus-
  pension — literally a “pocket nuke.”
  Example Advanced Firearms Technology
  All of the example bullets assume an advanced 
  round roughly the same size as a .45 cartridge. You 
  can easily create other such rounds by altering the 
  damage done.
  Liquid-Propellant Sniper Riﬂ e:  Th is big gun ﬁ res 
  extremely high-velocity rounds doing substantial 
  damage at long range. It is large and clumsy, best 
  used from a prepared concealed position. Later 
  versions make the weapon smaller, lighter, and 
  easier to handle, and eventually add automatic ﬁ re 
  features. If you want to make the weapon inher-
  ently more accurate at range, add some Range Skill 
  Levels on a Focus. Price:  2,100 credits, or more 
  (Early and Later versions); 3,300 credits, or more 
  (Autoﬁ re version).
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  174 ■ Science Fiction Equipment
  Early Version:  RKA 2½d6, Armor Piercing 
  (+½), Increased Maximum Range (1,500”; 
  +¼) (70 Active Points); OAF Bulky (-1½), 
  Real Weapon (-¼), STR Minimum (18; STR 
  Minimum Doesn’t Add To Damage; -1½), Two-
  Handed Weapon (-½), 6 Charges (-¾). Total 
  cost:  13 points. (Later version is STR Min 12, 
  and non-Bulky; total cost is 15 points.)
  Autoﬁ re Version:  RKA 2½d6, Armor Piercing 
  (+½), Autoﬁ re (5 shots; +½), Increased Maxi-
  mum Range (2,500”; +¼), 60 Charges (+½) 
  (110 Active Points); OAF (-1), Real Weapon
  (-¼), STR Minimum (14; STR Minimum 
  Doesn’t Add To Damage; -1), Two-Handed 
  Weapon (-½). Total cost:  29 points.
  Targeting Computers:  Mounted in a visor and 
  linked to a small camera on the weapon, a target-
  ing computer shows the shooter exactly where his 
  weapon is pointing. Early versions are relatively 
  simplistic; more advanced targeting computers can 
  take into account target movement, ﬁ rer move-
  ment, wind, and other conditions for even greater 
  accuracy. Price:  200 credits, or more (basic ver-
  sion); 400 credits, or more (expert system).
  Basic Targeting Computer:  +2 OCV (10 
  Active Points); OAF Fragile (-1¼). Total cost:  
  4 points.
  Expert System Targeting Computer:  +4 OCV 
  (20 Active Points); OAF Fragile (-1¼). Total 
  cost:  9 points.
  Homing Bullets:  These rounds have tiny fins, 
  onboard sensors, and a built-in guidance chip 
  to keep them flying straight. A dedicated target-
  ing computer built into the weapon even allows 
  the shooter to direct the bullets to fire around 
  walls and other obstacles! Price:  2,250 credits, or 
  more, per bullet.
  RKA 2½d6, +1 Increased STUN Multiplier 
  (+¼), Indirect (always originates from shooter, 
  but can strike target from any angle; +½), 
  No Range Modiﬁ er (+½) (90 Active Points); 
  OAF (-1), STR Minimum (10; STR Minimum 
  Doesn’t Add To Damage; -1), Real Weapon 
  (-¼), 12 Charges (-¼) (total cost:  26 points) 
  plus +1 OCV (5 Active Points); OAF (-1), Real 
  Weapon (-¼) (total cost:  2 points). Total cost:  
  28 points.
  Shaped-Charge Bullets:  Th ese rounds contain a 
  tiny shaped-charge warhead for better armor 
  penetration. As with Homing Bullets, deter-
  mine the round’s base damage normally. Price:  
  2,250 credits, or more, per bullet.
  RKA 2½d6, Armor Piercing (+½), +1 Increased 
  STUN Multiplier (+¼) (70 Active Points); OAF 
  (-1), STR Minimum (10; STR Minimum Doesn’t 
  Add To Damage; -1), Real Weapon (-¼), 12 
  Charges (-¼) (total cost:  20 points) plus +1 OCV 
  (5 Active Points); OAF (-1), Real Weapon (-¼) 
  (total cost:  2 points). Total cost:  22 points.
  Antimatter Bullets:  Th e ultimate in handheld ﬁ re-
  power, these cinematic rounds carry a microscopic 
  fragment of antimatter magnetically contained in 
  the tip. On impact the antimatter contacts matter 
  and annihilates itself in a tremendous bang. Should 
  only be used at long ranges, due to blast eﬀ ects. 
  Price:  6,000 credits, or more, per bullet.
  EB 20d6, Explosion (-1 DC/3”; +1) (200 
  Active Points); OAF (-1), STR Minimum (10; 
  STR Minimum Doesn’t Add To Damage; -1), 
  Real Weapon (-¼), 4 Charges (-1). Total cost:  
  47 points.
  GAUSS WEAPONS
  Gauss weapons, or electromagnetic slugth-
  rowers, use powerful magnetic ﬁ elds to launch 
  metal projectiles at high speeds. Th ey have the 
  advantange of being much quieter than chemical-
  propellant riﬂ es, and can sustain very high rates of 
  ﬁ re. Gauss weapons typically use very small caliber 
  rounds, making their attacks Armor Piercing.
  Th e chief disadvantage of Gauss weaponry 
  is that like lasers and other energy weapons, they 
  require a lot of energy. Early gauss weapons have 
  disposable chemical-energy cartridges in a power 
  pack; later ones have highly eﬃ  cient batteries or 
  capacitors. Heavy gauss guns use dedicated genera-
  tors to achieve really massive rates of ﬁ re.
  
  175 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Five
  Early Gauss Cannon:  Th is is a heavy gauss “assault 
  cannon” intended for Cyberpunk-era games. It’s 
  not commercially available, but may be a top-secret 
  military prototype or the latest from a megacorpo-
  ration’s laboratories. It has a very high rate of ﬁ re 
  but requires large ammunition clips and an external 
  power pack which pumps out a lot of waste heat. 
  Price:  27,000 credits, or more (includes “cutting 
  edge” modiﬁ er).
  RKA 2d6, Armor Piercing (+½), Autoﬁ re (10 
  shots; +1), 4 clips of 30 Charges each (+½) (90 
  Active Points); OAF Bulky Fragile (-1¾), STR 
  Minimum (17; STR Minimum Doesn’t Add 
  To Damage; -1¼), Real Weapon (-¼), Two-
  Handed Weapon (-½), Side Eﬀ ect (automatic 
  Change Environment +3 Temperature Levels 
  over a 6” radius area, -1 Temperature Level per 
  2”; -¼). Total cost:  18 points.
  Gauss Riﬂ e:  Th is is a more compact and handy 
  gauss weapon with a lower rate of ﬁ re but more 
  reasonable power requirements. It is a common 
  military weapon in its time, and is highly accurate. 
  Price:  2,250 credits, or more.
  RKA 2d6, Armor Piercing (+½), Autoﬁ re (5 
  shots; +½), 4 clips of 30 Charges each (+½) (75 
  Active Points); OAF (-1), STR Minimum (13; 
  STR Minimum Doesn’t Add To Damage; -1), 
  Real Weapon (-¼), Two-Handed Weapon (-½). 
  Total cost:  20 points.
  Gauss Pistol:  A gauss pistol is more compact than 
  the riﬂ e, but sacriﬁ ces the high rate of ﬁ re and hitting 
  power. Gauss pistols are very popular sidearms in mil-
  itary and police forces. Price:  1,320 credits, or more.
  RKA 1½d6, Armor Piercing (+½), Autoﬁ re (3 
  shots; +¼) (44 Active Points); OAF (-1), STR 
  Minimum (10; STR Minimum Doesn’t Add To 
  Damage; -1), Real Weapon (-¼), 15 Charges
  (-0). Total cost:  13 points.
  Heavy Gauss Gun:  Designed to take on armored 
  foes and light vehicles, the heavy gauss gun ﬁ res 
  relatively large projectiles at tremendous velocity. 
  It is somewhat clumsy to carry, but the tremendous 
  hitting power makes up for it. Price:  2,700 credits, 
  or more.
  RKA 3d6, Armor Piercing (+½), Autoﬁ re (5 
  shots; +½) (90 Active Points); OAF Bulky 
  (-1½), STR Minimum (16; STR Minimum 
  Doesn’t Add To Damage; -1¼), Real Weapon 
  (-¼), Two-Handed Weapon (-½), 15 Charges 
  (-0). Total cost:  20 points.
  LASERS
  Lasers are real technology; probably all 
  HERO System players have lasers in their homes, 
  in the form of CD players or laser pointers. As of 
  2002, the Pentagon is developing real laser anti-
  missile systems, and laser rangefinders and target 
  designators are standard military gear. Lasers 
  emit beams of coherent light, in which all the 
  light waves are in phase with one another. They 
  are perfectly straight, and remain tightly concen-
  trated over long distances. Higher-powered lasers 
  use more energetic photons, like ultraviolet light, 
  x-rays, or gamma rays.
  As weapons, lasers do damage by suddenly 
  superheating the surface of whatever they hit. Th e 
  energies are modest, but concentrated into so tiny 
  an area that they cause signiﬁ cant damage. Solid 
  materials melt and shatter, and living tissue burns. 
  More powerful lasers pierce better, and x-rays 
  do additional damage from radiation eﬀ ects. In 
  combat, lasers are useful because it is very hard to 
  detect where they were ﬁ red from (they only show 
  up in the air if smoke or other particulates render 
  them visible), there is no recoil, and they can ﬁ re as 
  long as the power holds out.
  Th e main limitation for lasers (as with any 
  directed-energy weapon) is power. Early optical 
  lasers use chemical reactions for sudden bursts 
  of energy; later ultraviolet ones are powered by 
  advanced capacitors. Hand-held X-ray lasers 
  depend on micro-fusion powercells (in other 
  words, “rubber science” power). Most laser weapons 
  have built-in laser sights, using a low-power beam 
  to paint a spot on the target before ﬁ ring.
  In game terms, lasers are Killing Attacks with 
  the Beam Limitation. Ultraviolet lasers are Armor 
  Piercing, and X-Ray or Gamma-Ray lasers are 
  Armor Piercing and Penetrating. Early lasers are 
  bulky and fragile, but over time they become more 
  compact and durable.
  Optical and ultraviolet lasers are blocked by 
  smoke and steam (reﬂ ected by a Limitation, since 
  these phenomena are common); X-ray and gamma 
  ray lasers are not, but special anti-laser aerosols do 
  interfere with them normally.
  Experimental Laser Riﬂ e:  Th is is an early optical 
  laser weapon, suitable for Cyberpunk or near-
  future games. It’s fragile and bulky, and depends 
  on chemical power cartridges in a backpack power 
  unit connected to the weapon by an armored hose. 
  Price:  13,500 credits, or more (includes “cutting 
  edge” modiﬁ er).
  RKA 2d6, Increased Maximum Range (750”; 
  +¼) (37 Active Points); OAF Bulky Fragile 
  (-1¾), Beam (-¼), Real Weapon (-¼), STR 
  Minimum (15; STR Minimum Doesn’t Add 
  To Damage; -1¼), Two-Handed Weapon (-½), 
  Blocked By Smoke Or Steam (-¼), 8 Charges 
  (-½). Total cost:  6 points.
  Laser Riﬂ e:  Th is is a dependable optical laser, widely 
  used for hunting and as a light military weapon. It is 
  self-contained, although that reduces the number of 
  shots it can ﬁ re. Price:  1,350 credits, or more.
  RKA 2d6, Increased Maximum Range (750”; 
  +¼) (37 Active Points); OAF (-1), Beam
  (-¼), Real Weapon (-¼), STR Minimum (10; 
  STR Minimum Doesn’t Add To Damage;
  -1), Two-Handed Weapon (-½), Blocked By 
  Smoke Or Steam (-¼), 8 Charges (-½). Total 
  cost:  8 points.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  176 ■ Science Fiction Equipment
  Laser Pistol:  Th is early laser pistol is connected to 
  a belt power pack by a cable. It is used as a military 
  sidearm by vehicle pilots and artillery crews, or by 
  police in situations calling for deadly force. It lacks 
  the advanced focusing of its bigger siblings, and so 
  is only useful at relatively short range. Price:  750 
  credits, or more.
  RKA 1d6+1 (20 Active Points); OAF Fragile 
  (-1¼), Beam (-¼), Real Weapon (-¼), STR 
  Minimum (8; STR Minimum Doesn’t Add To 
  Damage; -1), Blocked By Smoke Or Steam
  (-¼), 16 Charges (-0). Total cost:  5 points.
  UV Laser Pistol:  An advanced laser pistol, this 
  weapon is self-contained and can ﬁ re only a few 
  times before recharging. Its beam can stop even 
  armored opponents, making it a popular weapon 
  among mercenaries and smugglers.  Price:  1,050 
  credits, or more.
  RKA 1d6+1, Armor Piercing (+½) (30 Active 
  Points); OAF (-1), Beam (-¼), Real Weapon 
  (-¼), STR Minimum (8; STR Minimum 
  Doesn’t Add To Damage; -1), Blocked By 
  Smoke Or Steam (-¼), 8 Charges (-½). Total 
  cost:  7 points.
  Military UV Riﬂ e:  A rugged and powerful laser riﬂ e 
  used by front-line infantry, this weapon can punch 
  through body armor and even damage some vehi-
  cles. Price:  9,000 credits, or more.
  RKA 2d6, Armor Piercing (+½), Increased 
  Maximum Range (1,125”; +¼) (52 Active 
  Points); OAF (-1), Beam (-¼), Real Weapon
  (-¼), STR Minimum (12; STR Minimum 
  Doesn’t Add To Damage; -1), Two-Handed 
  Weapon (-½), Blocked By Smoke Or Steam
  (-¼), 8 Charges (-½). Total cost:  11 points.
  Sustained-beam Laser Riﬂ e:  Th is is an old-style 
  optical laser riﬂ e upgraded with advanced power 
  systems and cooling to allow a continuous high-
  power beam rather than a series of individual 
  pulses. It is most eﬀ ective as a way to burn through 
  the defenses of large armored targets like military 
  vehicles. Price:  3,150 credits, or more.
  RKA 2d6, Continuous (+1), 30 Continu-
  ing Charges lasting up to 1 Turn each (+1¼) 
  (82 Active Points); OAF (-1), Limited Range 
  (100”, -¼), Beam (-¼), Real Weapon (-¼), STR 
  Minimum (14; STR Minimum Doesn’t Add 
  To Damage; -1), Two-Handed Weapon (-½), 
  Blocked By Smoke Or Steam (-¼). Total cost:  
  18 points.
  X-Ray Laser Riﬂ e:  Th e ultimate hand-held laser 
  weapon, the X-Ray riﬂ e can bore through even tank 
  armor and is strictly limited to military use in all 
  but the most anarchic societies. Note that portable 
  X-Ray lasers require very “rubbery” science, as cur-
  rently the only known way to excite an X-Ray laser 
  eﬀ ect involves nuclear explosions! Price:  16,800 
  credits, or more.
  RKA 3d6, Armor Piercing (+½), Penetrating 
  (+½), Increased Maximum Range (2,250”; 
  +¼) (101 Active Points); OAF (-1), Beam (-¼), 
  Real Weapon (-¼), STR Minimum (14; STR 
  Minimum Doesn’t Add To Damage; -1), Two-
  Handed Weapon (-½), 10 Charges (-¼). Total 
  cost:  24 points.
  BLASTERS
  Blasters are energy guns. In science ﬁ ction 
  ﬁ lms and stories, they come in a myriad of forms 
  — plasma guns, ion guns, particle guns, electron 
  beams. Film blasters shoot big glowing bolts like 
  tracer bullets and are just called “blasters.”
  Electron Beams
  Th ese are real technology — every television 
  set has an electron beam generator inside it. A pow-
  erful beam of electrons traveling along a laser “pilot 
  beam” (to create an ionized pathway for the elec-
  trons) would damage the target by heat and electri-
  cal eﬀ ects. Magnetic ﬁ elds deﬂ ect electron beams, 
  and any kind of closed metal protection lets the 
  charge pass around the target without doing any 
  harm. In a vacuum the electrons repel one another, 
  turning the deadly beam into a harmless spray; 
  water also disperses the blast. Electron beams can 
  be ﬁ red on both lethal and “stun” settings, with the 
  latter delivering a shock strong enough to knock 
  out opponents without doing permanent damage. 
  All electron blasters have Boostable Charges.
  Electron Rifle/Pistol:  The first-generation 
  electron weapon, an Electron Rifle is reasonably 
  robust, and can be boosted for extra effect. Its 
  pilot beam acts as a laser sight. Price:  2,400 cred-
  its, or more.
  Th e pistol version of the same weapon (16 
  Boostable Charges, STR Min 10, not a two-handed 
  weapon) costs 2 points less. It’s a more reﬁ ned 
  development of the electron riﬂ e, commonly used 
  as a law-enforcement weapon.
  Cost Electron Riﬂ e
  10 
  Electron Riﬂ e:  Multipower, 30-point reserve, 
  20 Boostable Charges (+½) for entire Mul-
  tipower; all OAF (-1), Does Not Work In 
  Vacuum, In Water, In Magnetic Fields, Or 
  Against Targets Encased In Metal (-¾), Real 
  Weapon (-¼), STR Minimum (14; STR Mini-
  mum Doesn’t Add To Damage; -1), Two-
  Handed Weapon (-½)  
  1u 
  1)  Standard Setting:  EB 6d6; OAF (-1), 
  Beam (-¼), Does Not Work In Vacuum, In 
  Water, In Magnetic Fields, Or Against Targets 
  Encased In Metal (-¾), Real Weapon (-¼), 
  STR Minimum (see above; -1), Two-Handed 
  Weapon (-½)  
  1u 
  2)  Stun Setting:  EB 3d6, NND (defense is 
  being in vacuum, water, a magnetic ﬁ eld, 
  or a metal casing, or having an ED Force 
  Field; +1); OAF (-1), Real Weapon (-¼), 
  STR Minimum (see above; -1), Two-Handed 
  Weapon (-½)  
  2 
  Laser Pilot Beam:  +1 OCV; OAF (-1), Real 
  Weapon (-¼)
  Total cost:  14 points
  LASER FLASHING
  Although it rarely 
  turns up in science 
  fiction films or sto-
  ries, one application 
  of laser weapons in 
  the real world is as 
  “dazzle lasers” to blind 
  and disorient enemy 
  troops. Gamemasters 
  or players who like 
  this option can convert 
  laser weapons into 
  Multipowers, with one 
  slot for the Killing 
  Attack described above, 
  and the other for a 
  Sight Group Flash with 
  DCs equal to the laser’s 
  Killing damage. This 
  setting may involve 
  such a a low-powered 
  beam that it is 0 END 
  (requiring no Charges), 
  or the entire Multi-
  power may have one 
  pool of Charges.
  
  177 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Five
  Ion Beams
  Th ese weapons ﬁ re a beam of ionized gas at 
  the target, doing damage by heat, impact, and sec-
  ondary electrical eﬀ ects. Th ey are very close to the 
  cinematic blaster weapon in terms of special eﬀ ects. 
  Th e ionized beam does glow brightly as it ﬁ res, and 
  the bolts, while fast, do not travel at the speed of 
  light. A disadvantage is that ion beams need both 
  a supply of gas (usually argon or neon) to ionize 
  and a power supply; most ion guns use special car-
  tridges which are not compatible with other energy 
  weapons or electrical devices. Th ey cannot be “set 
  to stun” and have no pilot beam as a sighting aid. 
  At the GM’s option, characters can substitute the 
  equivalent DC in Killing Damage for the weapons’ 
  standard Normal Damage.
  Early Ion Gun:  Th is is a heavy, delicate device based 
  on ion-motor technology, suitable as a gadgeteer’s 
  prototype or a special weapon to take down the Ion 
  Creature in a “Bug Eyed Monsters” adventure. Price:  
  1,500 credits, or more.
  EB 10d6 (50 Active Points); OAF Bulky Fragile 
  (-1¾), Real Weapon (-¼), STR Minimum (15; 
  STR Minimum Doesn’t Add To Damage; -1¼), 
  Two-Handed Weapon (-½), 12 Charges (-¼). 
  Total cost:  10 points.
  Ion Riﬂ e:  Basically a more durable version of the 
  early ion gun, this weapon boasts improved rate of 
  ﬁ re and ammunition capacity. Price:  1,860 credits, 
  or more.
  EB 10d6, Autoﬁ re (3 shots; +¼) (62 Active 
  Points); OAF (-1), Real Weapon (-¼), STR 
  Minimum (12; STR Minimum Doesn’t Add To 
  Damage; -1), Two-Handed Weapon (-½), 15 
  Charges (-0). Total cost:  16 points.
  Ion Pistol:  Oft en just called a “blaster,” this is a 
  smaller version of the ion riﬂ e, with slightly less 
  hitting power and greatly reduced range. A very 
  popular sidearm in many SF settings. Price:  1,500 
  credits, or more.
  EB 8d6, Autoﬁ re (2 shots; +¼) (50 Active 
  Points); OAF (-1), Limited Range (50”; -¼), 
  Real Weapon (-¼), STR Minimum (9; STR 
  Minimum Doesn’t Add To Damage; -1), 12 
  Charges (-¼). Total cost:  13 points.
  Pocket Ion Pistol:  A cut-down version of the stan-
  dard blaster, suitable for concealment on one’s 
  person. Price:  1,050 credits, or more.
  EB 7d6 (35 Active Points); OAF (-1), Limited 
  Range (30”; -¼), Real Weapon (-¼), STR Mini-
  mum (9; STR Minimum Doesn’t Add To Damage; 
  -1), 12 Charges (-¼). Total cost:  9 points.
  Particle Guns
  Particle guns are small hand-held proton 
  accelerators. They function in much the same 
  way electron beams do, but the proton beam 
  has more penetrating power, and cannot be set 
  to stun. Like electron beams, proton beams use 
  a laser pilot beam to create an ionized pathway 
  through the air. In vacuum and water the protons 
  disperse into a harmless stream. The proton rifle 
  and particle blaster depend on as-yet-undiscov-
  ered power sources.
  Particle guns cause damage through surface 
  blasting and radiation eﬀ ects. Characters may sub-
  stitute equivalent DCs in Killing Damage with the 
  GM’s permission.
  Accelerator Pack:  This could be used by near-
  future ghost-fighters to deal with weird menaces 
  immune to ordinary weapons. The actual accel-
  erator is in a backpack, with only the targeting 
  magnets and pilot beam in the hand unit. Price:  
  1,980 credits, or more.
  EB 7d6, Armor Piercing (+½), 20 Charges (+¼) 
  (61 Active Points); OAF Bulky (-1½), Beam (-
  ¼), Does Not Work In Vacuum Or Water (-½), 
  Real Weapon (-¼), STR Minimum (14; STR 
  Minimum Doesn’t Add To Damage; -1), Two-
  Handed Weapon (-½) (total cost:  12 points) 
  plus +1 OCV (5 Active Points); OAF (-1), Real 
  Weapon (-¼) (total cost:  2 points). Total cost:  
  14 points.
  Proton Riﬂ e:  Th is weapon is a fairly standard parti-
  cle gun, common to many SF settings. Price:  1,980 
  credits, or more.
  EB 7d6, Armor Piercing (+½), 30 Charges 
  (+¼) (61 Active Points); OAF (-1), Beam
  (-¼), Does Not Work In Vacuum Or Water 
  (-½), Real Weapon (-¼), STR Minimum (12; 
  STR Minimum Doesn’t Add To Damage;
  -1), Two-Handed Weapon (-½) (total cost:  13 
  points) plus +1 OCV (5 Active Points); OAF 
  (-1), Real Weapon (-¼) (total cost:  2 points). 
  Total cost:  15 points.
  Particle Blaster:  A heavy pistol that squeezes 
  a proton accelerator into the smallest possible 
  space, this weapon has limited power but is 
  almost as effective as a proton rifle. Price:  1,350 
  credits, or more.
  EB 6d6, Armor Piercing (+½) (45 Active 
  Points); OAF (-1), Beam (-¼), Does Not Work 
  In Vacuum Or Water (-½), Real Weapon (-¼), 
  STR Minimum (10; STR Minimum Doesn’t 
  Add To Damage; -1), 10 Charges (-¼) (total 
  cost:  11 points) plus +1 OCV (5 Active Points); 
  OAF (-1), Real Weapon (-¼) (total cost:  2 
  points). Total cost:  13 points.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  178 ■ Science Fiction Equipment
  Plasma Guns
  Plasma weapons are an outgrowth of fusion 
  power technology. Th ey generate a tiny fusion reac-
  tion which releases superhot plasma; the gun then 
  directs this plasma at the target via magnetic ﬁ elds. 
  Th e plasma spreads quickly over a wide area, which 
  gives it a large area eﬀ ect but limits the weapon’s 
  range. Designers can’t scale them down to pistol 
  size easily, but they’re quite powerful as battleﬁ eld 
  weapons. Plasma guns use deuterium pellets, simi-
  lar to those used in fusion rockets, as their fuel 
  — in pre-fusion societies the weapons cannot be 
  refueled. Assuming portable fusion generators are 
  possible at all, plasma weapons don’t involve any 
  major violations of the laws of physics. 
  Early Plasma Gun:  Even in experimental form, 
  plasma guns are devastatingly eﬀ ective, making this 
  a good “ultimate weapon” for Cyberpunk-period 
  and “early interstellar exploration” campaigns. Its 
  chief disadvantage is that if it fails, the results are 
  catastrophic for bystanders. Price:  22,500 credits, 
  or more (includes “cutting edge” modiﬁ er).
  EB 10d6, Explosion (+½) (75 Active Points); 
  OAF Bulky Fragile (-1¾), Activation 15-, 
  Jammed (-¾), Limited Range (30”; -¼), Real 
  Weapon (-¼), Side Eﬀ ect (5d6 EB Explosion; 
  -½), STR Minimum (15; STR Minimum Doesn’t 
  Add To Damage; -1¼), Two-Handed Weapon 
  (-½), 12 Charges (-¼). Total cost:  11 points.
  Single-shot Plasma Gun:  Filling the same role as a 
  bazooka or antitank rocket, this is a single-shot dis-
  posable plasma weapon. It can give Space Marines 
  extra punch against armored foes, or be used to blast 
  holes in fortiﬁ cations. Price:  3,360 credits, or more.
  EB 
  15d6, 
  Explosion 
  (+½) 
  (112 
  Active 
  Points); OAF (-1), Lim-
  ited Range (50”; -¼), 
  Real Weapon (-¼), STR 
  Minimum 
  (14; 
  STR 
  Minimum Doesn’t Add 
  To Damage; -1), Two-
  Handed Weapon (-½), 1 
  Charge (-2). Total cost: 
  19 points.
  Plasma Riﬂ e:  Th is is the 
  smallest practical plasma 
  weapon, a large riﬂ e with 
  a barrel big enough to 
  shoot grapefruit. It fea-
  tures improved fail-safe 
  containment, so that 
  misﬁ res no longer blow 
  up the user. Price:  2,610 
  credits, or more.
  EB 
  10d6, 
  Explosion 
  (+½), 20 Charges (+¼) 
  (87 Active Points); OAF 
  (-1), Limited Range (30”; 
  -¼), Real Weapon (-¼), 
  STR Minimum (12; STR 
  Minimum Doesn’t Add 
  To Damage; -1), Two-Handed Weapon (-½). 
  Total cost:  22 points.
  Plasma Battle Riﬂ e:  A serious infantry support 
  weapon, the plasma battle riﬂ e uses a large back-
  pack both for fuel storage and extra cooling. Th e 
  result is a rapid-ﬁ re plasma gun which can do mas-
  sive damage. Price:  4,950 credits, or more.
  EB 12d6, Explosion (+½), Autoﬁ re (5 shots; 
  +½), 100 Charges (+¾) (165 Active Points); 
  OAF Bulky (-1½), Limited Range (40”; -¼), 
  Real Weapon (-¼), STR Minimum (13; STR 
  Minimum Doesn’t Add To Damage; -1), Two-
  Handed Weapon (-½). Total cost:  37 points (or 
  41 points for a non-Bulky version).
  Plasma Pistol:  For campaigns not worried about 
  realism, scientists can make practical pistol-sized 
  plasma guns. Price:  2,010 credits, or more.
  EB 9d6, Explosion (+½) (67 Active Points); 
  OAF (-1), Limited Range (25”; -¼), Real 
  Weapon (-¼), STR Minimum (10; STR Mini-
  mum Doesn’t Add To Damage; -1), 12 Charges 
  (-¼). Total cost:  18 points.
  DISINTEGRATORS
  Disintegrators are a beloved weapon in sci-
  ence ﬁ ction, with almost no basis in reality. Most 
  of them work by somehow suppressing the atomic 
  forces which hold matter together — one hit, and 
  the target ﬂ ies apart! Other seem to apply energy 
  damage on an atomic level uniformly to a target to 
  thoroughly destroy it. Th e phasers of the old Star 
  Trek series are, in part, a type of disintegrator; so 
  
  179 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Five
  are the disintegrator “tools” in Niven’s Ringworld. In 
  a campaign with disintegrators, GMs must consider 
  the problems they create — murderers could liter-
  ally make their victims disappear!
  Disintegrator Pistol:  A large pistol with a complicated 
  emitter at the front, the disintegrator pistol is only 
  eﬀ ective at short range because the beam energy rap-
  idly dissipates. Price:  8,100 credits, or more.
  RKA 6d6, NND (defense is ED Force Field; 
  +1), Does BODY (+1) (270 Active Points); 
  OAF (-1), -1 Decreased STUN Multiplier (-¼), 
  Reduced By Range (-¼), Real Weapon (-¼), 
  STR Minimum (10; STR Minimum Doesn’t 
  Add To Damage; -1), 8 Boostable Charges (-¼). 
  Total cost:  67 points.
  Disintegrator Riﬂ e:  A big riﬂ e version of the disinte-
  grator pistol. Price:  8,100 credits, or more.
  RKA 6d6, NND (defense is ED Force Field; +1), 
  Does BODY (+1) (270 Active Points); OAF (-1), 
  -1 Decreased STUN Multiplier (-¼), Reduced By 
  Range (-¼), Real Weapon (-¼), STR Minimum 
  (12; STR Minimum Doesn’t Add To Damage; -1), 
  Two-Handed Weapon (-½), 12 Boostable Charges 
  (-0). Total cost:  63 points.
  MULTIPURPOSE ENERGY WEAPON
  In Space Opera and Pulp SF settings, it’s easy 
  to create a weapon that features multiple settings 
  usable for a variety of purposes — disintegration, 
  stunning, blasting, even projecting a low-power 
  burst at a rock or metal wall to provide heat in cold 
  climates. Each of its eﬀ ects comes with multiple 
  settings, including wide-beam settings; the more 
  powerful the eﬀ ect, the more energy it uses. Here’s 
  an example in HERO System terms; it’s so high-
  tech and sophisticated it doesn’t qualify as a Real 
  Weapon, or have a STR Minimum — even a small 
  child can pick it up, press the trigger-button, and 
  wreak havoc. Price:  60,810 credits, or more.
  Cost Multi-Purpose Energy Weapon
  433 
  Multi-Purpose Energy Weapon:  Multipower, 
  315-point reserve, 1,000 Boostable Charges 
  for entire reserve (+1¾); all OAF (-1)
  2u 
  1)  Light Stun:  EB 4d6, NND (defense is ED 
  Force Field; +1); OAF (-1)
  2u 
  2)  Light Stun, Wide-Beam Setting:  EB 4d6, 
  NND (defense is ED Force Field; +1), Area 
  Of Eﬀ ect (4” Radius; +1); OAF (-1), Requires 
  3 Charges Per Use (-½)
  2u 
  3)  Medium Stun:  EB 6d6, NND (defense is 
  ED Force Field; +1); OAF (-1), Requires 3 
  Charges Per Use (-½)
  4u 
  4)  Medium Stun, Wide-Beam Setting:  EB 
  6d6, NND (defense is ED Force Field; +1), 
  Area Of Eﬀ ect (6” Radius; +1); OAF (-1), 
  Requires 6 Charges Per Use (-½) 
  3u 
  5)  Heavy Stun:  EB 8d6, NND (defense is 
  ED Force Field; +1); OAF (-1), Requires 6 
  Charges Per Use (-½) 
  4u 
  6)  Heavy Stun, Wide-Beam Setting:  EB 8d6, 
  NND (defense is ED Force Field; +1), Area 
  Of Eﬀ ect (8” Radius; +1); OAF (-1), Requires 
  12 Charges Per Use (-¾)
  1u 
  7)  Light Blast:  EB 6d6; OAF (-1), Requires 6 
  Charges Per Use (-½)
  2u 
  8)  Light Blast, Wide-Beam Setting:  EB 6d6, 
  Area Of Eﬀ ect (6” Radius; +1¼); OAF (-1), 
  Requires 12 Charges Per Use (-¾)
  2u 
  9)  Medium Blast:  EB 9d6; OAF (-1), 
  Requires 12 Charges Per Use (-¾)
  3u 
  10)  Medium Blast, Wide-Beam Setting:  EB 
  9d6, Area Of Eﬀ ect (10” Radius; +1¼); OAF 
  (-1), Requires 24 Charges Per Use (-1¼)
  2u 
  11)  Heavy Blast:  EB 12d6; OAF (-1), 
  Requires 24 Charges Per Use (-1¼)
  4u 
  12)  Heavy Blast, Wide-Beam Setting:  EB 
  12d6, Area Of Eﬀ ect (12” Radius; +1¼); OAF 
  (-1), Requires 48 Charges Per Use (-1½)
  7u 
  13)  Disintegrate:  RKA 6d6, NND (defense is 
  ED Force Field; +1), Does BODY (+1); OAF 
  (-1), -1 Decreased STUN Multiplier (-¼), 
  Requires 48 Charges Per Use (-1½)
  8u 
  14)  Disintegrate, Wide-Beam Setting:  
  RKA 6d6, NND (defense is ED Force Field; 
  +1), Does BODY (+1), Area Of Eﬀ ect (1 Hex; 
  +½); OAF (-1), -1 Decreased STUN Multi-
  plier (-¼), Requires 96 Charges Per 
  Use (-1¾)
  1u 
  15)  Heat Rocks:  Life Support (Safe Envi-
  ronment:  Intense Cold), Area Of Eﬀ ect (2” 
  Radius; +¾); OAF (-1), Nonpersistent (each 
  Charge’s eﬀ ect lasts for 1 Minute; 
  -¼), Requires Appropriate Substance To Be 
  Heated (-¼).
  Total cost:  480 points
  GRENADES AND ROCKETS
  Hand grenades are reaching the limit of 
  improvement as of the early twenty-ﬁ rst century 
  — since they must be thrown, they can’t be too 
  powerful or they injure the user. Although a few 
  SF settings do feature energy grenades — which 
  through rubber science means emit contained 
  energy ﬁ elds similar to those created by blasters 
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  180 ■ Science Fiction Equipment
  — or like weapons, for the most part the emphasis 
  is on nonlethal grenades and rocket grenades. Th e 
  ultimate development of the rocket-propelled gre-
  nade is the Rocket Gun, which appears as a rival 
  to ﬁ rearms in many SF settings (particularly Low 
  SF, or stories set in the early days of interplanetary 
  exploration). Rocket guns launch tiny solid-fuel 
  missiles with a variety of warheads. Improvements 
  in electronics make them highly accurate, and their 
  larger size makes them far deadlier than bullets (or 
  allows them to carry other, nonlethal, payloads).
  Example Grenades And Rocket Guns
  Energy Grenades:  Th ese thrown weapons create 
  deadly energy ﬁ elds, causing great destruction but 
  in a more controlled manner than an explosive 
  grenade. Price:  2,700 credits, or more (Standard); 
  6,750 credits, or more (Disintegrenade).
  Standard Energy Grenade:  RKA 2½d6, Area Of 
  Eﬀ ect (8” Radius; +1¼) (90 Active Points); OAF 
  (-1), Range Based On STR (-¼), 4 Charges (-1). 
  Total cost:  28 points.
  Disintegrenade:  RKA 4d6, NND (defense is 
  ED Force Field; +1), Does BODY (+1), Area 
  Of Eﬀ ect (2” Radius; +¾) (225 Active Points); 
  OAF (-1), -1 Decreased STUN Multiplier
  (-¼), Range Based On STR (-¼), 4 Charges
  (-1). Total cost:  64 points.
  Early Rocket Gun:  A descendant of rocket-propelled 
  grenade launchers, this weapon lobs unguided 
  explosive missiles. Price:  1,560 credits, or more.
  RKA 2d6, Explosion (-1 DC/2”; +¾) (52 Active 
  Points); OAF (-1), Real Weapon (-¼), STR 
  Minimum (14; STR Minimum Doesn’t Add 
  To Damage; -1), Two-Handed Weapon (-½), 6 
  Charges (-¾). Total cost:  11 points.
  Military Rocket Pistol:  Issued to soldiers on many 
  worlds, this weapon ﬁ res homing rockets with 
  explosive warheads. Price:  10,500 credits, or more.
  RKA 2½d6, Explosion (-1 DC/2”; +¾) (70 
  Active Points); OAF (-1), Real Weapon (-¼), 
  STR Minimum (9; STR Minimum Doesn’t 
  Add To Damage; -1), 6 Charges (-¾). Total 
  cost:  17 points.
  Military Rocket Riﬂ e:  A riﬂ e-sized version of the 
  Rocket Pistol, capable of fully automatic ﬁ re. Price:  
  15,000 credits, or more.
  RKA 2½d6, Explosion (-1 DC/2”; +¾), Autoﬁ re 
  (5 shots; +1½), 30 Charges (+¼)  (140 Active 
  Points); OAF (-1), Real Weapon (-¼), STR 
  Minimum (14; STR Minimum Doesn’t Add To 
  Damage; -1), Two-Handed Weapon (-½). Total 
  cost:  37 points.
  MILITARY TECHNOLOGY
  Technology has always had a great eﬀ ect on 
  the battleﬁ eld, and that is likely to continue into the 
  future. Th ere are three areas of particular interest in 
  military tech:  heavy weapons, mobility, and infor-
  mation handling.
  HEAVY WEAPONS
  Most of the weapons described above have 
  their battleﬁ eld-scale equivalents. A “quick and 
  dirty” way to make an artillery version of a per-
  sonal weapon is to add the MegaScale Advantage to 
  range (and perhaps the Area Of Eﬀ ect/Explosion, 
  if applicable), and make it Immobile. Gamemasters 
  willing to do a little more work can make Automa-
  ton weapons, such as artillery launchers with built-
  in AI computers and the ability to drive, ﬂ y, or even 
  teleport themselves.
  Even in the early twenty-ﬁ rst century, there’s 
  already almost no upper limit to the destructive 
  power of battleﬁ eld weapons — high explosive 
  shells lead to fuel-air explosive bombs, which can 
  be as powerful as low-end nuclear weapons. In the 
  worlds of science ﬁ ction, this trend can easily con-
  tinue, as basic nukes evolve into smaller and more 
  powerful versions. Other possible weapons of mass 
  destruction include new explosives based on high-
  tech chemistry, biological and chemical weapons 
  that make today’s gases and plagues look mild, FTL 
  kinetic weapons, antimatter bombs, teleporting 
  weapons and weapon launchers, black hole genera-
  tors, and more. Th e problem, as on modern Earth, 
  is not how how to destroy something, but how to 
  ﬁ nd it and hit it.
  Example Heavy Weapons
  Dimensional Missile:  Th is missile is launched 
  through a nearby higher-order dimension, using 
  transdimensional sensors to home in on its target. 
  When it gets close enough, it drops into normal 
  space and attacks from the most advantageous 
  angle. Price:  57,300 credits, or more (includes 
  “military technology” multiplier).
  RKA 6d6, Explosion (-1 DC/3”; +1), Indirect 
  (+¾), Invisible Power Eﬀ ects (Fully Invisible; 
  +1), Increased Maximum Range (42,125”, or 
  about 52 miles; +½) (382 Active Points); OAF 
  (-1), 1 Charge which Never Recovers (-4). Total 
  cost:  64 points.
  Emplaced Plasma Cannon:  Th is weapon, usually 
  mounted on a moon or satellite and used for plane-
  tary defense, projects an enormous burst of plasma. 
  Price:  97,500 credits, or more (includes “military 
  technology” multiplier).
  EB 40d6, Explosion (-1 DC/4”; +1¼), Increased 
  Maximum Range (1,406,250”, or about 1,748 
  miles; +1) (650 Active Points); OIF Immobile 
  (-1½), 12 Charges (-¼). Total cost:  236 points.
  Self-Propelled Nuclear Bomb:  Small enough for 
  an average Human to carry easily in a backpack, 
  this devastating device packs a one megaton 
  
  181 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Five
  nuclear punch. (This is an extremely simplistic 
  representation of how nuclear weapons work 
  — it doesn’t include things like the radiation 
  blast, flash effect, or electromagnetic pulse — but 
  it should suffice for most game purposes.) Price:  
  101,250 credits, or more (includes “military tech-
  nology” multiplier).
  RKA 20d6, Explosion (+½), MegaRange (1” = 
  10 km; +½), MegaArea (1” = 1 km; +¼) (675 
  Active Points); OAF (-1), 1 Charge which Never 
  Recovers (-4). Total cost:  112 points.
  MOBILITY
  Because of the great power of battleﬁ eld 
  weapons, if you stay in one place you’re dead. But 
  if you move, you become visible, and then you’re 
  dead again. Fighting vehicles have had to get very 
  fast just to survive — an early twenty-ﬁ rst century 
  heavy main battle tank can move across open 
  country almost as swift ly as a car on a highway. In 
  the air, new ﬁ ghter designs envision planes which 
  can cruise around at supersonic speeds rather than 
  ﬂ ying that fast just in combat.
  In the future, battleﬁ eld hovercraft  may be able 
  to roar around the battleﬁ eld at more than 200 kilo-
  meters per hour; a couple of generations later, the 
  diﬀ erence between a tank and a combat helicopter 
  may disappear. At sea, “supercavitating” subma-
  rines will be able to go almost as fast underwater. 
  It’s likely that vertical take-oﬀ  airplanes will make 
  submarine carriers feasible, so the surface will be 
  left  to hydrofoils, hovercraft , and the super-fast 
  “Ekranoplans” (a hybrid of airplane and hovercraft  
  developed in Russia). See Star Hero, page 205, for 
  more on hovercraft .
  What about the poor, bloody infantry amid 
  all this fast and powerful technology? Well, already 
  soldiers ride instead of march, and some of those 
  fast vehicles will be personnel carriers or landing 
  craft . Jetpacks, jump-jets, personal teleporters, and 
  other such movement technology may also exist in 
  an SF setting. Th e development of compact power 
  systems to drive an armored battlesuit will let the 
  infantry compete once again, as soldiers on foot 
  take over some of a tank’s duties.
  INFORMATION
  Th e idea that knowledge and information are 
  paramount on the battleﬁ eld is not new. What is 
  new is that improved communications and comput-
  ers are ﬁ nally making it possible for commanders 
  and troops to know exactly what is happening and 
  where, in real time. Soldiers “paint” a target with 
  lasers and a plane makes the attack, or artillery does 
  the job from kilometers away. Or the information 
  is relayed to a missile platform, which launches a 
  cruise missile from over the horizon. What makes 
  it all work is control of space:  spy satellites for rec-
  onaissance, GPS satellites to give everyone highly 
  accurate position data, and communications satel-
  lites to put everyone in touch. Th is works very well 
  when one side has air and space command and the 
  other doesn’t — a conﬂ ict between two modern-day 
  armies might be a lot more confused and bloody. In 
  a science ﬁ ction setting, communications and infor-
  mation-gathering become even more advanced, pos-
  sibly incorporating rubber science explanations that 
  expand battleﬁ eld options even further.
  Th e ﬂ ip side of perfect information is stealth. 
  If you can be seen you can be killed, so everyone 
  spends a lot of time not being seen. Airplanes now 
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  182 ■ Science Fiction Equipment
  have stealth design and radar-absorbent coating; 
  submarines have silent propellors and sound-baf-
  ﬂ ing hulls. It’s likely the next generation of surface 
  ships (if there are any) will be low and stealthy 
  (right now carriers and their escorts rely on elec-
  tronic jamming and the ability to wipe out all pos-
  sible threats). Stealthy tanks are also likely. Soldiers 
  wear camouﬂ age, but infrared vision gear is making 
  that almost irrelevant. Future soldiers may wear 
  chameleon camouﬂ age and some form of infrared 
  masking. Finally, countermeasures and jamming to 
  interfere with all that elaborate real-time informa-
  tion streaming would do a lot to even the odds.
  Example Military Technology
  Military Communicator:  Typically worn on the wrist, 
  this device transmits both video and audio, and is 
  hardened to prevent it from being jammed. Price:  
  2,100 credits, or more (includes “military technol-
  ogy” multiplier).
  HRRP (Radio Group), Diﬃ  cult To Dispel (x8 
  Active Points; +¾) (21 Active Points); OIF (-½), 
  Aﬀ ected As Sight And Hearing Group As Well 
  As Radio Group (-½). Total cost:  10 points.
  Personal Teleporter:  This device (possibly a mesh 
  woven into armor) allows a soldier to teleport 
  himself brief distances on mental command. 
  It typically requires access to positioning and 
  power-generating satellites, so anything that cuts 
  off that access (being deep underground, Dark-
  ness to Radio Group) stops it from functioning. 
  Price:  6,200 credits, or more (includes “military 
  technology” multiplier).
  Teleportation 20”, x8 Noncombat, Reduced 
  Endurance (½ END; +¼) (62 Active Points); 
  OIF (-½), Does Not Work If Cut Oﬀ  (see text; 
  -¼). Total cost:  35 points.
  Stealth Field:  Th is device, incorporated into a 
  soldier’s armor or uniform, bends energy waves 
  around him, providing eﬀ ective invisibility. How-
  ever, someone standing close enough may notice 
  the “bending” eﬀ ect (i.e., the Fringe), or see physical 
  traces the soldier leaves behind (footprints, dust). 
  Price:  2,500 credits, or more (includes “military 
  technology” multiplier).
  Invisibility to Sight and Radio Groups (25 
  Active Points); IIF (-¼), 1 Continuing Fuel 
  Charge (fueled by electricity, recharge is easily 
  obtained; 1 Hour; -0). Total cost:  20 points.
  
  183 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Five
  T
  he race between oﬀ ense and defense has been 
  going on since the ﬁ rst Stone Age warrior made 
  a shield to block spear thrusts. Since then, per-
  sonal armor and personal weapons have see-
  sawed back and forth in eﬀ ectiveness. For a time aft er 
  the invention of gunpowder it appeared that oﬀ ense 
  had won the race, but in recent decades super-strong 
  synthetics like Kevlar have restored armor to the 
  battleﬁ eld. In the future, the race is likely to continue, 
  and to progress to things like force ﬁ elds.
  Force ﬁ elds and their ilk are an entirely 
  “rubber science” defense, but one which is quite 
  common, especially in Space Opera and Pulp sci-
  ence ﬁ ction. Oft en the force ﬁ eld can do more than 
  just protect an individual; it may also provide Life 
  Support capabilities or the like. Note that powerful 
  force shields change the face of combat at high tech 
  levels — instead of remaining hidden and launch-
  ing deadly all-or-nothing attacks from conceal-
  ment, characters go back to engaging in stand-up 
  slugfests more reminiscent of ﬁ stﬁ ghts or super-
  hero battles than gunﬁ ghts.
  NEARFUTURE BODY ARMOR
  Early twenty-ﬁ rst century Human policemen 
  and soldiers can rely on the likes of Kevlar, Spectra, 
  and defensive ceramics to protect them from bul-
  lets. As technology improves and develops, even 
  stronger materials are likely to become available. 
  Here are a few examples of possible near-future 
  body armors. All provide 12 PD/ED Armor, though 
  it’s possible that advanced materials could oﬀ er 
  even more protection.
  Armored Vest:  A standard vest, covering Hit Loca-
  tions 11-13. Price:  540 credits, or more.
  Armor (12 PD/12 ED) (36 Active Points); OIF 
  (-½), Activation Roll 9- (-1½), Mass (half mass; 
  -½), Real Armor (-¼). Total cost:  10 points.
  Combat Suit:  Th is is a battleﬁ eld outﬁ t of helmet, 
  upper body covering (typically a jacket and/or 
  vest), gauntlets, and high boots, covering Hit Loca-
  tions 3-14 and 16-18. Price:  540 credits, or more.
  Armor (12 PD/12 ED) (36 Active Points); OIF 
  (-½), Activation Roll 15- (-¼), Mass (half mass; 
  -½), Real Armor (-¼). Total cost:  14 points.
  Full Body Armor:  A full suit of polymer armor with 
  a helmet and gloves, providing total protection. 
  Price:  540 credits, or more.
  Armor (12 PD/12 ED) (36 Active Points); OIF 
  (-½), Mass (half mass; -½), Real Armor (-¼). 
  Total cost:  16 points.
  ABLATIVE AND REFLECTIVE ARMORS
  As energy weapons become more common, 
  synthetic materials like Kevlar get vulnerable. 
  One solution is to cover the armor with a layer of 
  ablative material which absorbs and disperses the 
  energy of a beam weapon attack. Th e disadvantage 
  to ablative armor is that each shot burns away a 
  little more protection.
  Related to ablative armor, but without the 
  drawback of being removed by attacks, are reﬂ ec-
  tive armors. Th ese are ordinary body armors with 
  a layer of thin mirror-ﬁ nish plastic which reﬂ ects 
  much of the energy of laser, ultraviolet laser, and 
  plasma attacks. Unfortunately, wearing a bright 
  shiny suit makes one very visible.
  Ablative Vest:  A standard vest, covering Hit Loca-
  tions 11-13. Price:  540 credits, or more.
  Armor (6 PD/6 ED) (18 Active Points); OIF
  (-½), Activation Roll 9- (-1½), Mass (half mass; 
  -½), Real Armor (-¼) (total cost:  5 points) plus 
  Armor (+12 ED) (18 Active Points);  OIF (-½), 
  Activation Roll 9- (-1½), Ablative (-1), Mass 
  (half mass; -½), Real Armor (-¼) (total cost:  4 
  points). Total cost:  9 points.
  Ablative Foam:  A cheap way to get some anti-laser 
  protection, ablative foam sprays onto a person or 
  vehicle, forming a thick, ﬂ exible layer. It is packaged 
  in cans holding enough foam to coat 3 men (or, at 
  the GM’s discretion, a single vehicle no larger than 
  an automobile). It is not waterproof. Price:  180 
  credits, or more.
  Armor (+8 ED), 3 Continuing Charges lasting 
  1 Hour each (removed by water or being shot 
  oﬀ ; +¼) (15 Active Points); OIF (-½), Ablative 
  (-1). Total cost:  6 points.
  Reﬂ ective Undervest:  Th is is a small vest covering 
  Hit Locations 12-13 only, worn by dignitaries or 
  secret agents who want a little protection but can’t 
  wear combat gear. Price:  270 credits, or more.
  Armor (4 PD/4 ED) (12 Active Points); IIF (-¼), 
  Activation Roll 8- (-2), Mass (half mass; -½), Real 
  Armor (-¼) (total cost:  3 points) plus Armor (+4 
  ED) (6 Active Points); IIF (-¼), Activation Roll 
  8- (-2), Only Protects Against Laser And Plasma 
  Attacks (-½), Mass (half mass; -½), Real Armor 
  (-¼) (total cost:  1 point). Total cost:  4 points.
  Reﬂ ective Coverall:  Th is is worn over other armor 
  by combat personnel who have to face laser-armed 
  opponents. It is a light hooded coverall providing only 
  anti-laser protection. Price:  270 credits, or more.
  SCIENCE FICTION 
  DEFENSES
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  184 ■ Science Fiction Equipment
  Armor (+12 ED) (18 Active Points); OIF (-½), 
  Activation Roll 15- (-¼), Only Protects Against 
  Laser Attacks (-1), Real Armor (-¼). Total cost:  
  6 points.
  BATTLE ARMOR
  Th is is a full-body suit of rigid armor, suitable 
  for future infantrymen. Traditionally, good guys use 
  transparent faceplates while bad guys’ are opaque. 
  Th e suit is sealed and has a ﬁ lter to keep out chemi-
  cal agents, but is not space-rated. It may be ﬁ tted 
  with a superconducting surface, and sometimes 
  with other equipment suitable for a full powered 
  battlesuit. Price:  855 credits, or more.
  Cost Battle Armor
  20 
  Protective Armor:  Armor (15 PD/15 ED) (45 
  Active Points); OIF (-½), Mass (half mass; 
  -½), Real Armor (-¼)
  8 
  Limited Life Support:  Life Support (Self-Con-
  tained Breathing; Safe Environment:  High 
  Radiation) (12 Active Points); OIF (-½)
  Total cost:  28 points
  POWERED BATTLESUIT
  Th is is a very powerful and high-tech suit of 
  armor, akin to what’s depicted in Robert Heinlein’s 
  Starship Troopers or the many books inﬂ uenced by 
  that novel. It makes an average Space Marine into 
  something like a comic-book superhero. Th e limbs 
  are powered to boost the user’s strength, the legs have 
  boost-jets for great leaps, and the suit mounts a built-
  in arsenal of guns, beams, and missile launchers (the 
  user can also carry weapons in his hands, of course). 
  Naturally, such a supersuit isn’t cheap; they are usually 
  reserved for commandos or elite assault troops. Price:  
  34,650 credits, or more (cost assumes battlesuit has 
  two weapons of 45 Active Points each).
  Cost Powered Battlesuit
  34 
  Protective Armor:  Armor (20 PD/20 ED) (60 
  Active Points); OIF (-½), Real Armor (-¼)
  13 
  Life Support:  Life Support (Self-Contained 
  Breathing; Safe Environments:  High Pres-
  sure, High Radiation, Intense Cold, Intense 
  Heat, Low Pressure/Vacuum) (19 Active 
  Points); OIF (-½)
  7 
  Boost-Jets:  Leaping +10” (10 Active Points); 
  OIF (-½)
  3 
  Visual Sensors:  Infrared Perception (Sight 
  Group) (5 Active Points); OIF (-½)
  3 
  Visual Sensors:  Ultraviolet Perception (Sight 
  Group) (5 Active Points); OIF (-½)
  2 
  Auditory Sensors:  Ultrasonic Perception 
  (Hearing Group) (3 Active Points); OIF (-½)
  7 
  Onboard Radar:  Radar (Radio Group) (15 
  Active Points); OIF (-½), Aﬀ ected As Sight 
  Group As Well As Radio Group (-½)
  6 
  Communicator System:  HRRP (Radio 
  Group) (12 Active Points); OIF (-½), 
  Aﬀ ected As Sight And Hearing Group As 
  Well As Radio Group (-½)
  8 
  Onboard Computer:  Absolute Range Sense, 
  Absolute Time Sense, Bump Of Direction, 
  Lightning Calculator; OIF (-½)
  Total cost:  83 points
  Cost Powered Battlesuit Options
  20 
  Laser:  RKA 2d6, Increased Maximum Range 
  (925”; +¼), 32 Charges (+¼)  (45 Active 
  Points); OIF (-½), Beam (-¼), Real Weapon 
  (-¼), Blocked By Smoke Or Steam (-¼)
  62 
  Rocket Gun:  RKA 2½d6, Explosion (-1 
  DC/2”; +¾), Autoﬁ re (5 shots; +1½), 30 
  Charges (+¼)  (140 Active Points); OIF (-½), 
  Real Weapon (-¼), 8 Charges (-½)
  48 
  Heavy Missile:  RKA 6d6, Explosion (-1 
  DC/2”; +¾) (157 Active Points); OIF (-½), 
  Real Weapon (-¼), 2 Charges (-1½)
  112 
  Plasma Cannon:  EB 12d6, Explosion (+½), 
  Autoﬁ re (5 shots; +1½), 100 Charges (+¾) 
  (225 Active Points); OIF (-½), Limited Range 
  (40”; -¼), Real Weapon (-¼)
  BIOPLASTIC ARMOR
  Instead of the rigid armor beloved of 1950s 
  science ﬁ ction, this is organic-looking bioplastic, 
  made of materials spawned from the meeting of 
  nanotechnology and genetic engineering. It is a 
  deceptively thin and ﬂ exible suit of smart nanoﬁ -
  bers which can react instantly to impacts or energy 
  attacks, going rigid or reﬂ ective as needed. Elastic 
  ﬁ bers and liquid microtubules rapidly disperse the 
  energy of an attack, and semi-autonomous nano-
  machines can actually “heal” damage to the suit. 
  Th e suit is fully capable of operating in space or 
  underwater, with an adaptive life-support system. 
  Price:  1,710 credits, or more.
  Cost Bioplastic Armor
  34 
  Protective Armor:  Armor (20 PD/20 ED) (60 
  Active Points); OIF (-½), Real Armor (-¼)
  23 
  Protective Armor:  Physical and Energy 
  Damage Reduction, Normal, 50% (40 Active 
  Points); OIF (-½), Real Armor (-¼)
  9 
  Limited Life Support:  Life Support (Self-
  Contained Breathing; Safe Environments:  
  Intense Cold, Low Pressure/Vacuum) (14 
  Active Points); OIF (-½)
  Total cost:  66 points.
  FORCE FIELD TECHNOLOGY
  In Space Opera SF, and other stories involving 
  extremely advanced technology, force ﬁ elds usu-
  ally replace physical defenses such as body armor. 
  Ranging from personal “force screens” to large force 
  shields conﬁ gurable into a variety of shapes, their 
  generating equipment oft en weighs little. However, 
  they do require some source of power to keep func-
  tioning, and thus are vulnerable to attacks which 
  deplete their energy reserves.
  Personal Force Screen:  This creates a shield 
  which hugs the user and stops incoming attacks. 
  A variant only blocks high-speed projectiles 
  and energy beams (a -½ Limitation), leaving the 
  wearer free to engage in melee combat. Price:  
  450 credits, or more.
  Force Field (10 PD/10 ED), Protects Carried 
  Items (30 Active Points); OIF (shield belt; -½), 
  1 Continuing Fuel Charge (fueled by electric-
  ity, recharge is easily obtained; 20 Minutes; -¼). 
  Total cost:  17 points.
  SUPERCONDUCTING 
  SURFACE
  A more high-tech 
  way to defeat energy 
  weapons comes from 
  developments in super-
  conductive materials. 
  Th ese are substances 
  which instantly conduct 
  electricity or heat with 
  no resistance. A suit of 
  superconducting armor 
  spreads an attack over 
  the entire surface of the 
  suit, radiating it harm-
  lessly away. Characters 
  can add a supercon-
  ducting surface to any 
  other armor; it provides 
  Energy Damage Reduc-
  tion, Resistant, 75% (60 
  Active Points) (apply the 
  appropriate Limitations 
  for that type of armor 
  to determine the ﬁ nal 
  cost). Price:  900 credits 
  for a full suit.
  
  185 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Five
  Advanced Personal Force Screen:  Th is version of 
  the shield belt creates a ﬁ eld strong enough to hold 
  in atmosphere. When combined with a small air 
  puriﬁ er and oxygen tank, it works just like 
  a space suit.  Price:  660 credits, or more.
  Force Field (10 PD/10 ED), Protects 
  Carried Items (30 Active Points); OIF 
  (shield belt; -½), 1 Continuing Fuel 
  Charge (fueled by electricity, recharge 
  is easily obtained; 20 Minutes; -¼) 
  (total cost:  17 points) plus Life Support 
  (Self-Contained Breathing; Safe Envi-
  ronments:  Intense Cold, Low Pressure/
  Vacuum) (14 Active Points); OIF (-½), 
  Linked (-½), 1 Continuing Fuel Charge 
  (fueled by air supply, resupply is easily 
  obtained; 20 Minutes; -¼) (total cost: 
  6 points). Total cost:  23 points.
  Force Shield Projector:  A force 
  shield projector is usually arm-
  mounted, and creates a force bar-
  rier in front of the user. Price:  450 
  credits, or more.
  Force Wall (6 PD/6 ED) (30 Active 
  Points); OIF (shield bracer; -½), 
  Self Only (-½), No Range (-½), 1 
  Continuing Fuel Charge (fueled 
  by electricity, recharge is easily 
  obtained; 20 Minutes; -¼). Total 
  cost:  11 points.
  Force Dome:  This portable but bulky 
  device creates an 8-meter radius force 
  dome. The dome is airtight, and the 
  life support unit in the device cre-
  ates a temporary habitat in hazardous 
  environments (though the more people 
  that are within the dome, the quicker 
  the air gets used up). Price:  1,455 cred-
  its, or more.
  Force Wall (8 PD/8 ED; 12” long) (62 
  Active Points); OAF Bulky (-1½), No 
  Range (only works in radius around gen-
  erator; -½), Restricted Shape (dome only; 
  -¼), 1 Continuing Fuel Charge (fueled 
  by electricity, recharge is easily obtained; 
  1 Hour; -0) (total cost:  19 points) plus 
  Life Support (Self-Contained Breathing; 
  Safe Environments:  Intense Cold, Low 
  Pressure/Vacuum), Area Of Eﬀ ect (ﬁ lls 
  entire area beneath dome; +1½) (35 
  Active Points); OIF (-½), Linked (-½), 
  1 Continuing Fuel Charge (fueled by 
  air supply, resupply is easily obtained; 
  1 Hour; -0) (total cost:  17 points). Total cost:  
  36 points.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  186 ■ Science Fiction Equipment
  N
  ow that the business of blowing stuﬀ  up is 
  out of the way, what else can technology 
  do? Almost anything, it turns out.
  COMPUTERS
  Th e HERO System rules for computers (pages 
  459-61 of the 5th Edition, Revised rulebook) allow 
  construction of both simple and artiﬁ cial intel-
  ligence devices. In most Star Hero games, normal 
  computers are “equipment,” bought with money 
  rather than Character Points, while AI computers 
  are typically NPCs. It is possible to purchase an AI 
  (if the local laws allow it), but the machine won’t 
  have any particular loyalty to the heroes unless one 
  of them spends Character Points to buy it as a Fol-
  lower, part of a Base, or the like.
  SENSES
  Computers cannot, by themselves, “perceive.” 
  Unlike Automatons, they don’t come with the basic 
  suite of Senses for free. Th ey have to be hooked 
  into sensory systems (like the security cameras at a 
  Base, or the sensors on a starship) to give them the 
  ability to perceive, or the builder has to buy speciﬁ c 
  senses for the Computer (using the costs from the 
  sidebar on page 161 of the HERO System 5th Edi-
  tion, Revised for normal Senses). If bought with the 
  ability to perceive, a Computer can make PER Rolls 
  based on its INT, and can recall things it has per-
  ceived with an INT Roll.
  PROGRAMS
  Th e distinction between Skills and computer 
  programs is subtle. Skills allow the use of equip-
  ment, Powers, and abilities. Programs tell the com-
  puter what to do with those Skills.
  Creating proper Programs requires a little bit 
  of planning and forethought. Ideally, you should 
  be able to phrase the Program in one short, simple 
  sentence — one subject, one verb, and one object. 
  If you can’t describe the Program in a single simple 
  sentence, you should split it into multiple Programs 
  (or, if appropriate, buy it as a Skill). However, a Pro-
  gram can allow for some simple variables.
  For example, “Pilot Ship From Location A 
  To Location B” is a proper Program. It’s simply 
  expressed, and uses Navigation (Space) and Trans-
  port Familiarity. It allows the user to input two 
  easily-deﬁ ned variables (Location A and Location 
  B). However, “Pilot Ship From Location A To Loca-
  tion B And Avoid Star Patrol Ships” should be two 
  Programs — one to ﬂ y the ship (using the Skills 
  mentioned above) and one for avoiding the Star 
  Patrol (using Combat Piloting, Concealment, and/
  or Stealth). Th e “and” in the second Program is a 
  clear indicator that two Programs are necessary; the 
  Program attempts to include two commands into 
  one Program, which is improper in most cases.
  Some players may want to set up triggering 
  conditions, so that their computers take action 
  or activate programs in the event of certain cir-
  cumstances. Examples of this would include “If 
  I am knocked out, get us to safety.” Again, that’s 
  really two Programs — the trigger is one Program, 
  and can activate the other. Th e computer needs 
  two Programs:  “If I Am Knocked Out, Activate 
  Pilot Ship Program”; and Pilot Ship. Since Pilot 
  Ship takes the ship from one speciﬁ ed location to 
  another, the player should decide in advance where 
  the ship heads if he is rendered unconscious (in 
  this case, Location A is “ship’s current location”).
  Of course, the GM may, in his discretion, allow 
  a program to combine two closely-related functions 
  — such as “Monitor Sensors; Report Anomalies 
  Detected.” Th e decision depends on how tightly 
  linked the functions are, how frequently the pro-
  gram is used, and other factors.
  Undeﬁ ned Programs
  Obviously, it’s diﬃ  cult for players and GMs 
  to think up all the possible actions and contingen-
  cies a computer might need to take into account. If 
  appropriate, the GM can allow characters to create 
  computers with a pool of Character Points set aside 
  for Programs which aren’t yet deﬁ ned. When a situ-
  ation arises where the computer should be able to 
  act in a certain way, but no speciﬁ c Program covers 
  that situation, the GM may (if he wishes) let the 
  player assign one of the “unspent” points to a new 
  Program speciﬁ cally for that contingency.
  Hand Computer
  Many SF characters carry this device, or 
  something like it. It’s a small computer used to 
  store personal data and download information (the 
  “Database” KSs represent whatever music, video 
  material, and reading material the user currently 
  has installed on the device). While this version is 
  a discrete unit (an OAF), it’s possible to build one 
  into a bracelet or other piece of jewelry (OIF or 
  IIF), or even to weave the necessary circuitry into 
  clothing (IIF).
  OTHER 
  TECHNOLOGY
  CLARKE’S LAW
  Famed science ﬁ ction 
  author Arthur C. Clarke 
  once made a statement 
  that SF fans have come 
  to call Clarke’s Law. It 
  states:  “Any suﬃ  ciently 
  advanced technology 
  is indistinguishable 
  from magic.” In other 
  words, when technology 
  becomes high enough, 
  most people — par-
  ticularly “primitive” 
  people — can’t really tell 
  it apart from “magic.” 
  Eventually, the two sort 
  of become one.
  Beyond the classic 
  impress-the-natives-
  with-a-cigarette-lighter 
  trick, Clarke’s Law has 
  some interesting rami-
  ﬁ cations Star Hero GMs 
  could explore. At what 
  point does technology 
  become magic? Could 
  a Star Hero campaign 
  really be, or become, 
  a Fantasy Hero cam-
  paign... or vice-versa? 
  Were the magicians of 
  ancient legend actually 
  time travelers? Could a 
  Star Hero setting feature 
  “tech-mages” com-
  manding technology 
  far more advanced than 
  the campaign norm, but 
  cloaked in a veneer of 
  mysticism?
  
  187 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Five
  Cost Hand Computer
  5 
  Communications Function:  HRRP (Radio 
  Group); OAF (-1), Flashed As Sight And 
  Hearing Group As Well As Radio Group (-½)
  8 
  Computer:  Computer (see below); OAF (-1)
   Val Char 
  Cost
   15 INT 
  5
   10 DEX 
  0
   2 SPD 
  0
  Cost Skills
  11 
  AK: Milky Way Galaxy 20-
  2 
  KS: Archived Recent News 11-
  5 
  KS: Current News 14-
  3 
  KS: Contact Information 12-
  11 
  KS: Known Sentient Species 20-
  1 
  KS: Literature Database 8-
  1 
  KS: Movies Database 8-
  1 
  KS: Music Database 8-
  4 
  PS: Personal Assistant 13-
  2 
  Systems Operation (Communications Sys-
  tems) 12-
  Programs
  1 
  Alert Owner Regarding Scheduled 
  Appointments
  1 
  Prioritize Incoming Calls According To User 
  Preferences
  1 
  Search Reference Material For Information 
  On A Topic
  1 
  Send Communication To Recorded Identi-
  code On Spoken Cue
  1 
  Send Emergency Call To Emergency Author-
  ities If Speciﬁ ed Protocols Are Not Met
  Talents
  3 
  Clock:  Absolute Time Sense
  5 
  Memory:  Eidetic Memory
  3 
  Calculator:  Lightning Calculator
  3 
  Instant-On Feature:  Lightsleep
  20 
  Translator:  Universal Translator 12-
  Total Computer Cost:  85/5 = 17
  Total cost:  13 points
  COMPUTERS AS CHARACTERS 
  One familiar trope in science fiction is the 
  perky ship’s computer, which is just as much a 
  character as the crew. With the GM’s permission, 
  players may run computer characters. Because 
  this may unbalance the campaign, and often 
  makes it difficult to get the computer character 
  involved in scenarios, the GM should consider 
  very carefully before allowing computer PCs into 
  his Star Hero campaign.
  Computer characters are built on the normal 
  Base Points + Disadvantages for the campaign; 
  they do not get to divide their total cost by 5 to 
  determine the Real Point cost, as with standard 
  computers. Th ey do not receive Senses for free; as 
  noted above, they must buy Senses or be connected 
  to sensory devices. All computer characters are 
  considered AI computers; they have EGO and may 
  have Psychological Limitations.
  Characteristics And Skills
  Depending on how you deﬁ ne a computer 
  character, it may be able to sell back many of its 
  Primary Characteristics. On the other hand, some 
  (particularly INT) need to be quite high.
  Skills for a computer character represent its 
  stored/programmed knowledge and abilities. Com-
  puter characters do not require Programs; as PCs, 
  they have as much free will and self-control as any 
  other character (but perhaps some important Psy-
  chological Limitations also; see below).
  Perks And Talents
  Computer characters rarely have Perks; it’s 
  more likely they’ll suﬀ er from restrictions on their 
  status and activities than have special beneﬁ ts (see 
  Disadvantages, below). However, some may be 
  appropriate. A computer with ﬁ nancial skills could 
  amass its own private fortune and have Money. One 
  that can “download” its personality into a robotic 
  body might build that body as a Vehicle.
  On the other hand, many Talents are highly 
  appropriate for computer characters. Almost all 
  computer PCs should have Absolute Time Sense, 
  Bump Of Direction, Eidetic Memory, Lightning 
  Calculator, and Speed Reading, which represent 
  various built-in functions common to computers. 
  Universal Translator is also appropriate in Space 
  Opera-style campaigns.
  COMPUTERS AND 
  MENTAL POWERS
  Mental Powers bought 
  to aﬀ ect the Machine 
  class of minds can 
  aﬀ ect both normal 
  and AI computers (see 
  the HERO System 5th 
  Edition, Revised, page 
  117). Th e GM may, if he 
  chooses, apply some of 
  the rules for robots and 
  Mental Powers (see Star 
  Hero, page 165) to com-
  puters as well.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  188 ■ Science Fiction Equipment
  Powers
  A computer character’s Powers, if any, depend 
  primarily on his “body” and how the GM wants 
  him to access it. Th e GM must consider the issue of 
  what the computer controls. If it’s wired into every 
  system aboard a starship and can use them as easily 
  as a person uses his body, then he may require the 
  computer character to pay Character Points for 
  those abilities, rather than allowing it to have them 
  for free just because the campaign features a PC-
  owned starship. Alternately, the GM may require 
  the computer character to buy the Vehicle (or Base) 
  itself, so that (like any character who owns a Vehicle 
  or Base) it pays for the resources it controls.
  Similarly, a computer character may have a 
  robotic body it uses. In that case, the character 
  should pay for the body’s abilities. In some cases, 
  the “computer” character is really a sentient robot 
  for game purposes, even if it conceives of itself as a 
  computer (see Star Hero, page 165).
  One power common to most computer 
  characters is the ability to make a “backup” copy 
  of themselves in the event they’re destroyed. Th e 
  easiest way to build this is as Resurrection Heal-
  ing; the Resurrection can be stopped by any means 
  that destroys or tampers with the backup copy. 
  Alternately, it could be deﬁ ned as Duplication with 
  appropriate Limitations, including Cannot Recom-
  bine and Duplicate Only Becomes Active Upon 
  Original’s Death (-1). In either case, the backup only 
  possesses the character’s memories and abilities up 
  to the last time a backup was made; if the character 
  doesn’t take the time to update his backups fre-
  quently, he may experience signiﬁ cant losses.
  Another ability oft en possessed by computer 
  characters is the power to “download” themselves 
  into “vessels” such as robotic bodies, or even other 
  computers. Th ere are many ways to represent this 
  ability. It might be a form of Duplication, if the 
  character has a brigade of robotic forms it can use. 
  Multiform might be appropriate, if the computer 
  character is ordinarily conﬁ ned to a “body” (such 
  as a starship). For transferring into and taking over 
  another computer, a Linked combination of Tele-
  portation and Mind Control would do the trick.
  Computer characters naturally are skilled at 
  working with other computers. Th ey can access 
  cyberspace, if it exists, eﬀ ortlessly (Extra-Dimen-
  sional Movement), oft en have powerful programs 
  for “hacking,” and perhaps even Mental Powers that 
  aﬀ ect the Machine class of minds. (See below for 
  more information about cyberspace).
  Disadvantages
  As powerful as computer characters can be, 
  they also suﬀ er from some signiﬁ cant restrictions.
  With the GM’s permission, a computer charac-
  ter who’s “built in” to a starship or base and cannot 
  leave that facility at all can take a Physical Limita-
  tion, Built-In (typically this is Frequently, Greatly 
  Impairing; 15 points). However, a computer char-
  acter with this Disadvantage may cause problems 
  for the campaign; GMs should only allow it aft er 
  careful consideration.
  Another possible Physical Limitation is Pro-
  gramming (typically this is Frequently, Greatly 
  Impairing; 15 points). Th is represents the fact that 
  the computer character is “hard-wired” to do (or 
  not do) certain things, and that even Mind Con-
  trol can’t override these instructions. Th e GM and 
  player should deﬁ ne, in at least vague terms, what’s 
  included in the character’s programming, keeping 
  common sense and dramatic sense in mind. Sci-
  ence ﬁ ction television shows and movies provide 
  lots of examples:
  “I’m sorry, you cannot override the engine’s safety 
  restrictions without command authorization.”
  “I’m afraid I can’t let you do that, Dave... it’s 
  against regulations.”
  “My prime programming requires me to steer 
  this vessel to a safe location regardless of your com-
  mands, sir.”
  Computer characters usually have one or 
  more Psychological Limitations. Programming 
  can constitute a Psychological Limitation as well 
  as a Physical one; the diﬀ erence is that Psychologi-
  cal Limitation programming can be overridden 
  with Mind Control (or, in the GM’s judgment, a 
  Computer Programming roll made at the same 
  penalty imposed on the character’s EGO Rolls to 
  overcome the Limitation). Typically Programming 
  is Common, Strong (and thus worth 15 points).
  Many computer characters have the Psycho-
  logical Limitation Emotionless (Common, Total; 20 
  points). Th is signiﬁ es that they have no emotions, 
  approach all situations from the standpoint of logic 
  and reason, and usually have diﬃ  culty understand-
  ing decisions other characters make for emotional 
  reasons (oft en resulting in a -3, or greater, penalty 
  on Interaction Skills). Other Psychological Limita-
  tions common to computer characters include:
  Considers Self Superior To Organic Beings 
  (Common, Moderate; 10 points)
  Must Obey Orders From Crew (Common, Total; 20 
  points)
  Wishes To Experience Emotions (Common, Strong; 
  15 points)
  In many science ﬁ ction societies, computers, 
  even sentient ones, aren’t considered “citizens” or 
  accorded full civil rights. Th is constitutes a Social 
  Limitation (typically one that’s Very Frequently, 
  Minor; 15 points).
  CYBERSPACE
  Depictions of “cyberspace” vary tremendously 
  in SF. Some writers base it on modern computer 
  networks, with most information moving via text 
  or graphics, and battles of hackers and security 
  fought through keyboards. Th at’s best modeled as 
  characters pitting their Computer Programming 
  Skills against each other.
  More exotic visions of cyberspace see it as a 
  “place” in which avatars of the characters inter-
  act with other people and programs in a kind of 
  metaphorical landscape. Gamemasters can make 
  this a version of Extra-Dimensional Travel (see 
  sidebar). A modem or dataport becomes the portal 
   THE GALACTIC 
  COMPUTERNET
  Many SF settings feature 
  a vast, star-spanning 
  computer and commu-
  nications network for 
  use by the inhabitants of 
  those settings. Typically 
  any citizen can have at 
  least basic access to the 
  network, though this 
  depends on the society 
  in question — and of 
  course some people 
  (government oﬃ  cials, 
  military oﬃ  cers, and the 
  like) have much greater 
  degrees of access. (See 
  Star Hero, page 49, for 
  more information on 
  buying this as a Perk.)
  Th e Galactic Comput-
  ernet provides its users 
  with access to vast reams 
  of information. Th ink 
  of it as KS: Everything 
  Th is Society Knows 60- 
  and SS: Every Science 
  Th is Society Knows 40-. 
  But of course, searching 
  for any particular fact 
  entails massive penalties 
  in such a broad data-
  base. On the average, 
  the ’Net can provide an 
  answer to any simple 
  question in just 1-3 Seg-
  ments; this requires no 
  roll. Th e more esoteric 
  or complex the query, 
  the longer it takes to 
  ﬁ nd it out, and the 
  harder the Skill Roll. 
  An esoteric/compli-
  cated question prob-
  ably requires around 
  a 15- roll and up to an 
  hour of time; a very eso-
  teric/complicated one a 
  12- roll and up to a day; 
  and an extremely esto-
  teric/complicated one an 
  8- and up to a week.
  The Computernet also 
  provides users with 
  HRRP with a range 
  sufficient to cover the 
  entire area controlled 
  by the ’Net’s creators 
  and overseers. Long 
  distances may entail 
  time-lags, especially if 
  FTL communication 
  doesn’t exist.
  
  189 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Five
  to another realm. Combat in cyberspace is mostly 
  a matter of oﬀ ensive and defensive programs, 
  with various eﬀ ects (see below). Since most of the 
  “people” one meets in cyberspace are computer 
  systems, programs tend to focus on attacking their 
  abilities. Security programs which can do actual 
  harm to a Human user exist, but they are illegal in 
  many jurisdictions.
  While adventuring in cyberspace, charac-
  ters exist as soft ware avatars, and protect them-
  selves and attack others with soft ware as well. A 
  character’s avatar lacks his STR, Skills other than 
  Computer Programming, physical abilities, Mental 
  Powers, and the like, but retains all his other Char-
  acteristics (including Figured Characteristics based 
  on his STR). Characters who want STR or higher 
  Characteristics that only work with their avatars, or 
  Skills and abilities for use only in cyberspace, buy 
  them with the Limitations Only In Cyberspace (-2) 
  and OAF (the disk, computer, cyberdeck, or other 
  system the character stores his cyberspace utilities 
  on; computer and robotic characters don’t take this 
  Limitation). Th us, to create a security-penetra-
  tion utility, a character might go for the stealthy 
  approach (Stealth or Invisibility), the puzzle-solv-
  ing approach (Lockpicking and Security Systems), 
  or the brute force approach (HKA). His choice 
  depends not only on personal preference, but on 
  how the target system deﬁ nes its security utilities.
  A character can run a number of cyberspace 
  utilities equal to either his or his computer’s INT/5, 
  whichever is lower. Computer characters and AIs 
  who buy utilities as innate abilities can run as many 
  as they wish, which is one reason they’re so fear-
  some in cyberspace.
  Cyberspace Movement
  Characters “move” in cyberspace in two ways. 
  Narratively, characters can move from any location 
  in cyberspace to any other location in one Phase. 
  Th is assumes no impediments to movement, such 
  as access-blocking security utilities; the GM must 
  judge the eﬀ ects of those individually. For “combat” 
  purposes, all avatars move at a standard rate of Flight 
  6” per Phase. Th e “inches” in this case don’t involve 
  literal movement (the character’s body remains 
  where it is in the physical world), but rather “virtual 
  movement” through the electronic world (they’re 
  deﬁ ned as Flight so characters can soar up to the 
  top of towers of data and so forth). Th ey represent 
  relative speed between avatars, for the purposes of 
  virtual chases and the like, not an actual restriction 
  on movement. A character visiting the cyberspace 
  home of a bank in New York City can switch to a 
  virtual nightclub in Tokyo in one Phase, as described 
  above... but a more powerful avatar that’s bought 
  Flight +3” can “chase” and catch the character (and 
  also do more damage with virtual Move Th roughs). 
  Th e inches of Flight simply reﬂ ect relative movement 
  skill and speed within the virtual realm.
  Cyberspace Perception And Combat
  Avatars have the standard perception abilities 
  of a normal character, though in cyberspace usually 
  only Sight, Hearing, and Touch are of any use. Th ey 
  may buy Enhanced Senses as utilities.
  Avatars may use all Standard Combat Maneu-
  vers, and any Optional Combat Maneuvers the GM 
  allows, at STR 0. If they want more STR, Martial 
  Maneuvers, Combat Skill Levels, or attack abilities 
  like a “virtual gun,” they must buy them as cyber-
  space utilities.
  Example Cyberspace Utilities
  Avatar Defense:  Th is standard defense utility pro-
  tects an avatar from the eﬀ ects of deadly security 
  utilities. Price:  400 credits, or more.
  +10 ED and Damage Resistance (up to 20 ED) 
  (20 Active Points); OAF (cyberdeck; -1), Only 
  in Cyberspace (-2). Total cost:  5 points.
  Connection Jammer:  A very frustrating attack, this 
  utility slows down one’s opponent’s net connection. 
  Price:  900 credits, or more.
  Drain SPD 3d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; 
  +½) (45 Active Points); OAF (cyberdeck; -1), 
  Only in Cyberspace (-2). Total cost:  11 points.
  Cyberattack:  Th is is a basic brute-force attack pro-
  gram, allowing an avatar to smash through virtual 
  walls and assault other avatars. Price:  800 credits, 
  or more.
  EB 8d6 (40 Active Points); OAF (cyberdeck; -1), 
  Only in Cyberspace (-2). Total cost:  10 points.
  Deadly Security:  Th ese collection of security utili-
  ties actually cause power surges which can injure 
  Humans jacked in to the ’net. Th e computer the 
  character uses has a surge protector, and so is not 
  aﬀ ected itself (though rumors exist of security utili-
  ties powerful enough to fry shielded systems as well 
  as users).
  Light Deadly Security:  RKA 2d6, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½) (45 Active Points); 
  OAF (cyberdeck; -1), Only in Cyberspace (-2), 
  No Range (-½). Total cost:  10 points. Price:  
  900 credits.
  Heavy Deadly Security:  RKA 4d6, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½) (90 Active Points); 
  OAF (cyberdeck; -1), Only in Cyberspace (-2), 
  No Range (-½). Total cost:  20 points. Price:  
  1,800 credits.
  Cutting-Edge Deadly Security:  RKA 3d6, NND 
  (defense is appropriate defense program, typi-
  cally deﬁ ned as Life Support [Immunity]; +1), 
  Does BODY (+1), Reduced Endurance (0 END; 
  +½) (157 Active Points); OAF (cyberdeck; -1), 
  Only in Cyberspace (-2), No Range (-½). Total 
  cost:  35 points. Price:  31,400 credits, or more 
  (includes “cutting edge” multiplier).
  Decompiler:  Th is utility scrambles other cyberspace 
  utilities, shutting them down. Each Decompiler is 
  targeted against a speciﬁ c other utility. Price:  540 
  credits, or more.
  Dispel [Deﬁ ned Utility] 6d6, Reduced Endur-
  ance (0 END; +½) (27 Active Points); OAF 
  ACCESSING 
  CYBERSPACE
  Modem:  “Realistic” 
  forms of SF use a device 
  like a modem, built into 
  a computer, to access 
  cyberspace. Th e user 
  is limited to what he 
  sees “on the screen”; he 
  doesn’t actually “enter” 
  cyberspace, but rather 
  “opens a window” that 
  lets him view and par-
  ticipate in the online 
  world.
  Extra-Dimensional 
  Movement (any loca-
  tion in the Cybernet, as 
  deﬁ ned by the location of 
  the computer containing 
  the modem), Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; 
  +½) (37 Active Points); 
  OAF (-1). Total cost:  18 
  points.
  Jacking In:  More 
  common than an ordi-
  nary modem is the 
  ability to “jack in” to 
  cyberspace directly, via 
  a “dataport” implanted 
  in the character’s brain. 
  Th e character’s body 
  remains in the “real 
  world,” but cannot sense 
  anything there or act, 
  leaving it vulnerable. 
  Moreover, deadly com-
  puter security programs 
  can kill the character by 
  killing his cyber-self.
  Extra-Dimensional 
  Movement (any loca-
  tion in the Cybernet, as 
  deﬁ ned by the location 
  of the computer where 
  the character jacks in), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 
  END; +½) (37 Active 
  Points); OIF (dataport; 
  -½), Meat Body (charac-
  ter’s body remains in the 
  real world, but cannot 
  move, perceive, or act, 
  and damage to either the 
  virtual form [in cyber-
  space] or the real body 
  [in the real world] can 
  hurt or kill the character; 
  -1). Total cost:  15 points.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  190 ■ Science Fiction Equipment
  (cyberdeck; -1), Only in Cyberspace (-2), No 
  Range (-½). Total cost:  6 points.
  Decoys:  Th is utility creates fake avatars to confuse 
  opponents and security programs. Price:  440 cred-
  its, or more.
  Sight Group Images, Increased Size (8” radius; 
  +¾), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) (22 
  Active Points); OAF (cyberdeck; -1), Only in 
  Cyberspace (-2), Set Eﬀ ect (up to 6 duplicates 
  of avatar; -1). Total cost:  4 points.
  Interface Editor:  This utility changes the appear-
  ance of a character’s immediate surroundings 
  to an interface style of his own choice — so in a 
  cyberspace of glowing lines and abstract shapes, 
  suddenly there is a cartoon landscape. This often 
  confuses opponents. The effects fade in 1d6 
  Segments unless maintained. The programmer 
  chooses the specific effect in advance. Price:  700 
  credits, or more.
  Change Environment 64” radius, -1 to opposing 
  OCV (35 Active Points); OAF (cyberdeck; -1), 
  Only in Cyberspace (-2), No Range (-½). Total 
  cost:  8 points.
  Kung Fu:  Th is program enhances an avatar’s HTH 
  Combat abilities, making it more likely he can 
  defeat other avatars he encounters. Price:  700 cred-
  its, or more.
  +20 STR and Martial Maneuvers (15 points’ 
  worth, deﬁ ned when program is purchased) 
  (35 Active Points); OAF (cyberdeck; -1), Only 
  in Cyberspace (-2). Total cost:  9 points.
  Location Defense:  Th e chief form of defense for 
  virtual locations (like the “vault” where a bank 
  keeps electronic records of deposits, withdrawals, 
  and accounts). It’s big enough to block one “door” 
  or other point of access (the “walls” of the location 
  would be deﬁ ned as part of a virtual Base, with at 
  least as much DEF as this program). Price:  1,500 
  credits, or more.
  Force Wall (10 PD/10 ED), Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½) (75 Active Points); OAF (cyber-
  deck; -1), Only in Cyberspace (-2), No Range 
  (-½). Total cost:  17 points.
  Masking:  Th is program renders an avatar invisible 
  to most other avatars and cyberspace “sensors.” 
  Price:  900 credits, or more.
  Invisibility to Sight Group, No Fringe, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½) (45 Active Points); 
  OAF (cyberdeck; -1), Only in Cyberspace (-2). 
  Total cost:  11 points.
  Program Defense:  Th e chief form of defense against 
  Decompiler utilities. Price:  600 credits, or more.
  Power Defense (30 points) (30 Active Points); 
  OAF (cyberdeck; -1), Only in Cyberspace (-2). 
  Total cost:  7 points.
  Pulse:  Th is emits a blast of virtual light which 
  blinds other avatars in the vicinity. Price:  1,500 
  credits, or more.
  Sight Group Flash 5d6, Explosion (-1 DC/3”; 
  +1), Personal Immunity (+¼), Reduced Endur-
  ance (0 END; +½) (69 Active Points); OAF 
  (cyberdeck; -1), Only in Cyberspace (-2), No 
  Range (-½). Total cost:  15 points.
  Relocate:  Th is utility allows an avatar to move much 
  faster in cyberspace. Price:  600 credits, or more.
  Flight +10”, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  (30 Active Points); OAF (cyberdeck; -1), Only 
  in Cyberspace (-2). Total cost:  7 points.
  Trace:  Feared by all hackers, this lets security soft -
  ware ﬁ nd out where an avatar originates in the real 
  world, which oft en reveals a hacker’s real identity. 
  Price:  160 credits, or more.
  Detect Cyberspace Connection Address (INT 
  Roll) (Radio Sense Group), Tracking (8 Active 
  Points); OAF (cyberdeck; -1), Only in Cyber-
  space (-2). Total cost:  2 points.
  ROBOTS
  Robots in science ﬁ ction go back a long way, 
  possibly to Frankenstein, or even to the Golem of 
  Prague. Th e term comes from the SF play R.U.R. by 
  Karl Capek; it’s a Czech word meaning “worker.”
  Generally speaking, robots come in two cat-
  egories:  robots and androids. True robots can be 
  just about any type of fully automated machine, 
  ranging from tiny ﬂ ying spy-bots, to a collection 
  of mechanical arms on a wheeled base, to human-
  oid servant-robots. Th e Star Wars ﬁ lms provide 
  an excellent example of the possible diversity of 
  robots (or “droids,” as they’re called). Androids, on 
  the other hand, are humanoid-shaped mechanical 
  constructs, sometimes distinguishable from true 
  Humans (or other species) only upon detailed 
  examination. Data, from Star Trek:  Th e Next Gen-
  eration, is an android.
  In HERO System terms, robots are usually 
  Automatons with normal computer “brains.” Th ey 
  don’t have EGO or Psychological Limitations. 
  Androids have AI brains, or in the case of the most 
  advanced types, may simply be built as normal 
  characters with appropriate abilities. In that case, 
  STUN represents how easy it is for the character’s 
  systems to become temporarily disoriented due to 
  damage or impact, EGO the sophisticated nature of 
  their computer brains, and so forth.
  Like other Automatons, robots and androids 
  are recognizably artificial and/or machines. If 
  you want one to pass as Human, he needs certain 
  Skills or Powers (see below). Androids not built 
  as Automatons can pass for flesh-and-blood 
  Humans unless they take a Distinctive Feature 
  indicating otherwise.
  
  191 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Five
  ROBOT CHARACTERS
  With the GM’s permission, players can play 
  robots or androids as PCs (there’s even a suggested 
  Android Package Deal on Star Hero, page 23). How-
  ever, GMs should consider this carefully. Robots and 
  androids oft en present the same potential for unbal-
  ancing the game as computer characters (see above), 
  but to an even greater degree, since they’re mobile. 
  Th ey are powerful, tough, smart, and highly capable 
  — so much so, in fact, that players may not be able to 
  build a “realistic” robot or android on the campaign’s 
  starting Base Points + Disadvantages. In that case, 
  they should either design a robot or androids with 
  more limited functions (and then gradually expand 
  his abilities), or ﬁ nd some way to explain why he’s 
  temporarily “crippled.”
  Robot and android characters should not be 
  built as Automatons; that poses too many game 
  balance problems. Th ey should be sophisticated 
  enough to function like ordinary characters.
  Suggestions for powers, abilities, and Disad-
  vantages for computer characters (see above) gen-
  erally apply to robot and android characters, too.
  Characteristics And Skills
  Robots and androids usually have high Char-
  acteristics across the board. Th ey’re not only stron-
  ger and tougher than Humans, but smarter, too. 
  However, their EGO, PRE, and COM may all be 
  low; they don’t necessarily understand “organics” or 
  relate to them well.
  Skills, similarly, should have fairly high rolls. 
  Th ey represent the character’s extensive knowledge 
  and programming. Technical Skills (such as Com-
  puter Programming and Systems Operation) are 
  the most common, but many others are possible.
  Some robots and androids may have high 
  Disguise Skills, so they can pass as normal 
  organic beings.
  Perks And Talents
  Robots and androids approach Perks and Tal-
  ents the same as computer characters. In almost all 
  cases they should have the Talents listed for com-
  puter characters.
  Powers
  Robots and androids tend to have certain 
  powers — call them “Everyrobot Powers,” if you 
  will. Th ese include:
  Robot/Android Form:  The character’s mechani-
  cal/artificial form is more resistant to damage 
  than flesh.
  Armor (6 PD/6 ED). Total cost:  18 points. 
  (Alternately, Damage Resistance (6 PD/6 ED), 
  total cost:  6 points.)
  Robot/Android Form:  Robots and androids can sur-
  vive in situations that kill organic beings.
  Life Support:  Total. Total cost:  45 points. (Long-lasting 
  robots and androids may also have Longevity.)
  Sensors:  Most robots and androids have senses 
  organic beings lack. Th ey should have at least 10 
  points’ worth of Enhanced Senses, if not more.
  Beyond these abilities, a robot or android 
  could have just about any Power — built-in weap-
  ons (Attack Powers), the ability to alter form to 
  resemble an ordinary organic being (Shape Shift ), 
  “backup” powers such as those described for com-
  puter characters, enhanced movement abilities, you 
  name it. Th e main limits are what the setting’s tech-
  nology allows, what the GM permits, and what the 
  character can aﬀ ord.
  Disadvantages
  Here are a few examples of Disadvantages 
  common to robot and android player characters:
  Distinctive Features:  Android (Concealable With 
  Eﬀ ort; Noticed And Recognizable; 10 points)
  Physical Limitation:  Sophisticated Computer Brain 
  (aﬀ ected by Mental Powers that work against either 
  the Human or Machine classes of minds) (cost 
  varies depending on the commonality of Mental 
  Powers in the campaign)
  Physical or Psychological Limitation:  Programming 
  (see Star Hero, page 162).
  Social Limitation:  Android (restricted civil rights, 
  suffers from prejudice) (Very Frequently, Minor; 
  15 points)
  THE LAWS OF ROBOTICS
  Renowned science ﬁ ction author Isaac Asimov devised, 
  with the help of John W. Campbell, three famous Laws 
  of Robotics — standing orders with which the robots 
  in his stories were programmed. Th ey are:
  The First Law:  A robot may not injure a human 
  being or, through inaction, allow a human being to 
  come to harm.
  The Second Law:  A robot must obey orders given to 
  it by human beings, except where obeying an order 
  would conﬂ ict with the First Law.
  The Third Law:  A robot must protect its own existence, 
  provided doing so does not conﬂ ict with the First and 
  Second Laws.
  In various forms, these laws have been incorporated, to 
  one degree or another, into many diﬀ erent settings, and 
  science ﬁ ction fans (including Star Hero gamers) oft en 
  know about them. Gamemasters who wish to use them, 
  or allow their use, can simply give robots the Psycho-
  logical Limitation, Must Obey Laws Of Robotics (Very 
  Common, Total; 25 points). (You could also make this a 
  Physical Limitation so it cannot be “overridden.”)
  Of course, GMs can alter these laws to suit their cam-
  paigns, or come up with their own sets of laws that 
  don’t resemble these at all. Regardless of what the laws 
  are like in the game, inevitably a scenario or two turns 
  around the issue of whether a robot violated one of 
  them (typically the First Law, in murder mystery sto-
  ries). Th e Doctor Who episode “Th e Robots Of Death” 
  provides one good horror-mystery example of such a 
  story, but there are plenty of others out there for GMs 
  to draw inspiration from.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  192 ■ Science Fiction Equipment
  EXAMPLE ROBOTS
  Th e HERO System Bestiary has, on pages 207-
  10, three example robots:  a Duplicator Android, 
  a General Purpose Robot, and a Hunter-Seeker 
  Drone. Here are two more examples:
  CARGO LOADER/HEAVY LABOR ROBOT
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   30 STR 
  20 
  15- 
  Lift  1,600 kg; 6d6 [3]
   12 DEX 
  6 
  11- 
  OCV:  4/DCV:  4
   10 CON 
  0 
  11-
   15 BODY 10 
  12-
   10 INT 
  0 
  11- 
  PER Roll 11-
   0 EGO 
  0 
  — 
  ECV:  N/A
   10 PRE 
  0 
  11- 
  PRE Attack:  2d6
   10 COM 
  0 
  11-
   4 PD 
  6 
   
  Total:  4 PD (4 rPD)
   4 ED 
  9 
   
  Total:  4 ED (4 rED)
   2 SPD 
  0 
   
  Phases:  6, 12
   8 REC 
  0
   0 END 
  -10
   —  STUN — 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  41
    
   
   
  (+10 with NCM)
  Movement: 
  Running:  6”/12”
   
  Leaping:  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  22 
  Tractor Beam:  Telekinesis (10 STR), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  15 
  Android Body:  Does Not Bleed 
  0
  45 
  Android Body:  Takes No STUN 
  0
  15 
  Tireless:  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  on 30 STR 
  0
  6 
  Tireless:  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  on Running 
  0
  3 
  Tireless:  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  on Leaping 
  0
  1 
  Tireless:  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  on Swimming  
  0
  12 
  Android Body:  Damage Resistance 
  (4 PD/4 ED) 
  0
  45 
  Android Body:  Life Support:  Total 
  0
  5 
  Visual Sensors:  Infrared Perception 
  (Sight Group) 
  0
  5 
  Visual Sensors:  Ultraviolet Perception 
  (Sight Group) 
  0
  10 
  Visual Sensors:  x100 Microscopic for 
  Sight Group 
  0
  3 
  Auditory Sensors:  Ultrasonic Perception 
  (Hearing Group) 
  0
  12 
  Radio Sensors:  HRRP (Radio Group) 
  0
   
  Talents
  32 
  Onboard Computer Systems:  Absolute 
  Range Sense, Absolute Time Sense, Bump 
  Of Direction, Lightning Calculator, Uni-
  versal Translator 11-
   
  Skills
  1 
  Climbing 8-
  2 
  Language (GM’s choice)
  2 
  PS: Warehouse Operations 11-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  236
  Total Cost:  277
  75+ Disadvantages
  0 
  Dependence:  must recharge every 6 Hours 
  or suﬀ er Weakness, and eventually total shut-
  down (Very Common)
  10 
  Physical Limitation:  Aﬀ ected By Cyberkine-
  sis (has EGO 10 for purposes of cyberkinetic 
  powers, and can be aﬀ ected by cyberkine-
  sis-based Presence Attacks) (Infrequently, 
  Greatly Impairing)
  15 
  Physical Limitation:  Enormous (four times 
  Human mass, and sometimes size) (Fre-
  quently, Greatly Impairing)
  25 
  Psychological Limitation:  Must Obey 
  Programmer’s/Owner’s Commands (Very 
  Common, Total)
  25 
  Psychological Limitation:  Must Not Cause 
  Or Allow Harm To Humans (Very Common, 
  Total)
  127 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  277
  Description:  Warehouses, starport cargo bays, and 
  other such businesses need a lot of heavy lift ing 
  done. Why should Humans strain their backs and 
  put themselves at risk of injury, when they can get 
  a Cargo Loader robot to do the work for them? 
  Equipped with powerful arms, and even a tractor 
  beam, this robot can perform all sorts of hard labor 
  without the need for a coﬀ ee break. Some versions 
  have multiple limbs (Extra Limbs, +5 points) to 
  enhance their carrying capacity.
  Price:  55,400 credits.
  
  193 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Five
  GUARDIAN ROBOT
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   20 STR 
  10 
  13- 
  Lift  400 kg; 4d6 [2]
   20 DEX 
  30 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   10 CON 
  0 
  11-
   15 BODY 10 
  12-
   10 INT 
  0 
  11- 
  PER Roll 11-
   0 EGO 
  0 
  — 
  ECV:  N/A
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   10 COM 
  0 
  11-
   6 PD 
  15 
   
  Total:  6 PD (6 rPD)
   6 ED 
  15 
   
  Total:  6 ED (6 rED)
   3 SPD 
  0 
   
  Phases:  4, 8, 12
   6 REC 
  0
   0 END 
  -10
   —  STUN — 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  80
  Movement: 
  Running:  9”/18”
   
  Leaping:  4”/8”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  52 
  Hand Blaster:  EB 7d6, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  15 
  Robot Body:  Does Not Bleed 
  0
  45 
  Robot Body:  Takes No STUN 
  0
  10 
  Tireless:  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  on 20 STR 
  0
  9 
  Tireless:  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  on Running 
  0
  2 
  Tireless:  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  on Leaping 
  0
  1 
  Tireless:  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  on Swimming  
  0
  18 
  Robot Body:  Damage Resistance 
  (6 PD/6 ED) 
  0
  45 
  Robot Body:  Life Support:  Total 
  0
  6 
  Robot Legs:  Running +3” (9” total) 
  0
  5 
  Visual Sensors:  Infrared Perception 
  (Sight Group) 
  0
  5 
  Visual Sensors:  Ultraviolet Perception 
  (Sight Group) 
  0
  15 
  Visual Sensors:  x1000 Microscopic for 
  Sight Group 
  0
  9 
  Visual Sensors:  +6 versus Range Modiﬁ er 
  for Sight Group 
  0
  3 
  Auditory Sensors:  Ultrasonic Perception 
  (Hearing Group) 
  0
  15 
  Sonar Unit:  Active Sonar (Hearing Group) 0
  12 
  Radio Sensors:  HRRP (Radio Group)  
  0
  15 
  Radar Unit:  Radar (Radio Group) 
  0
  3 
  Sensor Enhancements:  +1 PER with all 
  Sense Groups 
  0
   
  Talents
  32 
  Onboard Computer Systems:  Absolute 
  Range Sense, Absolute Time Sense, Bump 
  Of Direction, Lightning Calculator, Uni-
  versal Translator 11-
   
  Skills
  6 
  +3 OCV with Hand Blaster
  12 
  Suite of Skills speciﬁ cally programmed 
  into robot
  1 
  Climbing 8-
  2 
  Language (GM’s choice)
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  6 
  WF: Beam Weapons, Energy Weapons, Small 
  Arms
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  347
  Total Cost:  427
  75+ Disadvantages
  5 
  Physical Limitation:  Aﬀ ected By Cyberkine-
  sis (has EGO 15 for purposes of cyberkinetic 
  powers, and can be aﬀ ected by cyberkine-
  sis-based Presence Attacks) (Infrequently, 
  Slightly Impairing)
  0 
  Physical Limitation:  Human Size
  25 
  Psychological Limitation:  Must Obey 
  Programmer’s/Owner’s Commands (Very 
  Common, Total)
  322 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  427
  Description:  Guardian robots are used as soldiers, 
  security personnel, and bodyguards by many com-
  panies, people, and governments. Th is writeup rep-
  resents a typical guardian robot; many other types 
  are possible.
  Since each guardian robot is programmed 
  with a selection of Skills speciﬁ c to it, this char-
  acter sheet simply speciﬁ es the amount of points 
  allotted for Skills, allowing the GM to assign the 
  appropriate ones. Common guardian robot Skills 
  include Bugging, Combat Driving, Combat Pilot-
  ing, Combat Skill Levels, Computer Programming, 
  Deduction, Electronics, Mechanics, Navigation, 
  Penalty Skill Levels, Shadowing, Systems Opera-
  tion, Tactics, Transport Familiarity, and Weapon 
  Familiarity.
  Price:  85,400 credits.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  194 ■ Science Fiction Equipment
  BIOTECHNOLOGY
  Discoveries in biology in recent years point to 
  amazing possibilities for the future. Humans may 
  be able to transform themselves and other species, 
  for good or ill. 
  CLONING
  A clone is a genetic copy of another individual. 
  Th at doesn’t mean it’s an exact duplicate — many 
  features are not genetically determined. Finger-
  prints and retina prints would be diﬀ erent, for 
  instance. And the clone would be younger than the 
  original — cloning an adult would give you a baby 
  who’ll look like that adult in a couple of decades. 
  A clone naturally has diﬀ erent memories from the 
  original, which means it’s likely to have a diﬀ erent 
  personality. If nothing else, the clone is aﬀ ected by 
  the experience of growing up as a clone, which the 
  original lacked.
  Clones grow up at the same rate as other 
  babies, which means an “invincible clone army” 
  would take some 20 years to raise. It’s usually 
  easier to go out and hire people. Moreover, clones 
  still have to be carried to term by host mothers, 
  which means an army of clones would require an 
  army of young women willing to have babies at 
  the same time.
  Of course, all of this assumes a relatively 
  “realistic” approach to cloning, which many SF 
  stories and settings don’t take. In some Star Hero 
  campaigns, rapid-growth and memory-implanta-
  tion technology may allow for the swift creation 
  of clones who are almost indistinguishable from 
  the original.
  In game terms, cloning is usually built as 
  Duplication with a host of Limitations (see Star 
  Hero, page 54). However, in some cases the GM 
  may prefer for characters to use Summon, or even 
  to buy clones as Followers.
  Th ere are interesting possibilities for adven-
  tures involving clones and cloning. Being geneti-
  cally identical, clones would be ideal candidates 
  for organ transplant for their originals. Th e clone 
  might know this fate is in store, but accept it as his 
  duty — or he might decide he doesn’t want to be a 
  walking organ bank, and ﬂ ee. If you ignore the idea 
  that ﬁ ngerprints and retina prints diﬀ er in a clone, 
  a clone makes the perfect way to frame someone 
  for murder (or to fake someone’s death). In the 
  early years of the technology, clones are certain to 
  face all kinds of public hostility; cloning is one of 
  the more misunderstood forms of biotechnology.
  GENETIC ENGINEERING
  “Genetic engineering” is a general term for 
  modifying living beings by altering their genes in 
  some way. Genetic modiﬁ cation of species isn’t new 
  — look at what people managed to do with horses 
  and dogs by sheer persistence and selective breed-
  ing. Genetic modiﬁ cation of sentient species will 
  probably proceed by slow stages rather than mas-
  sive transformations — get one new system work-
  ing right before you tinker with the others. Some 
  writers have depicted Human genetic engineering 
  creating entire new species, vastly diﬀ erent from 
  the current models (including Humans speciﬁ cally 
  adapted for high-gravity worlds, water worlds, and 
  the like). Others suggest a more cautious approach, 
  with modiﬁ cations limited to curing inherited 
  diseases and modest improvements by borrowing 
  from other mammals.
  In HERO System terms, low-key genetic engi-
  neering simply means no Physical Limitations for 
  characters, and possibly high Characteristics or 
  a few Talents (like Eidetic Memory). More exotic 
  methods bestow Talents and low-level Powers.
  In the campaign, genetic engineering has a 
  variety of uses. Entire subraces of Humanity may 
  be created by modiﬁ cation, leading to all sorts of 
  exotic cultures as they strive to be diﬀ erent and 
  prove their superiority. Th e unmodiﬁ ed majority 
  may view them as monsters, leading to conﬂ ict — 
  which side are the heroes on? If tinkering with your 
  kids’ genes is no diﬀ erent from paying to get their 
  teeth straightened, the variation among Humans 
  may be tremendous, with no “normals” left .
  On the other hand, modiﬁ cation of animals 
  and plants is oft en routine in SF settings. New vari-
  ants and subspecies optimized for other worlds 
  help interstellar colonization, for example. On a 
  more sinister note, creatures might be engineered 
  into “living weapons.”
  
  195 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Five
  Example Genetic Modiﬁ cations
  Cerebral Enhancement:  Th e character’s brain pro-
  cesses and remembers information more eﬃ  ciently.
  +3 INT and Eidetic Memory and Lightning 
  Calculator. Total cost:  11 points.
  Enhanced Musculature:  Th e character’s muscles and 
  skeletal system are enhanced, making him stronger 
  and faster.
  +3 STR and Running +2”. Total cost:  7 points.
  Sensory Enhancements:  Th e character’s senses are 
  far more acute than a normal person’s.
  +2 PER with all Sense Groups. Total cost:  6 
  points.
  Spatial Analysis:  Th e character’s mind has the abil-
  ity to gauge distances and spaces more accurately 
  than normal.
  Absolute Range Sense and Detect Size Of Area 
  (INT Roll) (Sight Group). Total cost:  6 points.
  NANOTECHNOLOGY
  Nanotechnology is a term coined by futurist 
  Eric Drexler to describe a new ﬁ eld of engineering 
  dealing with extremely tiny machines — devices 
  on the same scale as cells or viruses. Th e advantage 
  to such miniscule machinery is it can work with 
  and manipulate single molecules of material. As it 
  has moved from being just a neat theoretical idea 
  toward practicality, “nanotech” has become syn-
  onymous with “magic” in some circles — perhaps 
  because of inﬂ ated gee-whiz claims by enthusiasts.
  By manipulating matter at the molecular level, 
  nanotechnology allows the use to reﬁ ne and syn-
  thesize extremely pure substances (even the highly 
  complex molecules of drugs or hormones) or exotic 
  crystals. Nanotech devices can operate within living 
  things at the cellular scale, performing surgery on 
  microscopic nerves or blood vessels from the inside, 
  or patrolling the body like robot cops, looking for 
  rogue cells. By putting nanomachines to work making 
  more nanomachines, a small “seed” unit can leverage 
  itself up into a vast swarm of tiny devices, working 
  together en masse. Incorporating nanotech-scale 
  machinery and systems into Human-scale technology 
  allows all sorts of amazing “smart” or “living” materials 
  — structural materials able to adapt to changing con-
  ditions, repair damage, or transform on command.
  Th e combination of nanotechnology and 
  advanced biotechnology makes the distinction 
  between living and nonliving completely arbitrary. 
  When tools can heal and animals are designed, 
  what’s the diﬀ erence? Th is suggests that a lot of 
  things twenty-ﬁ rst century Humans consider “natu-
  ral” products will be manufactured using nanotech-
  nology — food could come from solar-powered 
  nanofabricators which look nothing like growing 
  plants. By the same token, many “manufactured” 
  items might be grown.
  Used in weapons, nanotech combines all the 
  nastier features of biological and chemical weapons 
  with “smart” guidance and insidious armor pen-
  etration. Th e ultimate nanoweapon is the dreaded 
  “grey goo” — an unstoppable mass of tiny machines 
  mindlessly converting all matter they ﬁ nd into 
  more machines just like them.
  However, nanotechnology isn’t infallible. Since 
  it’s fundamentally matter-based, it can’t manipulate 
  large amounts of energy. Nanotech requires raw 
  materials — it can’t create something out of noth-
  ing, although in many cases waste, air, and dirt are 
  all the matter needed.
  Making nanotech work at large scales is very 
  tricky — a nanotech skyscraper would have to grow 
  from the ground up, and making the construction 
  microbots follow the building plan would be a 
  matter of pruning and training, like working with 
  plants. Because of the small scale, nanotech is slow. 
  Individual devices move at the speed of cells or 
  ants — minutes per meter. A horde of nanobots 
  building a skyscraper would start out quickly, but 
  soon would be spending days just hauling tiny 
  amounts of material up to the top. Growing objects 
  using nanomachines would proceed like growing 
  living creatures — a time scale of days, at least. No 
  “instant cars,” in other words, unless you want to 
  use total rubber science.
  Nanotech is also limited by the laws of phys-
  ics. Nanobots can’t stop a bullet in midair any more 
  than a swarm of gnats can (but the nanomachines 
  could repair the bullethole fairly quickly, or stabilize 
  someone who’s been shot). Nanotech can’t defy gravity 
  (although at small scales, air is thick enough to swim 
  in). And nanotech, like any other technology, needs 
  energy. Th e amounts are tiny, but just as having a 
  swarm of a million nanobots at work speeds up a job, 
  the energy requirement of a million tiny workers gets 
  large. So does their waste heat and other byproducts 
  — a “nanofactory” the size of a dishwasher would emit 
  heat like a furnace, requiring a steady stream of cool-
  ant and raw materials.
  NANOTECH IN THE CAMPAIGN
  In Star Hero campaigns, nanotech can be part 
  of the background or an exciting new technological 
  “MacGuﬃ  n” driving the plot of an adventure. Soci-
  eties with high nanotech tend to also emphasize 
  the biological and information sciences:  lots of 
  computer implants, synthetic beings, wonder drugs, 
  and brain hacking. Nanotech devices are mostly 
  self-maintaining and self-repairing, which may 
  eliminate some Limitations ordinarily associated 
  with technology.
  One colorful aspect of an advanced nanotech 
  campaign is that just about everything is potentially 
  “alive.” Chairs may be able to walk about, clean 
  themselves, and adjust to ﬁ t diﬀ erent users. Houses 
  may be living or semi-living systems. Combine this 
  with widespread artiﬁ cial intelligence (running on 
  extremely compact nanotech computers) and the 
  result is almost like a fantasy setting — Clarke’s 
  Law in action.
  Another likely result of advanced nanotech is 
  longevity, even immortality. Th e ability to provide 
  THE GOO 
  SPECTRUM
  Besides the deadly “grey 
  goo” mentioned in the 
  text, scientists have 
  speculated about other 
  nanotech weapons/tools 
  that might become fea-
  sible in the future. Th ey 
  include:
  Blue Goo:  Beneﬁ cial/
  protective nanotechnol-
  ogy designed to coun-
  teract grey goo.
  Green Goo:  Nanotech 
  designed to sterilize 
  Humans through the 
  use of otherwise harm-
  less infections. Could 
  be used by repressive 
  governments engaging 
  in forced population 
  control, eco-terrorists, 
  or the like.
  Golden Goo:  Designed to 
  ﬁ lter gold from seawater, 
  golden goo could cause 
  problems (both ecologi-
  cal and economic) if it 
  was not carefully con-
  trolled.
  Khaki Goo:  Another 
  term for grey goo or 
  other military nano-
  technology.
  LOR Goo:  “LOR” stands 
  for “Lake Ocean River”; 
  the term refers to nano-
  tech that would clean 
  pollution, and harvest 
  usable resources, from 
  bodies of water. Poses 
  the same dangers as 
  golden goo.
  Red Goo:  Various 
  forms of grey goo 
  deliberately created 
  and used as a weapon.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  196 ■ Science Fiction Equipment
  medical treatments at the cellular level means doc-
  tors could retard or reverse the causes and results 
  of aging. Even resurrection may be possible, if 
  swarms of nanobots can perform a brain scan and 
  recover the memories and personality of a person 
  before decay sets in. In a nanotech world, death 
  may be no more than an inconvenience.
  Th e economics of a nanotech society are hard to 
  predict. It’s easy to get optimistic and envision a day of 
  inﬁ nite material abundance for everybody. It is likely 
  that a nanotech society would be wealthier than the 
  present day, just as we are richer than our Victorian 
  forebears. But nanotech can’t do everything. Land 
  remains valuable (though speciﬁ c parcels may change:  
  a toxic landﬁ ll might become quite desireable for nan-
  otech mining of heavy metals). Intellectual property 
  won’t change unless society wants it to. Energy is still 
  important, though nanotech certainly changes how a 
  society uses and distributes it.
  Example Nanotechnology Devices
  Disassembler Grenade:  Th e basic nanotech weapon:  
  a canister of voracious nanomachines which reduce 
  everything around them to individual atoms. For-
  tunately, the machines don’t reproduce, so in time 
  the spray stops working. Price:  1,350 credits per 
  grenade, or more
  RKA 1d6, Area Of Eﬀ ect (1 Hex; +½), Contin-
  uous (+1), Penetrating (+½) (45 Active Points); 
  OAF (-1), 1 Continuing Charge lasting 1 Turn 
  (neutralized by ﬁ re or any other area-aﬀ ecting 
  damage-causing phenomenon; -1¼), Range 
  Based On STR (-¼). Total cost:  13 points.
  Grey Goo Grenade:  Th is horrible nanoweapon, used 
  only as a desperation measure because it remains 
  on the battleﬁ eld so long, converts all the matter it 
  encounters into more nanobots. Price:  2,370 cred-
  its per grenade, or more.
  RKA 1d6, NND (defense is ED Force 
  Field, being surrounded by ﬁ re, or 
  having counter-nanobots; +1), Does 
  BODY (+1), Area Of Eﬀ ect (6” Radius; 
  +1), Continuous (+1), 1 Continuing 
  Charge lasting 1 Day (neutralized by 
  ﬁ re or any other area-aﬀ ecting damage-
  causing phenomenon; +¼) (79 Active 
  Points); OAF (-1), Range Based On 
  STR (-¼). Total cost:  35 points.
  Medical Nanobots:  Th ese are micro-
  scopic machines which remain dorman 
  in the patient’s tissues and bloodstream 
  until the body suﬀ ers serious injury, at 
  which point they go to work stabilizing 
  the patient’s condition and repairing 
  damage. Price:  400 credits, or more.
  Healing 1d6 (Regeneration; 1 BODY 
  per Turn), Reduced Endurance (0 
  END; +½), Persistent (+½) (20 Active 
  Points); Extra Time (1 Turn; -1¼), 
  Self Only (-½). Total cost:  7 points.
  Protective Nanoswarm:  A cloud of ﬂ ea-
  sized nanobots patrolling the air around 
  the character, checking for enemy nanomachines, 
  germs, and pests. Price:  645 credits, or more.
  Force Field (12 PD), Hardened (+¼), Invis-
  ible Power Eﬀ ects (Sight Group; +½), Reduced 
  Endurance (Reduced Endurance (0 END; 
  +½) Uncontrolled (removed by ﬁ re, any other 
  area-aﬀ ecting damage-causing phenomenon, 
  suﬃ  ciently strong winds, or the like; +½) (33 
  Active Points); Only Versus Nanotech Attacks 
  (-1) (total cost:  16 points) plus Life Support 
  (Immunity:  all terrestrial diseases and bio-
  warfare agents) (10 Active Points); Only Versus 
  Airborne Diseases/Agents (-½), Linked (-½) 
  (total cost:  5 points). Total cost:  21 points.
  POWER AND 
  ENERGY TECHNOLOGY
  Science ﬁ ction technology is versatile and 
  powerful — when it works. Many gadgets and 
  weapons require a lot of energy from a compact 
  source. In HERO System terms there are three pri-
  mary ways to model power supplies.
  Devices which need only small amounts of 
  power and can operate for weeks or months between 
  battery changes are simply bought with the Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END) Advantage. Changing batteries 
  and recharging them is just part of the normal main-
  tenance implicit in the Focus Limitation. (Alternately, 
  Fuel Charges may be appropriate for these devices.)
  Devices with batteries or power cells that do 
  get drained aft er only a few uses are best designed 
  with the Charges Power Modiﬁ er. Getting new 
  Charges is a matter of putting in new power cells or 
  plugging the device into a recharger overnight.
  
  197 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Five
  Large devices and vehicle or base systems may 
  need a constant power supply. In HERO System 
  terms, powerplants and the like are typically the 
  special eﬀ ects of the Endurance Reserve Power, pro-
  ducing END points in the form of electricity. Th ese 
  Endurance Reserves typically have REC equal to 
  their END; this simulates how they work in “real-
  world” terms, and makes for easier bookkeeping. At 
  the GM’s option, since Fuel Charges don’t work well 
  with Endurance Reserves, you may apply a Requires 
  Fuel Limitation to represent the fact that they need 
  refueling at least once a month or so. Th is Limita-
  tion is worth -0 or -¼ for Very Common or very 
  easily obtained fuels, -½ for Common or easily-
  obtained fuels, and -1 for Uncommon fuels (or 
  fuels which are diﬃ  cult and/or extremely expensive 
  to obtain). If the Endurance Reserve doesn’t require 
  refuelling on at least a monthly basis, it doesn’t 
  qualify for this Limitation.
  REAL WORLD POWER SUPPLIES
  Some sources of power found in SF stories 
  actually exist in real life, or could plausibly be 
  developed in the future.
  Solar Power
  Solar power is abundant, especially in space, 
  and requires no fuel, but the solar panels to collect it 
  are oft en large and bulky — the larger the panels, the 
  more power they can generate. However, the primary 
  diﬃ  culty with solar power is not panel size, but the 
  fact that the farther away the panels are from a star, 
  the less power they generate. For example, a solar 
  panel at the orbit of Mars produces only half the 
  power of the same-size panel in Earth’s orbit; at Jupi-
  ter, the same panel generates 1/25 (one-twenty-ﬁ ft h) 
  of the energy it generates at Earth.
  In game terms, a solar power array is an Endur-
  ance Reserve. Th e Reserve’s END and REC depend on 
  its size. Both take a -½ Limitation, Requires Solar Prox-
  imity, to reﬂ ect the fact that the energy output drops 
  as the panels get further away from a star. Th e listed 
  END and REC for a solar power Reserve indicate its 
  maximum power-generating capacity at a distance of 
  up to 1 AU. For each AU (or fraction thereof) beyond 
  that distance, halve the Reserve’s END and REC. (In 
  some respects, this is a form of the Limited Recovery 
  Limitation for Endurance Reserves, so those taking 
  Requires Solar Proximity may not also take that Limi-
  tation to simulate the need for proximity to a star.)
  A one-hex solar power array (2.6 square 
  meters) can generate up to 12 END/12 REC. Add at 
  least one hex to the array for each additional point 
  of END and REC (keep the two equal).
  As of the early twenty-ﬁ rst century, each hex 
  of solar cells has a mass of 10 kilograms and costs 
  1,000 credits. Advanced technology makes cells 
  lighter and cheaper:  by the middle twenty-ﬁ rst 
  century, a one-hex panel masses only 5 kilograms 
  and costs 500 credits per hex, and the weight and 
  price in most settings continue to go down from 
  there as the decades progress.
  Solar Panel:  Th is is a 25-hex panel generating 
  enough power for a small space station or space-
  ship. Price:  25,000 credits, or more.
  Endurance Reserve (36 END, 36 REC) (40 
  Active Points); OAF Immobile Fragile (-2¼), 
  Only Powers Electrical Devices (-¼), Requires 
  Solar Proximity (-½). Total cost:  10 points.
  Fuel Cells
  Fuel cells burn hydrogen and oxygen to pro-
  duce electricity. Some versions can run on other 
  combinations of reactive gases, but hydrogen-
  oxygen cells are popular because their waste is fresh 
  water. While fuel cells are compact and powerful, 
  they do require fuel on a monthly basis, making 
  them less useful on long-duration voyages. Th e 
  Space Shuttle gets its power from fuel cells, since its 
  missions typically last less than two weeks.
  A basic fuel cell has a mass of approximately 1 
  kilogram and costs 25 credits (not counting fuel). 
  It can produce up to 4 END/4 REC, and uses 1 liter 
  of fuel per hour in the process. For up to each +4 
  END/+4 REC, double the number of cells.
  Fuel Cell Generator:  Th is array of fuel cells includes 
  enough fuel for a month’s operation, has a total 
  mass of 2,500 kg, and costs 8,000 credits (including 
  fuel, fuel tanks, pumps, and so forth).
  Endurance Reserve (20 END/20 REC) (22 
  Active Points); OAF Immobile (-2), Only 
  Powers Electrical Devices (-¼), Requires Fuel 
  (-¼). Total cost:  6 points.
  Radiothermal Generators
  For missions to the outer solar system, space 
  probes use compact radiothermal generators which 
  produce electricity from the heat given oﬀ  as radio-
  active materials decay. Th ese are extremely reliable 
  and long-lasting, but don’t produce a great deal 
  of power and would need radiation shielding on 
  manned spacecraft .
  At the earliest stage of this technology, a radio-
  thermal power plant generates 2 END/2 REC of 
  power per kilogram of weight, and costs 400 credits 
  per kilogram. As radiothermal generator technol-
  ogy improves, increase the power output while 
  reducing the weight.
  Small Radiothermal Powerplant:  Th is is a small 
  radiothermal generator, such as a space probe 
  might carry. Price:  400 credits, or more.
  Endurance Reserve (2 END/2 REC) (3 Active 
  Points); OAF (-1), Only Powers Electrical 
  Devices (-¼). Total cost:  1 point.
  Nuclear Fission
  Th is is what most people mean by “nuclear 
  power” — a tested and reliable technology which 
  generates power by splitting atoms. As of the 
  early twenty-ﬁ rst century, nuclear ﬁ ssion supplies 
  a quarter of the United States’s electricity and 
  allows France to be an energy exporter without oil. 
  Modern Earth nuclear reactors are large and bulky, 
  useful only when really huge amounts of power 
  are needed. Th ey can run for up to 5 years between 
  refuelling. A reactor masses about 10 metric tons 
  per 20 END/20 REC produced and costs 500,000 
  credits per metric ton of mass.
  BEAMED POWER
  Many SF stories, par-
  ticularly ones written 
  in the early decades 
  of the genre, featured 
  robots, vehicles, and 
  other devices running 
  on beamed power rather 
  than batteries or other 
  built-in power sources. 
  Beamed power involves 
  a central power-generat-
  ing station of massive 
  capacity, which can then 
  “beam” the power out as 
  invisible, intangible waves 
  of energy to any device 
  capable of receiving it.
  In game terms, you can 
  simulate beamed power 
  in either of two ways:
  1.  Buy devices and Vehi-
  cles with the Advantage 
  Reduced Endurance (0 
  END), with the beamed 
  power functioning as 
  the special eﬀ ect of the 0 
  END cost.
  2.  Buy the central power 
  station as an enormous 
  Endurance Reserve with 
  the Usable By Others 
  (a lot of others!) and 
  Ranged Advantages, 
  and then have devices 
  requiring power draw 
  from the Reserve. Th e 
  larger the number of 
  devices that draw power 
  from the Reserve, the 
  more END and REC it 
  needs — amounts in 
  the tens of thousands of 
  points’ worth are oft en 
  necessary.
  Th e intriguing thing 
  about beamed power 
  from a storytelling view-
  point is the possibility 
  that the power gets shut 
  oﬀ . How does society, 
  deprived of power, 
  react? Could characters 
  responding to an emer-
  gency be stranded when 
  their powerless hovercars 
  settle on the ground? 
  Could terrorists hold the 
  power generating facility 
  hostage? A clever GM 
  can come up with lots of 
  similar ideas.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  198 ■ Science Fiction Equipment
  Technology can improve reactors somewhat, 
  reducing the mass of shielding and the cost. Halve 
  the weight, volume, and cost of a ﬁ ssion power 
  plant at near-future (Cyberpunk) technology levels, 
  and again a generation later. Aft er that stage of 
  technological development, fusion powerplants 
  replace ﬁ ssion powerplants.
  Nuclear Reactor:  A modern reactor (such as a sub-
  marine or interplanetary spacecraft  might carry) 
  masses about 100 metric tons. Price:  50 million 
  credits, or more.
  Endurance Reserve (204 END/204 REC) 
  (225 Active Points); OAF Immobile (-2), 
  Only Powers Electrical Devices (-¼). Total 
  cost:  69 points.
  SPECULATIVE AND RUBBER SCIENCE 
  POWER SUPPLIES
  Science ﬁ ction writers and space scientists 
  have suggested several possibilities for new power 
  sources. Some of them will probably become prac-
  tical, while others remain in the realm of rubber 
  science. Since all of these are highly speculative, 
  mass and cost are just estimates.
  Fusion Power
  Nuclear fusion power is the most likely can-
  didate for a new type of power generation, at least 
  in the near future. Current research is creeping 
  towards a fusion reactor which produces more 
  power than it consumes. A fusion powerplant 
  would need only a few kilograms of deuterium or 
  helium-3 to produce large amounts of power for 
  long periods. Just like ﬁ ssion plants, fusion genera-
  tors require some fairly heavy shielding.
  A fusion powerplant when the technology 
  ﬁ rst becomes available in the early-mid twenty-
  ﬁ rst century has a mass of 500 kilograms per 20 
  END/20 REC generated (fusion reactors are lighter 
  than ﬁ ssion powerplants, but bulkier). Th ey cost 
  1,000 credits per kilogram.
  Technology rapidly improves fusion power-
  plants. At late Cyberpunk-era tech the output per 
  kilogram increases, while the cost is halved (500 
  credits per kilogram). By early starfaring technol-
  ogy the cost is 250 credits per kilogram, and at 
  mature starfaring tech the cost drops to 100 credits 
  per kilogram of power plant.
  Example Speculative Power Sources
  Early Starship Fusion Plant:  Th is fusion plant is suit-
  able for early interstellar spacecraft . It has a 10-year 
  supply of deuterium fuel and a mass of 4 metric 
  tons. Price:  1 million credits, or more.
  Endurance Reserve (156 END/156 REC) 
  (172 Active Points); OAF Immobile (-2), 
  Only Powers Electrical Devices (-¼). Total 
  cost:  53 points.
  Personal Fusion Unit:  Built with late starfaring-era 
  technology, this is a portable fusion plant weighing 
  100 kilograms and occupying about as much space 
  as a ﬁ ling cabinet. It can run for a decade on one 
  supply of fuel. Price:  25,000 credits, or more.
  Endurance Reserve (108 END/108 REC) (119 
  Active Points); OAF Bulky (-1½), Only Powers 
  Electrical Devices (-¼). Total cost:  43 points.
  Cold Fusion Generator:  Th is is a second-generation 
  cold fusion device, providing enough power for 
  a household or a personal vehicle. Price:  10,000 
  credits, or more.
  Endurance Reserve (72 END/72 REC) (80 
  Active Points); OAF Bulky (-1½), Only Powers 
  Electrical Devices (-¼). Total cost:  29 points.
  Experimental Antimatter Reactor:  Th is is a ﬁ rst-
  generation antimatter power plant, too expensive 
  to compete commercially with fusion powerplants, 
  but suitable as the goal of an adventure. It costs 
  90 million credits (or more), plus another 100,000 
  credits (or more) for the antimatter fuel.
  Endurance Reserve (168 END/168 REC) (185 
  Active Points); OAF Fragile Immobile (-2¼), 
  Activation Roll 14-, Burnout (-¼), Only Powers 
  Electrical Devices (-¼). Total cost:  49 points.
  Starship Antimatter Reactor:  This is a large, pow-
  erful reactor capable of running a major space-
  craft. It weighs six tons, and costs six million 
  credits (or more).
  Endurance Reserve (228 END/228 REC) 
  (251 Active Points); OAF Immobile (-2), 
  Only Powers Electrical Devices (-¼). Total 
  cost:  77 points.
  Cold Fusion
  A variant form of fusion power, “cold fusion” 
  was announced with great fanfare in the late 1980s 
  and then quietly dropped when the researchers dis-
  covered ﬂ aws in their experiment. Cold fusion uses 
  as-yet-undiscovered chemical or electrochemical 
  means to cause fusion a few atoms at a time. Th e 
  energy given oﬀ  is low, but cold fusion generators 
  don’t need any shielding and are very compact.
  When they ﬁ rst appear, cold fusion cells weigh 
  1 kilogram per 2 END/2 REC, and 100 credits per 
  kilogram. Th e heavy water in a cold fusion cell 
  lasts 1 year before replenishing. Technology rapidly 
  improves cold fusion cells, increasing the output 
  more than decreasing the size.
  Antimatter Power
  Well-known to SF fans from its use on Star 
  Trek, antimatter power is the ultimate form of 
  nuclear energy, because it converts all the mass 
  of its fuel into energy. Tiny amounts of matter 
  combined with antimatter would result in imme-
  diate annihilation of both in a reaction releasing 
  immense amounts of power. Aside from containing 
  and channelling this immensely powerful reaction, 
  the chief problem is that antimatter doesn’t occur 
  naturally. Civilizations can’t mine it, they must 
  manufacture it. It may someday be used as a means 
  of storing and transporting energy, with huge solar-
  powered antimatter factories in remote star systems 
  generating antimatter by the gram for distribution 
  to planets and starbases. Handling antimatter is 
  
  199 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Five
  extremely tricky — it requires magnetic force-ﬁ elds 
  and the like — and an accident could wipe out an 
  entire facility, continent, or planet.
  Given the rubber science involved, an antimat-
  ter reactor usually doesn’t need heavy shielding in 
  addition to the special containers for the antimat-
  ter. Early antimatter generators weight 1 ton per 20 
  END/20 REC, and cost 10 million credits (or more) 
  per ton; the antimatter fuel costs 100,000 (or more) 
  credits per gram, with a single gram suﬃ  cient to 
  run the plant for a year. Technological advances can 
  improve antimatter power substantially. Divide the 
  cost of the fuel in half for each tech level beyond 
  introduction (or, if the GM prefers, for every 
  decade). Th e cost of the plant itself reaches 1 mil-
  lion credits per ton, with the plant weighing 1 ton 
  per 40 END/40 REC generated. Power output may 
  increase, and cost decrease, beyond that.
  Singularity Power
  Singularity power sources make use of tiny 
  black holes, either artiﬁ cially created in giant par-
  ticle accelerators or left  over from the early days 
  of the universe, contained in special force-ﬁ elds. 
  Feeding mass into the black hole causes the matter 
  to release almost all its energy. Th is means a singu-
  larity powerplant can use anything for fuel. On the 
  other hand, all the mass remains in the singularity, 
  which makes it gain weight over time (at the rate of 
  1 kg per year). Singularity power sources don’t scale 
  down well — they can provide energy for a large 
  starship or even a whole planet, but not a car or a 
  personal energy weapon.
  Th e singularity inside a power plant is an 
  extremely valuable object — salvagers and pirates 
  may want to recover or steal it, and ﬁ nding a sin-
  gularity is an excellent adventure hook. However, 
  it’s also extremely dangerous. If the force-ﬁ elds 
  and other safeguards holding it “inert” are shut oﬀ , 
  the black hole “manifests” in real space, destroying 
  objects on an interstellar scale.
  At ﬁ rst introduction a singularity plant gener-
  ates 400 END/400 REC and masses 400 metric tons 
  or more (plus the mass of the singularity, which 
  starts at 1 billion metric tons). As technology pro-
  gresses, the plant becomes smaller and lighter, and 
  the power output doubles, then triples.
  Zero Point Power
  Zero Point Energy is a theoretical method 
  of using the energy inherent in space itself. If 
  this could actually be accomplished, it would 
  effectively be perpetual motion — free energy 
  from nothing at all. It could also be a terrifying 
  weapon if the release of energy could be trig-
  gered from a distance. This is serious “rubber 
  science” at present, although it has a basis in real 
  physics. Power output, costs, and weights are 
  pure guesswork, but should eventually become 
  better than fusion (though probably not as good 
  as antimatter or singularity power).
  TELEPORTATION
  Th e concept of teleportation has been around 
  for a while, but it was Star Trek which made “beam 
  me up” part of everyday slang. In science ﬁ ction, 
  teleportation devices work in various diﬀ erent 
  ways, and each has its unique side eﬀ ects.
  All teleporters create the problem that every-
  place is instantly “next door” to everyplace else, for 
  good or ill. Injured patients arrive directly in a hos-
  pital in zero time, soldiers deploy to a war zone (or 
  the enemy leader’s command post) in a ﬂ ash — and 
  places like the Grand Canyon or Florence become 
  overwhelmed with even more tourists than they 
  already have to cope with. Larry Niven suggested 
  teleportation might create “ﬂ ash crowds” at major 
  events, a prediction supported by the way Internet 
  users crowd popular Web sites at times.
  Most forms of technological teleportation also 
  create a host of other problems. Can a character’s 
  “teleportation pattern” be stored, thus leading to 
  eﬀ ective immortality, and possibly instant healing? 
  Can multiple “copies” of a person or object be cre-
  ated, on purpose or by accident? Could teleporta-
  tion cause physical or brain injuries over repeated 
  use? Could two people be “merged,” accidentally 
  or on purpose, via teleportation? Gamemasters 
  should consider these issues carefully before allow-
  ing teleportation technology into their Star Hero 
  campaigns, or else they may soon ﬁ nd that they’ve 
  unleashed a force they can’t control. Players, unlike 
  TV SF writers, aren’t likely to ignore nift y new 
  weapons and tools once they’ve created them.
  MATTER FAXES
  Th e most realistic form of teleportation would 
  be a kind of “fax” system — the device scans the 
  passenger down to the atomic level and then cre-
  ates a duplicate at the receiving end. Oft en the scan 
  destroys the original, which means any interruption 
  in the process is fatal. A matter fax has interesting 
  side eﬀ ects:  you can presumably beam the signal 
  to multiple receivers, creating as many duplicates as 
  you wish. You can also store the “blueprint” on disk, 
  making this a convenient method of immortality. 
  Matter faxes are by deﬁ nition “replicators” capable of 
  manufacturing anything which can ﬁ t into the scan-
  ning booth, so this kind of teleportation not only 
  creates immortality but inﬁ nite wealth as well. Most 
  matter faxes require a transmitter and a receiver, and 
  realistically need insane amounts of power.
  Matter Fax Booth:  A standard MFB, found on many 
  developed worlds. (Technically speaking, just build-
  ing this as Teleportation wouldn’t allow for the 
  “copying” of people and objects; if necessary, add a 
  Duplication eﬀ ect.) Price:  1,900 credits per device, 
  or more.
  Teleportation 10”, x16 Increased Mass (1.6 
  metric tons), MegaScale (1” = 1,000 km, scal-
  able down to 1” = 1 km; +1¼) (90 Active 
  Points); OIF Immobile (-1½), Can Only Tele-
  port To Fixed Locations (-½), Extra Time (1 
  Turn, -1¼) (total cost:  21 points) and 1 Float-
  ing Fixed Location (any other matter fax booth, 
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  200 ■ Science Fiction Equipment
  chosen at the time of use) (5 Active Points); OIF 
  Immobile (-1½) (total cost:  2 points). Total 
  cost:  23 points. 
  QUANTUM DISPLACEMENT
  Th is is slightly more rubbery science than matter 
  faxes. Quantum displacement somehow makes all 
  the particles in the passenger’s body “jump” to the 
  destination. It is the closest to classic teleportation, 
  and probably would work best over short distances. It 
  would not need a receiver, and so shouldn’t have Fixed 
  Locations. Th is makes quantum displacement a natu-
  ral military technology:  instead of launching missiles, 
  quantum displace those warheads right into the ene-
  my’s bases. Guns might even be replaced with ranged 
  quantum displacement devices to “pop” rounds into 
  protected areas.
  As a transport system, quantum displacement 
  would be simplest as an individual device — put on 
  your teleport belt and go hopping about. It would 
  make theft  ridiculously easy, and jails impossible 
  to keep people in. Th e combination of social chaos 
  and military value might keep quantum displace-
  ment a Top Secret technology until some form of 
  barrier or countermeasure becomes available.
  Quantum Displacement Transporter:  A stan-
  dard teleporation device found on starships, space 
  stations, and developed worlds. It typically consists 
  of a chamber containing one or more “teleportation 
  pads” on which the users stand, while another char-
  acter operates the controls. It’s particularly handy 
  for teleporting personnel and objects to and from a 
  planet’s surface without the need to land a starship 
  or use shuttles (if characters want to Teleport over 
  shorter ranges, add two non-MegaScaled slots). It 
  requires similarly MegaScaled sensors to locate the 
  destination (or the objects to be teleported to the 
  device). Price:  14,000 credits, or more.
  Cost Quantum Displacement Transporter
  80 
  Quantum Displacement Transporter:  Multi-
  power, 240-point reserve, all OIF Immobile 
  (-1½), Extra Time (Full Phase; -½)
  4u 
  1)  Teleporting Away:  Teleportation 10”, x8 
  Increased Mass, Position Shift , MegaScale (1” 
  = 100,000 km, scalable down to 1” = 1 km; 
  +1¾); OIF Immobile (-1½), Extra Time (Full 
  Phase; -½)
  8u 
  2)  Teleporting To:  Teleportation 10”, x8 
  Increased Mass, Position Shift , MegaScale (1” 
  = 100,000 km, can scale down to 1” = 1 km; 
  +1¾), Usable As Attack (+1), Ranged (+½), 
  MegaRange (1” = 100,000 km, can scale 
  down to 1” = 1 km; +1¾); OIF Immobile 
  (-1½), Extra Time (Full Phase; -½)
  Total cost:  92 points.
  FOLDED SPACE
  Using essentially the same rubber science as 
  warp drives (Star Hero, page 192), folded space 
  teleporters bend the fabric of the Universe to put 
  your current location next to your target. It needs 
  a transmitter and a receiver, and can cover inter-
  stellar distances. If the cost is low enough, houses 
  could have portals built into doorways, so that dif-
  ferent rooms might be in diﬀ erent places, or even 
  on diﬀ erent planets (as shown in, for example, 
  Dan Simmons’s Hyperion). Of course, if the system 
  breaks down while you’re in a room on a distant 
  world, it might take months or years for a repair-
  man to arrive by starship.
  Teleportal Network:  Th is is a network of standard 
  space-folding device, connecting points on diﬀ erent 
  worlds. Price:  11,000 credits per device, or more.
  Teleportation 20”, x16 Increased Mass (1.6 
  metric tons), MegaScale (1” = 1 light-year; +3½) 
  (270 Active Points); OIF Immobile (-1½), Can 
  Only Teleport To Fixed Locations (-½) (total 
  cost:  90 points) and 1 Floating Fixed Location 
  (any other teleportal, chosen at the time of use) 
  (5 Active Points); OIF Immobile (-1½) (total 
  cost:  2 points). Total cost:  92 points. 
  MISCELLANEOUS 
  EQUIPMENT
  Here are a few items characters might ﬁ nd 
  useful that don’t ﬁ t into any of the categories 
  described above.
  Survival Devices
  Characters oft en have to work in some pretty 
  hostile environments. Th ese devices help them sur-
  vive the rigors of open space or heavy atmospheres.
  Spacesuit:  Anyone venturing into Trace atmo-
  spheres or outer space needs a spacesuit. Th is ver-
  sion represents early twenty-ﬁ rst century Human 
  models, with a rigid chest section for easy access 
  to controls. It provides pressure and temperature 
  support indeﬁ nitely, and oxygen for up to six hours. 
  Price:  300 credits, or more.
  Cost Spacesuit
  3 
  Environment Protection:  Life Support (Safe 
  Environments:  Intense Cold, Low Pressure/
  Vacuum) (4 Active Points); OIF (-½)
  7 
  Breathing Gases:  Life Support (Self-Con-
  tained Breathing) (10 Active Points); OIF 
  (-½), 1 Continuing Fuel Charge (easily 
  obtained; 6 Hours; -0)
  2 
  Protection:  Armor (2 PD/2 ED) (6 Active 
  Points); OIF (-½); Activation Roll 11- (-1)
  Total cost:  12 points
  Advanced Spacesuit:  As space travel becomes more 
  common, people want suits which are less bulky 
  and allow more freedom of movement. Skinsuits 
  are the solution — instead of wearing a pressurized 
  balloon, the user wears a suit that hugs the skin, 
  turning his own skin into a “spacesuit.” Th e helmet 
  is a clear bubble, and the backpack can provide 
  oxygen for up to a day. (Use the ﬁ rst two powers 
  for the standard Spacesuit, above, but the Breathing 
  Gases last for 1 Day.) Price:  200 credits, or more.
  
  201 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Five
  Armored Spacesuit:  For environments like the 
  atmosphere of Jupiter, characters need a space suit 
  that’s also designed to keep pressure out, and to 
  provide more protection in general. Th is particular 
  suit resists up to 90 atmospheres of pressure (see 
  Star Hero, page 283), enough to allow a character to 
  walk on the surface of Venus. It also works ﬁ ne as a 
  deep-diving suit in the oceans of Earth or Europa. 
  Price:  1,380 credits, or more.
  Cost Armored Spacesuit
  5 
  Environment Protection:  Life Support (Safe 
  Environments:  High Pressure, Intense Cold, 
  Intense Heat, Low Pressure/Vacuum) (7 
  Active Points); OIF (-½)
  7 
  Breathing Gases:  Life Support (Self-Con-
  tained Breathing) (10 Active Points); OIF 
  (-½), 1 Continuing Fuel Charge (easily 
  obtained; 6 Hours; -0)
  50 
  Protection:  Armor (30 PD/20 ED) (75 Active 
  Points); OIF (-½)
  Total cost:  62 points
  Medical Devices
  Characters in SF settings oft en get hurt, or fall 
  victim to mysterious alien maladies. Here are some 
  of the devices the doctors of the future use to treat 
  their patients.
  Autodoctor:  A marvel of Space Opera technology, 
  this device is a small chamber on a pedestal. A 
  person seals himself in, and the computers operat-
  ing the Autodoctor go to work, using its built-in 
  diagnostic systems and medical technology to 
  repair injured bodies, cure illnesses, and otherwise 
  restore the character to good health. Th is oft en 
  takes a long time — a minimum of 1 Minute, but 
  usually one hour to one day per BODY lost. Price:  
  3,200 credits, or more.
  Simplified Healing 8d6 (80 Active Points); 
  OAF Immobile (-2), Extra Time (see text;
  -1½), Requires A Paramedics Roll (-½). Total 
  cost:  16 points.
  Medkit:  The standard first-aid pack in futuris-
  tic settings, a Medkit includes bandages which 
  function like stitches, drugs to stop bleeding and 
  prevent shock, stimulants, and immunoboosters. 
  Price:  400 credits, or more (this price assumes 
  the user has access to a free source of resupply, 
  like a starship’s sickbay; if not, he may buy refills 
  for 75 credits apiece).
  Simpliﬁ ed Healing 2d6 (20 Active Points); 
  OAF (-1), Extra Time (1 Turn, -1¼), Requires 
  A Paramedics Roll (-½), 6 Charges (-¾). Total 
  cost:  4 points.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  202 ■ Science Fiction Equipment
  Multisyringe:  Th is handheld device contains an 
  extensive supply of diﬀ erent medicines its user can 
  inject into a sick person to cure him. Th e Activation 
  Roll represents the fact that the multisyringe might 
  not have quite the right medicine for a speciﬁ c ill-
  ness (or a speciﬁ c species); if characters know in 
  advance what illnesses they may encounter, they 
  can load the multisyringe with the appropriate 
  medications and ignore the roll.
  Note that the multisyringe does not provide 
  any sort of Healing — it simply stops the course 
  of a disease or illness. Characters who have lost 
  BODY, STUN, or other Characteristics to an ill-
  ness must recover them normally (or with the 
  help of other medical technology). Price:  1,600 
  credits, or more.
  Minor Transform 8d6 (standard effect:  24 
  BODY) (sick persons into well persons) (80 
  Active Points); OAF (-1), Activation Roll 11- 
  (-1), No Range (-½), All Or Nothing (-½), 
  Limited Target (sentient beings; -¼). Total 
  cost:  19 points.
  Communications And 
  Sensor Devices
  Comm Button:  Th e descendant of modern cell 
  phones and portable radios — a tiny unit no bigger 
  than a nickel, with a sensitive microphone and 
  voice-activated controls, capable of automatically 
  linking up to the local wireless network to allow 
  instant communication with anyone else on the 
  planet (or in orbit). Th ey need no maintenance 
  because they’re cheap enough to be disposable. 
  Price:  15 credits, or more.
  Radio Perception/Transmission (3 Active 
  Points); IAF (-½). Total cost:  2 points.
  Electronic Binoculars:  Serious vision aids used by 
  soldiers, scientists, and explorers, these devices 
  provide light ampliﬁ cation, thermal sensing, mag-
  niﬁ cation, and real-time image enhancement. Price:  
  740 credits, or more.
  Cost Electronic Binoculars
  2 
  Basic Nightsight:  Nightvision (5 Active 
  Points); OAF (-1)
  2 
  Th ermal Sensing:  Infrared Perception (Sight 
  Group) (5 Active Points); OAF (-1)
  9 
  Magniﬁ cation:  +12 versus Range for Sight 
  Group (18 Active Points); OAF (-1)
  3 
  Image Enhancement:  +2 PER with Sight 
  Group (6 Active Points); OAF (-1)
  1 
  Rangeﬁ nder:  Absolute Range Sense (3 Active 
  Points); OAF (-1)
  Total cost:  17 points.
  
  203 
  Hero System Equipment Guide ■ Chapter Five
  Holoprojector:  A very common gadget used for 
  entertainment, advertising, “telepresence,” and 
  various other purposes ranging from deadly seri-
  ous to silly. It projects visual images, either real-
  time feeds from a camera or recorded. Price:  440 
  credits, or more.
  Sight and Hearing Group Images, 1” radius, 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) (22 Active 
  Points); OAF (-1), Set Eﬀ ect (recorded or broad-
  cast images only; -½). Total cost:  9 points.
  Nightsight Glasses:  Next-generation descendants 
  of modern night-vision goggles, these are as light 
  and comfortable as a pair of thick sunglasses and 
  adjust automatically to ambient light, providing 
  both night vision and glare protection. Price:  500 
  credits, or more.
  Cost Nightsight Glasses
  2 
  Basic Nightsight:  Nightvision (5 Active 
  Points); OAF (-1)
  2 
  Th ermal Sensing:  Infrared Perception (Sight 
  Group) (5 Active Points); OAF (-1)
  2 
  Ultraviolet Sensing:  Ultraviolet Perception 
  (Sight Group) (5 Active Points); OAF (-1)
  5 
  Glare Protection:  Sight Group Flash Defense 
  (10 Active Points); OAF (-1)
  Total cost:  11 points.
  Personal Sensor Unit:  Carried by explorers, 
  scientists, detectives, and anyone who needs to 
  gather information from a locale, this handy 
  device includes spectrographic scanners to ana-
  lyze materials, a battery of electromagnetic radia-
  tion detectors, and a powerful built-in analytic 
  computer. Scanning takes some time, but the 
  results can be recorded and studied later. Price:  
  700 credits, or more.
  Detect Electromagnetic Radiation And Physi-
  cal Objects 14- (Radio Group), Discrimina-
  tory, Analyze, Range (35 Active Points); OAF 
  (-1), Requires A Systems Operation Roll (-½), 
  Aﬀ ected As Sight And Hearing Group As Well 
  As Radio Group (-½) (total cost:  12 points) 
  and Eidetic Memory (5 Active Points); OAF 
  (-1), Requires A Systems Operation Roll (-½), 
  Only To Remember Th ings Detected (-½) (total 
  cost:  2 points). Total cost:  14 points.
  Tools
  Characters oft en have important tasks to per-
  form, and sometimes the right tool is just what they 
  need to get the job done quickly and well.
  Forcebeam Tool:  An outgrowth of force-ﬁ eld 
  technology, this versatile gadget is a cutter, a short-
  range forcebeam projector, and an all-purpose tool. 
  Price:  410 credits, or more.
  Cost Forcebeam Tool
  12 
  Forcebeam Tool:  Multipower, 25-point 
  reserve, all OAF (-1), 1 Continuing Fuel 
  Charge (refuels by recharging; 1 Hour; -0)
  1u 
  1)  Cutter:  RKA 1d6; OAF (-1), No Range (-½)
  1u 
  2)  Tractor Beam:  Telekinesis (10 STR), 
  Fine Manipulation; OAF (-1), Reduced By 
  Range (-¼)
  1u 
  3)  Toolbox-In-One:  +3 with Mechanics; 
  OAF (-1)
  Total cost:  15 points.
  Gravity Lifter:  Th e development of antigravity tech-
  nology makes moving heavy objects easy. A gravity 
  lift er is simply an antigravity module and a strong 
  clamp. Attach it to a load, switch on the module, 
  and suddenly a child can lift  the heaviest cargo. 
  Price:  200 credits, or more.
  +20 STR (20 Active Points); OAF (-1), 1 Con-
  tinuing Fuel Charge (refuels by recharging; 1 
  Hour; -0), Only for Lift ing (-1). Total cost:  7 
  points.
  Multitool:  Instead of carrying a whole toolbox, why 
  not use a Multitool? Made of “smart matter” and a 
  mini-computer with a database of hundreds of diﬀ er-
  ent conﬁ gurations, the Multitool can take just about 
  any shape needed. Price:  150 credits, or more.
  +3 with all Construction/Mechanical Skills (15 
  Active Points); OAF (-1). Total cost:  7 points.
  Powered Exoskeleton:  Th is bulky and powerful 
  open-frame suit gives the wearer the strength for 
  heavy jobs. Typically used for construction, cargo 
  loading, rescue work, and various rough-and-
  tumble sports, it also serves as an eﬀ ective hand-to-
  hand combat weapon in some instances. Price:  400 
  credits, or more.
  Cost Powered Exoskeleton
  13 
  Clamps, Grips, And Servos:  +30 STR (30 
  Active Points); OIF Bulky (-1), Character 
  Cannot Use Own STR (-¼)
  5 
  Battery:  Endurance Reserve (20 END/8 
  REC) (10 Active Points); OIF Bulky (-1).
  Total cost:  18 points.
  Sonic Multitool:  Th is variant on the Multitool uses 
  focused sound waves and other forms of electro-
  magnetic radiation to assist with work on elec-
  tronic devices.
  +3 with all Electronic/High-Tech Skills (15 
  Active Points); OAF (-1). Total cost:  7 points.
  Towel:  An essential utility item for space travelers. 
  Price:  10 credits, or more.
  Cosmetic Transform 1d6 (wet things to dry 
  things), Reduced Endurance (Reduced Endur-
  ance (0 END; +½) (7 Active Points); OAF (-1), 
  No Range (-½). Total cost:  3 points.
  
  204 ■ Index
  Hero System 5th Edition
  .22 Ballpoint Pen Gun ............. 169
  +P and +P+ 
  (bullet modiﬁ cation) ................70
  Ablative Armors ....................... 183
  Abrin (poison) ......................... 138
  Accessories for ﬁ rearms .............94
  Ackálian Sickle ......................... 172
  Aconite (poison) ...................... 138
  Acoustic weapons .................... 126
  Acquiring Equipment ........146-51
  Adding Damage ............................9
  Advantages for Fantasy 
  weapons .....................................19
  AET (type of bullet) ...................65
  AET Composite 
  (type of bullet) ..........................65
  Air Bomb (shotgun round) .......73
  Amatol (explosive) .................. 123
  Ambidextrous Conversion 
  (ﬁ rearm modiﬁ cation) .......... 101
  Ammonium Picrate 
  (explosive) .............................. 122
  Ammunition ...............................63
  Ammunition Summary Table ...72
  ANFO (explosive) ................... 122
  Anthrax (bioweapon) .............. 128
  Antimatter Bullets ................... 174
  Antimatter power .................... 198
  Antimony (poison) .................. 139
  Armor ..........................................26
  Armor Breakage ..........................35
  Armor Piercing (type of bullet) ...65
  Armor Piercing Depleted 
  Uranium (type of bullet) .........65
  Armor Piercing Explosive 
  (type of bullet) ..........................65
  Armor Piercing Hardcore 
  (type of bullet) ..........................66
  Armor Piercing Hardcore 
  Explosive (type of bullet) ........66
  Armor Piercing Incendiary 
  (type of bullet) ..........................66
  Armor Piercing Saboted 
  (type of bullet) ..........................66
  Armor Piercing Slug 
  (shotgun round) .......................73
  Arrows, AP and blunt .................12
  Arsenic (poison) ...................... 139
  Asphyxiants 
  (chemical weapons) .............. 129
  Atlatls ...........................................16
  Atropine (poison) .................... 139
  Autodoctor ............................... 201
  Automobile Accessor .............. 169
  Axes ................................................9
  Barding .........................................30
  Barrel Coating 
  (ﬁ rearm modiﬁ cation) .......... 101
  Barrel ﬂ attening 
  (shotgun accessory) .................98
  Barrel Fluting 
  (ﬁ rearm modiﬁ cation) .......... 101
  Baton (shotgun round) ..............73
  Battle Armor ............................. 184
  Battle codes ............................... 157
  Beamed power ......................... 197
  Beanbag (shotgun round) .........73
  Billy Club .................................. 165
  Binary poisons ......................... 144
  Binoculars ................................. 159
  Biological Weapons ................. 127
  Bioplastic Armor ..................... 184
  Biosteel ...................................... 154
  Biotechnology .......................... 194
  Black powder (explosive) ....... 122
  Blade weapons, alien ............... 172
  Blasters ...................................... 176
  Blasting cap (explosive) .......... 122
  Blinding laser ........................... 125
  Blistering agents 
  (chemical weapons) .............. 129
  Blowguns .....................................14
  Body Armor
   Modern ................................... 152
   Science Fiction ....................... 183
  Bomb detector ......................... 163
  Botulin gas (chemical weapon) .129
  Bows .............................................12
  Brass catchers 
  (ﬁ rearm accessory) ...................94
  Breakage of armor ......................35
  BRI Slug (shotgun round) .........73
  Bubonic plague (bioweapon) .....127
  Buﬀ ered Shot (shotgun round) ...73
  Bug detector ............................. 163
  Bugs and Bug Detectors .......... 161
  Bullets ...........................................63
  BZ (chemical weapon) ............ 129
  Cameras (ﬁ rearm accessory) ....94
  Camouﬂ age clothing ............... 155
  Cargo Loader/Heavy 
  Labor Robot ........................... 192
  Cased Telescoped (CTA) 
  (type of bullet) ..........................66
  Caseless (type of bullet) .............67
  Chainmails ..................................27
  Characters, computers or 
  robots as .......................... 188, 191
  Charges for Ranged weapons ....11
  Chemical and Biological 
  Weapons ................................. 127
  Chemical Weapons .................. 128
  Cinematic Spy Gadgets ........... 169
  Clarke’s Law .............................. 186
  Clear Grips/Magazine 
  (ﬁ rearm modiﬁ cation) .......... 101
  Clip, enlarged or clear 
  (ﬁ rearm modiﬁ cation) .......... 101
  Cloning ..................................... 194
  Clubs ......................................9, 120
  CN/CS (chemical weapon) ..... 128
  Cold fusion ............................... 198
  Collimating sights 
  (ﬁ rearm accessory) ...................96
  Combat vest .............................. 155
  Combat Wear ........................... 153
  Comm Button .......................... 202
  Communications Gear ........... 157
  Computers ................................ 186
  Concealed Lockpicks .............. 169
  Concealment holster ............... 155
  Contact poisons ....................... 137
  Cost/Upgrade Tables for 
  ﬁ rearms ................................76-93
  Costumed Vigilante Gadgets . 165
  Creating Martial Arts 
  Equipment .................................58
  Creating poison ....................... 137
  Creating weapons .......................15
  Crossbows ....................................12
  Crotin (poison) ........................ 139
  Cryotreatment 
  (ﬁ rearm modiﬁ cation) .......... 101
  CTA (type of bullet) ...................66
  Cubic Shot (shotgun round) .....74
  Curare (poison) ....................... 140
  Custom Grips/Stock 
  (ﬁ rearm modiﬁ cation) .......... 101
  Customizing ﬁ rearms .............. 101
  CV for weapons ....................15, 63
  Cyanide (poison) ..................... 140
  Cyberspace ............................... 188
  Cyclotol (explosive) ................. 123
  Damage for weapons, 
  varying .................................15-17
  Datajacks ................................... 189
  Defensive Equipment .............. 152
  Detonating cord (explosive) ... 122
  Digitoxin (poison) ................... 140
  Dimensional Missile ................ 180
  Disguised Weapons And 
  Gadgets ................................... 103
  Disintegrators ........................... 178
  DMSO ....................................... 144
  Drug detector ........................... 163
  Duplex (type of bullet) ...............67
  Dynamite (explosive) .............. 122
  Electric (type of bullet) ..............67
  Electron Beams ........................ 176
  Electronic Binoculars .............. 202
  Electronic Trigger 
  (ﬁ rearm modiﬁ cation) .......... 101
  Emplaced Plasma Cannon ..... 180
  Enclosed spaces, Fantasy 
  weapons and ........................24-25
  Encrypted communications ... 157
  Energy Blades ........................... 172
  Energy Technology .................. 196
  Enlarged Magazine 
  (ﬁ rearm modiﬁ cation) .......... 101
  ES (chemical weapon) ............. 128
  Example Fictional Poisons ..... 143
  Example Real-world Poisons . 138
  Explosive (type of bullet) ...........67
  Explosive Slug (shotgun round) ..74
  Explosives ................................. 120
  Face shields ............................... 155
  Fantasy Equipment .................5-36
  Fast draw holster ...................... 155
  Fiberglass (type of bullet) ..........67
  Fictional bullets ..........................70
  Fine Tuning I-II 
  (ﬁ rearm modiﬁ cation) .......... 101
  Fire bottle (incendiary) ........... 123
  Firearms .......................................62
  Firearms Accessories ..................94
  Firearms Accessories Table ..99-100
  Firearms, Advanced/
  Science Fiction ....................... 173
  Firearms Basics ...........................62
  Firearms Cost/Upgrade 
  Tables ...................................76-93
  Firearms Modiﬁ cations and 
  Customization ....................... 101
  Firearms Tables ...................104-15
  Fireball (shotgun round) ...........74
  Fission power ........................... 197
  Flails .............................................11
  Flamethrowers ......................... 118
  Flare (shotgun round) ................74
  Flash Suppressors (ﬁ rearm acces-
  sory) ...........................................94
  Flashlights (ﬁ rearm accessory) .94
  Flechette (shotgun round) .........74
  Flechette (type of bullet) ............67
  Foam explosive (explosive) .... 122
  Focus for Ranged weapons ........11
  Folded space ............................. 200
  Force Field Technology ........... 184
  Forcebeam Tool ....................... 203
  Frangible (type of bullet) ...........67
  Fuel cells ................................... 197
  Fusion power ............................ 198
  Fustibal .........................................14
  Futuristic ﬁ rearms ......................65
  Galactic Computernet ............. 188
  Gas Mask .................................. 154
  INDEX
  
  205 
  Hero System Equipment Guide
  Gauss Weapons ........................ 174
  Gelled gasoline (incendiary) .. 123
  Genetic Engineering ............... 194
  Giant-sized Fantasy weapons ....25
  Glider Cape .............................. 165
  Goos (nanotechnology) .......... 195
  Gravity Lift er ............................ 203
  Grenades and grenade launchers
   Modern ................................... 117
   Science Fiction ....................... 179
  Guardian Robot ....................... 193
  Gunpowder weapons in Fantasy .14
  Gyrojet (type of bullet) ..............68
  Haemotoxins 
  (chemical weapons) .............. 129
  Hair Trigger 
  (ﬁ rearm modiﬁ cation) .......... 101
  Hammers .......................................9
  Hand Computer ....................... 187
  Hand-To-Hand Combat 
  Weapons ......................... 120, 172
  Hand-wrappings, leather ...........58
  Handcuﬀ s ................................. 125
  Harvesting poison ................... 137
  Hatton (shotgun round) ............75
  Headgear ................................... 153
  Healing poison damage .......... 137
  Heavy Weapons ........................ 180
  Helmets ..................................... 154
  Hemlock (poison) ................... 140
  High-quality armor ....................30
  High-quality Fantasy weapons ....20
  HMX (explosive) ..................... 122
  Hollow Point (type of bullet) ....68
  Holoprojector ........................... 203
  Holsters ..................................... 155
  Homing Bullets ........................ 174
  Hybrid Frangible/Hollow Point 
  (type of bullet) ..........................69
  Ice (shotgun round) ...................74
  Improved Armor Piercing 
  (type of bullet) ..........................69
  Improved Bedding 
  (ﬁ rearm modiﬁ cation) .......... 101
  Improved Firing Pin 
  (ﬁ rearm modiﬁ cation) .......... 101
  Improved Propellant 
  (bullet modiﬁ cation) ................70
  Improved Range I-II 
  (ﬁ rearm modiﬁ cation) .......... 101
  Improved Trigger 
  (ﬁ rearm modiﬁ cation) .......... 101
  Incapacitating agents 
  (chemical weapons) .........128-29
  Incendiaries .............................. 123
  Incendiary (type of bullet) ........69
  Incendiary brick (incendiary) ...123
  Ingested poisons ...................... 136
  Initiator (explosive) ................. 122
  Injected poisons ....................... 136
  Insulin (poison) ....................... 141
  Introduction ..................................4
  Ion Blasters ............................... 177
  Jacking into a computer .......... 189
  Jekkara’s Wine 
  (ﬁ ctional poison) ................... 143
  Karate armor ...............................57
  Kendo armor ...............................57
  Kevlar ........................................ 154
  Knives .....................................9, 120
  Lances ..........................................11
  Lanyards (ﬁ rearm accessory) ....94
  Laser ﬂ ashing ........................... 176
  Laser sights 
  (ﬁ rearm accessory) ...................96
  Laser Watch .............................. 170
  Lasers ........................................ 175
  Laws of Robotics ...................... 191
  Lead azide (explosive) ............. 122
  Leather armors ......................26-27
  Leather hand-wrappings ............58
  Length of weapons ...............18, 23
  Lethal agents 
  (chemical weapons) .........129-30
  Limitations
   For Fantasy weapons ................19
   For ﬁ rearms ...............................62
   For martial arts equipment .....59
  Linked Shot (shotgun round) ...75
  Liquid-Propellant Sniper Riﬂ e ..173
  Lockbreaker (shotgun round) ...75
  Longbows ....................................12
  Low-quality Fantasy weapons ...20
  LSD (chemical weapon) .......... 129
  Mace spray ................................ 125
  Maces .............................................9
  Magazine, enlarged or clear 
  (ﬁ rearm modiﬁ cation) .......... 101
  Magnesium (incendiary) ........ 123
  Magnum (bullet modiﬁ cation) ...70
  Main gauche ................................10
  Making Weapons ........................15
  Martial Arts Armor ....................57
  Martial Arts Equipment .......37-60
  Martial Arts Weapons ................38
  Match-Grade 
  (bullet modiﬁ cation) ................70
  Materials
   For Fantasy weapons ................20
   For Fantasy armor ....................29
  Matter fax ................................. 199
  Medkit ....................................... 201
  Melee weapons ................. 120, 172
  Mental Powers, 
  computers and ............................187
  Mercury fulminate 
  (explosive) ...................................122
  Micrometer sights 
  (ﬁ rearm accessory) ...................96
  Military Communicator ......... 182
  Miscellaneous Equipment ...... 165
  Miscellaneous Sensory 
  Devices .................................... 163
  Modems .................................... 189
  Modern Equipment ............145-70
  Modern Weapons ...............61-144
  Modiﬁ cations to ﬁ rearms ....... 101
  Modifying poisons .................. 144
  Molotov cocktail (incendiary) ...123
  Mon’dabi Cha’shur .................... 172
  Money, buying gear with ........ 150
  Motion detector ....................... 167
  Multi-Bracer ............................. 166
  Multi-Purpose Energy 
  Weapon ................................... 179
  Multipowers, ﬁ rearms as ............63
  Multisyringe ............................. 202
  Multitool ................................... 203
  Mushrooms, poisonous ........... 141
  Mustard gas 
  (chemical weapon) ................ 129
  Muzzle brakes 
  (ﬁ rearm accessory) ...................95
  Nanotechnology ...................... 195
  Napalm (incendiary) ............... 123
  Nerve gas (chemical weapon) ....129
  Nicotine (poison) .................... 141
  Nightsight devices
   Modern ................................... 159
   Science Fiction ....................... 203
  Nightsight scopes 
  (ﬁ rearm accessory) ...................96
  Nitroglycerin (explosive) ........ 122
  Noise made by ﬁ rearms .............97
  Notes and Key .............................38
  Nuclear Weapons ..................... 131
  Obtaining Equipment ........146-51
  OCV for weapons .................15, 63
  Paraﬃ  n-Sawdust (incendiary) ...125
  Particle Guns ............................ 177
  Penetrating Frangible 
  (type of bullet) ..........................69
  Pentolite (explosive) ................ 123
  Pepper spray ............................. 125
  Personal Sensor Unit ............... 203
  Personal Teleporter ................. 182
  Personalization 
  (ﬁ rearm modiﬁ cation) .......... 101
  PETN (explosive) .................... 122
  Phosgene gas 
  (chemical weapon) ................ 129
  Picks ...............................................9
  Pistol Stock 
  (ﬁ rearm modiﬁ cation) .......... 101
  Plasma Guns ............................. 178
  Plastic (type of bullet) ................67
  Plastique (explosive) ............... 123
  Plate armors ................................27
  Pnuegun .................................... 125
  Poisoned (bullet modiﬁ cation) ....70
  Poisons ...................................... 136
  Polearms ......................................11
  Policeman’s belt ........................ 156
  Polygonal Riﬂ ing 
  (ﬁ rearm modiﬁ cation) .......... 101
  Poor-quality armor .....................30
  Power Modiﬁ ers for ﬁ rearms ....62
  Power Technology ................... 196
  Powered Battlesuit ................... 184
  Powered Exoskeleton .............. 203
  Pressure plates, mats, and 
  switches ................................... 168
  Price table for modern 
  equipment .............................. 148
  Programs, computer ................ 186
  Proton Riﬂ es ............................. 177
  Quality of armor .........................30
  Quality of Fantasy weapons ......20
  Quantum displacement .......... 199
  Quarterstaﬀ  .................................11
  Radios ....................................... 157
  Radiothermal generators ........ 197
  Range Modiﬁ er for 
  weapons ...............................15, 63
  Rangeﬁ nders 
  (ﬁ rearm accessory) ...................95
  Rapier ...........................................10
  RDX (explosive) ....................... 123
  Real Weapon (Limitation) .........18
  Real-World Spy Gadgets ......... 169
  Realism and ﬁ rearms .................62
  Recoil Compensators 
  (ﬁ rearm accessory) ...................95
  Red Tears (ﬁ ctional poison) ... 143
  Reduced Endurance 
  (Advantage) ...............................18
  Reﬂ ective Armors .................... 183
  Reﬂ ex sights 
  (ﬁ rearm accessory) ...................96
  Resource Points ........................ 150
  Restraints and Non-lethal 
  Weapons ................................. 125
  Reversed Ogive 
  (type of bullet) ..........................69
  Ricin (poison) .......................... 141
  Riﬂ e Grenade Launcher 
  (ﬁ rearm accessory) ...................94
  Robin (poison) ......................... 142
  Robots ....................................... 190
  Rockets, Science Fiction ......... 179
  Ropethrower 
  (shotgun accessory) .................98
  Rubber (type of bullet) ..............69
  Rubber Shot (shotgun round) ...75
  Saboted Slug (shotgun round) ..75
  
  206 ■ Index
  Hero System 5th Edition
  Samurai armor ............................58
  Sarin (chemical weapon) ........ 129
  Satellite link .............................. 163
  Sawed-Oﬀ  Shotgun 
  (ﬁ rearm modiﬁ cation) .......... 102
  Scale mails ...................................27
  Science Fiction technology
   Generally .........................171-203
   Communications And Sensor 
  Devices .................................... 202
   Defenses .................................. 183
   Medical Devices ..................... 201
   Military Technology .............. 180
   Survival Devices .................... 200
   Tools ........................................ 203
   Weapons ................................. 172
  Scopes (ﬁ rearm accessory) ........95
  SCUBA gear ............................. 170
  Se’ecra Wrist-Blades ................. 172
  Searchlights (ﬁ rearm accessory) 94
  Sectional Armor ..........................28
  Security Devices ...................... 167
  Self-Propelled Nuclear Bomb ....180
  Semi-Armor Piercing 
  (type of bullet) ..........................69
  Semi-Armor Piercing Slug 
  (shotgun round) .......................75
  Senses, computer ..................... 186
  Sensory Equipment ................. 157
  Setting-speciﬁ c equipment ..........4
  Shape of Fantasy weapons .........25
  Shaped-Charge Bullets ............ 174
  Shell adapter 
  (shotgun accessory) .................98
  Shields ..........................................36
  Shockbaton ............................... 126
  Shot spreader 
  (shotgun accessory) .................98
  Shotgun Accessories ...................98
  Shotgun Ammunition ................71
  Shotguns ......................................71
  Sight Enhancement Gear ........ 159
  Sights (ﬁ rearm accessory) .........95
  Silencers (ﬁ rearm accessory) ....97
  Silent (shotgun round) ...............75
  Silent (type of bullet) .................69
  Silent weapons ............................17
  Silverleaf Chumetha Poison 
  (ﬁ ctional poison) ................... 143
  Singularity power .................... 199
  Size of Fantasy weapons ............25
  Size Reduction I-II 
  (ﬁ rearm modiﬁ cation) .......... 102
  Slickness spray ......................... 126
  Slide-stop (ﬁ rearm accessory) ..98
  Slings ............................................14
  Smoke (shotgun round) .............75
  Sneezing powder 
  (chemical weapon) ................ 129
  Solar power ............................... 197
  Soman (chemical weapon) ..... 129
  Sonic Multitool ........................ 203
  Sonic weapons .......................... 126
  Sound suppressors 
  (ﬁ rearm accessory) ...................97
  Sounds made by ﬁ rearms ..........97
  Spacesuit (various types) ........ 200
  Spectra ...................................... 154
  Spent Uranium (type of bullet) ...70
  Spy Gadgets .............................. 169
  Standard (type of bullet) ............63
  Standard Ammunition Damage 
  Table ...........................................64
  Standard Firearm Accessories ...94
  Standard Firearms 
  Ammunition .............................63
  Standard Shot (shotgun round) ..73
  Standard Slug (shotgun round) ...73
  Stealth Field .............................. 182
  Steel Shot (shotgun round) .......75
  Sticky foam ............................... 126
  STR Minimum for weapons ......17
  Streamlining 
  (ﬁ rearm modiﬁ cation) .......... 102
  Strychnine (poison) ................ 142
  STUN Multiplier for weapons ..17
  Subsonic (bullet modiﬁ cation) .71
  Superconducting Surface ........ 184
  Superhero gadgets ................4, 165
  Surveillance scope ................... 160
  Swords ............................................9
  Tabun (chemical weapon) ...... 129
  Tactical Vests And Clothing ... 155
  Targeting Computer 
  (ﬁ rearm accessory) ...................97
  Targeting Computers, 
  science ﬁ ctional ..................... 174
  Tasers ......................................... 126
  Tear gas (chemical weapon) ... 128
  Tear Gas (shotgun round) .........75
  Teleportation Devices ............. 199
  Telescopic sights 
  (ﬁ rearm accessory) ...................96
  TEMPEST Equipment ............ 164
  Tetrodotoxin (poison) ............. 142
  Tetrytol (explosive) ................. 123
  Th allium (poison) .................... 142
  Th ermal sights 
  (ﬁ rearm accessory) ...................96
  Th ermalvision device .............. 160
  Th ermate (incendiary) ............ 125
  Th ermite (incendiary) ............. 125
  Th rowing aids .............................16
  Th rowing normal weapons .......16
  Th rown weapons ........................14
  Tie Camera ............................... 169
  Tiny Fantasy weapons ................25
  TNT (explosive) ....................... 123
  Torpex (explosive) ................... 123
  Towel ......................................... 203
  Toxins (chemical weapons) .... 129
  Tracer (bullet modiﬁ cation) ......71
  Tracking bug ............................ 161
  Transmit, range of ................... 158
  Tumbler (type of bullet) ............70
  Types of Armor ...........................26
  Underwater Equipment .......... 170
  Upgrade Tables for ﬁ rearms 76-93
  Utility Belt ................................ 166
  Vectran ...................................... 154
  Vehicles ..................................4, 165
  Vomiting gas 
  (chemical weapon) ................ 129
  Wadcutter 
  (bullet modiﬁ cation) ................71
  Watertight 
  (ﬁ rearm modiﬁ cation) .......... 102
  Weapon length ............................23
  Weapon shape .............................25
  Weapon size ...........................23, 25
  Weapons of Mass Destruction ..127
  Weapons Tables ............ 6-8, 39-43
  Wearing armor, practical 
  considerations ...........................32
  Weight Reduction 
  (ﬁ rearm modiﬁ cation) .......... 102
  Whip .............................................11
  White Phosphorus 
  (incendiary) ........................... 125
  Wiretap ..................................... 162
  Wolf’s Ears ................................ 164
  X-Ray Camera .......................... 170
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Hero System/Hero System - Equipment Guide.pdf