RDU Neil Posted February 14, 2005 Report Share Posted February 14, 2005 Since I couldn't find an already existant thread, I thought I'd just start my own. This afternoon, I had the pleasure of RL meeting of one of our online brethren... one Mudpyr8.. as he was running a demo of his Hero based fantasy world/system... Narosia. It was a well run introductory adventure with pregenerated characters. An adventure of the classic, "Heroes must find out what evil has befallen the hapless village" type of story line. Well paced and clearly well rehearsed (Mudpyr8 and his cohort had obvious experience in co-GMing and working with us noob players) that it flowed quite well for a four person party, none of us having ever met before... and three of them never having played Hero. While hats off to them for running a well done intro... I thought I'd make most of my comments on the two things I thought were great about the product they are creating... Narosia. One: They have done an admirable job of keeping much of the mechanics "invisible." While nothing is stopping experienced Hero System goobers like me from delving deeply into the "how" of the Narosia variations... the game is very easily playable in a functional way, without understanding the system at all. They have a system of "menu options" for the players who want to select characters in that manner... but nothing stops you from building from scratch if you wish to do so... just follow campaign guidelines. The beauty of this is that any conversations or considerations of metagame concepts like "campaign guidelines" are invisible to players who just want a fire magic wielding elven warrior. They can build such from a mix of packages and templates that are practically plug 'n play. This is really cool... and something I hope can be utilized in future Hero System based games. Two: The magic system is very slick. It is quite streamlined from the player position... allowing for various magical effects at relatively low cost in points... but the best part is that it allows for in game flexibility (improvisation) without resorting to complex VPP constructs or even klunky "variable advantage" builds. I'm sure I'm not describing it perfectly, but my base impression is that the magic system has taken all the various Advantages and Limitations that can be tacked on to powers to make them "spell like" and turned them, basically, into "Maneuvers" in a way. It is a rather brilliant, if fragile construction. I don't think it would scale well or be adaptable at supers levels... but for the proscribed game world, and the feel of magic they wanted to create... it is really slick. Essentially... without going into too much detail... base spells are bought at 1pt a piece... and never cost anything more. 2d6 Slap spell and 12d6 Fireball will both cost 1pt... but that is not the true cost of the spell. The true cost comes in how easy/difficult it is to cast such a spell... and how much "essence" it will cost. Since ALL spell have the standard 1/2 DCV, Gestures, Incantations, 1/2 Phase action and requires a skill roll... everybody operates on that same basis. If you have a larger blast than someone else... it doesn't cost you in actual points... instead costing you in minuses to your roll... and increase in essence as the spell becomes more difficult to cast. IT balances quite well at the proscribed point levels of the campaign (75 point charcters to start). Best of all, you can advantage your powers on the fly. Have a simple fire beam spell, but suddenly need to hit multiple targets? Well, you can take Area Effect almost like a maneuver for that one action... but you just increased the essence cost proportionately... and DOUBLE the minuses you'd pay to pull off the magic skill roll. Essentially the same model as "You have minuses to hit more than one person with your punch... which a maneuver like sweep takes into account." It was very effective in game... and best of all, as presented to newbie players, the mechanics of how this works is quite invisible. They can just say "Wow... ten orcs? I need a bigger blast! I need to fill the room with fire!" and the GM can say, "Ok, that is AE Cone... so it doubles (+1) the essences cost, and doubles AGAIN the minuses to pull it off... so instead of 6d6 to one target at -3 to your roll... you have 6d6 to ALL targets at -12 to your roll!" They also have a fate/luck/chance system that is card based that encourages roll playing/story telling to allow the occasional pulling off of -12 style rolls! Anyway... this is just a brief spouting off by me... but I encourage anyone interested in Fantasy Hero to really give Mudpyr8's project a look see. It has a lot to offer, and IMO, really has a chance of attracting the attention of players outside the normal Hero fold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curufea Posted February 14, 2005 Report Share Posted February 14, 2005 Re: Experience with Narosia That sounds interesting. I've been working on a way to simplify Hero myself - to give players an plain english version of the character sheet and keep the numbers out of the game. The large amount of numbers in the game is the biggest intimidating factor for new players. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tywyll Posted February 15, 2005 Report Share Posted February 15, 2005 Re: Experience with Narosia HOw can you get more information on Narosia and its systems? The website seems quite quiet on the actual mechanics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDU Neil Posted February 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2005 Re: Experience with Narosia HOw can you get more information on Narosia and its systems? The website seems quite quiet on the actual mechanics. I'm not sure. I just experienced it as a player the first time on Sunday. You could PM Mudpyr8 on these boards... as he is one of the developers. I know they intend to create a PDF book for sale at some point. A full campaign world, magic system, etc. He's usually on these boards pretty regularly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDU Neil Posted February 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2005 Re: Experience with Narosia Oh... here is their website... right off of Mudpyr8's sig line. http://www.narosia.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MitchellS Posted February 15, 2005 Report Share Posted February 15, 2005 Re: Experience with Narosia It sounds like a very interesting product. I look forward to getting it when it comes out. Is it going to be available through regular distribution, or can we order it directly from the website? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDU Neil Posted February 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2005 Re: Experience with Narosia It sounds like a very interesting product. I look forward to getting it when it comes out. Is it going to be available through regular distribution' date=' or can we order it directly from the website?[/quote'] Dunno... just met the guys a few days ago. I'd hoped Mudpyr8 would drop by this thread, but no such luck, yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Posted February 16, 2005 Report Share Posted February 16, 2005 Re: Experience with Narosia I've played in 3 Narosia games to date via Gencon and am totally in agreement with the original poster's praise. In some other thread Mudpyr mentions you can request the playtest doocument and if you look on the website they have all the characters from the con games as well as the adventures I believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Citizen Keen Posted February 16, 2005 Report Share Posted February 16, 2005 Re: Experience with Narosia As soon as Narosia comes out, I'm going to buy it. Not because I've played it (which I haven't), and not because I love it (how could I have any feelings for it if I haven't played it?), but to encourage DOJ to keep licensing. GO NAROSIA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legendsmiths Posted February 16, 2005 Report Share Posted February 16, 2005 Re: Experience with Narosia Wow, thank you for all the praise RDU, and Greg. That is much appreciated. The website is quiet about mechanics primarily because we will be publishing the product. Once it is published we will be happy to delve into the mechanics on a deeper level, if such depth is necessary. The goal is to essential present a setting that only requires Sidekick and makes all of the campaign settings for you. Many people may not agree with us, and that's okay, but the point is to create a simple package the people can grab a hold of and play. If they want to change the guidelines because they think it's better their way - that's fine. We wanted to set a baseline that we could create additional content for, something we could expand in a consistent manner with a cohesive world. I do sincerely hope this helps spawn other products like it. We feel we have created a product that will appeal to veteran and new Hero players alike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MitchellS Posted February 16, 2005 Report Share Posted February 16, 2005 Re: Experience with Narosia Wow, thank you for all the praise RDU, and Greg. That is much appreciated. The website is quiet about mechanics primarily because we will be publishing the product. Once it is published we will be happy to delve into the mechanics on a deeper level, if such depth is necessary. The goal is to essential present a setting that only requires Sidekick and makes all of the campaign settings for you. Many people may not agree with us, and that's okay, but the point is to create a simple package the people can grab a hold of and play. If they want to change the guidelines because they think it's better their way - that's fine. We wanted to set a baseline that we could create additional content for, something we could expand in a consistent manner with a cohesive world. I do sincerely hope this helps spawn other products like it. We feel we have created a product that will appeal to veteran and new Hero players alike. Excellent idea for a product line. I'll be happy to buy your book when it comes out. Innovative ideas need to be celebrated. Please let me know if it will be available through normal channels or if I need to purchase it directly from you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legendsmiths Posted February 16, 2005 Report Share Posted February 16, 2005 Re: Experience with Narosia It will be for sale in the Hero Online store, AFAIK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheQuestionMan Posted February 16, 2005 Report Share Posted February 16, 2005 Re: Experience with Narosia Hmmm... Must get Online Money. Cheers QM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted September 2, 2012 Report Share Posted September 2, 2012 Re: Experience with Narosia Since the Kickstarter succeeded, I thought I'd do some thread necromancy. What new experiences with this game world would anyone like to share? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legendsmiths Posted September 3, 2012 Report Share Posted September 3, 2012 Re: Experience with Narosia Seriously, that is some powerful necromancy, Steve. I remember that demo in an Ann Arbor game store that no longer exists, embarrassingly 7 years ago. It is a testament, if nothing else, to how long we have been polishing this game. Now it is go time. I will lurk and respond as requested/necessary. As a general comment, I have run a Narosia adventure at every Origins, GenCon, and U*Con since this thread started. Greg has played in many of my non-Narosia games as well. The reason that is relevant is that for about that time as well I have run 6-7 HERO events at each of those cons as well. I am a HERO fan, and whether it's running Cowboy Cthulhu, Fallout, or various attempts realize the perfect Cyberpunk game my focus is on HERO. What this means for Narosia is attention to detail, and a commitment from the Narosia team that we are trying to leverage every strength that HERO has to realize the Narosia metaplot. I will certainly leave that evaluation for the consumers and fans, but at least know that we recognize that reality as an element of our success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gojira Posted September 3, 2012 Report Share Posted September 3, 2012 Re: Experience with Narosia First, congrats on the successful kickstarter to all of the creators of Narosia. Second, rather then just lurk, why not post any relevant details about the production as they happen? Should be fun to keep folks informed of the progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starwolf Posted September 10, 2012 Report Share Posted September 10, 2012 Re: Experience with Narosia I am thrilled that the kick start was successfully funded. I have played with Mudpyr8 in other games many years ago... back in my screen monkey days. He is a great GM. I was able to participate in the online quick start preview a couple of weeks ago. We went through the character process. The process is quick and easy for new players, yet has enough details and crunchy bits for us longtime Herophiles. ln spite of logging in late (I had trouble getting Google+ to cooperate), I was able to catch enough detail to create a very cool Loriya Rogue. He can turn invisible by holding his breath! All in all it turned out to be a great intro to the character creation system, and I am really looking forward to the full game book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Watts Posted September 10, 2012 Report Share Posted September 10, 2012 Re: Experience with Narosia Well, as of today, we're still waiting for the cash to come through from Amazon and Kickstarter- we expect it sometime at the end of this week or beginning of next. In the meantime, Shane and I at least are back at work, having finished the new outline on Friday. (The previous outline he was writing towards assumed this was going to be a supplement for Hero and not include the core rules- now that it's a standalone product, it needs some rearranging to accomodate.) I'm working for the next few days on moving the existing text around to match the new outline, which will give us all a clear picture of what remains to be written, and then the assembled writers get to work filling in the gaps. dw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legendsmiths Posted September 10, 2012 Report Share Posted September 10, 2012 Re: Experience with Narosia I am thrilled that the kick start was successfully funded. I have played with Mudpyr8 in other games many years ago... back in my screen monkey days. He is a great GM. I was able to participate in the online quick start preview a couple of weeks ago. We went through the character process. The process is quick and easy for new players' date=' yet has enough details and crunchy bits for us longtime Herophiles. ln spite of logging in late (I had trouble getting Google+ to cooperate), I was able to catch enough detail to create a very cool Loriya Rogue. He can turn invisible by holding his breath! All in all it turned out to be a great intro to the character creation system, and I am really looking forward to the full game book.[/quote'] I had no idea I was in the presence of the illustrious (and elusive) Starwolf. Thank you for your kind words and perspective. It is great to see that we continue to meet our objectives with the game of making it both accessible to new players and enjoyable for us Hero grognards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hancock.tom Posted September 18, 2012 Report Share Posted September 18, 2012 Re: Experience with Narosia I was one of the kickstarter backers and I'm really excited to see this come into print. Honestly the magic system sounds a lot like what I was trying to do with odd VPP restrictions last time I created a magic system. I'm curious Mudpyr (or anyone else) what twists your system provides for fighter types and rogue types to encourage those characters and keep them from being overshadowed by versatile magic users? This is a common problem in fantasy RPGs and it is not a problem that HERO is immune to! I've always tried to counter it with lots of "feats" usually in the form of talents, minor powers, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gojira Posted October 6, 2012 Report Share Posted October 6, 2012 Re: Experience with Narosia Que pasa, Narosia? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Watts Posted October 6, 2012 Report Share Posted October 6, 2012 Re: Experience with Narosia We're rewriting the portions that need to be changed since the book went from being a supplement for Hero, to being a standalone book for Silverback with all the rules you need. So we apologize if we're pretty heads-down at the moment, but we're trying to do this as quickly as possible. dw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gojira Posted January 22, 2013 Report Share Posted January 22, 2013 Re: Experience with Narosia I thought I'd post this update from the Kickstarter project: Hey all! We're down to the last chapter of new material from Shane, which he's working on right now. In a couple of weeks we should be finalizing Ken's contributions as well, at which point the whole megillah goes off to Adam for layout and art insertion. We know this whole thing has taken considerably longer than we expected- we can only plead a combination of real life and an underestimation of the amount of work needed to change the manuscript over from "Hero supplement" to "stand-alone book." But it's still coming, we promise, just a bit late! dw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zane_Marlowe Posted January 29, 2013 Report Share Posted January 29, 2013 Re: Experience with Narosia Good to see things are moving. This is a project I'm seriously excited about. It's probably going to be my unofficial "Fantasy Hero Complete" given what I've seen about the product already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nolgroth Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 Re: Experience with Narosia Yeah I'm sort of getting impatient, but more in the anticipation way than anything negative. So hurry up already Mudpyr8 and company! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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