Point/Power levels in your game

[Greatwyrm]

I've never run a FH game, but I'd like to do some planning for one in the future. So, for all you FH GMs, I have a couple of questions.

 

1. Do you like to run heroic or super-heroic games?

 

2. What starting character point levels do you use?

 

3. What style of play (e.g. high fantasy, epic LotR style, sword & sorcery) are you looking for with those levels?

[GaryB]

Re: Point/Power levels in your game

 

Typically, a FH game consists of well rounded 150 point characters (75/75). But this depends on how heroic you want your characters to be. You could go as high as 200 points (100/100), but this requires greater challenges.

 

I like to use the 30 Active Point power rule for Heroic level games, with a maximum of 10 rDEF in any category. 10 rDEF being very high, 5 rDEF being average. This seems to create a nice balance of power vs challenge.

 

1) I like running both, but time is not infinate for us mortals.

 

2) 200/150 for Supers, 75/75 for Heroic.

 

3) I like High Fantasy, Exotic Adventures and Horror Adventures the best. Currently running an Exotic Supers game.

[RDU Neil]

Re: Point/Power levels in your game

 

Classic FH games were 100 points (75 +25) and moved up to 150 (75 + 75) We started to do a legendary game... taking 150 point characters and giving them 150 EXP to make them truly epic... but the game never went anywhere. Those characters were still Heroic style, though. No massive superpowers, just great skills, greater magic, etc. Still fit well in the world of 75 to 150 point characters... they were just the best of the best.

 

I've wanted to play truly Super Fantasy... no Heroic level NCM or anything. Start with 300 points to build characters with truly super abilities... kind of like Exalted, but with Hero. Characters with flight and supertough skin and that kind of thing... truly demi-gods, more than heroes. That could be a lot of fun, but I've not had the chance to play or run such.

[Edsel]

Re: Point/Power levels in your game

 

Eosin runs our Fantasy Hero game. The character's were all built using 100+50. He figured it was better to have a few Disadvantages that would truely count, than for everyone to have a bunch of disads and have some practically ignored. It seems to have worked out fairly well.

[Old Man]

Re: Point/Power levels in your game

 

My current game is 50+50.

 

Active point limit on spells/powers is 2x INT or EGO, whichever is higher.

 

I like to see characters grow and develop, so lower points is good. I probably wouldn't have a problem with higher points, just have to crank up the challenge bits.

[PhilFleischmann]

Re: Point/Power levels in your game

 

I assume we're talking about Fantasy Hero, since that's the board we're on.

 

I run 75+75, with no active point limit on powers (but there are plenty of restrictions on the types of powers available).

 

You might call my campaign "low fantasy" but that doesn't quite capture it. There's lot's of magic around, but it isn't so flashy as in D&D. I don't like wizards being magical walking artillary platforms. The magic is usually more subtle than that - no fireballs and lightning bolts, except with severe limitations. If you want to kill something, use a sword, axe, bow, mace, catapult, dagger, etc. Why would wizards go to all the trouble of creating a magic spell that has the same result as a volley of arrows? Magic is for doing things you couldn't do otherwise.

[Cosmosemeritus]

Re: Point/Power levels in your game

 

My previous game (4th ed) was 75+75 with the disads from racial physical packages not counting towards maxima. That game finally ground to a halt as reality forced us to play less and less often.

 

Recently we've had a surge of interest in jumpstarting the game again, after several of us got the 5ER book. We're currently still discussing how we want to do things, both for compatibility with the changes in the ruleset, and also to augment certain areas of the game that were lacking in the previous incarnation.

 

It will probably be:

1) Heroic. This tends to fit best to the cinemagraphic feel we like to have in our fantasy game.

2) 50+50 or 75+75. I'm leaning towards the former, but several players are convincing me to go with the latter. (I kinda feel that if you start low you can always add, but if you start high it can be very hard to subtract.)

3) I like to think of the game as 'mediocre' fantasy or High-fantasy Lite. This is due to an effort to keep magic items rare and magic casting at a mundane level.

[Darkhope]

Re: Point/Power levels in your game

 

starting out 75pt is like a level 1 D&D game. My game started them out as heoric but through time its evolved into super heoric. I have 800pt hero fantasy characters now.

[Guest joen00b]

Re: Point/Power levels in your game

 

My current game starts off as if the characters are experienced (even if the players aren't with the HERO System), so they are 150 points total, 50 points Disadvantages. Their power level for the game can never go over 20% of their total character cost, so right now, the most powerful ability they can use (be it a spell, attack, etc) is 30 points.

 

The martial artist decided to put 30 points (the max) into MA manuevers and abilities. The Warrior, who is just a straight forward fighter, chose 3 Overall Combat Levels. The Cleric, on the other hand, has a 30 point VPP with 15 Control, the total is 45, but the max active is 30, regardless of how he will try to manipulate the data within the VPP and such.

 

Sure, I bend the rules here and there, as long as they don't break, I'm cool with it.

[Greatwyrm]

Re: Point/Power levels in your game

 

I appreciate everyone chiming in. This is really helpful to me.

[swobeas]

Re: Point/Power levels in your game

 

Hi!

 

I am currently running a FH game in Western Shores that started out at 100+25 and the Charakters are right (the end of the campaign) at about 170 points in total. The not magic users are beginning to have problems how to spend points, so it is a good level for the end of the campaign...

 

The next campaign will play in the Warhammer universe and start at 35+35=70 points.

I like players of using their brains when facing a group of orcs for examle..

 

I prefer low fantasy because IMO a too high level spoils powergaming, whereas a low level enhances roleplaying

 

 

greets from berlin!

 

swobeas

[AmadanNaBriona]

Re: Point/Power levels in your game

 

Almost all of my heroic level games have been at 250 total starting points...

We did 100+150 disads in 4th ed, and I'm currently converting my main fantasy hero campaign to 125+125. I find that this is a VERY good level for the types of games I run, which tend to be very genre heavy and influenced by literary and cinematic characters. They also tend to be fairly quick campaigns, with fairly limited accumulation of experience. It can encourage muchkinism however, so you need a fairly mature and experienced set of players, or at least enough GM intervntion and peer pressure to encourage building functional characters rather than pure gaming constructs. Its all about character focus.

[paigeoliver]

Re: Point/Power levels in your game

 

I don't really agree with the other guy who says 75+75 is like first level D&D. It is hard to DIRECTLY translate point totals to level totals (because Hero charges points for stats), but 67 points in ability scores will get you a 3 Speed and 15 in everything else (adjust up or down from their as needed). Even counting those fairly high scores as "average" I would be hard pressed to spend another 83 points attempting to emulate the class, skill, and race of a level 1 D&D character.

 

I find 75+75 fantasy characters to be more like those mid-career D&D characters, somewhere in the 4th-8th level range. But there is simply no direct translation due to the fact Hero charges for points, and some things that are pricey in D&D are dirt cheap in hero and vise versa.

 

If you wanted a Hero equivalent to level 1 D&D in overall ability than 0+25 or 25+25 would be more like it.

[Greenstar]

Re: Point/Power levels in your game

 

I'm running a couple of Turakina Age FH Campaigns. I go with 100+50 (I prefer fewer, more meaningful disadvantages), with an active point cap of 60 (!). Now, that being said, I'm very picky and restrictive on powers, particularly things I consider unbalancing in a fantasy setting such as Force Field, Armor, Flash, etc. I find that unless I put some limits on SPD, everyone buys it to 4 or 5, so I require someone with SPD 4 to have really extensive combat training. 5 is possible, I suppose, but no one has convinced me yet.

 

I do NOT allow racial package deals that add to characteristics to skirt the NCM penalty. If it's over 20, however it got there, you pay double for it.

 

I also require any state above 18 to be justified in the character background, and I'm VERY leery of any character with more than one characteristic above 18.

[Curufea]

Re: Point/Power levels in your game

 

I've not run FH for many a year, but am intending on doing so soon.

50/75 base points. More disads as there is a fair amount of bigotry in my setting. I had thought to cap active to 60, but the suggestion of 40 in the book is more appealing. It's high fantasy, so there are less restrictions on magic use, and it's easier to use - so I'm thinking of not reducing the price on spells. Why should they be cheaper than other, just as effecting, things?

[Legendsmiths]

Re: Point/Power levels in your game

 

One game: 25 + 50 disads "starting heroes" - campaign now at 180 pts total.

Other game: 75+75 with exalted type powers built with real cost/3. Very cool - essentially superpowers (300 pt level) but with 150 pt characters.

[tkdguy]

Re: Point/Power levels in your game

 

I prefer heroic games to superheroic games. As for FH, I prefer low fantasy genre, with little (if any) magic in it. Starting levels: 75 + 75, with NCM automatically given (no disad bonus).

[Markdoc]

Re: Point/Power levels in your game

 

I've run a LOT of FH (by far my favourit genre). I tend to start at 50+50, but no points caps: there are always restrictions on what is avaialable in terms of skills, magic, etc. What those are depends on the setting. These games tend to be low fantasy where players need to use their brains and good sword arm is usually the best counter-argument. Over time, in this setting, some players have gotten into the 300-400 points level though, which makes them truly heroic.

 

I have also run "high fantasy" starting at 150+100 points, with relatively few limitations: these were "legendary" types.

 

Both types of game are fun and both ran without any problems. You need a different style of play, though, for each. 50+50 characters are not really suited for "prevent the Evil Dark Lord from conquering all the lands" games while 150+100 pointers are not really suited for "find out who's killing all the village's livestock"

 

cheers, Mark