General Roleplaying

Just for fun, I thought i'd try my hand at creating a (message) board game. The rules are simple -> You first choose a topic typical of tabletop gaming such as "Dragon", "Battle at Sea", "Paladin's Mount", or "Unorthodox Treasure". Then, you describe what each topic would look like if introduced at a low level, a mid level, and a high level; you can be as serious/funny/brief/elaborate as you wish. Once you've finished, suggest a topic for the next poster to tackle. The thread will continue for as long as people are willing to contribute. I'll kick things off with a time-honored adversary... --- --- --- "Roadside Bandits" Low Lev…

Yep. I just picked up the current BOH for nostalgia. Not that I have ever even _heard_ of this Dungeon Under the Mountain, the whole "mega dungeon" thing brought back memories of the seventies, when all the nerdy kids were going through entire tablets of graph paper to create "the ultimate dungeon" or just outdo each other with size and complexity. Though some good came of them, too. My original Champions GM kept lot of the ones he had made, as had a couple of other friends. When we first figured out that Champions could be used for any genre, and when 2e came out and I bought my own boxed set, I bummed a seventeen-page super dun…

OpenLegends is a OpenSource RPG System. I stumbeled over this only last year. But reading it I think there is some interesting ideas in this RPG System. Both for itself, and for similar mechanics in Hero. Indeed OpenLegends might even be a good learning/demo RPG Systems for Hero. A less granular way to learn a point-buy System. You can find the full rules here: https://openlegendrpg.com/core-rules/00-introduction But I will try to give a bit of an overview and talk about the particulary interesting parts. It it'score it is a cross-setting, point buy RPG system that has systems for social and physical combat. Powers, Talents and Co: D…

Back in the day, there was a site called Hero Central. I've been experimenting with local file restores of certain campaigns on the site. In short, if someone wants to read a campaign they were in, I can pass them zips of specific campaigns from Hero Central. They require are offline files, they are JavaScript (so a reasonable browser and computer, not a phone), and at this point I'm trying to keep the list I give out small. That being said, if you know a campaign you were a part of, tell me, and I'll pass along the files for it. This is still in the alpha stage so there may be lots of bugs or debugging to get threads to work. …

Being more a fan of the superhero genre, I've often wondered at the general (roleplaying) public's seeming preference for the sword & sorcery genre. I base my theory on the huge amount of fantasy rpgs out there, although superheroes have quite a few. I also look at the number of superhero MMOs as opposed to fantasy-based games. I have a working theory, which I'd like to open up for discussion. Superheroes are about Protecting the Status Quo, Upholding The Law, Opposing Evil, Black & White (all of this is of course my opinion, and is way simplified as well). All of this is done in a world close to our own. Fantasy is about Adventuring, and a…

My son is starting a D&D 5e group and we've been discussing GMing in general, as well as playing, and just roleplaying in general. We started sharing various YouTube videos with each other and using those as springboards for more discussion. He sent me the following video, and as I watched it, it really hit home how the Hero System really does some things really right. There's mention of how HPs don't seem to really represent damage well. How there's no easy way to determine lethality. And the importance of discussing the campaign setting with the players. These of course are all things that I, and I assume many of you take for granted as non-problems when it comes to…

Hey Folks, Just was reading through a bit of the GURPS Fourth Edition. I'm not familiar with it at all. In the first few parts, it appears to be an exact copy of HERO. I was hoping someone with more familiarity could describe exactly how its different mechanically, and philosophically, from HERO, so I don't have to read through its larger-even-than-HERO rulebooks. Thanks!

Name and describe a TV character you would like to base a RPG character on. I'd go with Bobby Goren from "L&O criminal intent". I really liked him because he was a very good but flawed and troubled character. He had issues with schizophrenia and other inner demons which came along with his great intelligence. He was a mix of sherlock Holmes and columbo, with some real, serious issues like being generally asocial, schizophrenic and having rage issues. He also had hulking size which maybe kept him from being bullied too much as a kid. He was also apparently a "monster magnet" who attracted a lot of downright evil characters to him. Plus those cl…

Over the past month I have been working on a cross platform app called the OpenD6 Toolkit. My intention with the app is to allow people to play OpenD6 games and its variants from a mobile device as well as provide useful tools for players and GMs alike. I’m pleased to report that OpenD6 Toolkit is now available via the following app stores: Google Play Store Apple App Store Amazon App Store The project is open sourced and hosted on github here. Features Die roller Supports both classic and Legend styles of rolling Statistics are also tracked on your dice Character tools Select a template to build your character fro…

Is pathfinder D&D or is it not D&D? When I look elsewhere for the answer, it seems to depend entirely on whether or not you play D&D, as in: D&D players 4e and up (and a portion of 3.5 players) tell me "yes; it's D&D with softened edges and a more White Wolf feel (not sure what that means: angsty? I don't know). Pathfinder players: a minority tell me it's D&D, while the vast majority tell me that it is absolutely not D&D. No one in either camp can defend their position in a convincing way. I tend to filter everything through HERO, a habit I picked up back when it was just Champio…

While reading the Easiest Game System thread, I got wondering which archetype people tend to find the most playable. This does not necessarily mean that the archetype will be the easiest, hardest, simplest, most complex or anything else. Only that this archetype tends to bring the player the greatest satisfaction while running it, and as a result will (if subconscious) gravitate back towards that archetype most often.

Some people here read the Burning Wheel rules, or did you play it? Opinions are welcome. For my part I am charmed. Steph

When you write on a hex battlemap, is it best to use water-soluble markers? I tried dry-erase and it was difficult to get off. The map bottom is canvas and the hex-top covering is a soft latex for rolling it up (I think).

I just watched a funny video about dungeon masters and their random charts back in the day and it made me think about crazy randomness that happened back when I played Ad and d. My funniest story is that I made an orc fighter and rolled on the Dm's random character trait table. He got two traits one was "excellent marcher" he had the ability to keep perfect marching rhythm like: "one two, one two, one two" and so on. This benefited his whole orc party and they all could march faster. Unfortunately he also lost a couple of intelligence points, and since he was an orc (bad) and a fighter (worse) he had little int to loose to begin with. He ended up with one in int…

Hello Herophiles, I got to play a scenerio today with my kids. I needed civilians, aka targets for the game. I scrounge around and got enough odd heroclixs and what-boys together however most of them are supers. I got to thinking about just buying some civilian cardboard ones. So I’m asking for opinions on which company do you guys suggest? TIA

In your opinion, what is the easiest to learn system game? Something perfect for beginners.

When I look at the Hero System mechanics, there are only a few that in and of themselves really help capture the feel of the superhero genre. Knockback and the non-lethality of Normal damage come immediately to mind. By putting those aside, you turn Champions into the basis for other genres. But the game mechanics can start to have a samey/generic feel to them, as you go from genre to genre, precisely because you're using a common core system for them all. So how can RPG game mechanics capture the feel of, say, the science fiction genre? The most obvious way to deliver the feel of a genre is through the setting, and then through the flavor text attached to act…

Hello guys this question are for people who or have played rolemaster. I am reading the compagnon 2 with the big list of skills. Most of the skills are associated with 2 characteristic. EX: Ventriloquism is (SD\IN) self-disciple and intuition. So my question is, when I want to make my total bonus for the skill I have to add the bonus of the two characteristics in question or I have to make an average ? Hope I am Clear English not my first language. Steph

Found this on Facebook--take it as you will--

I am developing a superheroic character who is able to manipulate fog into thick tendrils that can ensnare foes and pick up heavy things, as well as cast a blinding fog over the whole battle scene. It is set in Halifax, which has about 100 fog days a year. I want a cool name. Something that makes fog seem like an awesome power, but not evil, as if for a villain. Character might have a Dutch theme I was originally just going to all him The Dutchman, and I still might. ("Ik ben een Dutchman! What? No, I don't fly. Why do people keep asking me dat?") I've tried synonyms, thesauri, colour chip charts, etc, even looked up haunted storie…

What is your take on this? will it be worth signing up for?

Anyone know how many creds a starting gang gets in the new rules?

So I only now just discovered Starfinder, and I began looking into it, curious to learn what made it different from Pathfinder. But what struck me was the amount of material Paizo has published for it in the twelve months since the game was released. 1. Starfinder Core Rulebook Aug 17, 2017 2. Starfinder GM Screen Sep 5, 2017 3. Incident at Absalom Station (Dead Suns 1 of 6) Sep 5, 2017 4. Starfinder Flip-Mat: Basic Starfield Sep 5, 2017 5. Starfinder Core Pawn Collection Sep 5, 2017 6. Starfinder Combat Pad Sep 5, 2017 7. Starfinder Flip-Mat: Basic Terrain Sep 5, 2017 8. Starfinder Player Character Folio Sep 12, 2017 …

Hi Hero Peeps: I run a regular Hero System game in a monster hunter genre. I am having tons of fun running it but I have a problem... My players are constantly getting distracted by their mobile phones. I have talked to my players about it but it does not seem to be sticking. Now some questions... Would you be offended if I hung a sign in my gaming room about turning off your mobile phone? Would you be offended if I asked everyone to turn off their phones before each session? Am I being too sensitive? Thanks gang! :D

You find the magic dice pouch, open it and the RPG genie appears. (Think Lee Meriwether in "that which survives) She tells you that you can have ONE RPG made to your specs. You get to pick the source material and the system. What setting do you want and what system do you want it made in? I would pick Masamune Shirow's Appleseed manga series. A lot of people think it's just another "cyberpunk" series but it's far from that. Appleseed has cyberpunk and transhumanist elements but it also has a setting where there is an alternative to the usual clichéd dark hopeless evil corporate dominated future. There are some positive power blocs in it working for a better world,…