Back to the fold

[Tyrant]

Well, I've been away from the Hero system for about a year now, but after seeing both "Mr & Mrs Smith" and "Batman: the Begining", I've been seriously thinking about starting up a modern day action/adventure game featuring lots of gun toting mercenaries, car chases, ninja clans, helicopters shooting up the side of buildings and government cyborg assassins gone rogue.

 

Needless to say, I'm thinking that Dark Champions is probably the way to go.

 

But here's the thing, I have a fairly large group of players (8 to 12), most of whom are not at all familiar with the Hero system. The most important thing for me is make sure combat is fast and furious.

 

Since I haven't seen the rules in DC or Ninja Hero (or should that be the Ultimate Martial Artist?) I figured I'd just ask the people who have played the game on a regular basis if you thought that this was the way to go. I've heard that the Hero System can get pretty slow when it comes to combat. In my experience, that wasn't really the case, but at the time I only had four players and we were playing fantasy. Now, I've been told there are a lot of ways to speed up combat and that most of the combat issues were for super powered, high point cost combats anyway. Not so much an issue in this game.

 

Lastly, how well do the martial arts, cinematic wuxia style in particular, mesh with DC. Do they slow combat down? I'd love to include them in the game provided they don't bog down the flow.

 

Thanks.

[Barwickian]

Re: Back to the fold

 

Well' date=' I've been away from the Hero system for about a year now,[/quote']

 

Welcome back!

 

Needless to say, I'm thinking that Dark Champions is probably the way to go.

 

But here's the thing, I have a fairly large group of players (8 to 12), most of whom are not at all familiar with the Hero system. The most important thing for me is make sure combat is fast and furious.

 

Since I haven't seen the rules in DC or Ninja Hero (or should that be the Ultimate Martial Artist?) I figured I'd just ask the people who have played the game on a regular basis if you thought that this was the way to go. I've heard that the Hero System can get pretty slow when it comes to combat. In my experience, that wasn't really the case, but at the time I only had four players and we were playing fantasy.

 

(snip)

 

Lastly, how well do the martial arts, cinematic wuxia style in particular, mesh with DC. Do they slow combat down? I'd love to include them in the game provided they don't bog down the flow.

 

 

First off, for blending martial arts into a modern game, you want Ultimate Martial Artist more than you want Ninja Hero. UMA is the martial arts rules book (hundreds of MA styles and combat rules); Ninja Hero is the martial arts setting/genre book (I'm not saying you don't want NH at all, just that if it's a choice between the two, UMA fits your purpose better).

 

I've not found that martial arts rules slow the game down very much; most martial arts manoeuvres are just that: manoeuvres, just like a basic strike manoeuvre. It's just giving your players added options about what they do in combat - it will be a little slower until they get used to what they can do, but that's to be expected.

 

Wuxia style is somewhat slower if PCs are fighting equally skilled opponents; for this, you're going to add some Powers and Talents, and the PCs are generally built on higher point levels than Standard Heroic; however, that fits thw wuxia genre, and it should mean they rip through cannon fodder so much quicker.

 

That being said, I've never tried GMing for so many players (in any system, not just Hero). I can foresee people getting bored just waiting for their turn.

 

Given that the majority of your players aren't familiar with the system, I'd be inclined to give them a dry run with a couple of practise combats.

 

If you feel comfortable with the idea, I'd also consider co-opting one of the players who is familiar with Hero as a secondary GM for combat situations only. You probably won't want them to see the stats for your major villains, but if they can take some of the cannon fodder off your hands and run them while you're running the rest, it may make life a little easier for you, and ensure players get their turns quicker.

[Nevenall]

Re: Back to the fold

 

One problem that I have encountered is adjudicating each combat/martial arts maneuver correctly with out having to look it up each time. Shove, for example, is a complicated maneuver.

[sideNote]I can't wait till the combat book comes out.[/sideNote]

I suggest you make everyone a summary booklet with the rules for each combat maneuver so you can all learn them that much faster.

[Tyrant]

Re: Back to the fold

 

Thanks guys.

Food for thought...

[Starwolf]

Re: Back to the fold

 

Another thing to consider is if your group is not familiar with the Hero system you could pick up a copy of Hero Sidekick. It is slightly trimmed down and covers all of te game mechanic basics. It retails for about $10.00 and I believe they have it in PDF format for about $7.00. It is a great way to introduce new players to the system.

[Guzalot]

Re: Back to the fold

 

Another thing to consider is if your group is not familiar with the Hero system you could pick up a copy of Hero Sidekick. It is slightly trimmed down and covers all of te game mechanic basics. It retails for about $10.00 and I believe they have it in PDF format for about $7.00. It is a great way to introduce new players to the system.

Yeah, Sidekick is great. They need to get it back into print asap.

[TheQuestionMan]

Re: Back to the fold

 

The answer you seek to speeding up combat then is two fold.

 

Check out Susano's "Ninja Hero" and the "Free Stuff" - Combat Crib Sheet

 

Extra Copies of "Sidekick" for Rules Laywers

 

Then Run

 

QM

[Eosin]

Re: Back to the fold

 

Them an awful lot of players for a fast & furious game in ANY system. I think your first few games are gonna be slow. However, if your players get their heads in the game and are ready with their actions (with or without a co-gm) then you should be able to hum through it.

 

Your problem will be handling the massive numbers of opponents needed to challenge 12 players. Building unique villians is gonna be hell on you and keeping them square during combat will require a supercomputer for a brain. I am not normally an advocate of co-GM issues but it might be something for you to consider. Another option might be to run a few one-offs for half the group so that they get a feel for the combat and characters before plunging into the 12 man game.

[CourtFool]

Re: Back to the fold

 

It has been said before, but it is worth repeating. Keep everyone at the same SPD. It does eliminate some flexibility/options, but will help speed things up quite a bit.

[Starwolf]

Re: Back to the fold

 

If you have access to a computer during your game sessions (preferably a laptop) here is a great program for tracking your movement/combat Phaser Combat Manager .

 

It is still in development but at this stage is already very useful.