DRAGONFLY’S HOUSE RULES!

FOR BASH UE
average Characteristics set at 10, and the
BENCHMARKS FOR maximum for “normal” humans at least softly

BASH UE set at 20.

Translating these values to BASH UE, with its

Determining attributes for characters in games
unique use of Multipliers to quantify Stat
like Dungeons & Dragons is usually easy
values, can be somewhat daunting to players
enough. You simply roll a set of numbers and
used to more traditional systems. I use the
assign them to the various Abilities. Point-build
following tables to help my players understand
systems offer more flexibility but are also
what BASH UE values equate to in Dungeons &
potentially more confusing, forcing players to
Dragons, Mutants and Masterminds, and even
think more about what the numbers mean as
the HERO System. My hope is that this will aid
they struggle to assign values. What Strength
them during character generation.
score, for instance, makes sense for a lithe
human swordswoman? Should I go with a It is important to note that we use the
Strength 24? That gives her a nice damage Heightened power as presented in BAM #5. This
bonus, but it might also break concept if I power adds a certain level of granularity to
imagined the character as something other than BASH UE Stats, and that fact is reflected in some
muscle-bound to an extreme. Such decisions of the tables below. Options, however, are
abound in any role-playing game, but they are provided for other styles of play.
magnified in point-build systems, where players
have more control over crafting their
characters.

TRANLATING STATS FROM OTHER GAMES TO

BASH UE

Gauging Stats, Powers, and abilities in BASH UE

might be even more difficult than in other
games for two reasons. First, the mechanics,
while brilliant and innovative, involve values
that are somewhat dissimilar from those of
traditional table-top RPGs. Dungeons &
Dragons, the most widely-played RPG of all
time, uses an Ability mechanic, where 10 is
human average and 18 is the maximum for
starting human characters. Through level
advancement, human characters can have their
Abilities increased to a maximum of 23. Being
derived from Dungeons & Dragons, Mutants
and Masterminds used a similar model for
Abilities in its 1st and 2nd editions. The HERO
System employs a similar range of values, with
DRAGONFLY’S HOUSE RULES! FOR BASH UE
CONVERSION TABLE:
HIGH GRANULARITY
D20/HERO STAT BASH UE STAT

1-2 x0

3-4 x0+1

5-6 x0+2

7-8 x0+3

9-10 x1

11-12 x1+1

13-14 x1+2

15-16 x1+3

17-18 x2

19-20 x2+1

21-22 x2+2

23-25 x2+3
ASSIGNING VALUES IN A WORLD OF SUPERS
Some players prefer a simplified use of The other reason why assigning Stats in BASH
Heightened that grants a flat +3 Result Bonus to UE might be hard on players is because it’s a
the Stat modified by the power. The following superhero game. As with all such games, the
table should be used in those cases. range of possibilities is so vast that players can
CONVERSION TABLE:
often get lost in the options. Besides,
MEDIUM GRANULARITY aficionados of the comic book genre have all
D20/HERO STAT BASH UE STAT sorts of opinions regarding how strong, fast,
0-6 x0 smart, hard-hitting, or resilient their favorite
7-8 x0+3 comic book character is. It’s probably important
9-10 x1 for narrator and players to be on the same page
11-16 x1+3 with regards to what the numbers mean in their
17-22 x2 particular campaign. Otherwise, the game can
23-25 x2+3 lose cohesion pretty quickly.

Other groups prefer not to use Heightened at The following tables provide benchmarks for
all. The following table might be of use to you, if superhero gaming by providing values for iconic
you find yourself in this camp. comic book characters from Marvel Comics and
DC Comics. These are, of course, subject to my
CONVERSION TABLE: particular interpretation of these characters, so
LOW GRANULARITY individual narrators should “season-to-taste” if
D20/HERO STAT BASH UE STAT they are going to use these tables at all.
0-8 x0

9-16 X1 Furthermore, it should be noted that while I’ve

17-25 x2 used the Heightened power as it appears in
BAM #5 for these benchmarks, I’ve opted for
DRAGONFLY’S HOUSE RULES! FOR BASH UE
the “medium granularity” application of that
power, which grants a flat +3 Result Modifier to
the Stat in question. The reason for this is that
fiddling with +1, +2, or +3 Result Bonus’ on a
table like this would make the project unwieldy.
More discerning narrators could tweak these
values to enhance the level of granularity.
Narrators who don’t use Heightened could
simply collapse categories with like multipliers.

BRAWN
MARVEL COMICS VALUE DC COMICS AGILITY
X0 MARVEL COMICS VALUE DC COMICS

Bruce Banner X0
Doctor Strange
Firestar Bruce Banner
Changeling
Giant-Man / Ant-Man Colossus
Fire
Human Torch II Doctor Strange X1 Raven
Ice
Invisible Woman X1 Hulk
Mister Fantastic Raven Professor X
Phoenix Robin III
Zatanna Cyclops
Professor X
Firestar
Scarlet Witch Booster Gold
Giant-Man / Ant-Man
Wasp Changeling
Iceman
Cyborg
Black Canary II Invisible Woman
Fire
Cyclops Blue Beetle II Iron Man X1+3
Ice
Iceman Booster Gold Phoenix
Lex Luthor
Nightcrawler Doctor Fate II Rogue
X1+3 Zatanna
Quicksilver Flash III Scarlet Witch
Shadowcat Green Arrow She-Hulk
Storm Green Lantern II Thing
Lex Luthor
Angel Black Canary II
Angel Hawkeye Blue Beetle II
Daredevil Human Torch II Doctor Fate II
X2 Nightwing Green Arrow
Hawkeye Shadowcat
X2 Green Lantern II
Wolverine Storm
Sub-Mariner Martian Manhunter
Black Panther Thor Robin III
X2+3 Batman
Captain America Wasp Starfire
Beast X3 Starfire Black Panther
Aquaman
Spider-Man X3+3 Cyborg Captain America
X2+3 Batman
Daredevil
Nightwing
Colossus Wolverine
Iron Man X4 Aquaman
Rogue Beast
Mister Fantastic X3 Wonder Woman
She-Hulk Nightcrawler
Sub-Mariner X4+3
Thing Captain Marvel
Spider-Man X3+3
Superman
Martian Manhunter
Thor X5 X4
Wonder Woman

Captain Marvel Quicksilver X4+3

Hulk
X5+3
Silver Surfer Superman X5

Silver Surfer X5+3 Flash III

DRAGONFLY’S HOUSE RULES! FOR BASH UE
MIND
MARVEL COMICS VALUE DC COMICS

Hulk X0

X1
Colossus
Firestar X1+3 Ice
Rogue

Aquaman
Angel
Captain Marvel
Hawkeye Changeling
Human Torch II Fire
X2
Nightcrawler Green Arrow
Quicksilver
Green Lantern II
Thor
Starfire

Captain America
Cyclops Black Canary II
Iceman Cyborg
Invisible Woman Flash III
She-Hulk Martian Manhunter
X2+3
Storm Nightwing
Sub-Mariner Robin III
Thing Wonder Woman
Wasp Zatanna
Wolverine

Scarlet Witch
Shadowcat X3
Silver Surfer

Black Panther Blue Beetle II

Bruce Banner
X3+3 Raven
Daredevil
Spider-Man Superman

Beast
X4
Giant-Man / Ant-Man

Iron Man
Batman
Phoenix X4+3
Doctor Fate II
Professor X

X5 Lex Luthor

Doctor Strange
X5+3
Mister Fantastic
DRAGONFLY’S HOUSE RULES! FOR BASH UE
DAMAGE
MARVEL COMICS STAT DC COMICS

x0

x0+3

x1

x1+3

x2 Robin III’s punch (standard)

Black Canary II’s punch (standard)

Daredevil’s Billy Club (standard) *x2+13+ x2+3
Robin III’s combat staff (standard) *x2+8+

Robin III’s punch (offensive)

Daredevil’s punch (standard) x3
Nightwing’s punch (standard)

Captain America’s punch (standard) Black Canary II’s punch (offensive)

x3+3
Daredevil’s Billy Club (offensive) *x3+13+ Robin III’s combat staff (offensive) *x3+8+

Daredevil’s punch (offensive) x4 Nightwing’s punch (offensive)

Captain America’s punch (offensive)

x4+3 Batman’s punch (offensive)
Wasp’s blast

Beast’s punch
Hawkeye’s explosive arrows x5
Wolverine’s claws (armor piercing)

Captain America’s shield bash

Cyclops’ blast x5+3
Spider-Man’s punch

Human Torch’s blast X6 Aquaman’s punch

Iron Man’s blast

X6+3 Flash III’s super speed punch (offensive)
Thing’s punch [x6+8]

Green Lantern II’s standard blast

Silver Surfer’s standard blast
X7 Martian Manhunter’s punch
Thor’s punch
Wonder Woman’s punch

Hulk’s punch *x7+13+ X7+3

X8

X8+3
Thor’s hammer strike X9

X9+3

X10
Hulk’s punch at maximum rage (x10+13) X10+3 Superman’s punch
DRAGONFLY’S HOUSE RULES! FOR BASH UE
SOAK
MARVEL COMICS STAT DC COMICS

x0

x0+3
Wasp x1
Cyclops x1+3 Black Canary II [x3+3 vs. HTH]

Daredevil [x4 vs. HTH]

Nightwing [x4 vs. HTH]
Hawkeye x2
Robin III [x3 vs. HTH]
Human Torch II [x2, x4 vs. meltable weapons]

x2+3 Flash III

x3
Batman [x4+3 vs. HTH]
Captain America [x4+3 vs. HTH] x3+3
Green Lantern II

x4

x4+3
Aquaman
Beast [x5 vs. HTH]
x5 Martian Manhunter [x5+25]
Wolverine [x5]
Wonder Woman [x7 vs. HTH]

Spider-Man [x5+3] x5+3

X6
Thing [x6+8] X6+3
Iron Man X7
Hulk [x7+13] X7+3
Silver Surfer
X8
Thor

Hulk [x8+13 at maximum rage] X8+3 Superman

X9

X9+3

X10

X10+3
DRAGONFLY’S HOUSE RULES! FOR BASH UE
TO HIT
MARVEL COMICS STAT DC COMICS

x0

X0+3

X1

X1+3

X2

X2+3
Colossus (w/HTH)
Doctor Strange (w/standard spells)
Hulk (w/HTH)
Green Lantern II (w/standard blast)
Human Torch II (w/standard fire blast) X3
Martian Manhunter (w/HTH)
Storm (w/weather powers)
Sub-Mariner (w/HTH)
Wasp (w/bio-electric sting)

Cyclops (w/standard blast)

Giant-Man / Ant-Man (w/HTH)
Aquaman (w/HTH)
Invisible Woman (w/force field attacks) X3+3
Superman (w/HTH)
Iron Man (w/standard repulse blast)
Thing (w/HTH)

Black Canary II (w/accurate punch)

Mister Fantastic (w/HTH) X4
Robin III (w/accurate punch)

Captain America (w/accurate punch)

Batman (w/accurate punch)
Daredevil (w/accurate punch) X4+3
Nightwing (w/accurate punch)
Wolverine (w/claws)

Beast (w/accurate punch)

Hawkeye (w/archery)
X5 Wonder Woman (w/HTH)
Nightcrawler (w/accurate punch)
Thor (w/hammer strike)

Spider-Man (w/HTH) X5+3

X6
Quicksilver (w/super speed attacks) X6+3

X7
Silver Surfer (with standard cosmic blast) X7+3 Flash III (w/standard super speed attacks)

X8

X8+3

X9

X9+3

X10

X10+3
DRAGONFLY’S HOUSE RULES! FOR BASH UE
DEFENSE
MARVEL COMICS STAT DC COMICS

x0

x0+3
Colossus
Doctor Strange X1
Hulk (-1x1)

Cyclops (x3+3 w/Deflect)

Giant-Man / Ant-Man (-5x1+3 w/Growing)
Giant-Man / Ant-Man (+4x3+3 w/Shrinking Dodge)
X1+3
Invisible Woman
Iron Man
Thing

Hawkeye (x4 w/Dodge, x5 vs. HTH)

Human Torch II Black Canary II (x4 w/Dodge, x5 vs. HTH)
Storm Green Lantern II
X2 Martian Manhunter (x3 w/Super Speed)
Sub-Mariner
Thor (x4 w/Deflect) Robin III (x4 w/Dodge, x5 vs. HTH)
Wasp (+3x4 w/Shrinking Dodge)

Captain America (x4+3 vs. HTH, x5+3 w/Shield) Aquaman

Daredevil (x4+3 w/Dodge, x5+3 vs. HTH) X2+3 Batman (x4+3 w/Dodge, x5+3 vs. HTH)
Wolverine (x4+3 w/Dodge, x5+3 vs. HTH) Nightwing (x4+3 w/Dodge, x5+3 vs. HTH)

Beast (x5 w/Deflect)

Mister Fantastic X3 Wonder Woman (x5 w/Deflect)
Nightcrawler (x5 w/Deflect)

Spider-Man (x5+3 w/Danger Sense) X3+3 Superman (x4+3 w/Super Speed)

X4
Quicksilver (x6+3 w/Super Speed) X4+3

X5
Silver Surfer X5+3 Flash III (x7+3 w/Super Speed)

X6

X6+3

X7

X7+3

X8

X8+3

X9

X9+3

X10

X10+3
DRAGONFLY’S HOUSE RULES! FOR BASH UE

great deal of thought into their weapon

EXPANDED WEAPONS lists, and because I am very familiar with the

AND ARMOR RULES system, having played it for over 20 years.

Finally, I converted most of the weapons on
There is nothing wrong with the weapon Stats
the HERO System basic equipment list over to
presented in BASH UE. They are perfectly
BASH UE. I went through a similar (albeit far
adequate for most superhero fare, which is
less structured) process to convert HERO
what the game is designed to emulate. Some
System armors over to BASH UE.
gaming groups, however, might benefit from
slightly more defined weapon write-ups.
In most cases, damage for the converted HERO
System weapons pretty well matched the
I went through three steps to provide that for
damages already appearing in BASH UE. BASH
my players. First, I decided to apply the logic of
UE pistols, for instance, do x2 damage.
the Heightened power to the weapon and
Although some of the converted pistols do as
armor rules. This allows for more granularity in
much as x3 damage, they tend to hover around
terms of damage and defense, without really
the x2 range, with the average being x2.4 or so.
changing the system. Second, I created a
The only glaring exception occurred with rapid
system to convert damage from the HERO
fire weapons. This is because HERO System
System to BASH UE. Why the HERO System?
uses a multiple damage roll mechanic to model
Because I think its game designers have put a
such weapons, while BASH UE uses a single
DRAGONFLY’S HOUSE RULES! FOR BASH UE
damage roll mechanic. As a consequence, RIFLES AND ASSAULT
WEAPONS
converted rapid-fire weapons end up with
SUBMACHINE GUNS
damage values far below what appears in the
.45 ACP Ingram MAC-10 x4+3
BASH UE rulebook. To correct this I simply
.45 ACP Thompson M-1928 x4+3
added a +2 DM to all converted rapid-fire
9mm H&K MP5 x4
weapons.
9mm Uzi x4

RIFLES
You can find the results of my work below. I
also provide the conversion system for anybody .30-06 M-1 Garand x3+3

who might be interested in the Appendix to this .30-06 Springfield M1903 x3+3

document. .450 M H&H African x4

7.62R SVD Dragunov x3+3

MUSCLE-POWERED ASSAULT RIFLES

RANGED WEAPONS
.30 M-2 Carbine x4+3
BOWS
5.56mm Colt M16/M16A1 x5
Bow (heavy) x2+3
7.62mm FN-FAL x5+3
Bow (light) x1+3
7.62mm R AK-47/AKM-47 x5
Bow (medium) x2
SHOTGUNS
Crossbow (heavy) x2+3
12 gauge Shot x3
Crossbow (light) x2
12 gauge Slug x4
Longbow (heavy) x3

Longbow (light) x2 ARTILLERY AND

EXPLOSIVES
Longbow (medium) x2+3
HEAVY WEAPONS

.50 M2HB HMG x6+3

SIDEARMS
57mm M18 Recoilless Rifle x7
REVOLVERS
7.62mm M60 LMG x5+3
.357 M Colt Python x2+3
M72A3 LAW Rocket x7+3
.38 Derringer x1+3
EXPLOSIVES
.38 S&W Model 10 x1+3
Dynamite (1 stick) x2+3
.44 M Llama Super Comanche x3
Dynamite (2 sticks) x3
.45 Colt Peacemaker x2+3
Dynamite (4 sticks) x4
SEMI-AUTOMATIC PISTOLS
Fragmentation Grenade x3
.22 LR High Standard Trophy x1
Heavy Bomb x6+3
.30 Luger P-08 x2
Howitzer Round x6
.380 A Walther PPK/S x1+3
Mortar Round x5
.44 Automag x3
Plastic Explosive (1 block) x6
.45 ACP Colt M1911/M1911A1 x2+3

.50 AE Desert Eagle x3+3

9mm Browning Hi Power x2

DRAGONFLY’S HOUSE RULES! FOR BASH UE
MELEE WEAPONS
WEAPON

Axe (battle) x3

Axe (great) x3+3

Axe (hand) x1+3

Baton x1+3

Club (great) x3

Club (war) x2+3

Club x2

Dagger x1

Hammer (small) x1

Hammer (war) x2

Hammer x1+3

Javelin x2

Knife x1

Mace (great) x3

Mace (small) x1+3

Mace x2
ARMOR
Pole Arm x3 ARMOR ANCIENT MODERN SUPER
Spear (long) x3 VALUE ARMOR ARMOR SKIN

Spear (medium) x2+3 x0+1 Cloth

Spear (short) x2 x0+2 Leather

Sword (bastard) x2+3 x0+3 Boiled Leather

Sword (great) x3 x1 Brigandine

Sword (long) x2 x1+1 Scale

Sword (short) x1+3 x1+2 Chain Soft

Body Armor

x1+3 Plate and Chain

x2 Full Plate Stone Skin

x2+1 Hard
Body Armor

x2+2

x2+3 Advanced
Body Armor

x3 Advanced Metal Skin

Polymers

x3+1

x3+2

x3+3 Plasteel
DRAGONFLY’S HOUSE RULES! FOR BASH UE
Similarly, characters also have a Maximum Lift
ALTERNATE LIFTING value determined by their Brawn. Characters
RULES cannot lift weights in excess of their Maximum
Lift regardless of what they roll. Casual Lift and
Maximum Lift values are listed on the Character
In one of my favorite moments in comic book
Lifting Capacity Table below. A Compressed
history, the Molecule Man picks up a mountain
Character Lifting Capacity Table is included for
range and drops it on the team of superheroes
use by groups who do not use the Heightened
assembled by the Beyonder to fight in his Secret
power published in BAM #5.
Wars. Being who he is, the Hulk catches the
mountain and holds it up, while Reed Richards
frantically jury rigs Iron Man’s armor to blast a
hole large enough for the heroes to escape
before being crushed. One of the things I loved
about that moment was the tension. Strong as
he was, the Hulk had to strain to hold up the
mountain, and his success was hardly assured.
In short, the moment was dramatic. These
alternate lifting rules attempt to introduce that
level of drama to the lifting dynamic in BASH
UE.

Currently in BASH UE, lifting is simply a function

of a character’s Brawn score; either a character
can lift something, or he can’t – no roll
required. The following rules maintain an
aspect of that mechanic, as there are minimum
values that characters will always be able to lift
according their Brawn. However, a lifting check
mechanic is also introduced, allowing
characters to lift beyond their limits in
strenuous situations.

THE RULES

The Lifting Difficulty Table below lists weights

along with corresponding Difficulty Numbers
and real-world benchmarks. When a character
wants to lift an object, the Narrator consults the
table to determine an appropriate difficulty
number. The character’s Brawn is then rolled to
see if the attempt is successful.

Not every lift attempt, however, requires a

Brawn check. Characters have a Casual Lift
value determined by their Brawn. Characters
can lift any weight up to this value without
rolling.
DRAGONFLY’S HOUSE RULES! FOR BASH UE
LIFTING DIFFICULTY Character LIFTING
TABLE Capacity TABLE
DIFFICULTY WEIGHT EXAMPLE BRAWN STANDARD CASUAL MAXIMUM
LIFT RANGE LIFT LIFT
3 10 lbs
x0 1-10 lbs 10 lbs 20 lbs
4 20 lbs Shotput
x0+1 11-20 lbs 20 lbs 40 lbs
5 30 lbs
x0+2 21-30 lbs 30 lbs 60 lbs
6 40 lbs
x0+3 31-40 lbs 40 lbs 80 lbs
7 50 lbs TV
x1 41-50 lbs 50 lbs 100 lbs
8 100 lbs
x1+1 51-100 lbs 100 lbs 200 lbs
9 200 lbs Man
x1+2 101-200 lbs 200 lbs 400 lbs
10 300 lbs
x1+3 201-300 lbs 300 lbs 600 lbs
15 400 lbs
x2 301-400 lbs 400 lbs 800 lbs
16 500 lbs
x2+1 401-500 lbs 500 lbs 1,000 lbs
17 900 lbs Motorcycle
x2+2 501-900 lbs 900 lbs 1,800 lbs
18 1 ton
x2+3 901 lbs - 1 ton 1 ton 2 tons
22 2 ton Small Car
x3 2 tons 2 tons 6 tons
23 3 tons Truck
x3+1 3 tons 3 tons 9 tons
24 5 tons Truck
x3+2 4-5 tons 5 tons 15 tons
25 10 tons
x3+3 6-10 tons 10 tons 30 tons
30 20 tons Jet Fighter
x4 11-20 tons 20 tons 80 tons
31 30 tons
x4+1 21-30 tons 30 tons 120 tons
32 50 tons Tank
x4+2 31-50 tons 50 tons 200 tons
33 100 tons
x4+3 51-100 tons 100 tons 400 tons
37 200 tons
x5 101-200 tons 200 tons 1,000 tons
38 300 tons Large Plane
x5+1 201-300 tons 300 tons 1,500 tons
39 500 tons
x5+2 301-500 tons 500 tons 2,500 tons
40 1,000 tons Trawler
x5+3 501-1,000 tons 1,000 tons 5,000 tons
45 2,000 tons

46 3,000 tons COMPRESSED

47 5,000 tons CHARACTER LIFTING
CAPACITY TABLE
48 10,000 tons Destroyer BRAWN STANDARD CASUAL MAXIMUM
52 20,000 tons LIFT RANGE LIFT LIFT

53 30,000 tons Cruiser 0 1-40 lbs 20 lbs 80 lbs

54 50,000 tons 1 41-300 lbs 100 lbs 600 lbs.

55 100,000 tons 2 301 lbs-1 ton 500 lbs 2 tons

3 2-10 tons 3 tons 30 tons

4 11-100 tons 30 tons 400 tons

5 101-1,000 tons 300 tons 5,000 tons

DRAGONFLY’S HOUSE RULES! FOR BASH UE

APPENDIX
BASH UE – HERO SYSTEM
DAMAGE CONVERSION
BASH UE HERO SYSTEM
DAMAGE DAMAGE CLASS
x1 1
x1+3 2
x2 3
x2+3 4
x3 5
x3+3 6
x4 7
x4+3 8
x5 9
x5+3 10
x6 11
x6+3 12
x7 13
x7+3 14
x8 15
x8+3 16
x9 17
x9+3 18
x10 19
x10+3 20