Online Fantasy HERO: Campaign genre

[Odraude]

Re: Online Fantasy HERO: Campaign genre

 

I like having lots of races available to play as. Its always cool to play as different types of creatures with different cultures, physiology, and ways of life.

[Yansuf]

Re: Online Fantasy HERO: Campaign genre

 

I'm going to have to differ with most of the people here. I'm not a fan of "grim and gritty". Many people are dealing with lost jobs or other real world problems, and there are a lot of horrible things going on in the world. I want something optimistic, and grim and gritty tends to make PCs feel that they cannot change things. The PCs may have small victories, but regardless of their actions bad things will happen to good people - frequently.

 

Right on!

[tkdguy]

Re: Online Fantasy HERO: Campaign genre

 

I used to like high fantasy with magic and elves and dragons all over the place. My tastes changed in recent years. I rarely if ever use magic in my campaigns nowadays. It doesn't necessarily have to be grim or gritty, although there will be a lot that in certain areas; my campaigns are usually best suited for happy-go-lucky swashbuckling rogues.

[Nolgroth]

Re: Online Fantasy HERO: Campaign genre

 

Epic or low doesn't matter to me so much as the flavor of the game. Right now, I really don't want to play in a fantasy game that has more species than one; human*. I have to say that I am sick** of Tolkienesque elves, dwarves, and hobbits. The alternatives I have seen don't really get me excited to play either, usually being beast people, vampires and the ilk.

 

If I were to narrow my personal view of what would make a good fantasy game, I would take the cultural diversity among the 7th Sea nations (basically clones of Reconnaissance Europe) and mix them with the interesting setting and magical systems of Kamarathin. Even though the latter is written for multiple species, I was completely reading it as a human only setting the first time through and I believe that it would serve admirably in that capacity.

 

 

*Other species, such as some sort of eldritch serpent people or something equally uncommon and usable as NPC's (either friends or foes) are alright.

 

**Not to say that a good group of players couldn't make such a game interesting. I think when multiple species are used, the emphasis goes into what powers/abilities make the species unique. The result is often a lack of what makes the different cultures unique.

[lensman]

Re: Online Fantasy HERO: Campaign genre

 

So Human centric I get, I too have played only human for some time with only a couple of exceptions because that was the game available.

 

Terms, must get a good grip on terms ie. High Fantasy, Low Fantasy,High Maic, Low Magic, Grity, Sword & Socrcery,

 

Must read a little more in Fantasy Hero and see if I agree with those definitions.

[Matt Holck]

Re: Online Fantasy HERO: Campaign genre

 

I like a game where power is not so high as to render the environment (the lamp, the table, the chair) obsolete

[lensman]

Re: Online Fantasy HERO: Campaign genre

 

So now my new question.

 

What questions must be answered before you as a player feel that you could know a campaign well enough or GM well enough to decide it is worth it to play?

 

Questions like:

Does the GM know/understand HERO well enough, a firm grasp of rules and optional rules, that his use of the system and mine are compatable?I suppose this could be answered with examples of characters or effects in the game. Perhaps a few package deals, Racial packages.

 

Is there a Magic system, What is the magic system?

 

What genre is the game use as its 'rails'?

Citation of films or literature

 

Hw do you handle experience, artifical caps on skills, AP, CSL's?

 

Anything else?

 

Sample Standard Normal 25 +15, Skilled normal and Competent Normal to follow

 

 

Val Char Cost Roll Notes

8 STR -2 11- Lift 75.8kg; 1 1/2d6

8 DEX -4 11- OCV: 3/DCV: 3

8 CON -2 11-

10 BODY 0

8 INT -2 11- PER Roll 11-

8 EGO -2 11- ECV: 3 - 3

8 PRE -2 11- PRE Attack: 1 1/2d6

2 PD 0 Total: 2 PD (0 rPD)

2 ED 0 Total: 2 ED (0 rED)

4 SPD 0 Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12

4 REC 0

25 END 1

20 STUN 0 Total Characteristic Cost: -16

 

Movement: Running: 12m/24m Leaping: 2m/4m

 

Skills

5 Area Pckg Deal

5 Astrological Pckg Deal

5 Cultural Pckg Deal

5 Racial Pckg Deal

 

0 WF: Clubs

0 WF: Thrown Rocks

0 WF: Unarmed Combat

 

12 pt Allocation samples

7 +7 STR

3 +3 PD

2 +1 with any single attack

---------------------

1 PS: Militia Conscript 8-

1 WF: Polearms and Spears

1 Teamwork 8-

2 +1 with any single attack : Pole Arm / Spear

2 +2 STR

2 +2 PRE

1 +1 REC

2 +10 END

---------------------

2 PS: Village Elder 11-

2 KS: History & Populace: Village 11-

2 KS: Legands & Lore: Esoteric Oral tradiiton 11-

3 Charm 11-

3 Persuasion 11-

5 +5 EGO

-5 Age Complication

---------------------

 

Everyman Skills

0 Language: Native, illiterate, innumerate (basic conversation)

0 AK: Village, one days travel on foot 8-

0 PS: Any simple 11-

0 TF Simple Drawn or simple Water

0 Acting 8-

0 Climbing 8-

0 Concealment 8-

0 Conversation 8-

0 Deduction 8-

0 Healing 8-

0 Persuasion 8-

0 Shadowing 8-

 

Total Powers & Skill Cost: 56

Total Cost: 40

 

25+ Disadvantages

5 Psychological Complication: Superstitious (Common; Moderate)

5 Psychological Complication: Distrust/Shunning of Strangers/Wanderers (Uncommon; Strong)

5 Social Complication: City Born / Country Born : -3 to all Social skills when not in Infrequently, Minor

 

Total Disadvantage Points: 40

[Dreamstreamer]

Re: Online Fantasy HERO: Campaign genre

 

So now my new question.

 

What questions must be answered before you as a player feel that you could know a campaign well enough or GM well enough to decide it is worth it to play?

 

Questions like:

Does the GM know/understand HERO well enough, a firm grasp of rules and optional rules, that his use of the system and mine are compatable?I suppose this could be answered with examples of characters or effects in the game. Perhaps a few package deals, Racial packages.

 

Is there a Magic system, What is the magic system?

 

What genre is the game use as its 'rails'?

Citation of films or literature

 

Hw do you handle experience, artifical caps on skills, AP, CSL's?

 

Anything else?

 

 

I think that this is often defined by what a given player finds "fun", right? I tried to put a list together as a sort of poll for new prospects. It is currently a work in progress, but I feel it presents questions that go beyond the typical game questions. I'll provide a few examples below.

 

What makes a good hero?

 

How important is it to stay in character?

 

How do you feel about character death?

 

How do you feel about politics in a campaign?

 

Should there be profanity? Why or why not?

 

What level of violence/gore should there be?

 

Should social issues play a role in this campaign? Why or why not?

 

Should inter-character romances be allowed? Why or why not?

 

Do you like difficult moral choices for your characters? Why or why not?

 

How would you describe a fun adventure?

 

Hopefully, questions like these can help one to understand what the player/gm wants to get out of the game/ campaign. I think open-ended questions like these can lead to better descriptions and definitions of a game world campaign setting. My thoughts on the subject, anyways.

[Panpiper]

Re: Online Fantasy HERO: Campaign genre

 

Sample Standard Normal 25 +15, Skilled normal and Competent Normal to follow

 

4 SPD 0 Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12

Your 'standard normal' would appear to have a speed of four.

 

I really only have three questions that need answering;

 

Is the GM having fun? I've actually known people who GMed mostly because it gave them a sense of power, unfortunately not always a non-sadistic sense of power. But if the GM is doing the job because they are having fun, and also does it primarily so that the players also have fun, then that first question is answered in the affirmative.

 

Are the players there to have fun? There are players who play primarily to 'win', to prove their superiority. These folks are fortunately as rare as GMs who don't play for fun. I prefer to avoid such 'bullies'. It's hard to know online if people are such though. That said, I don't think the online world would be of much attraction to such people.

 

Finally, are the players good guy, team players? I have no interest personally in playing evil characters or playing in a group where everyone is in it only for themselves, and the thoughts and desires of the others be damned. That too is hard to judge before a game starts if you don't already know the players. Though a good GM can help there by stipulating that that is the sort of play they expect from players.

 

The above is not to be construed to mean that people who do 'not' fit the above criteria are playing 'wrong' or are 'bad' people. I just don't care to play in their games is all.

[lensman]

Re: Online Fantasy HERO: Campaign genre

 

Panpiper, all good points and I agree those points I will make in my game offering, but as you point out, no way to test for answers, just answered through play and th e Lottery of who joins.

 

ON the four(4) speed you correctly point out something I failed to mention.

 

In my Heroic games, like Fantasy Hero, I dispense with speed as a variable, and simply make everything in the world Speed 4. From normals to minions.

It has been my experience that every player buys to four speed and I find it does not add anything to the game.

Superheroes, fine buy the speed you want. Heroic games in Hero I find that there is still plenty of system left without Speed maxing to allow for specialization.

[lensman]

Re: Online Fantasy HERO: Campaign genre

 

I want to build a number of characters as examples of how I use Hero mechanics in a Fantasy Hero game.

 

My thought is that as a GM if the players see how I build characters, the players would have a better sense of what I expect.

 

So I am asking for ideas / descriptions of charcters to build, and provide for player review in the campaign description

 

Thanks in advance, and I will post them here as well