Tactical Principles for HERO

Practically all Role Playing Games rely on some degree of combat to resolve encounters, and
come with various rules describing how to accomplish this within the confines of that game.
Indeed, many RPG's consist of little else besides how to make a character, things to fight with
them, and how to do so.
Many RPG's combat system's suffer from a certain abstractness or disconnect from reality.
Frequently it seems likely that the game designers that designed the combat resolution mechanics
for a particular game had no idea how violence works in the real world, and as such combat in
those systems lacks verisimilitude, fails to allow for strategic or tactical decisions to matter, and
otherwise result in a system that is only meaningful and useable in a metagame exercise of
exploiting it's peculiarities.
The HERO System, fortunately, is not such a game though there is some degree of
abstractness, consistent with the system's practice of dividing Special Effect from Game Effect,
and a "cinematic realism" slant that favors non-lethal damage. Overall the HERO System's
highly granularized combat model supports a wide range of combat actions with a high degree of
verisimilitude. Not only is it very possible to employ actual tactics that result in real benefits, the
system actively encourages it.
However it has been my experience that despite the richness of expression permitted in the
HERO System most players and GM's I've had contact with over the years seem to be either
entirely unaware of it or incapable of capitalizing upon it.
I've often been baffled by this behavior; but after lengthy conversations and prolonged
observations it finally dawned on me that the reason often is that many players and GM's do not
understand the basic principles of tactics and / or how to apply them to a RPG. This article
collects some of my thoughts in an attempt to perhaps illuminate the matter for interested parties.
TACTICAL PRINCIPALS
Easy to learn but difficult to master, the basics of Tactics are simple ideas and they are few in
number. It all boils down to being aware of several things; most significantly to a RP
environment are:
1. Know the Game System
2. Know your character
3. Know your enemy
4. Know your terrain
5. Maintain Situational Awareness

KNOW THE GAME SYSTEM

Even in it's most verbose form (5th Edition Revised), the core mechanics of the HERO
System combat rules occupy about six pages of actual text eliding various illustrations. This
covers all the key concepts of how the SPD chart works, Aborting, Holding, and other timing
considerations, and actual to-hit resolution.
The remainder of the Combat section describes things ranging from how movement works,
how senses work, how damage works, various things that make combat more difficult like
Encumbrance and the Environment, and copious explanations for how various Maneuvers work.
 DONT BE LAZY
In it's entirety the Combat & Adventuring section is a mere 84 illustration and example laden
pages, plus a few useful charts and a sample combat. This is the core of the game, and yet it
seems that most players and even some GM's are completely unfamiliar with entire sections of it.
Don't be one of them.
READ THE DAMN BOOK!
If you are a player that doesn't own the main rule book you could pick up theHERO System
Combat Handbook, which reprints Chapter 2 Combat & Adventuring of the main rulebook plus
various expanded options and exposition from the genre books.
If you plan to play the game more than a couple of times, it will be time well spent. In
particular pay attention to the Standard and Optional Maneuvers. If you are a player you can hold
off on mastering the Martial Maneuvers until you decide to play a character with some Martial
Arts (at which time you're going to want the Ultimate Martial Artist anyway).

MANEUVERS AND OPTIONS

In particular consider various options like Multiple Power Attack, Sweep & Rapid Fire,
Move By & Move Thru, Haymaker, and Grab. These are all very useful tactically to expand a
character's effectiveness.
Also, pay special attention to Block, Dodge, Roll with a Punch, and Dive For Cover.
Additionally, though not mentioned specifically, a character can stand up as part of an Abort
("Get to one's feet" being a 1/2 Phase Maneuver that has the defensive benefit of improving the
character's DCV from 1/2 DCV for being Prone). Understand the pros and cons of each
defensive Manuever and when to use them. The ability to take defensive actions out of initiative
order is a hallmark of the HERO System and a major enabler of good tactics.

KNOW YOUR CHARACTER

Even if you understand the way the combat system works, to employ good tactics you must
first understand your own character. You need to comprehend their strengths and their
weaknesses, and how their abilities work.
Putting aside personality and other roleplaying considerations, a character sheet represents a
finite collection of capabilities that interact with the larger game system. It is not unreasonable to
expect the players of such characters to read the sections of the rules pertaining to their
character's particular abilities and assimilate not only how they work independently, but how
they work together.
Comprehending if the character is set up to take advantage of particular combat options,
where their odds of success are best and worst, the particular advantage they gain from
assignable resource such as Skill Levels or Framework allocations, and other such granular
considerations inform tactical decisions greatly.

ROLEPLAYING CONSIDERATIONS
Aside from understanding the mechanics behind the character, also give thought to the
personality of the character and how you visualize them in your mind. If you think of your
character as being in a movie, then think of yourself as being the Special Effects team
responsible for making it possible for the character to jump around, fight, and do larger than life
cinematic things. If you can't imagine it, then your character isn't going to be able to portray it.
 So visualize how the character moves, the kind of things they are good at, signature stunts,
and whatnot. Play thru some scenes across your mind's stage; conduct thought experiments about
how a scenario would play out, daydream, or whatever means you prefer to ignite your
imagination. Einstein came up with the theory of relativity in his head, you should be able to
figure out how Thunor the Barbarian uses Block, Sweep, and Move By to good effect in yours.
Once you have the idea in your mind's eye look at the character's sheet and figure out how to
use the rules to portray the events you imagined. When you get around to actually executing the
idea in game not only will your tactics be improved (assuming you execute in an appropriate
circumstance), but the detailed description you give will enhance the imagery of the scene for
everyone else, and if done correctly enhances the realization of the character's roleplaying
portrayal.

ABILITY CATEGORIES
There are four major categories for character abilities. Consider how your character's abilities
fall into these groups:
1. Offense
2. Defense
3. Mobility
4. Utility

OFFENSE
Obviously, anything intended to harm or hamper opponents is an Offense. Be aware of all of
your character's offensive capabilities; both those on their sheet and those built into the system
and readily accessible such as Standard Maneuvers, Presense Attacks, Knockdown / Knockback,
Falling and other Environment damage, and using objects as weapons.
DEFENSE
Anything that can prevent your character from coming to harm, or else mitigates harm is a
defensive capability. What is and isn't a defense isn't always obvious; in addition to clear-cut
defenses such as Armor it is possible for both Mobility and Utility abilities to serve as defenses
situationally, such as Desolid and Flight. Block, Dodge, Roll with Punch, and Dive For Cover
are all very important considerations in this regard, as are some key Skills and Talents such as
Defense Maneuver, Breakfall, and Combat Luck.
Frequently overlooked or mismanaged, a character's Defensive Combat Value is of key
importance. Understanding how to manage one's current DCV intelligently is a crucial aspect of
HERO System tactics. As part of this give all due consideration to using Maneuvers that reduce a
character to 1/2 DCV, as well as the utility of actions that result in an opponent dropping to 1/2
DCV.
MOBILITY
This category includes both the obvious abilities such as Flight and Running, and less
obvious abilities such as Acrobatics, Leaping, and Clinging. Use your character's movement
abilities intelligently; for instance I've seen a surprising number of players forget that heightened
STR grants extra Leaping, and I've seen several players with a character that has Clinging (or
Flight Only in Contact With A Surface) fail to think in three dimensions.
As a side note, many players don't seem to realize that you can mix movement. All too often
I've seen things like a character 1/2 Phase Run to the base of a wall and then stop, waiting until
their next action to start climbing or flying or swimming, etc.
Get used to thinking in terms of 1/2 Moves, and using movement to position the character
intelligently on the battle field to take advantage of terrain, cover, concealment, to maintain
distance from dangerous HtH opponents, to force opponents to waste actions closing, and to set
up for an attack in a later Phase.
If you have the option of standing still + doing something or half moving + doing something
then do the later. Unless your character is in a particularly advantageous place, standing still just
gives opponents time to assimilate your position and maneuver around you or pin you down.
UTILITY
The obligatory catch all category, any abilities your character has that do something besides
hurt others, protect themselves, or move them about are Utility abilities. That's not to imply that
they are undesirable; far from it in fact.
Things like Enhanced Senses, beneficial Adjustment Powers, some Body Affecting Powers,
and almost all Skills, Talents, and Perks fall into this category. Though Utility abilities rarely
have much of an impact on Tactics, being more Strategic or situational, every now and then a
clever use of a Utility ability will have interesting tactical ramifications.

KNOW YOUR ENEMY

Due to the nature of roleplaying games, you really aren't supposed to know your enemy too
well since it detracts from the fun of the game. Some players or GM's even go so far as to claim
that using tactics to defeat opponents in-game is an exercise in metagaming, i.e. manipulating the
rules of the game rather than using in-game logic to drive their actions, but I personally think
that's just a cop op to defend their inability to envision the scene in their minds and / or use their
character's intelligently.
It is completely reasonable that characters can and should use observations gained in game to
inform their decisions intelligently, both pre-combat and during combat.
Obviously if an opponent carries a big gun it communicates a need for different tactics than if
they were laden with lots of sharp pointy things, and it's not unreasonable for a character having
observed this fact to act appropriately. The semblance may be a ruse or later prove to be
misleading, but it's just good thinking to proceed as if what the character is sensing in the game
is true until proven otherwise and act accordingly.
Similarly as a combat progresses, characters observe things like the relative speed or strength
of an opponent, that they favor a particular maneuver, have a distinctive SFX that presages a
certain type of attack, and so forth. It is not unreasonable for a character to use this new found
knowledge of their opponent to take appropriate action. Out of game this results in metagame
thinking to consider and employ well chosen tactics to defeat the opponent, but its not out of
character as it is simply using information gained by the character in-game.
Far from detracting from the verisimilitude of the game, asking the GM to fully describe the
SFX, any "wind up" for various maneuvers, various "tells" required by activation Limitations on
their abilities, and similar in-game details pertaining to the opponents' actions not only informs
tactical decisions, it also results in a much better described and higher quality mental picture of
an encounter. And that's just beneficial to good roleplaying, plain and simple.
Similarly that amount of detail makes opponents far more memorable and is particularly
advantageous and enriching to the game in the case of reoccurring NPC's.
KNOW THE TERRAIN
The terrain is either your greatest ally or your greatest enemy. More battles have been
affected by terrain and environment than any other consideration. Pay attention to the details of
the battleground du jour, taking full advantage of sight lines, cover, concealment, avenues of
approach, useful objects, and high ground. Use it to your own advantage, deprive advantages to
the opposition, and be mindful of hazards.
Ask the GM to describe the scene in detail and if not playing on a battlemap, draw a quick
abstract sketch and ask the GM if it's accurate. Understanding where things are at in relation to
each other is very important, particularly for highly mobile characters.

MAINTAIN SITUATIONAL AWARENESS

Pay attention to events in play. Be aware of where characters are in relation to each other,
who has yet to act in a Phase, who has acted in a Phase, and be particularly alert to unexpected
opportunities that transpire.

TIMING
Combat is all about timing. Doing the exact same move with the exact same rolls can be
brilliant or stupid, all based upon timing. Assuming you Know the System, Your Character, Your
Enemy, and the Terrain, you have a plethora of tools in your character's toolbox at your disposal,
but without understanding when it is a good idea to use which one it amounts to naught.
Some players have a tendency to find one or two actions that work for them and then just
blindly apply them to every situation regardless of whether it is appropriate or not. Don't get
hung up on a particular stunt or trick. It's not a question of Holding, or Aborting, or
Maneuvering, or Alpha-striking, or what have you. All are good options for characters of various
designs, but only when timing favors them.
Similarly some players have abilities that are only useful in certain circumstances, but they
try to use them in situations where they are not appropriate, or success with them is not
auspicious. Growing frustrated by failure, the player then disregards the ability and never uses it
again. It's like getting frustrated when a wrench fails to drive a screw, and subsequently never
using the wrench even when presented with a bolt that needs to be tightened.
A good chunk of solid tactics is simply using the right tool at the right time.

RISK MANAGEMENT
An important corollary to tactics is managing your character's risk. Blindly charging about
doing dangerous things without a commensurate potential for payoff only works for so long. It's
all well and good to take risks, but remember to Cover Your Ass (CYA). Understand when the
situation is conducive to employing an all out attack, when it is conducive to holding back, when
an all out defense is necessary, and when you should gain space to recover.
In a larger sense you should also consider risk to your character's teammates and allies, if
any. Sometimes the best thing to do in the bigger picture is to "take one for the team" to protect a
crucial teammate, or to set another teammate up.

OPPORTUNISM
Sometimes events occur that are irregular, unplanned for, unpredictable. It is often worth
extra risk to capitalize on these unexpected opportunities. In militaristic jargon this is known as
"targets of opportunity".
When opponents unexpectedly lower their DCV, turn their back to the character, suffer a
fumble, take an action early in a Phase (and thus briefly lose their ability to Abort), have to
change clips, or otherwise suffer a momentary impediment it is tactically sound to exploit the
opportunity. Characters with "Code of the HERO", "Honorable", and similar Disadvantages may
not be able to capitalize on such boons, but other characters certainly can.
TACTICAL TENANTS
Tactics are essentially fluid and situational so it is basically impossible to codify them
into inviolate strictures without rendering them counterproductive. For tactics to remain viable
they must remain flexible and agile.
However, there are some general rules of thumb that will serve you well in a HERO System
combat.

DONT BE A ROCK EM SOCK EM ROBOT

Do not have your characters just stand around hitting and getting hit. Not only is this boring,
it uses like 1% of the Combat System. You might as well just roll dice randomly to kill time, if
that's all you want to do.
Move around, use Manuevers, Abort to defensive actions intelligently, use things in play to
springboard off of, get creative. Combat doesn't have to be a race to the last hit point.

HOLD YOUR PHASE 12

All HERO System combats start on Phase 12. This gives everyone a chance to go in the same
Phase and prevents slower characters from getting bent over a barrel before they get a chance to
do anything.
It is all too tempting to start off the combat with a bang and rip loose with an all out attack,
but unless you can totally devastate the opposition or have defenses that are so good you can
weather the return fire it is a mistake.
Hold your action and be prepared to take evasive / defensive action if necessary. Let your
opponent show their hand first, and if possible counter punch after they have committed
themselves to something.

EXCEPTION: PREEMPTIVE STRIKE

If your character happens to know that the opposition has an attack that is so powerful
allowing them to use it results in something between an unfavorable trade and total catastrophe,
then by all means take them out first even if it means going in Phase 12.

EXCEPTION: HIGH ENDURANCE COST ABILITY

If your character has an attack that has a non-negligible Endurance cost, then use it before the
end of Segment 12 if possible so that the free Post Segment 12 REC will help defray it's cost.

ONE IN THE HAND IS WORTH TWO IN THE BUSH

aka "Kick em when they are down"
A lot of players are used to games without a clean "STUN" concept, and once opponents go
down they stay down. Not so in the HERO System. While "agents" or "mooks" might stay down
at the GM's option, notable characters get Recoveries and will stand back up again if allowed to
regain their composure. It's amazing how even players that have been playing HERO's for a
while seem to forget this.
When a tough opponent gets staggered or goes below 0 STUN hit 'em again to make sure
they stay down (unless it runs against your character's roleplaying of course).

LOW DCV = SWEEP, HIGH DCV = OTHER OPTIONS

Once they are exposed to the idea and see how it works, many a player becomes enamored of
Sweep and Rapid Fire (same mechanic), and proceed to use the Maneuver every chance they get
without recourse to the consequences. This is a mistake that they are easily made to pay for as
their DCV drops to half and they subsequently get drubbed by return fire.
Which isn't to say that Sweep and Rapid Fire aren't good options. They are fantastic options
in general, but they favor characters that have lower DCV and higher OCV via combat levels.
The lower the character's DCV to begin with, the less impact dropping to 1/2 DCV is.
Characters with high DCV should pursue other options to increase their volume of attacks
such as Multiple Power Attacks, Autofire, or taking advantage of Two Weapon Fighting to
reduce the DCV penalty of Sweep / Rapid Fire.
For some characters Spreading is another useful option for affecting more than one opponent,
but this has bigger ramifications and is discussed independently below.

SEGMENTS (1, 5 ,7, 11)

According to the Speed Chart that drives combat's flow, fewer SPD values get actions on
Segments 1, 5, 7, and 11 making these Phases ideal for taking Held Actions, particularly if your
character has a follow-up action in the Segment immediately following.
Its also useful to set up Haymakers to end in 5, 7, and 11 (not so much 1 due to crossing
Post-Segment 12). Hold to the end of 4, 6, or 10 and start a Haymaker, and let it land in 5,7, or
11.

TWO-FOR-ONE SPECIAL
Using one action to take out two opponents, particularly in a case where one is adjacent (in
HtH range) and the other isn't, is a very effective tactic. There are several ways to do this.

KNOCKBACK RICOCHET
Not in the main rulebook, but clarified in the Rules FAQ and later publications (such as the
aforementioned Combat Handbook), a character can Knockback an opponent in such a way as to
hit a third character. This requires a to-hit roll using only the attackers base OCV vs. the third
character's DCV.

PITCHING ENEMIES
Similarly, though not as efficiently, it is possible to throw an opponent that has already been
grabbed in a previous Phase at another character.

SHOVE
The Martial Maneuver Shove is quite useful in this regard -- you can Shove one character
some distance and into another, also gaining some movement yourself. It is also one of the easier
ways to move opponents around against their will, and all in all a very under utilized Maneuver.

MARTIAL MANEUVERS AND MULTIPLE POWER ATTACKS

 Martial Maneuvers built on different bases can be used together as a Multiple Power Attack
to pull off very efficient actions like Nerve Strike + Take Away + Leg Sweep and other such
devastating combos. If one is prone to watching Kung Fu movies, a lot of the crazier stunts seen
therein are most closely modeled in the HERO System via creative combinations of MPA'd
Martial Maneuvers.

SPREADING
A frequently overlooked gem of a rule, Spreading allows a character to either trade damage
classes for extra OCV, or more commonly to trade damage classes to make a non-AoE attack
into a small AoE. I've seen innumerable players with characters thatcould spread their attacks
never use the option.
There is even an option to allow characters to Spread their Strength, which is a very useful
trick. Beg your GM to allow it, but beware the opposition using it on you.

KEEP YOUR ENEMIES WHERE YOU CAN SEE THEM

aka "don't turn your back on a loaded gun"
If possible, try to position your character so that no enemies are behind them, particularly if
the character has a high DCV and lower defenses.

DEFENSE MANEUVER
Failing that, if it is at all justifiable for your character's concept, get Defense Maneuver IV.
It's just about the best spent 10 points you'll likely have on your sheet.

TARGETABLE FOCI
aka "How many points did you save with that Focus again?"
Don't forget you can target Foci. Even if a Focus is indestructible (most aren't), you can
knock it loose if it's Accessible and thus deprive an opponent of whatever abilities were
purchased via the Focus.

CONCEALMENT
When using the Terrain to ones own advantage, Concealment is often available. Use it.

SHIELD OF OPPORTUNITY
If the situation presents itself and your character is taking ranged fire, feel free to rip up or
grab some appropriately useful object and use it as a Tower Shield to provide concealment and if
the GM is kind some extra DEF.

INTERPOSING
In a situation where some opponents are close in to fight in HtH, and other opponents are
standing off to use Ranged attacks try to maneuver in such a way to keep the closer HtH
opponents between your character and the ranged opponents.

DROPPING PRONE
When receiving ranged fire, and assuming no opponents are inconveniently close to melee
range, don't forget that you can Drop Prone as a 0 Phase Action, which is combinable with an
Abort to Dodge or similar. This is not exactly the same as Dive For Cover, though you do go to
1/2 DCV for being prone.
 The advantages of doing so are three fold; first off unlike D4C there is no DEX Roll
involved, secondly if you don't abort to it but do it on your own Phase it can be combined with
other Actions (such as Full Move, Drop Prone), and finally you benefit from any Concealment
which can either impose an OCV penalty on a shooter or even prevent them from firing at your
character at all if they can no longer see you.

AERIAL SUPERIORITY
Ideally you want to keep enemies on the ground and your character or allies that have the
capability off the ground. It is almost always a smart tactical move to ground an opponent or to
get oneself or an ally off the ground.

ALTITUDE
An efficient tactic for characters able to gain altitude via some fashion is to get above an
opponent and shoot from above them, seeking to do downward Knockback. This gains three
things if successful; firstly the opponent takes damage from the initial attack, secondly they lose
altitude at a disfavorable rate (it takes 2" to go up 1" for most forms of movement, but
Knockback is 1 for 1), and thirdly enough Knockback will put them into the ground for more
damage (and if they are Flying, Gliding, or Swinging they take an extra d6 of Knockback).

FMOVE IS YOUR FRIEND

Full Move (FMove) Maneuvers are great because they frequently allow your character to
take three or more 1/2 Phase Actions in a single Full Phase. That's just good Action Economy no
matter how you slice it.
The three FMove Standard Maneuvers (Move By, Move Thru, and Grab By) are all decent,
but the FMove Martial Maneuvers are all worth their weight and several are among the best
Maneuvers in the game.
Whether your character has the Martial versions or must rely on the Standard ones, get
familiar with them and apply that knowledge liberally.

CLUSTER****
This probably goes without saying, but if your character has a respectable AoE or Autofire
and several opponents clump together in nice tight little kill radius, it might be a good idea to
shift gears from what you were planning on doing that Phase and taking advantage of the
opportunity to punish them for it.

CHANNELING
Similarly, it is possible to arrange a battlefield to force opponents to clump up for AoE's, and
it is also possible to push them together over time via intersecting lines of fire that leave a
seemingly safe pocket somewhere. The opposition naturally finds their way into this pocket and
then blammo.
In games with more unusual abilities this can also be accomplished by using abilities like
Force Wall, Darkness, and Change Environment to render areas undesirable or off limits, forcing
foes to group up. Knockback and Throws can also be used to cluster opponents; several allies
could all deposit an opponent into a tight area to set a blaster or equivalent up for a big finish, for
instance.

SWITCH UP
 Often a GM will present a group of opponents that are individually well suited to facing off
against one or more PC's. If the GM then engages the PC's individually with these mini-nemesis
and the PC's get stuck in with them accordingly, it can make for a long fight.
Let the GM have a little fun, but after about a TURN or so consider having your character
deliberately disrupt the pairings. Cheapshot an opponent that is giving a comrade a hard time of
it, freeing your ally to either finish them off or in turn helping out another ally (maybe even you).
This is good tactics (it's never smart to fight your enemies battle), but on the other hand it can
be frustrating to the GM, so use responsibly.

DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO

If for some reason you aren't sure what to do, or no particularly worthwhile target is
presenting itself then 1/2 Move and Hold a 1/2 Phase. Consider it your filler action of choice.
If you frequently find yourself with nothing to do it's possible you need to reevaluate the
character and either get an ability that takes time to use like Find Weakness or Aid so that you
can translate all those extra actions into something useful, or perhaps lower your SPD and recoup
some points.
Alternately you might just be indecisive, which you are on your own to resolve.