Guest Kolava Posted February 14, 2004 Report Share Posted February 14, 2004 My RP group has decided to reform after a hiatus, but we are in debate over what system to use. I prefer Hero, but it gives everyone else a headache. They prefer d20, but once you've tasted Hero, you never want to go back, so I might not have that much fun. Which brings me to BESM. It's a d20 product by...that company whose name I can't remember (they also produced that sentinals superhero book for d20). It's a quirky little setting-less system with a strict, yet loose, genre. physics are tossed aside for effect in many cases, and the point buy system they've pioneered for d20 made me very happy; it was a lot like a compromise between d20 and Hero. On the other hand, BESM powers are limited, and the level system is still clunky, so I'd really still prefer Hero for the freedom. Which brings me to my actual question: Has any anime-flavored Hero rules, whether official or not, ever been released? I don't currently own a genre book, which may be why my group has such an aversion to it. High jumping, energy bolt throwing, kicking-people-through-walls actions is quite easy in a SH Hero campaign, but a genre book would really help flesh it out and make things run smoother. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yamamura Posted February 14, 2004 Report Share Posted February 14, 2004 Check out Susano's translation at his website.... http://surbrook.devermore.net/index/ His Article on Anime in Digital Hero #8 or his book Kazei 5. G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Limmer Posted February 14, 2004 Report Share Posted February 14, 2004 There's some parts of Ninja Hero which would be useful, too. Who wrote that again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yamamura Posted February 15, 2004 Report Share Posted February 15, 2004 Oops forgot that one. Hmm now who did write Ninja Hero........ G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NuSoardGraphite Posted February 15, 2004 Report Share Posted February 15, 2004 BESM is from Guardians of Order. Originaly it wasn't a D20 product, but its own game system (called the Tri Stat system, because the core mechanics worked only on three stats) but like many other game companies in dire straights these days (including White Wolf, of all companies) they've released a D20 version of thier game book. While both BESM and HERO are generic (though BESM concentrates on the Anime "Genre") they are quite literally polar opposites. BESM took a very KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) outlook to its rules. HERO assumes the average player is intelligent enough to keep track of all its nuances. There are a goodly number of players who post here regularly who use HERO for anime style games. HERO books that are essential are: The Ultimate Martial Artist Ninja Hero. Books that are of high importance, depending on genre, include: The Ultimate Vehicle (mecha) Star Hero Fantasy Hero Hero Beastiery Fantasy Hero grimoire Ultimate Superpowers Database. My suggestion would be to craft a simple scenario for your players and have them make Ninja Hero characters. Emphasize the most fun parts of Hero combat to make the experience as enjoyable as possible, and make sure the players are aware that they can make just about any type of character they can imagine. If you have some Dragon Ball or Street Fighter/Fatal Fury fans in your group, a big super-powered Martial Arts tourney is likely to do the trick... Also, the best way to make the players aware of all their various options in combat is to have an opponent use them against the players...they'll ask What was that?, then show them the option...they're more likely to remember it that way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pattern Ghost Posted February 16, 2004 Report Share Posted February 16, 2004 You should also try out the second edition BESM. The original (second ed.) tristat version is better than the d20 one, IMO. Even if you don't use the rules system, which is a good alternative for players intimidated by Hero (and a possible "gateway drug" lol), the book has some good genre stuff in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkdguy Posted February 17, 2004 Report Share Posted February 17, 2004 Originally posted by Pattern Ghost You should also try out the second edition BESM. The original (second ed.) tristat version is better than the d20 one, IMO. Even if you don't use the rules system, which is a good alternative for players intimidated by Hero (and a possible "gateway drug" lol), the book has some good genre stuff in it. I agree with that statement. The Tri-stat system seems to be more flexible than the d20 system. The only problem I see with it is having only 3 stats makes it hard to individualize the characters sometimes. But it's still a good system, and it can be used to wean players out of the d20 mindset and prime them for Hero. At least, I hope so. I'm going to start a campaign using BESM 2nd Ed. Don't forget that if you got it before the revised version came out, you can get the revisions as a free PDF download at the Guardians of Order website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susano Posted February 17, 2004 Report Share Posted February 17, 2004 Originally posted by yamamura Check out Susano's translation at his website.... http://surbrook.devermore.net/index/ His Article on Anime in Digital Hero #8 or his book Kazei 5. What did people think of that article anyway? I never heard any feedback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkdguy Posted February 17, 2004 Report Share Posted February 17, 2004 Originally posted by Susano What did people think of that article anyway? I never heard any feedback. Let me take another look at it. I thought it was pretty cool. I haven't had time to look at it too closely, but it seems pretty thorough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted February 17, 2004 Report Share Posted February 17, 2004 At some point in the future (most of us expected it by now, but the release date is in limbo at the moment ), Hero Games is publishing a crossover book for Champions and Silver Age Sentinels, Reality Storm: When Worlds Collide, including a detailed translation matrix between HERO and SAS Tri-Stat. I would expect that to help quite a bit with translation from BESM to HERO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrickstaPriest Posted February 17, 2004 Report Share Posted February 17, 2004 Originally posted by Susano What did people think of that article anyway? I never heard any feedback. Very helpful, especially for figuring out scale on things. Maybe I can eventually start making Mindy and Michelle in HERO... it could work, in theory. (Assuming Mindy will ever work cleanly in any RPG system on the planet...) Of course, some silly individual had made a character sheet only using that translation system and without using enough references from other HERO books. (In my defense, the emitter wasn't supposed to be one that you could easily switch from one mode to another, it required going all the way back. The basic idea was that the different modes weren't powerful (I wasn't sure to what degree energy attacks existed, I assumed very low), but if you have half-a-dozen soldiers hammering at you in three different ways, it'll be hard to defend against.) Here's to handy and helpful articles and more reading of the basic book. Of course, I still need a good source for scale, since I've had trouble finding enough characters I know well on your site. ~_~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tech Posted February 17, 2004 Report Share Posted February 17, 2004 Originally posted by Susano What did people think of that article anyway? I never heard any feedback. If you mean the anime article in Digital Hero, I liked it! It was put together quite well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susano Posted February 17, 2004 Report Share Posted February 17, 2004 Originally posted by Tech If you mean the anime article in Digital Hero, I liked it! It was put together quite well. Thanks! It was a lot of fun to write. Now... if I can only convience Steve to let me turn it into an e-book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yamamura Posted February 17, 2004 Report Share Posted February 17, 2004 I could see it filling a whole book too. As for the article, I thought it was a nice starting point for an Anime campaign. Just noticed that Asian Bestiary is on the schedule for 2005 (Yea!). G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susano Posted February 18, 2004 Report Share Posted February 18, 2004 Originally posted by yamamura I could see it filling a whole book too. As for the article, I thought it was a nice starting point for an Anime campaign. Just noticed that Asian Bestiary is on the schedule for 2005 (Yea!). G WOOOO!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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