HERO: Combat Evolved [Equipment Posts & Comments]

[Thia Halmades]

Re: HERO: Combat Evolved [Equipment Posts & Comments]

 

Things to bear in mind;

 

There is also a long stretch of history here; the games make it appear as though the entirety of the war takes place across MAYBE three or four days, but slip-space travel takes time, and the Fall of Reach is an event that (in theory) should occur near the end of the war. While things are wickedly compressed for console consumption, an actual interstellar war is insanely expensive and resource-draining to wage. This is the theory put forward by Harry Harrison in the Stainless Steel Rat books; you can't fight an interstellar (or intergalactic) war because you WILL run out of resources before you can mount a reasonable series of high-speed strikes.

 

With some editing, you can reflect this, and while I'm not suggesting making this your own personal WW2, you can certainly inject additional 'realism for the sake of gameplay.' So the Covies get to Reach (or Alpha Centauri, etc.) and instead of glassing the planet, simply take it over (see note: mayo, oil & vinegar). This makes far more sense in general terms of how wars as we know them are fought. It sets up a more BSG type style of gameplay because you can introduce someone other than the SPARTAN II, including pockets of human resistance, and so on.

[TheQuestionMan]

Re: HERO: Combat Evolved [Equipment Posts & Comments]

 

HERO: Combat Evolved - Now with Miniatures

http://www.wizkidsgames.com/halo/

 

 

Late I know, but I only just thought of it... D'oh!

 

 

QM

[Thia Halmades]

Re: HERO: Combat Evolved [Equipment Posts & Comments]

 

Nah, I'd heard of the HeroClix for Halo, and they'll make for some great markers for those who intend to play a REAL table top RPG with HERO: Combat Evolved.

[Manic Typist]

Re: HERO: Combat Evolved [Equipment Posts & Comments]

 

There is also a long stretch of history here; the games make it appear as though the entirety of the war takes place across MAYBE three or four days, but slip-space travel takes time, and the Fall of Reach is an event that (in theory) should occur near the end of the war.

 

I'd always gotten the impression from the games that the war had been going on for years, and that this was just the culmination of everything.

 

Of course, I've read the books, which outright state this, and so perhaps this ins influencing my perceptions.

[TheQuestionMan]

Re: HERO: Combat Evolved [Equipment Posts & Comments]

 

Yeah, but now with minis....

 

 

Alright gang, now lets Thai one on!!!

 

 

QM

[Thia Halmades]

Re: HERO: Combat Evolved [Equipment Posts & Comments]

 

I'd always gotten the impression from the games that the war had been going on for years, and that this was just the culmination of everything.

 

Of course, I've read the books, which outright state this, and so perhaps this ins influencing my perceptions.

 

Bear in mind, that the fiction from the text deviates heavily from the fiction of the games; core events are still in place, yes, but the effectiveness of John 117, his integration with Cortana, and so on, are well above & beyond what the game has. It has more time to develop the fiction. And yes, the war HAS gone on for years, but it hasn't really been much of a 'war' at all. The Covenant show up, glass a planet, and move on.

 

First Strike is a great book if for no other reason it details 'other things' that can happen in the course of an occupation. It also does a great job of setting up a clearer, more RPG-oriented view as you have Dr. Halsey on the side of the players, and that Admiral Bloke who's diametrically opposed to the SPARTAN II program (and who later attempted to develop the SPARTAN III program).

 

You can also do a post-war (Post HALO 3) campaign, and introduce all new villains from a different area of the galaxy, inter-galactic threats, and so on.

[CorPse]

Re: HERO: Combat Evolved [Equipment Posts & Comments]

 

HERO: Combat Evolved - Now with Miniatures

http://www.wizkidsgames.com/halo/

 

 

Late I know, but I only just thought of it... D'oh!

 

 

QM

 

Hey QuestionMan,

 

You sent me a PM and I can't respond because your inbox is full!

 

CorPse

[Thia Halmades]

Re: HERO: Combat Evolved [Equipment Posts & Comments]

 

Oh, good, it's only been a couple of weeks since my last post, but a few months since I designed anything. I've now enlisted aid in the shape of Diamond Spear to help me through the things I don't do well (class templates & such) while I focus on vehicles and eventually retooling weapon designs for 2.0.

 

Once that's all done (not expected to be until early Feb., so we're all setting reasonable expectations) then I'm going to go ahead and run a thing on the guy -- Louis'll walk me through it) but we're going to actually test v.1.0 out, and see about doing some foot & vehicular combat. I'll be using The Fall of Reach as the backdrop for this section.

 

Then, 1.0 (possibly 2.0, since updating will be a bit easier than going from scratch) will get a live debut at HEROCon 2008.

[Diamond Spear]

Re: HERO: Combat Evolved [Equipment Posts & Comments]

 

Bear in mind, that the fiction from the text deviates heavily from the fiction of the games; core events are still in place, yes, but the effectiveness of John 117, his integration with Cortana, and so on, are well above & beyond what the game has. It has more time to develop the fiction. And yes, the war HAS gone on for years, but it hasn't really been much of a 'war' at all. The Covenant show up, glass a planet, and move on.

 

First Strike is a great book if for no other reason it details 'other things' that can happen in the course of an occupation. It also does a great job of setting up a clearer, more RPG-oriented view as you have Dr. Halsey on the side of the players, and that Admiral Bloke who's diametrically opposed to the SPARTAN II program (and who later attempted to develop the SPARTAN III program).

 

You can also do a post-war (Post HALO 3) campaign, and introduce all new villains from a different area of the galaxy, inter-galactic threats, and so on.

 

Perhaps a new group of aliens show up using advanced FTL travel, something closer to traditional "hyperspace" drives that allow for much faster FTL travel. They are involved in tracking down Forerunner artifacts for....whatever purpose suits you.

 

Or maybe just a single new specis arrives via some sort of wormhole technology. Coming from the other side of the galaxy where there is a much larger galactic empire/federation/multiple small kingdoms they are pursuing rumors of the forerunners.

 

Or you could take cryptic remark made by Truth that "You are Forerunner" and run with it.

[Thia Halmades]

Re: HERO: Combat Evolved [Equipment Posts & Comments]

 

Well, we are. We did all this; the classic "Humanity is the Alpha & Omega of the universe" concept, also seen in Orson Scott Card's game... Advent Rising. That's why we're the Reclaimers. We've come to "reclaim" what we left behind when we sent ourselves (in some non-annihilatable form) to Earth. Then civilization springs back up, other races advance, find OUR old tech, advance themselves further, and we're all sittin' around, drinking Kool-Aid when WHAM.

 

Invasion.

[Cannon_Fodder]

Re: HERO: Combat Evolved [Equipment Posts & Comments]

 

I really like everything you have done so far and look forward to what you come out with next. My gaming group is switching over from BattleTech to a Hero 5th edition game. I am using Halo as a base for my characters and the GM in incorporating a few things into his campaign.

 

The FTL speeds on the spacecrafts seams a bit low. What source did you use to set the speed or did you just pick something?

[CorPse]

Re: HERO: Combat Evolved [Equipment Posts & Comments]

 

Hey Thia,

 

Cool to see that people are picking up on your work...

[TheQuestionMan]

Re: HERO: Combat Evolved [Equipment Posts & Comments]

 

I really like everything you have done so far and look forward to what you come out with next. My gamming group is switching over from BattleTech to a Hero 5th edition game. I am using Halo as a base for my characters and the GM in incorporating a few things into his campaign.

 

The FTL speeds on the spacecrafts seams a bit low. What source did you use to set the speed or did you just pick something?

Battletech/Mechwarrior Hero Resources

http://herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31861

 

Maybe maybe yeah that'll work.

 

QM

 

P.S.: You Gaming with Women heh! (Gamms)

[Diamond Spear]

Re: HERO: Combat Evolved [Equipment Posts & Comments]

 

I really like everything you have done so far and look forward to what you come out with next. My gaming group is switching over from BattleTech to a Hero 5th edition game. I am using Halo as a base for my characters and the GM in incorporating a few things into his campaign.

 

The FTL speeds on the spacecrafts seams a bit low. What source did you use to set the speed or did you just pick something?

 

(Thia, feel free to correct me) Cannon Fodder: Thia based all of his information on the games, the novels and Halopedia, which is a web page for all things HALO. Hope that helps.

[Thia Halmades]

Re: HERO: Combat Evolved [Equipment Posts & Comments]

 

(Thia' date=' feel free to correct me) Cannon Fodder: Thia based all of his information on the games, the novels and Halopedia, which is a web page for all things HALO. Hope that helps.[/quote']

 

No, you're exactly right. HALOpedia I think gave me the 2 LY/wk mechanic that I wound up using; Covenant ships are faster and sleeker, but I'm unclear as to how much faster, so I just went ahead and did 1.5x faster, IIRC (I'd have to check, but my mental notes are usually fairly consistent). The build for the Slip-Space engines gave me the most trouble; we went round on the board quite a bit trying to establish how much is 'accurate' and how much is 'SFX,' but I went ahead and modeled it as close as possible.

 

Diamond Spear is helping with the next stage of the design (profession packages and such) and I know he needs to hammer on me for feedback here at some point (I made a deal with the devil; I needed help on the things I'm not good at, I remain project lead but in exchange I signed on for his next project). The bastitch.

[Cannon_Fodder]

Re: HERO: Combat Evolved [Equipment Posts & Comments]

 

I figured you had a source. I like how it is done, combining extra Dimentional travel with FTL feels right on the money to me. Just the 2 LY/wk just seamed a bit slow.

 

But nothing says I can't increase that speed in my game. I am only going for the "spirt" of Halo.

[Thia Halmades]

Re: HERO: Combat Evolved [Equipment Posts & Comments]

 

Oh, by all means, make the speed what you like, but per the 'source' that number should be accurate. Again, Covie ships are faster as they've had more time to fiddle with Forerunner technology and refine it.

[Cannon_Fodder]

Re: HERO: Combat Evolved [Equipment Posts & Comments]

 

I need some help. I am making a mentalist with a pair of Hunters as summoned pets. My Hunters just won't turn out right. I would like to see how you guys would build a 350 point Hunter.

[Diamond Spear]

Re: HERO: Combat Evolved [Equipment Posts & Comments]

 

I need some help. I am making a mentalist with a pair of Hunters as summoned pets. My Hunters just won't turn out right. I would like to see how you guys would build a 350 point Hunter.

 

Hunters are an easy build. I question the wisdom of allowing your character to be able to summon them but the actual build is simple. I'm at work at the moment but if you'd like I could post something up over the weekend.

[Thia Halmades]

Re: HERO: Combat Evolved [Equipment Posts & Comments]

 

Hunters are an easy build. I question the wisdom of allowing your character to be able to summon them but the actual build is simple. I'm at work at the moment but if you'd like I could post something up over the weekend.

 

I have a Proto-Hunter around here somewhere. Here it is. This is a 350 point "Proto-Hunter" that I used in my own campaign; some things you'll note right off the bat:

 

-- This is not a "by the book" Hunter; these are based on a hybrid of System Shock 2's annelids, once they 'evolve' to sentience, and then rapidly (due to their hive mind) evolve to super-sentience, so by all means, adjust to taste. We gave them 25% DR v ED & PD, but crap for personal defense.

 

-- If you want to model the armor more accurately (outside of their Missile Deflection, which is important) then you'll want them to have 15rPD/15rED with open hit locations on 5 (the neck) and 13 (vitals). These slots may not be the "most accurate" in terms of where hits 'land,' but they match with the chart to determine how much damage the thing actually takes when it gets popped.

 

-- You can also give them a Vulnerability (or is Susceptibility?) to projectile firearms. Because they're a giant mess of hyper-intelligent leeches, and because the armor is rock solid, once a round goes in, it tends to cut through a few dozen of them, then bounce around inside the armor, killing a few dozen more. This is your mechanical explanation for why they go thud when nailed with a single high-power round.

 

-- Additionally, you may want to give them additional resistance to Energy Weapons, because they seem to pretty much ignore 'em unless you empty two full clips of Plasma into their backs. Even then they tend to stay standing, despite all the orange blood on the ground.

 

Does that help? Also, DS could (and hopefully will) cook up a more up-to-date "game accurate" version. Oh, and do include and retain Teamwork; it's critical to how they fight and think. Most Hunters (even summoned Hunters) are Mated Pairs. No one knows what that MEANS, or if it's a brotherhood or what, but one of things missing on this build that should be there is:

 

Disadvantage: Berserk (Go 14-, Recover 8-, when bond-mate is slain).

[Diamond Spear]

Re: HERO: Combat Evolved [Equipment Posts & Comments]

 

I need some help. I am making a mentalist with a pair of Hunters as summoned pets. My Hunters just won't turn out right. I would like to see how you guys would build a 350 point Hunter.

 

OUt of curiosity what genre game is this in?

[Cannon_Fodder]

Re: HERO: Combat Evolved [Equipment Posts & Comments]

 

OUt of curiosity what genre game is this in?

 

This is a Super Heroic mixed genre. It a post apocalyptic modern with the staring heroes pulled from other dimensions so they can be just about anything you want. We have comic book and City of Hero characters, the liquid metal Terminator, A B5 psy-cop and a Techno-Mage. Mine is a Spartan mk IV pulled from a time about 60 years after the end of Halo 3.

For more info I have attached the intro doc sent to all players by the GM

[Thia Halmades]

Re: HERO: Combat Evolved [Equipment Posts & Comments]

 

Grunt lyf no gudies behind besides fyr grenade. I take ne ways.

 

17 UNSC Napalm Grenade: Killing Attack - Ranged 2d6, Indirect (Same origin, always fired away from attacker, +1/4), Area Of Effect (2" radius; +3/4), Continuous (+1) (90 Active Points); 4 clips of 1 Continuing Charge lasting 1 Turn which Never Recovers (Issued in Groups of Four; -2 3/4), OAF Expendable (Easy to obtain new Focus; -1), Range Based On Strength (-1/4), Real Weapon (-1/4) (Total cost: 90 points)

[Thia Halmades]

Re: HERO: Combat Evolved [Equipment Posts & Comments]

 

I'm going to file this under "boring weapon but done so I don't have to think about it anymore."

 

44 Covenant Mauler: Multipower, 44-point reserve, (44 Active Points); all slots OAF (-1), STR Minimum (STR Min. Cannot Add/Subtract Damage; STR Min 11; -1), 4 clips of 5 Charges (-1/2), Real Weapon (-1/4)

 

4u) Shotgun Revolver: Killing Attack - Ranged 2d6+1, +1 Increased STUN Multiplier (+1/4) (44 Active Points); OAF (-1), STR Minimum (STR Min. Cannot Add/Subtract Damage; STR Min 11; -1), Limited Range (-1/4), Real Weapon (-1/4)

 

2u) Underside Combat Blade: Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 1d6+1 (20 Active Points); OAF (-1), STR Minimum (STR Min. Cannot Add/Subtract Damage; STR Min 11; -1), Real Weapon (-1/4)

[Thia Halmades]

Re: HERO: Combat Evolved [Equipment Posts & Comments]

 

Stupid refinement mentality. I've redone the Galilean; it makes sense now. I had "No Range" on there which means I was asleep at the wheel. I've taken off No Range and replaced it with Line of Sight (as it is a true beam type laser weapon). It also picked up the Beam limitation (which it should have had earlier). I R Retarded. I also rebalanced the damage to 3 1/2d6, making it, I believe, appropriately powerful, but I may push it back up. Taking votes on that one.

 

Yes, it is Line of Sight, and yes, it is Subject to Range Modifiers still. THAT is not an error.

 

165 UNSC W/AV M6 G/GNR Galileian Spartan Laser: Killing Attack - Ranged 3 1/2d6, +1 Increased STUN Multiplier (+1/4), Penetrating (+1/2), Armor Piercing (+1/2), Line Of Sight (+1/2) (151 Active Points); 4 Charges (Recovers Under Limited Circumstances; Requires a UNSC Facility or PP-16979/AM-Sh charger; -2), OAF (Universal; -1), STR Minimum (STR Min. Cannot Add/Subtract Damage, STR Min 15; -1), Charge Time (Two full phases) (Extra Phase, Delayed Phase, -1), Required Hands Two-Handed (-1/2), Real Weapon (-1/4), Beam (-1/4), Subject To Range Modifier (-1/4) (Real Cost: 21) plus Penalty Skill Levels: +2 vs. Range Modifier with Equipped Firearms (Real Cost: 4) plus +2 OCV, Equipped Firearms (10 Active Points); OIF (-1/2), +2 OCV Only (-1/2) (Real Cost: 5) (Total: 165 Active Cost, 30 Real Cost)