RexMundi Posted February 9, 2011 Report Share Posted February 9, 2011 Re: Announcing Kazei 5, Second Edition In regards to the RPG.net reviewer. One of the things I liked about the Kazei 5 book was the fact that the tech was in the front, and I wasn't bombarded with setting until I got done with the tech format. For a HERO system player, having the mechanics in the front is a good thing. For others, it's not what they are used to, hence, they do the disjointed rambling. Very good book worth having on the shelf. ~Rex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost-angel Posted February 9, 2011 Report Share Posted February 9, 2011 Re: Announcing Kazei 5, Second Edition The reviewer is a Hero gamer - and doesn't much care about being bombarded with writeups. Good settings are more appreciated. And provide context for said mechanics. Just an opinion on the matter, endless writeups are boring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayapuppies Posted February 9, 2011 Report Share Posted February 9, 2011 Re: Announcing Kazei 5, Second Edition Has anyone used Hero (and Kazei Five) to run the Eclipse Phase RPG setting? It's a farther into the future setting' date=' with full-blown transhumanism (cyborgs, AIs, backing up your mind and putting it into a new body, etc.)[/quote'] I know, first hand, that Adam Jury would like to be kept in the loop on any and all Hero System conversion work for this setting. Or so he asked me when I suggested I was thinking of doing the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susano Posted February 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2011 Re: Announcing Kazei 5, Second Edition The reviewer is a Hero gamer - and doesn't much care about being bombarded with writeups. Good settings are more appreciated. And provide context for said mechanics. Just an opinion on the matter, endless writeups are boring. And I wanted a lot of sample cyber and stuff for those who were less into the setting and more into the mechanics and the like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RexMundi Posted February 12, 2011 Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 Re: Announcing Kazei 5, Second Edition And I wanted a lot of sample cyber and stuff for those who were less into the setting and more into the mechanics and the like. In short it was a multi audience product. There are LOTS of Hero players out there that love to have piles of write ups they can draw from and or modify. Any Chimpanzee, can write piles of Setting (Some get made into movies or novels even, Hells, look at Eragon). To be able to Mesh your setting with the scaled Write ups is where it gets hard. Now you have to make the word flow work with the numbers. Hence I was HAPPY, to see the Guts up front, as opposed to a rehash of the last 20 Years of Game settings out there where you get chapter after Chapter of "Here, your game is spelled out for you, no need for you to add, oh, ANYTHING...", and then a Functional Outline of RP hooks and enough background that folks can see where those hooks are going. Then again, I'm Old, and grew up with the Hobby since the golden age. That being said, I've already seen HARN and Talislanta, and The Forgotten Realms, so I don't need another system that tries to choke setting down my throat while ignoring any sort of applicable balance/continuity and demonstration of a game systems usefulness and ability within the setting that is using, said system. The strong point of Kazei 5 is that it gives one a Pile of good strong technical and power write ups right in the front of the book that can be easily accessed by players for use in other settings and games. Especially handy for new players or those strugling with a new idea such as complicated technical characters. Nifty Idea, for a new batch of folks out there. Might not be the cup of tea for the Module generation though. ~Rex...ALWAYS can be bombarded with good write ups showing the HERO system off. If I didn't want that, I'd play d20. Or Amber the Diceless RPG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susano Posted February 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 Re: Announcing Kazei 5, Second Edition And here I was worried people would complain about 1000-point esper weapons and a character with a 200-point "Cosmic" VPP. So... next question... anyone catch all of the homages and shout-outs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starcloud Posted February 12, 2011 Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 Re: Announcing Kazei 5, Second Edition Probably not all of them, and reading the PBEM archives helped a lot. It explained why the cyberdroids had "lasers mounted in their mouths" in the writeups, but the pictures show that the cyberdroids don't even have mouths. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susano Posted February 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 Re: Announcing Kazei 5, Second Edition Probably not all of them, and reading the PBEM archives helped a lot. It explained why the cyberdroids had "lasers mounted in their mouths" in the writeups, but the pictures show that the cyberdroids don't even have mouths. Yes... well... I did what I could there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xavier Onassiss Posted February 13, 2011 Report Share Posted February 13, 2011 Re: Announcing Kazei 5, Second Edition Yes... well... I did what I could there. I think a lot of the 'anime' shout-outs went screaming over my head at hypersonic speed, because I don't know that genre quite so well. However, I was among the few who could and did catch all of the Shadows Angelus references. Those probably don't count, since they're not aimed at the general audience... and I'd be justifiably taken out and shot if I missed them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starcloud Posted February 13, 2011 Report Share Posted February 13, 2011 Re: Announcing Kazei 5, Second Edition The Ghost in the Shell ones were fairly obvious, and so were the Akira refs. Landmates and Hardsuits are staples of the genre now, from Bubblegum Crisis and Appleseed. Some of the firearms are from Crisis/Crash/and the AD Police offshoot. Those are just off the top of my head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xavier Onassiss Posted March 11, 2011 Report Share Posted March 11, 2011 Re: Announcing Kazei 5, Second Edition And once again, I'm running Kazei 5 at GenCon... ...with a bizarre twist. It's an 'alternate future' with one major difference from that presented in the book. In 2112, a corporate experiment in esper powers went horribly wrong. A genetic therapy designed to awaken esper potential in normal humans created a contagious virus which warped its victims' minds, turning them into homicidal killers who feel no pain. (Yeah, it's a K5 zombie apocalypse mash-up.) In approximately one case in a million, the virus actually has its intended effect, warping the victim's mind but also awakening their esper powers, creating a high-powered 'esper zombie.' So it's ten years later, I've got the obligatory 'wasteland' setting (Outbackistan) a group of survivors who are immune to the virus, an escape plan (Genesis Station!), and a horde of cannibal biker zombies. What I don't have is... their leader. The Big Bad. The Boss. The uber-zombie with esper powers who rules the wasteland. Any suggestions from the forum? ps: one of the PCs is written up here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susano Posted March 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2011 Re: Announcing Kazei 5, Second Edition And once again' date=' I'm running [i']Kazei 5[/i] at GenCon... ...with a bizarre twist. It's an 'alternate future' with one major difference from that presented in the book. In 2112, a corporate experiment in esper powers went horribly wrong. A genetic therapy designed to awaken esper potential in normal humans created a contagious virus which warped its victims' minds, turning them into homicidal killers who feel no pain. (Yeah, it's a K5 zombie apocalypse mash-up.) In approximately one case in a million, the virus actually has its intended effect, warping the victim's mind but also awakening their esper powers, creating a high-powered 'esper zombie.' So it's ten years later, I've got the obligatory 'wasteland' setting (Outbackistan) a group of survivors who are immune to the virus, an escape plan (Genesis Station!), and a horde of cannibal biker zombies. What I don't have is... their leader. The Big Bad. The Boss. The uber-zombie with esper powers who rules the wasteland. Any suggestions from the forum? Obviously, the zombies... err... infected, are led by the true Warrior of the Wastelands, the Ayatollah of Rock and Rollah! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StGrimblefig Posted March 11, 2011 Report Share Posted March 11, 2011 Re: Announcing Kazei 5, Second Edition And once again' date=' I'm running [i']Kazei 5[/i] at GenCon... ...with a bizarre twist. It's an 'alternate future' with one major difference from that presented in the book. In 2112, a corporate experiment in esper powers went horribly wrong. A genetic therapy designed to awaken esper potential in normal humans created a contagious virus which warped its victims' minds, turning them into homicidal killers who feel no pain. (Yeah, it's a K5 zombie apocalypse mash-up.) In approximately one case in a million, the virus actually has its intended effect, warping the victim's mind but also awakening their esper powers, creating a high-powered 'esper zombie.' So it's ten years later, I've got the obligatory 'wasteland' setting (Outbackistan) a group of survivors who are immune to the virus, an escape plan (Genesis Station!), and a horde of cannibal biker zombies. What I don't have is... their leader. The Big Bad. The Boss. The uber-zombie with esper powers who rules the wasteland. Any suggestions from the forum? ps: one of the PCs is written up here! If you don't mind me answering your question with a question: what effect does the virus have on those who are already espers? Since the virus apparently escaped into the wild, it is going to happen. Depending on the answer, it might make sense that the leader of the zombie horde would be a pre-virus-esper turned into mega-esper-uber-zombie. Maybe the virus turned this esper into the hub of the zombie hive mind, which allows the zombies to act as one, yet turns them into your standard mindless shambler if somehow shielded from the "collective." This would allow you to take your favorite existing esper character, up the power level and give them a massive mind link. This would also make the final confrontation an epic battle through hundreds of zombies to get to the leader, and once you take that one out, the remaining zombies just wander off, or start gnawing on each other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xavier Onassiss Posted March 11, 2011 Report Share Posted March 11, 2011 Re: Announcing Kazei 5, Second Edition If you don't mind me answering your question with a question: what effect does the virus have on those who are already espers? Since the virus apparently escaped into the wild, it is going to happen. Depending on the answer, it might make sense that the leader of the zombie horde would be a pre-virus-esper turned into mega-esper-uber-zombie. Maybe the virus turned this esper into the hub of the zombie hive mind, which allows the zombies to act as one, yet turns them into your standard mindless shambler if somehow shielded from the "collective." This would allow you to take your favorite existing esper character, up the power level and give them a massive mind link. This would also make the final confrontation an epic battle through hundreds of zombies to get to the leader, and once you take that one out, the remaining zombies just wander off, or start gnawing on each other. The virus targets the 'esper gene' in such a way that those who already have esper powers are immune. Genetic upgrades and replicates have powerfully boosted immune systems, so they're immune, and cybernetics tends to suppress esper potential, if not eliminate it entirely... so cyborgs get a pass. And there are a few extremely rare cases in which apparently 'normal' people were immune. You can see where this is going... player characters are 100% immune to this virus! While this might not be scientifically consistent, it's a common trope in the zombie-apocalypse genre. If this is a problem, I blame Hollywood. PS -- the mega-scale mind-control idea has potential, though! I'm gonna tinker with that idea and see what happens.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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