Need Help! Starting a FH game

[Plucky]

First off, this is kind of a long post. But I am very excited to finally start a Fantasy Hero game!!! (Well, okay, I am pressing one person into playing without giving her a choice.) As with everyone else, I am toying with the "supernatural" powers arena to give player(s) more options and adopt what I think is neat. Given all the posts on that topic lately, hopefully people have specific suggestions for me.

 

Specifically, I want to mesh the current default magic system (no framework and 1/3 rest cost) to Killer Shrike's magic classes (different ways of accessing magic) and streamline it a bit (for my player(s) who do not like to read and get confused easily). So, I want to run this by you experts to see whether this is mostly balanced and what the potential issues I will face.

 

The setting is mostly standard high fantasy (Greyhawk, Turakian-esque) with 1 difference drawn from Scarred Land/Exalted. Namely, the Primordials/Titans were recently defeated by the gods a few short hundred years ago. However, these entities were so powerful that their essences scattered coherently insteadly of extinguishing and merging into Creation. These mindless essences randomly seeked out hosts at the very beginning stages of life. The result is that, over the last hundred years, babies started to be born mutant/titan-blooded. These Titan-Bloods tend to be greatly feared and distrusted (like Marvel mutants) but there are very few of these at any one time as the same essence sparks recycle again and again (Exalted).

 

The idea isn't that these mutants are suppose to be more powerful than anyone else. This is simply suppose to be a different option for players to gain abilities - in addition to greater skill, magic, or psionics. However, in the sense of major races having infinite potentials, these mutants are a level up in what they can potentially evolve into.

 

So, other than being the master of different skills and talents, there are 3 avenues of power.

 

1) Magic: I figure I'd just go with Steve's model with the different arcana's and skill rolls with 1/3 real cost. He already went through the trouble setting this up, why not just use it.

 

2) Psionics: Players will pay full-cost for psionic powers. However, I believe this is balanced because psionics is NOT magic. 99% of the world do not know what psionics is and wouldn't have defenses against it. Magic cannot affect psionics directly though it can affect the effects of psionics. (Dispel/Suppress Magic won't work against psionic powers but magic can detect if someone's mind is being influenced. Magic spells and psionics can wrestle over the same person's mind for control.) Most of the psionists automatically belong to one of the few ultra-secretive psychic societies when their powers awaken and these societies systematically wipe the minds of any non-psionics who became aware of the psychics' existance. Psionic powers have no visible special effects in my world by default but all psionic powers must take concentration as a limitation and activation rolls that can eventually be bought off (works like skill rolls for individual powers). Any mental powers that actually affect the physical world (telekinesis, EB) must be purchased with at least X2 Edurance.

 

I am trying to decide whether to also force players to have Endurance reserves for psionics; I think a psionist's powers should be able to be attacked all at once because it's really one 'mind' being used in different ways. So, I don't think someone should be only able to suppress a psionist's Mental Control, without also affecting the Ego Blast and Mental Illusions at the same time. Problem is, I am not sure how to do that without putting the powers into a framework and I don't know whether this is over-handicapping psionic powers. (Conversely, I don't know if I'd make psionic powers too cheap if I mendate Elemental Control framework for psionics.) Need some help here.

 

3) Titan-powers: These are basically superpowers. They are bought at full cost but can have any limitation (or lack of) that the players wish. Their powers are natural but the effects are considered divine magic. (So, Suppress Magic on a Titan-Blooded who naturally has a 40 Strength won't do any good, nor can Dispel Magic take away a Titan-Blood's power to transform people into frogs. However someone who had been transformed into a frog by a Titan-Blooded's power can be restored via Dispel Magic.) The balance to this is that the war against the titans happened only a few hundred years ago. There are still rare artifacts and spells that can specifically affect the Titan-Bloods and restrict their powers. Incidentally, most of the people fear the Titan-Bloods like they fear demons. Mages/Clerics have certified that the Titan-Bloods gain their powers from the dead Titans and so people considers these mutants Titan-corrupted. The fact of the matter is that the Titan's are dead. These few vestials of the titans' life forces are completely without mind or personality. Whatever evil the Titan-Bloods perform, they do it on their own.

 

Please give me your feedbacks and thanks for your help!!

 

Plucky

[Reln]

Re: Need Help! Starting a FH game

 

I like the titan blood thing as I’m currently running a Scarred Lands Campaign in Hero 5th that I converted from D20, tonight will be the second game and the first combat. Now my game is very high powered for FH at 260 points.

 

Anyway about the Psionics I’d just use the special effect for adjustment powers. Though putting psionics in an EC doesn’t sound too bad especially if they have the power to wipe knowledge from someone’s mind. Considering how secretive they need to be they will probably need to have other abilities to hide the fact that they are augmenting with Psi powers.

 

I’m also not a big fan of END reserve for Psionics as I feel they should come from within the character and can weaken him if he uses too much. However 2x END may make them very difficult to use, though I would require END use on all Psi powers.

 

I really like the Titan-Blooded concept and would have done somthing like this had I not been converting a D20 game.

 

Good luck and let us know how it gose.

[Guest WhammeWhamme]

Re: Need Help! Starting a FH game

 

Here's MY take on the Psionics Problem:

 

Magic is 1/3rd cost.

EC means the powers are slightly more than 1/2 cost.

 

That means, even with EC's, Psionics are going to cost more than equivalent spells.

 

Plus, there's a drawback if your Psionics are adjusted.

 

That's fair, IMO.