Is Hero still your "go-to" rpg system?

[Ninja-Bear]

On 8/23/2022 at 9:07 PM, tkdguy said:

Basic Fantasy is my go-to rpg at this time. I just played a solo game when the lights were out in my area today. I also wrote up a conversion from MERP, which was my go-to rpg when I was in college.

Have you allowed Dwarf and Halfling Magic -Users? Just curious. 

[tkdguy]

Another past go-to rpg was Castle Falkenstein, which uses playing cards instead of dice. I wasn't too familiar with HERO at the time; I think 4th Edition was the current version. But I played and ran Castle Falkenstein so much I almost forgot how to play AD&D.

 

But you need players with the right mindset to play this game. If you can't get into the mentality of the genre, the campaign won't be very successful.

3 minutes ago, Ninja-Bear said:

Have you allowed Dwarf and Halfling Magic -Users? Just curious. 

 

I have not. I doubt it would break the system; even the creator said so. But I tend to go with the old-school method of allowable classes (but no level limits for demihumans).

[Old Man]

2 hours ago, tkdguy said:

Another past go-to rpg was Castle Falkenstein, which uses playing cards instead of dice. I wasn't too familiar with HERO at the time; I think 4th Edition was the current version. But I played and ran Castle Falkenstein so much I almost forgot how to play AD&D.

 

But you need players with the right mindset to play this game. If you can't get into the mentality of the genre, the campaign won't be very successful.

 

CF is one of those games I always wanted to play but couldn't find players for. 

[tkdguy]

43 minutes ago, Old Man said:

 

CF is one of those games I always wanted to play but couldn't find players for. 

 

It's a lot of fun, but it can easily be gamed. On the other hand, it's easy to play solo if you need to.

[Ninja-Bear]

On 8/25/2022 at 2:56 PM, tkdguy said:

I have not. I doubt it would break the system; even the creator said so. But I tend to go with the old-school method of allowable classes (but no level limits for demihumans).

I just find it odd that BF is suppose to replicate Basic and he changed Race as Class, which is fine, but then still limits certain classes and allows others. 
 

I thought I did read on his forum that if you want to play a dwarf m-u, you can.

[tkdguy]

1 hour ago, Ninja-Bear said:

I just find it odd that BF is suppose to replicate Basic and he changed Race as Class, which is fine, but then still limits certain classes and allows others. 
 

I thought I did read on his forum that if you want to play a dwarf m-u, you can.

 

I heard something to that effect, so allowing dwarves and halflings to be magic-users won't break the game.

 

I think Solomoriah mainly used Basic/Expert D&D with a few house rules. Separating race and class was one of them. He also used ascending armor class, which was the main reason I didn't get into the system earlier. Yes, there are folks like me who still prefer the THAC0 system. However, I did find the ascending armor class system helps combat move faster in solo games, so I can live with it. I'm still thinking of incorporating the attack tables from Iron Falcon, Solomoriah's other rpg.

[Scott Ruggels]

So, people are really going back to clunky OD&D OSRs as their “go tos”?  The whole reason Champions was so attractive was that it wasn’t D&D, with its classes and random character generation and funny dice. 

[Christopher R Taylor]

I don't mind the funny dice (love them in fact) but yeah, D&D was horribly weak and creaky as a game system and has all the stuff every game company afterward tried to move away from.

[Ninja-Bear]

2 hours ago, Scott Ruggels said:

So, people are really going back to clunky OD&D OSRs as their “go tos”?  The whole reason Champions was so attractive was that it wasn’t D&D, with its classes and random character generation and funny dice. 

Well, if you look a prep time and game time between OSR and Champions, OSR is faster. If you embrace rulings over rules (which I’ve started). Its faster. For example my youngest and I just had a scenario last night. He asked if he could pick open a lock. He’s a fighter so I said 1-2 on a D20. He questioned and I said well that gives you 10% and a starting thief only has roughly 15% (I think) and we rolled with it. Is OSR clunky? Yeah and that’s some of the charm. But really as a quick system with little prep? Yup, a go to.

[tkdguy]

For all its clunkiness, give me old-school D&D any time. It's easy to teach, and it's easy to prepare a game.

 

But will I abandon other games? No. I like variety, so I will play different systems and settings depending on how I feel.

[Ternaugh]

If I'm planning on running the game, it's usually (Fantasy) Hero, or occasionally, Traveller. If someone else is running the game, then it can be just about anything.

 

I'm a player in a D&D 5e game right now, but it's kind of an odd experience. I'm seen as an expert on the system even though I've never run it, mainly because I don't thing anyone other than the GM has any roleplaying experience whatsoever (I believe they were all born in the 1990s--my FH campaign's older than a lot of them). I've ended up providing most of them with sets of dice*, and I've brought over a bunch of cheap mechanical pencils so that they don't keep on borrowing mine. And I've ended up digging a bunch of maps from a couple of Kickstarters out of storage so that we can plot stuff on the table. The first session was a little rough, as I think that I had the only copy of a PHB at the table. Thankfully, that was fixed by the second session, and I believe everyone has one now. I'm having as much fun watching others discover the hobby as I am roleplaying my character.

 

*I had been buying blind packs of dice from a few online retailers for a little while now, and I would set aside any sets that didn't appeal to me.  I brought those, along with the remnants of a couple of bags of Pound-O-DIce that my old group had split up several years ago, and let them have at it. I know a few have been bitten by the dice bug, as they've since acquired more sets on their own.

[Ninja-Bear]

Have guys checked out Dtsonlogos for FREE maps?

[Old Man]

15 hours ago, Scott Ruggels said:

So, people are really going back to clunky OD&D OSRs as their “go tos”?  The whole reason Champions was so attractive was that it wasn’t D&D, with its classes and random character generation and funny dice. 

 

That's where the player base is.

 

What's especially amusing and annoying is all the attempts to reinvent OD&D, of which Worlds Without Number is only the most recent example I've come across.  I mean, I get it, that's where the player base is and that's where all the published support is, so of course RPG writers will want to stay close to it.  But on the other hand, if you're just rewriting D&D, I might as well... play D&D.

 

(WWN does have some excellent random worldbuilding generation; definitely check out the free version for that.)

 

Mind you, when the 5e D&D campaign started, it was sufficiently different from prior D&Ds that I got tripped up a number of times.  I spent hours looking for the paladin XP table.  I assigned spells to spell slots rather than just choosing ones to prepare.  I struggled to keep track of actions, bonus actions, and subclass abilities.  D&D 5e is pretty elegant compared to previous versions, but it certainly isn't any less complex than Hero.  And I still annoy the DM on occasion by doing things like having my character hurl himself off a 50-foot castle wall at full HP...

[Ninja-Bear]

5 hours ago, Old Man said:

 

That's where the player base is.

 

What's especially amusing and annoying is all the attempts to reinvent OD&D, of which Worlds Without Number is only the most recent example I've come across.  I mean, I get it, that's where the player base is and that's where all the published support is, so of course RPG writers will want to stay close to it.  But on the other hand, if you're just rewriting D&D, I might as well... play D&D.

 

(WWN does have some excellent random worldbuilding generation; definitely check out the free version for that.)

Don’t forget is it isn’t only the base of players but where the OGL lies.  And if you want go for irony, there is support for turning your 5e game into a more Old School game. 😁

 

OSR is just very hard to defined term. The author of Basic Fantasy said that originally BF was considered OSR but then because of the few tweaks, its not considered a “true” OSR.  The one division of type of description of OSR is that the spirit of Old School versus the mechanics of Old School. 
 

WWN, isn’t so much old school as it has been able to take advantage of the OGL and write a Sci-Fi game. 
 

Did I mention that the rules for BF are FREE? And only cost $5 to print?

[Ninja-Bear]

And FWIW, the kids DO role-play. My oldest remembered that in WW2, paratroopers had code words so if split up and met again, they knew friend from foe.  They also parleyed (intimidated) with goblins as to not to fight them. Which I’m giving for XP for. (I totally disagree with the only way to get XP is for killing monsters).  I ask them to describe what they’re looking for in rooms or traps or anything.

 

Oh and the kids enjoy wandering monsters. 😁

[Scott Ruggels]

13 hours ago, Old Man said:

 

That's where the player base is.

Really? Please explain. 

I had thought that the new players were all about 5e, and Critical roll. Where are they finding these OSR rules?

[Old Man]

9 hours ago, Ninja-Bear said:

WWN, isn’t so much old school as it has been able to take advantage of the OGL and write a Sci-Fi game.

 

Akshully, WWN is fantasy.  Stars Without Number is the sf one.

 

Carry on.

[Ninja-Bear]

2 hours ago, Old Man said:

 

Akshully, WWN is fantasy.  Stars Without Number is the sf one.

 

Carry on.

Oops, my bad. I don’t how I got WWN as Stars ls without Number. 😂

[Old Man]

35 minutes ago, Ninja-Bear said:

Oops, my bad. I don’t how I got WWN as Stars ls without Number. 😂

 

WWN is poorly named.  It sounds like an SF rpg.  Kingdoms Without Number doesn't have the same ring though.

[tkdguy]

What does WWN stand for?

[Old Man]

25 minutes ago, tkdguy said:

What does WWN stand for?

 

It stands for this.

[assault]

On 8/28/2022 at 1:18 AM, Scott Ruggels said:

So, people are really going back to clunky OD&D OSRs as their “go tos”?  The whole reason Champions was so attractive was that it wasn’t D&D, with its classes and random character generation and funny dice. 

 

The simplest OSR games are so short you can easily turn them into the game you want.

 

For example, Swords and Wizardry Light does the first three levels of D&D in four pages.

 

It would be a piece of cake to turn it into a point based game, and you could even make it something you could use with Melee/Wizard with.

 

And still have it short enough to actually read.

[Trencher]

I can play whatever but I prefer Hero as GM.

[Pattern Ghost]

On 8/27/2022 at 11:42 PM, Old Man said:

What's especially amusing and annoying is all the attempts to reinvent OD&D

 

All of which is readily available in PDF now. Or at least was, the last time I looked.

 

I haven't played anything in a while, and those were all online or PBEM games that fizzled too fast to really get into.

[assault]

I reread Autoduel Champions the other day. Apparently you could build a Hero System character in a matter of minutes back then.

 

I kind of want to design a Hero campaign where you can do that now.

 

That would solve all my problems - but it's a lot of work.