Fantasy Campaign Guidlines: Please comment (stupidly long)

[The Hyborian]

Hi all, I thought I would post the notes I have writen for the campaign I am working on. They are for a high powered fantasy campaign, and Include some home brew combat rules and special perks for gaining powers. My intention is to keep things cinimatic rather than highly realistic, but not swing so far away from realism that it becomes low powered supers.

 

Please excuse the fact that the format is a bit hard to look at, I did a copy and paste from a Word Document rather than type this monster out again, so It looks like a giant lump of text. I have tried to at least put in spaces and line breaks to keep things a bit readable.

 

Hero System Fantasy Campaign Guidelines

 

Character Points: These notes are for a high powered fantasy campaign where players can play epic heroes and powerful magic wielders. Characters are built on a 100 pt. base and a max of 100 pts of disadvantages, with a maximum of 25 pts from one disadvantage category.

 

Character Design: The campaign will use heroic rather than super heroic rules, with some modifications. Normal stats maxima applies (although see the Extraordinary Legacy perk below). Equipment is purchased with money rather than character points (although see the Heirloom Item perk below) Skills, talents, and perks may be purchased normally. Find weakness, lack of weakness, and luck are reclassified as talents rather than powers for the purpose of this campaign. Powers are allowed within the scope of several campaign specific power granting perks. These perks are Magic Wielder, Heirloom Item, and Extraordinary Legacy, as detailed below.

 

Heirloom Item: This perk costs 5 pts. It allows the character to spend character points on a special item that is superior to normal equipment by virtue of magic, superior craftsmanship, or extraordinary materials. This item may have up to 60 active points in powers, and MUST be purchased with the Independent limitation. This perk may be taken no more than twice at character creation, and may only be purchased after creation with GM permission. Normally experience may not be spent to enhance the powers in and Heirloom Item, but with GM permission an in game event may unlock new powers or enhance existing abilities.

 

Extraordinary Legacy: This perk costs 5 pts. It represents some extraordinary background or origin that separates the character from normal people. Taking this perk allows the character to spend up to 40 active pts on powers. These powers must be tighlty tied to the nature of the Legacy. The Indepenant limitation is not allowed for powers purchased under this perk, as they represent powers and abilites natural or intrinsic to the character.. The Focus limitation may still be used if appropriate. Points spend under this perk may be used to purchased Characteristics as powers, and would thus be exempt from the Normal Stats Maxima rule.

Some examples: Extraordinary Legacy-Giant Blood might allow the character to purchase Strength and Constitution above the Normal Stats Maxima to represent the character’s Giant ancestry. Extraordinary Legacy-Lycanthrope would allow the character to purchase a 40 point multi-form to turn into a magical beast. Extraordinary Legacy- Intense Martial Training (character was raised in a martial arts monastery, or fostered by a hermit who was a master fighter) might allow the character to purchase Missile Deflection and extra Dexterity.

This perk may be only taken once at character creation, and may only be added later with special permission from the GM, and this permission should be connected to an extraordinary event in the campaign that significantly changes the character. Players who want more than 40 active points in powers should consider the Magic Wielder perk.

Players may spend experience freely to increase or add powers purchased under Extraordinary Legacy, provided that all the powers remain tightly tied to the Legacy.

 

Magic Wielder: This perk costs 10 points. It represents a character with a special ability to wield magical powers. This can be someone with extensive magical training(the character is a wizard or priest that can cast spells), or who has a magical origin so extraordinary that it can not be simulated with the Extraordinary Legacy perk (the characters is a magical beast such a unicorn or minor dragon, the character is cursed and imprisoned in a set magical armor, the character was intensively trained by a clan of the best assassins in the world for 30 years, etc.)

Normally this perk can only be purchased at character creation. Characters with the Magic Wielder perk have either spent vast effort in gaining their powers (years of study and practice) or have extremely unusual origins. Acquiring this type of magical power during the campaign is possible, but very rare. A character might spend 10 years studying magic under a master, but what would the other characters in the group do in the meantime? Gaining this perk during play is a campaign changing event, and should only be allowed by the GM under very special circumstances.

A character with the Magic Wielder perk may purchase powers freely, and improve them with experience, within the following restrictions:

No power may have more than 60 active points when first purchased.

Faster than Light Travel, Extra-Dimensional Travel, and Megascale effects are not allowed without GM permission and a very good reason.

 

All magical powers purchased under the Magic Wielder perk normally have visible special effects, including Mental Powers and Characteristics. Magic use is obvious and appears unnatural to the casual observer. To purchase powers without visible special effect the character may use the Invisible Special Effects advantage.

 

The Gestures and Incantations limitations are not worth any limitation points, and are assumed to be part of the special effect of most “spell caster†style magic wielders.

 

Magic weilding chracters may use the Requires Skill Roll limitation, but it is never mandatory.

 

These powers may not normally be purchased with the Independent limitation (that’s what Heirloom Item is for). Special GM permission exempts as always.

Power frameworks are allowed, with some special consideration for Variable Power Pools and Multipowers. VPPs and MPs MUST be purchased with the Slightly Limited Class of Powers limitation (-1/4). Characters will receive the normal limitation points for this. The character must define the scope of their magic or powers in some reasonable way. Examples include things such as Elemental Magic (powers that use the four elements) Psionics (Powers that simulate classical mental powers) Necromancy (powers with special effects centered on disease, death, age, weakness, etc). Alchemy (all powers are represented by potions, powders, etc, sort of a magical gadgeteer) or Natural magic (spells that affect animals, plants, the weather, etc.). These categories should be broad, but not unlimited. Be creative. A more focused limitation (only fire spells, only healing magic, etc) would be worth a larger limitation depending on how sharply it limited power use.

The Slightly Limited Class of Powers limitation is normally applied to VPPs, and reduces the control cost. When applying it to a MP use the limitation to reduce the pool cost (the use of the pool is limited) but not the cost of the powers in the pool (the actual function of the individual powers is not decreased).

 

General Magic Restrictions: In addition to the game mechanic restrictions listed above, magic has some role playing limits in the campagin. Any magic powers purchased under any of the power granting perks with the following special effects are not allowed: Time travel, either past or future. Predicting the future with perfect accuracy. Changing a past action to affect the present. Raising the dead or creating genuine, independant life. Speaking with or summoning the dead. Traveling to other dimensions (summoning and extra-dimensional special effecs are ok, but players may not go to another plane of existance.) Extending life beyond its natural span. (There are undead beings in the campaign, but extending human life inevitably results in possession by necromantic forces, and would turn player characters into putrid death obsessed NPCs).

 

Campaign Combat Rules:

The combat rules choices for the campaign are intended to be cinematic rather than highly realistic. The campaign DOES NOT use the optional rules for hit locations, impairing, disabling, bleeding, knock back, or long term endurance. There are special campaign specific rules to cover Knockdown, Impairing, and healing powers.

 

Knockdown: Attacks, including powers purchased under any of the Power Granting Perks, do not normally do knock back. If a player wants an attack that does knock back it may be purchased with the Does Knock Back advantage, and further enhanced with the Extra Knock back advantage if desired. Example: A player is designing and Heirloom Item that is a mighty magical hammer. The player wants to send enemies flying with blows from his weapon. This may be purchased as a large attack with the Does Knock Back advantage, just make sure the active point total does not exceed 60 points.

Attacks without these advantages, including normal weapons not purchased with points, use the following house knockdown rules:

An attack that hits for as much or more body as the target’s full body score before defenses drives the target back one hex and requires a Dex or Acrobatics roll to avoid falling prone.

An attack that inflicts 1/3 or more of the target’s full body score in body damage after defense requires the target to make a con check or fall back one hex and take no offensive action in their next phase. The target may still move and make defensive maneuvers. If the target has already canceled to a defensive action for his next phase then an addition phase is affected.. This represents a target’s natural tendency to recoil and protect after being hurt.

An attack that does half or more of the targets full body score in damage after defense causes the target to automatically fall back one hex, take no offensive action in his next phase, and make a Dex or Acrobatics roll to avoid falling prone.

Note that is possible to be affected by more than one of these categories at once. Example: Fred the fighter has a body score of 10. He is hit for 12 points of body damage. He is wearing plate mail armor that stops 8 body, resulting a wound for 4 body. He automatically retreats one hex and must make a Dex check to avoid falling(he was hit for more body than his full body score), and must also make a Con check or take no offensive action in his next phase (he took a wound that inflicted more than 1/3 of his total body.) Fred has learned the value of a high body score for melee characters. A character is never driven back more than one hex by a single attack unless it has the Does Knock Back advantage. Characters who are pushed back into walls or barriers by knockdown take no extra damage (unless there is some special property to the barrier), but they can be forced off a precipice. (Don’t fight with your back to a cliff if you can help it.)

 

House Impairing Rules: Characters acquire penalties as they loose Body to represent the difficulty in continuing to act when badly wounded. Characters who have 100% to 76% of their full body score have no extra penalty. Characters who have 75% to 51% of their full body score are -1OCV, -1 DCV, and -1 to all skill checks. Characters who have 50% to 26% of their full Body score are -2 OCV, -2DCV, -2 skill checks, and -1 Recovery for the purposes of recovering Stun (long term body recovery is unaffected), and -2 hexes running and leaping. Characters with 25% or less of their full Body score are -3 OCV, -3 DCV, -3 Skill checks, -3 Recovery, and -4 hexes running and leaping. Characters will always have at least 1 hex run speed left no matter how wounded they are, but can become too wounded to leap.

 

House Healing Power Rules: Magical healing is an integral part of many fantasy RPGs. Magic using characters wishing to have a the standard fantasy “heal spell†should use the Healing power specified to heal lost Body. Do not, however, use the special maximum effects rules for the Healing power, but rather the standard maximum effect rules for Adjustment powers, with the exception that the maximum effect can not be raised by spending extra points. Example: Cedric the Cleric has a 2d6 Heal spell. He can restore up to 12 character points, or 6 body, from the wounded character’s lowest body score. Fred the fighter is wounded and has 2 body remaining. Cedric may restore up to 6 body to him, raising him to a total of 8 body. Cedric may use his healing spell as many times as necessary to reach this total (assuming that he has the endurance and/or charges to do so) and does not need to exceed previous rolls to increase the amount that has been healed. He may not heal Fred any further, Fred must heal naturally. Enough time passes that Fred heals naturally from 8 Body to his full 10 Body. He is then struck by an arrow and looses 6 body. Cedric may heal this full amount because Fred’s “lowest body score†is now 2 plus the 2 naturally healed over time. Cedric may increase this by a maximum of 6, bringing Fred’s total back to 10. If Fred was then wounded again (life as a fighter is hard) for 7 body points, his lowest unhealed body score would be back down to 3, and Cedric could heal him up to a total score of 9 Body (3 lowest unhealed body plus 6 for the spell).

Another example: Brack the Barbarian has a full Body score of 18. He is wounded down to 2 Body. Cedric may heal up to 6 body points, brining him to a total of 8. From there he heals normally. Enough time passes that Brack heals 8 more body points, bringing his “lowest unhealed body†level up to 10 (2 originally, plus the 8 healed by time). His current Body score is 16. Brack them meets Cecil the cleric, a more experienced spell caster with has a 3d6 heal spell (maximum of 9 body healing). Cecil makes with his Mojo and can heal Brack up to full Body. (10 lowest unhealed body, plus 9 for Cecil’s maximum, which exceeds Bracks full score). If Brack had a full Body score of 20 Cecil could heal Brack’s current Body back up to 19.

Characters may purchase the Can Heal Limbs adder, but many not purchase the Resurrection adder. The finality of death is one of the themes of this campaign, and restoring a dead character to life would be a campagin length epic quest, if it is possible at all.

 

The Heal power can not cure diseases or poison, but can heal Characteristic damage done by them. Disease or Poison that is defined as a continuous attack, or an attack with the Gradual Effects limitation, may be purged from the victim with the appropriate Transform powers (Major Transform, turn a sick or poisoned person into a healthy one), stopping further damage, but any damage already inflicted must be healed naturally or through a Heal power for the affected Characteristic.

 

Combat Maneuvers: All standard and martial combat manuevers may be used by the characters. The following optional maneuvers are available: Cover, Dive for Cover, Pulling a Punch, Sweep, and Snapshot. The maneuvers Blazing Away, Hipshot, Hurry, Roll With a Punch, and Suppression Fire are not Available. Club Weapon and Rapid Shot are avialbe with specail house rules. Club Weapon may be used at a -2 OVC due to the awkward nature of the strike. It is assumed that the character is striking with the hilt, haft, or other part of the weapon not normally used to hit the opponent, and is thus more difficult to accomplish. Rapid Shot can be used within the natural rate of fire of the weapon, as determined by the GM. For example, crossbows and slings could not rapid fire due to reload time. Bows could rapid fire up to two shots per phase (more than this and you are looking at a power with autofire, but Extraordinay Legacy-Shoots Like Orlando Bloom is certainly possible). Heavy thrown weapons like spears and javalins can not be used for Rapid Shot, but a character could throw a dagger or throwing axe with each hand. Small very light throwing weapons like shuriken could be thrown in larger numbers if carried in a ready position. Common sense and GM wisdom should be applied.

 

A Note on Half Dice and Damage: To simplifiy dice rolling in combat half dice are not used. Killing Damage increases at the rate of 1 pip, 1d6-1, 1d6, 1d6+1, 2d6-1, 2d6, etc. Normal dammge is increased in steps of 1 dice per dammage class, as normal. 10 pt per d6 powers, such as some adjustment powers, always measure their effects in whole dice. Effects must be purchased in whole dice increments, and powers like Drain or Suppress always decrease effectivness in whole dice increments, rounding the effective value of the power to the nearest whole dice.

[Captain Obvious]

Re: Fantasy Campaign Guidlines: Please comment (stupidly long)

 

I only had a brief time to look this over before work yesterday, and since it was a 24 hour shift, and I've not had a proper sleep since then, I don't have any particularly astute observations to make even now. It looks like a very interesting high-to-epic-fantasy setting, from what I've seen. Your system tweaks all seem reasonable enough, with no major unbalancing in action. Looks good.

 

Now, I must have coffee.

[The Hyborian]

Re: Fantasy Campaign Guidlines: Please comment (stupidly long)

 

Thanks for the feedback Cap.

[Trencher]

Re: Fantasy Campaign Guidlines: Please comment (stupidly long)

 

I would recommend you to move this up into low powered supers level.

If they do not pay point for equipment but are allowed to buy powers with points you might be in for a surprise when the campaign starts.

Be particularly wary of damage enhancing spells placed on characters weapons, frostblade or spells of striking and stuff like that.

Offcourse your players might be very good roleplayers and they will not try to take advantage but you be the judge of that.

I like your impairing rules. Maybe I steal them for my own campaign.

I strongly suggest that you use half dice for the rolling of killing attacks.

The healing rules sounds unnecessary complicated.

[Eosin]

Re: Fantasy Campaign Guidlines: Please comment (stupidly long)

 

Other than saying "what Trencher said" - I'll add the following.

 

- Deadly blow can catch you in the small parts if it gets rampant.

- Watch Combat Luck - remember it is Hardened.

- Remind people to try to fill an niche - Hercules is fine but Hercules I, Hercules II, and Hercules III are not.

 

Let us know how it goes.

[The Hyborian]

Re: Fantasy Campaign Guidlines: Please comment (stupidly long)

 

Thanks for the replies all, I appreciate the feedback.

And I was looking at combat luck after I made the original post. It does seem that everyone and their aunt Fannie will probably want to take it. Have to think that one through a bit.

 

thanks

 

The Hyborian

[Mr. R]

Re: Fantasy Campaign Guidlines: Please comment (stupidly long)

 

Just looked at it and all looks ok..... except for Heirloom Item.

 

As a player looking at the three groups I would not take that option. Legacy is intrinsic and can't be taken away, Magic is intrinsic and can't be taken away. With Independant, well the GM giveth and the GM taketh away. I lose my character points in the meantime. So after 25 exp gaming I lose the item somehow and suddenly I am points in the hole and loose a good chunk of my power.

 

This is just MHO and if you could address these concerns could you please post them.

 

Jerome

[Fireg0lem]

Re: Fantasy Campaign Guidlines: Please comment (stupidly long)

 

Only a few things not already pointed out:

 

First, why no hit locations? You don't seem to have house rules to replace them, and KA-heavy games without hit locations tend to be very goofy as damage fluctuates very, very randomly.

 

Permitting limited class of powers on a Multipower: DON'T. This will come back to bite you. You can easily get cases where the MP is cheaper than buying a single power from it outright.

[The Hyborian]

Re: Fantasy Campaign Guidlines: Please comment (stupidly long)

 

Mr. R-

 

Thanks for the feedback.

 

My thoughts on Heirloom item: The Independant limitation is supposed to be the vehicle for creating magic items that are not strictly linked to the character. A wizard's staff is might be a focus, if its broken or lost the wizard can enchant a new one with some time, expense, and materials. But if a warrior character looses his magic sword they are not going to be able to go back to th keep, spend a week in the blacksmiths shop, and walk out with a new one. If its lost its lost.

 

The compensation for this for the player is that Independant items are darned cheap. It allows a character for a modest point investment to start the game with a fairly powerful magical attack (or defense, or utility power), which is ok with me. I see the campaign as high level to epic fantasy, the characters are larger than life heroes who do things normal people cant dream of doing. Yes, there is the chance to loose the points, but if you want to be able to actually make magical swords you have to pay for the more expensive Magic Weilder perk, and buy the sword with a lesser limitation, thus making it more expensive. It gives the players a choice: cheap or secure. If the possibility of loosing the points bothers you then you should chose the secure option.

 

FiregOlem - thanks to you as well for the feedback. My reason for avoiding hit locations was speed of combat and maintaining a cinimatic feel. Im not a hard core "simulationist" gamer. I dont need to know exactly where the blow landed, how much dammage was soaked by armor vs, natural pd, the chance of contracting infection and how to modifiy it by weapon type and climate, etc. I like to focus on story and keep the action sequences fast paced. Its not that I dont like action sequences, I do, and would generally have several in any game session, but I dont want them to bog down. Hit locations are another dice roll and another chart for each attack.

 

On the other hand, I dont want it to be D&D where the characters get shot, stabbed, burned, bludgened, crushed, and impaled and just keep going until they run out of hitpoints. Thus the houserules for the imparing effects. I know this approach bugs some people, they want as highly accurate a simulation as possible, but I am willing to accept some abstract elements in combat to keep it moving faster. Even without the hit location rules Hero system combat is not the fastest thing to play.

 

My reason for limited class of powers on MP: I wanted to avoid a generic wizard who buys a MP and a laundry list of fixed slots with no real linked special effects. Its dull, ends up looking like a D&D wizard, and promotes powergaming as players build a set of usefull powers, rather than an interesting character. By forcing characters to define their magic this way I was hoping to add some role playing elements to character design, and flavor to the magic system. Its only a -1/4 limitation, and it only applies to the reserve cost, not the powers in the slots. I dont really see the potential for significant abuse. I suppose the other option would be to make it a manditory +0 limitiation if I thought players were really getting away with something when I saw their characters.

 

Anyway, thanks again to all who replied.

[Curufea]

Re: Fantasy Campaign Guidlines: Please comment (stupidly long)

 

Many campaigns also only allow wizards to study one college - thus the spells they have are all thematically linked.

[Fireg0lem]

Re: Fantasy Campaign Guidlines: Please comment (stupidly long)

 

FiregOlem - thanks to you as well for the feedback. My reason for avoiding hit locations was speed of combat and maintaining a cinimatic feel. Im not a hard core "simulationist" gamer. I dont need to know exactly where the blow landed, how much dammage was soaked by armor vs, natural pd, the chance of contracting infection and how to modifiy it by weapon type and climate, etc. I like to focus on story and keep the action sequences fast paced. Its not that I dont like action sequences, I do, and would generally have several in any game session, but I dont want them to bog down. Hit locations are another dice roll and another chart for each attack.

 

 

If that's your reason, might I suggest a flat x3 Stun Multiplier for killing attacks? The problem is the potential for wild variation with the one die (stun multiplier) varying the damage so heavily. And hey, it's one less roll.

 

My reason for limited class of powers on MP: I wanted to avoid a generic wizard who buys a MP and a laundry list of fixed slots with no real linked special effects. Its dull, ends up looking like a D&D wizard, and promotes powergaming as players build a set of usefull powers, rather than an interesting character. By forcing characters to define their magic this way I was hoping to add some role playing elements to character design, and flavor to the magic system. Its only a -1/4 limitation, and it only applies to the reserve cost, not the powers in the slots. I dont really see the potential for significant abuse. I suppose the other option would be to make it a manditory +0 limitiation if I thought players were really getting away with something when I saw their characters.

 

Anyway, thanks again to all who replied.

I would definitely go with -0 limitation. I see no reason to give players points back for not being allowed to make a silly construct. Here's why:

 

Player A wants to make a half-fire elemental who can throw fire from his hands: 5d6 Energy Blast: 25 points

 

Player B wants to make a character with hereditary control over ice, who can throw "icebolts" from his hands OR freeze people solid.

 

Multipower, 25 point reserve: Ice Powers, Only Ice Powers (-1/4) 20 points

2u Ice Bolts 5d6 Energy Blast

2u Freeze 2d6 Entangle, 3 DEF

 

Total cost: 24 points. It's cheaper to buy two powers than one. Even if you don't think your players will munchkin this: what if it arises unintentionally? Why should player A pay more points for less power?

[The Hyborian]

Re: Fantasy Campaign Guidlines: Please comment (stupidly long)

 

Hummmm, I like x3 stun multiplier idea. Less dice rolls= good thing. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

And I see what you mean about the limited class of powers limitation, there is some possible abuse there. Will make it mandatory at +0 on mp, leave it as is on VPP.