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torchwolf

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Re: Math

 

Hero probably has the most effort intensive character creation system of any RPG because it requires that you actually think about what you are doing, but even then the maths is pretty basic, and covered in the tables provided. The actual system is not and never has been mathematically complex.

 

Anyone ever see the (original) 'Villains and Vigillantes' system method for calculating 'carrying capacity'? Sheesh.

 

I ended up writing BASIC programs to do those character generation exercises in V&V when i was modeling characters. These days I'd use a spreadhseet, but they didn;t make them accessible in those olden days when I had my Amstrad and later my Atari 800 (when the Amstrad got stolen).

 

I think this 'You need to be a Fud to play Hero' is a vicious rumour spead by the jealous.

 

"Be vewwy, vewwy quiet. I'm pwayign Heewo."

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Re: Math

 

Quoted from a review of BASH! Basic Action Super Heroes Ultimate Edition:

Oh yeah, the Hero System requires too much math to play. :)

 

Perhaps the BASH makers bought into the belief of the late Gary Gygax that multiplying was easier than adding and subtracting (or just reading off the values on percentile dice) as he argued in his famous RPG... CYBORG COMMANDO! (Apologies, Mr. Gygax, but really!)

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Re: Math

 

larger image BASH! Basic Action Super Heroes Ultimate Edition $15.00

This book has everything you need to create characters and run super-heroic adventures within minutes. The rules are light and easy all you need are two ordinary dice, a piece of paper, and this book. Character generation is so simple, you could fit all the info you need on a 3x5 card, but we included a sheet anyway.

 

Do not assume that by simple, we mean incomplete, either. BASH! UE has over 50 versatile super powers, numerous skills, and even rules for collateral damage. The action is fast and furious, paced over a series of panels, pages, and issues, just like a comic book.

 

BASH! has undergone some changes over the years, with updates in Megapolis and BAM! and we have incorporated many of these into a single rules set. In addition to an expanded, revised version of the game, you will also find:

 

Less record-keeping, more Awesome. Energy is no longer the "default" rule for handling powers-- so you have less to keep track of during play. Hero dice, Hero points, and team-work maneuvers are now a part of the core system, so you can really bring it to the bad-guys!

 

Easier to read layout, better explained rules, including many examples.

 

Character Archetypes: Writeups of various iconic superhero & villain archetypes such as the Brick, Martial Artist, and Blaster. These templates can be easily tweaked to quickly have a custom character!

 

Hordes of Minions! Fleets of Vehicles! Random Encounters!

 

Eras & Subgenres: One of the things BASH! Fantasy & Sci-Fi editions did was extensive work on the subgenres of Fantasy and Sci-Fi, such as Steam-Punk or Space Pulp. BASH! Ultimate Edition will do the same thing for Superheroes, enabling you to run a game with the theme & tone of the Gold, Silver, Bronze, or Iron Ages. There are also sections on Super Teens, Science Fiction, Fantasy, as well as Cosmic Superheroes.

 

http://www.bashrpg.com/BASH%20Ultimate%20Edition%20Preview.pdf

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Re: Math

 

Ah, Space Opera. I actually GMed it a few times. :)

Unfortunately this game, also from Fantasy Games Unlimited, never saw play... while it had some interesting mechanics (as a Gamma World-like combat flowchart), it had rather randomly in-depth mechanics...

 

 

Other Trivia: Aftermath used the (physically non-existent at the time) d30 for a few rolls, surprisingly not for the 30 Hit Locations though. The d30 was simulated thus:

 

 

Though the Armory produced a book in 1982 that had a ton of game charts for use with their d30s. So FGU probably knew that The Armory was set to release a physical die for their game soon.

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Re: Math

 

Though the Armory produced a book in 1982 that had a ton of game charts for use with their d30s. So FGU probably knew that The Armory was set to release a physical die for their game soon.

If so, it was a plan that failed as much as the d30 itself. I lost my lone d30 while moving years back, and while I miss it in a geeky way, it sure was the most useless die I owned, with one exception:

The 100-sided d100. It was more of a golf ball than a die, and I won't even try to comment on how hard it was to decide which face was "up".

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Re: Math

 

If so, it was a plan that failed as much as the d30 itself. I lost my lone d30 while moving years back, and while I miss it in a geeky way, it sure was the most useless die I owned, with one exception:

The 100-sided d100. It was more of a golf ball than a die, and I won't even try to comment on how hard it was to decide which face was "up".

 

I must confess that I still own two d30s (1-30 and -0 0 +0), a d100, and a d24.

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Re: Math

 

isn't a 2 headed coin the same (functionally) as a d1?

Technically, I would suppose a 2 headed coin would actually be a d3 with a pretty odd probability distribution (landing on the edge).

 

A true d2 would be quite hard to design, being two-dimensional, and be a bit difficult to roll more than once - how would you pick it up from the table without very special equipment?

 

I don't actually own a perfect spheroid - which would be just a bit easier to construct, I just have this ball. ;)

 

Now, if Foxbat got the idea that he would create the d0, that might spell some serious trouble...

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Re: Math

 

I'm pretty sure that's the days of D20s only.

 

Wait, what? There was an orange d10 in the Dungeons & Dragons Basic set I bought back in 1982.

 

The most complex rules I can recall reading were the magic system for Mage: Revised, which (combined with the snotty attitude of White Wolf's webmaster) led to me throwing my hands up and abandoning the game company entirely. I can't actually recall any specifics about the process, but considering I used to play the 2nd Edition without complaint I think it must have been a nightmarish tangle.

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Re: Math

 

Hero probably has the most effort intensive character creation system of any RPG because it requires that you actually think about what you are doing, but even then the maths is pretty basic, and covered in the tables provided. The actual system is not and never has been mathematically complex.

 

Anyone ever see the (original) 'Villains and Vigillantes' system method for calculating 'carrying capacity'? Sheesh.

 

I think this 'You need to be a Fud to play Hero' is a vicious rumour spead by the jealous.

 

Actually, compared to some systems, such as some of the examples given between your post and this reply, even character creation isn't that complicated or effort-intensive in HERO.

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Re: Math

 

I'm still trying to figure out how "fud" means "female genitalia".

 

Because that is the word we used on the streets as kids when we were expanding our vocabulary into sexual lexicons. It is a West of Scotland term and from casting about on ye old interweb - it would seem it derives from an Old Norse word pronounced the same way....

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