[Help Wanted] Fan Page for Slayers HERO

[Michael Hopcroft]

Guys, I actually need some help on this, and I'm not sure how to ask for it without stepping on some toes.

I am finally getting my fanwork page together, and I am planning to include as part of it a guide to using HERO to roleplay in the Slayers universe -- or, more specifically, the universe of my continuation series Slayers Inheritance. This means that not only will I be wanting to write up the main cast of the series somewhat older and with a different power set, but I will also be writing up some of their children.

I figured I could get the most signficant rules material from Fantasy HERO (with an ungodly Spell Multiplier to reflect just how potent and omnipresent magic is) but there are still a few rules questions I would like advice on as i do these characters up in HD:

1. Wrapping my brain around Multiform has always been a challenge to me. I'm going to have to figure out how to write up a Golden Dragon and Ancient Dragon template with enough room in Multiform that their human forms are as formidable as they need to be to relfect what happens in the novella.

2. I need to get my hands on 5e writeups of the most important Slayers spells (Dragon Slave, Rah Tilt, etc.) so that I can plug them right in without too much difficulty. Doing it myself is possible, but it would be a lot of extra work and i can always tweak once given the basics. (And no, I don't have a copy of reality Storm on hand at the moment; if I did I would seriously think about doing at least some conversions from Tri-Stat).

3. I need to figure out where there is a martial Arts package that best fits the sword style used by Gourry Gabriev. Gourry's role in the Inheritance series is more that of a mentor than a front-line combatant most of the time -- in fact, i think he went through the whole book without hitting anyone with his sword once, and at one point refused to even draw the Blast Blade (the Sword of Light's supernaturally sharp successor weapon) because he dared not risk killing his adversary. (Actually, the entire series challenges the "dumb-as-a-sack-of-hammers" view of Gourry, as I tend to portray him as more 'heart-smart' than "head-smart" anyway.) Anyway, it is well-established that he is among the best swordsmen in the world, if not the very best, so he is obviously both skilled and disciplined.

In any event, this is a call for assistance and thoughts on the subject. If you like, I will keep you posted on my progress.

[Edsel]

I have the Slayer d20 stuff and I have thought about how do convert some of the stuff into a Slayer Hero setting before. But it has been a couple of years since I entertained those thoughts and they never really got beyond the contemplation stage. With the holidays just ahead I really don't know how much free time I'll have and I am pretty bad about being lazy and procrastinating so no promises. I'll think about it some and if I come up with something useful I'll post it here.

I'd check on Susano's site to see if he has anything but I am at work and just about to be firewalled for the start of working hours.

[Curufea]

Coincidentally I just started watching my Slayers DVDs yesterday. I haven't got the OVAs yet though. One of my friends also has the D20 book.

[Edsel]

2. I need to get my hands on 5e writeups of the most important Slayers spells (Dragon Slave, Rah Tilt, etc.) so that I can plug them right in without too much difficulty. Doing it myself is possible, but it would be a lot of extra work and i can always tweak once given the basics. (And no, I don't have a copy of reality Storm on hand at the moment; if I did I would seriously think about doing at least some conversions from Tri-Stat).

Looking at the BESM stats for certain spells and then using the conversion info provided in Reality Storm you get the following:

Dragon Slave: 18d6 EB, AE 27" Radius (+1 1/2), Extra Time Full PHA (-1/2). Active Points = 225, Real Points = 150. Of course this is just the most basic write-up. In reality you should probably include gestures, incantation and perhaps concentration.

Rah Tilt: 6d6 RKA, AE 1 Hex Accurate (+1/2), Only vs. Creatures That Have A Soul (-1/2). Active Points = 135, Real Cost = 90. Once again things like gestures and incantation should probably be added.

Elmekia Lance: 1 1/2d6 EGO Attack. Active Points = 30. That's pretty much it and if you ask me it's awfully weak. When Amelia uses it it seems much more effective than a mere 1 1/2d6.

Dam Brass: 7d6 EB. Active Points = 35. Another seemingly weak spell.

Mega Brand: 6d6 EB & 6d6 Flash vs. Sight Group. AE 8" (+1 1/4), Reduced Penetration (-1/4). Active Points = 87, Real Cost = 70. As you can see you come up with some widely divergent power levels among the various spells.

Giga Slave: 10d6 RKA, AE 45" Radius (+1 1/2), Extra Time Full PHA (-1/2), Requires Skill Roll (-1/2). Active Points = 375, Real Cost = 187. The Skill roll is a control roll to keep from losing control of the spell. Losing control will cause the destruction of the entire plane of existence. I am not really too clear on how to model this exactly.

That's just a few pieced together in a short period of time. I followed the conversion rules very closely, even when I disagreed with them. Still I had to make certain calls on the fly (for instance making the Dragon Slave an EB, the Giga Slave an RKA and deciding to call the Elmekia Lance an EGO attack instead of an NND of some sort).

[Michael Hopcroft]

Looking at the BESM stats for certain spells and then using the conversion info provided in Reality Storm you get the following:

Dragon Slave: 18d6 EB, AE 27" Radius (+1 1/2), Extra Time Full PHA (-1/2). Active Points = 225, Real Points = 150. Of course this is just the most basic write-up. In reality you should probably include gestures, incantation and perhaps concentration.

Lina, by midway through the second season, usually only has to say "Dragon Slave' to launch the tacnuke. This is an indicator that different casters need different things to cast the same spell, and that the same spell is of varying power for different casters (Sylphiel's Dragon Slave is much weaker than Lina's).

Elmekia Lance: 1 1/2d6 EGO Attack. Active Points = 30. That's pretty much it and if you ask me it's awfully weak. When Amelia uses it it seems much more effective than a mere 1 1/2d6.

Another example of a spell that can be scaled. Amelia's Elmekia lance is probably three or four times as powerful as this, but if the rations are retained it should still work.

Dam Brass: 7d6 EB. Active Points = 35. Another seemingly weak spell.

But still more than enough to tackle a small bandit gang. Lina's most powerful spells are extreme overkill in a lot of typical fantasy RPG circumstances. Of course, this doesn't bother Lina at all.

Giga Slave: 10d6 RKA, AE 45" Radius (+1 1/2), Extra Time Full PHA (-1/2), Requires Skill Roll (-1/2). Active Points = 375, Real Cost = 187. The Skill roll is a control roll to keep from losing control of the spell. Losing control will cause the destruction of the entire plane of existence. I am not really too clear on how to model this exactly.

One could write it up as a Side Effect, with a failed roll resulting in a large EGO Attack against the caster (if the attack overcomes the character, she becomes the avatar of L-sama and an NPC until L-sama decides to let her come back), but that's mainly a plot device. And Giga Slave does not work at all if L-sama chooses not to allow it to, which makes it even more of a plot device magic.

How hard is Reality Storm to find these days? I could use a copy for this project, not to mention for a few Tenchi RPG conversions I had in mind.

That's just a few pieced together in a short period of time. I followed the conversion rules very closely, even when I disagreed with them. Still I had to make certain calls on the fly (for instance making the Dragon Slave an EB, the Giga Slave an RKA and deciding to call the Elmekia Lance an EGO attack instead of an NND of some sort).

[Curufea]

Mega Brand? I thought it was Mega Brando or is that just the accent?

[Edsel]

Another example of a spell that can be scaled. Amelia's Elmekia lance is probably three or four times as powerful as this, but if the rations are retained it should still work.

I certainly agree with this. You also have the case of the amplifier that Lina gets her hands on and numerous other foci and magical aids are alluded to and used throughout the series.

How hard is Reality Storm to find these days? I could use a copy for this project, not to mention for a few Tenchi RPG conversions I had in mind.

I got my copy of Reality Storm when it first went on sale. I had forgotten that I had the BESM Slayers books untill I started digging through some stuff last night. I have the d20 version also. EDIT: Reality Storm is still listed in the Online Store.

Mega Brand? I thought it was Mega Brando or is that just the accent?

I have seen it spelt as Mega Brando and Mega Brunt depending on the source. The BESM guide spells it as Mega Brand.

[Michael Hopcroft]

Another thing model, not a spell but a tactic, is the attack Lina refers to as Men Are Sad Creatures. This is, in its essence, a Distraction attack in which one character does something so outrageous that ti completely monopolizes the enemy's attention. This gives the other character the opportunity to clean their clocks without opposition.

It is one situation on which having Naga the Serpent tagging along is actually an asset. Naga is a living, breathing Presence Attack; everything about her, from her overdeveloped figure and bizarre dress preferences to her infamous laugh, is designed to draw attention to herself. But she is also insane and egomaniacal, and lacks the skill to back up the reputation she is trying to build as Future Conqueror of the World and, more significantly, Greatest Rival of Lina Inverse.

[Edsel]

Another thing model, not a spell but a tactic, is the attack Lina refers to as Men Are Sad Creatures. This is, in its essence, a Distraction attack in which one character does something so outrageous that ti completely monopolizes the enemy's attention. This gives the other character the opportunity to clean their clocks without opposition.

I'd simply buy it as a bonus to a PRE attack with limited specific effects. A more complicated approach would be to buy it as a sort of EGO-based entangle with the proper FX and a limitation on how long it lasts.

[Michael Hopcroft]

Mega Brand? I thought it was Mega Brando or is that just the accent?

It is very rare for a word in Japanese to end on a consonant sound -- usually the "n" sound is the only consonant sound that ends a word.