In honor of this second issue I thought I would reinforce the idea that one should never underestimate their opponent. I bring this up because I lost a dear friend, Haversham the Lion, to a simple farmer-turned-militia. Haversham closed with the militia ranks expecting them to crumble before his fury and then cut down the few that still opposed him. However, while most of the militia did flee from his mercenaries a simple farmer, not even old enough for a proper beard, thrust his spear through Haversham's armor and deep into his side. I toasted my friend long into the night in a way that no dishonorable thief or weak-bladdered wizard could every understand. But enough about the injustices of the world, lets look over Haversham's mistakes.

Combat levels in HERO can be your best friend, but too often we become so burded by changing them around that we stick to a single pattern. In this case Haversham had all of his levels in offense and damage so that he could wade through as many people as possible. This was obviously a mistake — even worse, he missed two of his levels that could have been allocated to defense just because they were buried on his sheet. To counter this I would suggest that each warrior come up with 3-5 combat stances that reflect a mixing of their levels.

The three obvious ones are an all offensive, all defensives, and all damage potential. However, because damage potential can be split between raising the Damage Class and simple adding +1 BODY this can often times be split into 2 or 3 sub-types. Then after adding a few “mixed” stances (70% offensive, 10% defensive, 20% damage) it is possible to again bury yourself. That is what makes the 3-5 rule so important — if something becomes too complicated then it will not be used effectively, which just gives an opening to those beedy eyed thieves of the world.

These stances should be recorded on a small combat card that also lists your weapon and armor that you typically deploy in during heavy combat, light combat, and surprise combat. These options can easily be put on a 4×6 card as a handy reference. Now when combat occurs you will have 90% of your needed information at a moments notice, just put a small marker on the sheet to show your current stance and you will never again stumble when the GM questions your CV. Just remember to update your card when you purchase new levels.

Okay, so the Block is fairly useless in HERO unless you happen to have a lower DEX that your opponent — and you ever figure out how you speed up or slow down relative to other “non-blocked” opponents. Still, a proper block can provide you with a great deal of potential if used properly.

Because Block is a manuever, it offers you the opportunity to switch around your levels. This means you can block while switching to a very defensive stance so that if the block fails you are prepared to avoid the blow. Secondly many weapons with quillions will actually offer a bonus to any block, bind, and disarm rolls. These free levels help offset the normally +3 DCV someone gets from dodging. Finally, there is always that bennie if your opponent happens to have a higher initiative.

Okay, that is about as pleased as I can be about the Block in HERO without sicking-up. Damn, just going over that piece of garbage makes me need a tankard — where is that wench! Conclusion

So raise a glass in the memory of Haversham and get working on a card of your battle stances before the same pattern befalls you.