Constantine Posted January 14, 2005 Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 Re: New to HERO and looking for advice on some issues... In regards to the initiative question, I just recently joined a game to has a house rule that you role 1d6/5 pts. of dex, and use that as the intiatve for the combat. Its a kind of experiment. We are also experimenting with everyone having a 3 speed, and not having to pay for it, but I'll leave before I'm accused of hearesy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinecone Posted January 14, 2005 Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 Re: New to HERO and looking for advice on some issues... One way I include granularity is to use stats as tie breakers...ie: Int 10 and Int 11 both make their Per rolls, but Int 11 sees it First, 'cause hes a little quicker...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted January 14, 2005 Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 Re: New to HERO and looking for advice on some issues... Well, if utility for each point of a stat is important to you, you might consider trying Erol K. Brayburt's conversion of standard HERO Characteristic, Skill and Combat Rolls to percentiles, aka Percentage Hero. By this method every point increase in a given Characteristic gives a measurable increase in chance of success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zornwil Posted January 19, 2005 Report Share Posted January 19, 2005 Re: New to HERO and looking for advice on some issues... A little side note on fractional SPD - I believe I've seen something like this somewhere but never tried it, but it struck me it might be interesting and even rather dramatically useful, moreso in heroic games: each fraction of SPD is a 10% chance of getting an extra action in the Turn. So if you have "3.9" SPD you have a 90% chance of having an extra action (so for failing to spend 1 point, you are going to be unpleasantly surprised 1 out of 10 times), whereas if you have a "4.3" SPD you have a 30% chance of getting an extra Turn. I see implementation one of 4 ways: 1 - Roll the % chance at the beginning of the Turn; if you succeed, your SPD is +1, otherwise it's normal 2 - Don't give a benefit for the first Turn, but roll at the end of the first Turn for the next one. Just a minor variation to give a little edge to those who paid the full points. 3 - The one I like, the character may roll this % chance in ANY Segment he does NOT normally have a Phase, but of course only once per Turn, succeed or fail, and not another roll until next Turn. I think in this case it's probably best to have the roll allowed at any point in the Segment, so he can choose to roll before choosing to abort. However, there's an argument to be made he must roll at the beginning of the Segment. 4 - A bit odd, but basically allow all these rolls at the bottom of 12 and whoever gets the extra Phase goes in a sort of "Segement 13" as it were, in normal DEX order. I only gave a very rapid browse through the thread, sorry if I'm repeating something already said. PS - and while it would become very complex, you could do something similar for any stat where you don't have enough to get to the next level of +1 or whatever in a skill roll or such. But that really gets annoying and would bog the game down. I think the SPD thing might be cool and while adding a little extra to combat, would be manageable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted January 19, 2005 Report Share Posted January 19, 2005 Re: New to HERO and looking for advice on some issues... Would it be possible for SteveL to give us a table of benchmarks (ala Marvel and DC heros) which would give more meaning to the attributes for character concept? Haven't read the whole thread, so someone's probably mentioned this, but just in case they haven't, I'll point out that there's a table something like this in both Sidekick and 5ER -- though admittedly both are described as simply one possible scheme, since some GMs may prefer to set the benchmarks elsewhere for their own campaigns. That's about as much as I think needs to be said on the subject; I'm definitely not going to dive into the morass of trying to "benchmark" published superheroes or Fantasy characters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Neilson Posted January 19, 2005 Report Share Posted January 19, 2005 Re: New to HERO and looking for advice on some issues... A little side note on fractional SPD - I believe I've seen something like this somewhere but never tried it, but it struck me it might be interesting and even rather dramatically useful, moreso in heroic games: each fraction of SPD is a 10% chance of getting an extra action in the Turn. So if you have "3.9" SPD you have a 90% chance of having an extra action (so for failing to spend 1 point, you are going to be unpleasantly surprised 1 out of 10 times), whereas if you have a "4.3" SPD you have a 30% chance of getting an extra Turn. I see implementation one of 4 ways: 1 - Roll the % chance at the beginning of the Turn; if you succeed, your SPD is +1, otherwise it's normal 2 - Don't give a benefit for the first Turn, but roll at the end of the first Turn for the next one. Just a minor variation to give a little edge to those who paid the full points. 3 - The one I like, the character may roll this % chance in ANY Segment he does NOT normally have a Phase, but of course only once per Turn, succeed or fail, and not another roll until next Turn. I think in this case it's probably best to have the roll allowed at any point in the Segment, so he can choose to roll before choosing to abort. However, there's an argument to be made he must roll at the beginning of the Segment. 4 - A bit odd, but basically allow all these rolls at the bottom of 12 and whoever gets the extra Phase goes in a sort of "Segement 13" as it were, in normal DEX order. Alternatively, for those who don't like "funny dice", from 3 to 8 points, there are activation rolls that get the result. For SPD 3.3, you can get the extra SPD on 8-. I'm presently running a character who is gradually buying up his SPD in this fashion (bought 8- a couple of weeks ago). I'm using the "roll in PS 12 for the coming turn" approach. I suppose you could rule that SPD, act 5-, costs 1 point, Act 6- costs 2 points and Acts 16- costs 9 points, if you wanted to get the full 1 to 10 spread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beauxdeigh Posted January 20, 2005 Report Share Posted January 20, 2005 Re: New to HERO and looking for advice on some issues... Would it be possible for SteveL to give us a table of benchmarks (ala Marvel and DC heros) which would give more meaning to the attributes for character concept?Haven't read the whole thread, so someone's probably mentioned this, but just in case they haven't, I'll point out that there's a table something like this in both Sidekick and 5ER -- though admittedly both are described as simply one possible scheme, since some GMs may prefer to set the benchmarks elsewhere for their own campaigns. That's about as much as I think needs to be said on the subject; I'm definitely not going to dive into the morass of trying to "benchmark" published superheroes or Fantasy characters. I'm suffering from a sense deja vu. Since I'm at Origins I don't have time to read this whole thread, but I thought I'd provide a couple of quick responses (though I suspect some folx have already beaten me to these): Would it be possible for SteveL to give us a table of benchmarks (ala Marvel and DC heros) which would give more meaning to the attributes for character concept?I did something of the sort in Sidekick, and I'll carry that over to 5ER, though it uses real-world examples and such, not published characters. The Matrix has me! whoa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zornwil Posted January 20, 2005 Report Share Posted January 20, 2005 Re: New to HERO and looking for advice on some issues... Alternatively, for those who don't like "funny dice", from 3 to 8 points, there are activation rolls that get the result. For SPD 3.3, you can get the extra SPD on 8-. I'm presently running a character who is gradually buying up his SPD in this fashion (bought 8- a couple of weeks ago). I'm using the "roll in PS 12 for the coming turn" approach. I suppose you could rule that SPD, act 5-, costs 1 point, Act 6- costs 2 points and Acts 16- costs 9 points, if you wanted to get the full 1 to 10 spread. Just as a side note, that's the one thing I miss in HERO sometimes - "funny dice". Great suggestion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Neilson Posted January 20, 2005 Report Share Posted January 20, 2005 Re: New to HERO and looking for advice on some issues... Just as a side note' date=' that's the one thing I miss in HERO sometimes - "funny dice". Great suggestion.[/quote'] "Way back when" in the early days of Adventurers' Club, if you subscribed, you also got a newsletter size sheet, 4 pages, with some new rule ideas (one I recall was "Strafe", an EB equivalent of Move By). One article was all on costing "Funny dice" for attacks. I should try to dig that up one of these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zornwil Posted January 20, 2005 Report Share Posted January 20, 2005 Re: New to HERO and looking for advice on some issues... "Way back when" in the early days of Adventurers' Club' date=' if you subscribed, you also got a newsletter size sheet, 4 pages, with some new rule ideas (one I recall was "Strafe", an EB equivalent of Move By). One article was all on costing "Funny dice" for attacks. I should try to dig that up one of these days.[/quote'] That would be cool, if you happen to I'd be interested, thanks for mentioning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.