My character building technique (How to build Hero System Characters)

[lou_tennant]

Don't get me wrong, I would love to do it Tasha's way, but I always run out of points - hence crippling the character, then chucking it away in favour of something very simple.

 

 

There are plenty of munchkins around that would happy to help you out with fitting your concept to a budget.  We like challenges.

 

 

Well, in response to the above 'posts' I have started a new thread to fit a concept to the points, have a look; http://www.herogames.com/forums/topic/88297-go-on-make-my-gladiator/.

[Tasha]

I have a friend who is starting to explore making Characters in the system, who I directed to this message board. Thought I would make this post easier for him to find.

[Rebar]

My method for building, and one I recommend to others, is thus:

- get a general idea of what archetype you want to play

- before building anything, go back and do the origin and background: Disads/Complications and skills first

- only once you have a well fleshed out person, should you start attaching powers

 

You get a much more cohesive character if they start as a person and their powers grow from that, than if you start with a polished set of powers and try to retrofit disads complications onto it.

[Tasha]

You may say that, but I know players who choose powers first, then fills out the rest. Or starts with Non Combat skills and they all get very deep characers.

The act of Writing the Character down in Plain English helps most people to come up with a good background and fill in the blanks in their characers. Sometimes it takes a table session for other people to come up with a solid background.

There's no one "True" way to write up a character. I tried to present something flexable that beginners understand. Then show them the numbers that make the system work.

[superferret]

Tasha: Thanks for your articles in this forum. I ask the GM, what he/she will and will not allow in beginning characters and generally which skills and abilities would be good idea to have, even if just as familiarities.
One GM asked that my character have some Limitations that I did not consider originally, but those helped get the plot started, with consequences that were hilarious to all of the players, but embarrassing for my character.
Bait and Switch (as discussed earlier in this forum): That's OK, as long as the players know about it before the game starts, so they can make characters that can cope in the new setting.

[Ninja-Bear]

Tasha I like tour character building style. How though do you make sure that archetypes don't go from tendicies and on average to hard "class" or unwaviering archertype. I.e. Bricks tend to have the slowest SPD and lowest DEX to they must be the slowest SPD and lowest DEX.

[Tasha]

Tasha I like tour character building style. How though do you make sure that archetypes don't go from tendencies and on average to hard "class" or unwaviering archetype. I.e. Bricks tend to have the slowest SPD and lowest DEX to they must be the slowest SPD and lowest DEX.

 

It was the goal of Fuzion's Rule of X to provide a tool that allowed a player with a way to fool around with the numbers. To be able to have a higher than average dex and then be able to trade that high dex with a lower other combat attribute (ie lower Def, Lower CV, or lower SPD). No one seems to really want to actually have a workable tool. It's too tied up in prejudice against FUZION or against any thing you could add to the rules to limit PC writeups.

 

But Really the only choices I have seen are the following:

 

1) Use average combat stats and then go by seat of the pants and "traditional" stats for various heroic Archetypes

 

2) Build Archetypes like appear in Champions 6e and make Players use those as the basis for their creations

 

3) Use a Rule of X to help PC's and GM's balance different archetypes against one another.

[JmOz]

For those interested in a rule of X, you could check out Digital Hero 3 (Available online for a couple bucks....)

[Ninja-Bear]

I like the guideline in Ninja Hero 4th. PCs are allowed to choose one maximum stat such as DEX or DC. Then everything else must fall in the range for those stats. Btw the maximum is usually two "units" higher than the range. For example DC might be listed 8-10 max 12 and DEX could be 18-23 max 26.

[IndianaJoe3]

I've used a token system. I establish the campaign baselines, and the players get, "tokens" they can use to buy abilities above those levels.

[Rebar]

I like the guideline in Ninja Hero 4th. PCs are allowed to choose one maximum stat such as DEX or DC. Then everything else must fall in the range for those stats. Btw the maximum is usually two "units" higher than the range. For example DC might be listed 8-10 max 12 and DEX could be 18-23 max 26.

For my pulp campaign I have implemented the 'one stat free' meta-rule.

All characteristic maxima are lowered from 20 to to 15. Beyond 15, they cost double.

BUT - each character gets one cha that they can raise up to 25 at normal cost.

 

Now the brick is strongest but not the fastest. My knife-thrower doesn't have to have an arms-race with the brick to distinguish himself as highest DEX.

 

And all without me having to disappoint the brick by having to tell him that his 18DEX is not very brick-like in a pulp campaign.

[Ninja-Bear]

The best examples that I can think of and what i am trying to ask are found in the Watchers of the Dragon. Its a martial arts enemy/sourcebook. In it there are two "brick" martial artists and at least one power armor martial artist.

[Tasha]

I guess that works well enough. It always seemed like our High Dex, High CV and Speed Martial Artist would have lower Defenses and do less Damage than the Low Dex, Low DCV, High Defenses Higher DC Brick.

 

The one issue that I have always had with Martial Arts is that they are too good for the cost. Which makes them something that all Archetypes are attracted by regardless of whether it fits their Character conception.

[bigbywolfe]

I guess that works well enough. It always seemed like our High Dex, High CV and Speed Martial Artist would have lower Defenses and do less Damage than the Low Dex, Low DCV, High Defenses Higher DC Brick.

 

The one issue that I have always had with Martial Arts is that they are too good for the cost. Which makes them something that all Archetypes are attracted by regardless of whether it fits their Character conception.

That's much less of an issue in 6E where CV is divorced from DEX.  Also, one big AoE can really mess with them if they don't have a really good Movement for Dive for Cover.

[Tasha]

That's much less of an issue in 6E where CV is divorced from DEX.  Also, one big AoE can really mess with them if they don't have a really good Movement for Dive for Cover.

They still need to make a dex roll at -1 per 2m they dive for cover. But yeah, dex is for dex rolls and who goes first in a segment.

[Hyper-Man]

Here is an interesting thread on RPGnet that needs a HERO contribution:

 

Create a character for something! Walk us through it!

http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?727739-Create-a-character-for-something!-Walk-us-through-it!