Super Squirrel Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 It was a joke in our game yesterday. We were composing a list of things we needed for our base so I could write it up. Someone wrote down "bathrooms." We chuckled about it and then had a conversation about what the official write-up for a bathroom would be. Best we could come up with is a Transform. Anyone else have a better idea? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Goodwin Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 Re: A Bathroom For crying out loud, no. People read this stuff and think "That crazy Hero System. You have to write up bathrooms with it." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Hiemforth Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 Re: A Bathroom Sure. You define lab space by buying the associated Skill. So if you want a physics lab, you give the base "SS: Physics." If you really want to define the fact that the Base has space for normal living, buy PS: Care And Feeding Of Humans, and call the resulting "lab" the kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 Re: A Bathroom Instant Change, Extra Time.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiralman Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 Re: A Bathroom Swimming, only for things that fit in the potty? giggle giggle... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Goodwin Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 Re: A Bathroom In fact, at the top of FREd p. 318, under Floor Plans, it mentions bathrooms. You draw them in on the map. That's how you "buy" a bathroom for your base. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 Re: A Bathroom So if I built the bathroom as a Lab I might want a skill with "going to the bathroom"? Shall I assume that's an everyman skill @ 8-? Actually my game had a bathroom joke too. We sidetracked the GM from the story and decided to set an ambush for our foes. The GM, not wanting to come up with a warehouse and telling us "You search warehouses of the area and find one to your specs" the proceeds to throw a marker at us and tell us to draw it on the battlemat. Everyone passes the pen around and then have me draw it. So I made up a warehouse with offices, a loading bay, and everything else. Prompting of course the "Where's the bathroom?" joke. I decided people "hold it in" until they get out of the country. (We were in China) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magmarock Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 Re: A Bathroom So if I built the bathroom as a Lab I might want a skill with "going to the bathroom"? Shall I assume that's an everyman skill @ 8-? Which answers the time-old question of why some guys miss the target when taking a wizz. LOL! Mags Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magmarock Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 Re: A Bathroom But really, folks, this falls under trivial plot device. Its a minor thing that shouldn't even be addressed during gameplay, other than: "Danger room exercises over, my PC is hitting the showers..." Things, meaning devices, need only be built if (and when) there is a reason for it. Example: Once we had a PC in the group who could only regain his lost memories through dreams, but he never slept. Ever. Our group's base scientist has to built a sleep-chamber for the PC to surpress his LS: Does not sleep, just to get around this amnesia. Even so, the character only regained the occasional tid-bit (bought as skills, or buying off Disads, or plot hooks fed to the Player via a regained memory). The amount of space used by a bathroom is negligible in the floorplan. The act of using the bathroom is trivial. For game play it is unnecessary. Mags Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nexus Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 Re: A Bathroom Which answers the time-old question of why some guys miss the target when taking a wizz. LOL! Mags What I can't explain is why some women do.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Hiemforth Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 Re: A Bathroom In fact, at the top of FREd p. 318, under Floor Plans, it mentions bathrooms. You draw them in on the map. That's how you "buy" a bathroom for your base. Chris, it was a joke. Re-read the first post. No one thinks you really have to buy or define bathrooms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Squirrel Posted July 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 Re: A Bathroom Chris' date=' it was a joke. Re-read the first post. No one thinks you really have to buy or define bathrooms. [/quote'] Yeah, you also don't know our gaming group. They wanted to know how to build a bathroom. Come on guys, they are all depending on me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solomon Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 Re: A Bathroom In my D&D years I've crawled tens of dungeons without ever sighting a single toilet. Even civilized places like Dwarven fortresses and Elven castles were oddly bereft of restrooms. This is clear evidence of the fact that sanitaries do have a point value - the builders were obviously strapped for points. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nexus Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 Re: A Bathroom In my D&D years I've crawled tens of dungeons without ever sighting a single toilet. Even civilized places like Dwarven fortresses and Elven castles were oddly bereft of restrooms. This is clear evidence of the fact that sanitaries do have a point value - the builders were obviously strapped for points. Funny story and slightly on topic. I did once put a bathroom in a "dungeon". It was the abandoned subterranean home of a fairly advanced race and as such had indoor somewhat magical plumbing. I never said right out what the small room for and the PC's spent a long time trying to figure it out before it dawned on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teflon Billy Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 Re: A Bathroom I posted a similar request for help on how to design a base. Maybe some of you guys can help me. Like I said in a previous post I'm having a real hard time building bases. I just don't know what frame of mind I need to come at them. The same goes for vehicles, but I have many examples of those in HSVE and TUV so I chalk that up to inexperience on my part. As there are no where near as many Base examples as Vehicle examples in 5th Ed. Could some of you help me design a very basic base, a simple house. Anything else I can figure out, but starting with the basics would be a great benefit to me. I'll list what the house includes and why I'd like an explanation on why I'd like an example. Base: House in the suburbs Does anything about it's relative location need to noted? Land: 1 acre How do you represent land that's part of the Base but not nessacarily part of the Base structure? 3 Bedrooms: How do you deal with multiples of the same thing? Would you write this up with a life support (sleeping) or anything like that? 2.5 Bathes: This relates to the question that started this thread? Seriously would these be a start: Change Environment (Dirty Body to Clean Body, long lasting until made dirty again), Cosmetic Transform (Scruffy to clean shaven), anything else? Living Room: How do you write up Cable TV and a Stereo? How do you cover general knowledge skills on whatever comes on TV or the person has in their media collection (DVDs, CDs) what have you? Fine furniture, how would you quantify this? Dining Room: This I realize should probably have the least game mechanics, but it does take up internal floor space in the Base. Is there anything you need to do to note this on the write-up or is this just something you put on the map/floorplan? Kitchen: Change Environment(Varying temps for different appliances)? Minor Transform (Raw to Cooked food)? What else? Office/Library: Again, how much detail is required for general repositories of knowledge? What's the in game difference between KS: General Liturature vs. KS: English Liturature? KS Geography vs. AK: Europe vs. AK: France? How finely grained do knowledges tend to be in your campaigns? How would you possibly represent a library with different Language references? Does the library have KS: French or does it have L: French (Extra Time: 1 hour/pt of Fluency)? Basement Workshop: How do you represent this? How do you differentiate between woodworking, machinist, or electronics workshops? Garage, Basement, Attic: How do you cover storage? Particularly how do you represent multiple floors in a Base? Do you count the straight area of all the floors as the Base's size or just the area of the first (primary) floor? I'd really appreciate any of your help, TB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJR Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 Re: A Bathroom LS: Diminished Eating - Need Not Eat, excrete only: -1, OIF: Bathroom: -1/2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vorsch Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 Re: A Bathroom Your being ridiculous. I suspect its deliberate. Personal hygene is part of the person not the base. ( skill roll if you realy want ) as a side note how do you by gravity for your base, getting it free from the earth is cheating. Ps hero cant simulate gravity ( mass restictions on flight UAO ). If the words change enviroment or tranform appear on any thing you create in hero then theres a better way of doing it. This wasent sold as a game which models the universe thats the gms job. move on, a cooker cooks a microwave nukes a toilet ... well you know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirrel Nutkin Posted July 20, 2004 Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 Re: A Bathroom For crying out loud, no. People read this stuff and think "That crazy Hero System. You have to write up bathrooms with it." Believe it or not, when I saw this thread that is exactly what went through my mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted July 20, 2004 Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 Re: A Bathroom Yeah, I was going to say buy it like Life Support.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Squirrel Posted July 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 Re: A Bathroom Your being ridiculous. I suspect its deliberate. Personal hygene is part of the person not the base. ( skill roll if you realy want ) as a side note how do you by gravity for your base, getting it free from the earth is cheating. Ps hero cant simulate gravity ( mass restictions on flight UAO ). If the words change enviroment or tranform appear on any thing you create in hero then theres a better way of doing it. This wasent sold as a game which models the universe thats the gms job. move on, a cooker cooks a microwave nukes a toilet ... well you know. Gravity? Indirect EB, Does No Damage, Double Knockback, Continual, Standard Effect Penetrating, Gradual Effect I'm not trying to be assinine or anything. Our gaming group is a bunch of weirdo's. I mean, one of our gamers built a character with Teleportation, Megascale, NCC, Only Effects Small Objects (i.e. Car Keys), Not while being Directly Observed. I had thought about the JRR suggestion, but it didn't seem right. However, the PS: Personal Hygene, OAF Immobile example works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Goodwin Posted July 20, 2004 Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 Re: A Bathroom I posted a similar request for help on how to design a base. Maybe some of you guys can help me. Like I said in a previous post I'm having a real hard time building bases. I just don't know what frame of mind I need to come at them. The same goes for vehicles, but I have many examples of those in HSVE and TUV so I chalk that up to inexperience on my part. As there are no where near as many Base examples as Vehicle examples in 5th Ed. Could some of you help me design a very basic base, a simple house. Anything else I can figure out, but starting with the basics would be a great benefit to me. I'll list what the house includes and why I'd like an explanation on why I'd like an example. Base: House in the suburbs Does anything about it's relative location need to noted? Location: Suburbs. Cost 5 points. (p. 317) Land: 1 acre How do you represent land that's part of the Base but not nessacarily part of the Base structure? p. 318 under Grounds. 3 Bedrooms: How do you deal with multiples of the same thing? Would you write this up with a life support (sleeping) or anything like that? No. Bedrooms do not provide Life Support. They provide a comfy place to sleep and keep your clothing. 2.5 Bathes: This relates to the question that started this thread? Seriously would these be a start: Change Environment (Dirty Body to Clean Body, long lasting until made dirty again), Cosmetic Transform (Scruffy to clean shaven), anything else? Seriously, no. To have a bathroom you mark a space on your map and write "bathroom" on it. Seriously. See p. 318, first paragraph under Floor Plans. Optionally you can draw a little picture of a toilet and a sink and perhaps a tub. Living Room: How do you write up Cable TV and a Stereo? How do you cover general knowledge skills on whatever comes on TV or the person has in their media collection (DVDs, CDs) what have you? Fine furniture, how would you quantify this? Easy. You write somewhere on a piece of paper: "The house has cable TV and a stereo in it." Dining Room: This I realize should probably have the least game mechanics, but it does take up internal floor space in the Base. Is there anything you need to do to note this on the write-up or is this just something you put on the map/floorplan? You write it on the floor plan. Kitchen: Change Environment(Varying temps for different appliances)? Minor Transform (Raw to Cooked food)? What else? None of those even. You write "Kitchen" on the floor plan. Perhaps draw a picture of a stove, sink, refrigerator, counter space, etc. Office/Library: Again, how much detail is required for general repositories of knowledge? What's the in game difference between KS: General Liturature vs. KS: English Liturature? KS Geography vs. AK: Europe vs. AK: France? How finely grained do knowledges tend to be in your campaigns? How would you possibly represent a library with different Language references? Does the library have KS: French or does it have L: French (Extra Time: 1 hour/pt of Fluency)? You write down what kinds of books are to be found in the library. A library ordinarily provides a bonus to KS's, possibly SS's and other skills, for characters who are spending time researching in the library. If you really must, you could buy this as +1 with All (or Some) KS's, Extra Time, Only In Library. But please don't. Really. You decide what goes in the library. Basement Workshop: How do you represent this? How do you differentiate between woodworking, machinist, or electronics workshops? Call it a lab if you want. In fact you could do that with the kitchen as well. Garage, Basement, Attic: How do you cover storage? Pick a space on your floor plan. Write "Storage" on it. Particularly how do you represent multiple floors in a Base? Do you count the straight area of all the floors as the Base's size or just the area of the first (primary) floor? All the floors. How about your bachelor shag room? Buy it as a lab with Seduction. Or not. Damn, it's really getting to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caris Posted July 20, 2004 Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 Re: A Bathroom Well, I think there is just a key thing: Commode: L.S. No need to eat, drink or excrete, Limited Power still need to eat and drink (-x) I believe since it is bought for a base, that it doesn't need usable by others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost-angel Posted July 20, 2004 Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 Re: A Bathroom Whether you "buy" a bathroom or just draw one on the map (oh, draw it for crying out loud!!) I highly reccomend you remember them. They are the little details that add flavor to a game. And for anyone that thinks they aren't important ask Vick Vega from Pulp Fiction ... one saved him and his partner in the diner, and one got him killed in the apartment. Bathrooms are useful beyond just their function. And how many movies feature stuff overheard in the bathroom? really now. draw them on the map, and just assume they work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sociotard Posted July 20, 2004 Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 Re: A Bathroom I think adding bathrooms is great. (I agree with the PS: Hygene lab, btw). Now, that's Everybase equipment, usually. I might force a character to buy it for transportable bases like tents, but probably not. But what if they wanted one in the Superjet or RV? That would cost points. Why add in the bathrooms? Because Hero System is meant to simulate action-oriented movies, television, comics, novels etc. Oh, I can't think of any times brushing his teeth has come up in the story, but the check-each-stall-for-where-he's-hiding is stapel! Remeber the classic "Who Does Number Two Work for?" Scene in Austin powers? The exampels are even more extensive when you get into shower scenes. It's huge fun to surprise your hero's with ninja's when they don't even have their towel on yet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sociotard Posted July 20, 2004 Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 Re: A Bathroom On bedrooms: I call 'em penalty skill level based labs for sleeping, since I could see requiring a character to make a roll to fall asleep, and rest well, on lumpy hard floors. (I don't require them, but I could see it being done) It makes them great if you're under an insomnia curse. Who's more powerful, the witch, or an advanced spring suspension system? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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