I can't decide what to run! Which of these sounds fun?

[Claire Redfield]

I want to use HERO sometime, but the old "open-ended point buy system" problem comes back to haunt me: I can't figure out what to do! HERO works well for many things, I'm discovering, though I'm still reading through the rules (there's so much to digest), so it's hard to narrow down a single idea.

 

Here are a few. One of these I came up with and my brother ran it some years back. It was based on a fanfic I wrote a long time ago.

 

1) Left 4 Dead: This could be a lot of fun. Normally, I would use AFMBE for this, but using it for HERO would be good for a couple reasons. One is that it would give me some experience with a basic setup: PCs are human, there are weapons and such, it's Heroic, it's a good base from which to work. But then it also gives me some wilder elements, such as the Special Infected, which would be great.

 

2) Magic: The Gathering: There is a lot to the various Magic settings and if the players play as powerful magical creatures and/or Planeswalkers, there is a lot to do, worlds to traverse, big, epic plots to unfold. This one offers a ton of variety of and could be a lot of fun.

 

3) Mega Metroid X: This is the one I came up with and let other people use. It's one of my favorites. It's basically set about 300 years in the future of the Mega Man X series, after the fateful battle with Sigma on the moon. Humans and Reploids, which are so awesome and full of roleplaying potential (basically, robots that can think, grow, feel, make decisions, dream, even have souls), have spread through space. They have met other civilizations and joined the Galactic Federation of Metroid. Mavericks join up with Space Pirates or fight with them, Maverick Hunters patrol the space lanes alongside Federation troops and bounty hunters hunt the most dangerous game across the galaxy.

 

There is a staggering variety of PC types available in this one: Humans, Reploids, cyborgs, robots, aliens, alien cyborgs, psychics, even some mysticism in the setting (there are ghosts and such in the Metroid universe, and probably the possibility in the X universe).

 

The idea I have for the first game is awesome. Like how the MMX games always had an opening stage to let you be awesome and set up the story. In this case, there is a massive space station that is the site of a very important Galactic Federation scientific conference. Security is high, with Maverick Hunter units called in alongside the Federation Police, because a pirate attack is suspected, due to the sensitive nature of the information discussed therein. The PCs will be off-duty when things start, and so away from their weapons and armor. Of course, the Space Pirates do strike, and somehow manage to disable effective communications for the station in the breaching of its defenses. With Pirates invading in great numbers, and with powerful weapons, the station is in danger of becoming quickly overrun.

 

Now, the PCs, cut off from their weapons and gear (and can't just have it teleported to them like normal, with transmissions jammed), things turn into a cross between Metal Gear Solid and Metroid. The station is crawling with deadly pirates and haywire machines, so the heroes have to be stealthy as they go to their weapons storage. If they attack the heavily-armed pirates at all, it will have to be from ambush, setting up traps to take advantage of their abilities. Maybe they can scrounge some of the less powerful Federation Police weapons.

 

Then, of course, they get to their own gear, equip up and suddenly it's time to fight! They can make their way to the core of the space station, find out what the Pirates are after (it must have something to do with what the Federation scientists are discussion; Metroids may be involved), rescue important personnel and drive off the invasion.

 

And that's just the opening stage. After that, it's off to different environs and exotic locations on the various missions, a la the respective games that make up this setting fusion.

 

4) Dragon Ball HERO: Believe it or not, I like the Dragon World and I'd like to game in it sometime. Set a couple hundred years after the end of the series, I am thinking that starting off with a tournament is a good idea. For a twist, I might make it an Other World tournament, as in, all the PCs start off dead. Part of character creation would be detailing the circumstances in which you died, and any unfinished business you left behind.

 

The prize for winning the tournament would be a return to life for you and maybe a few friends (it's a Dragon wish), so the PCs could all be resurrected to pursue unfinished business, seek vengeance, etc. The real story would begin at that point, basically.

 

There are more ideas, too. Aliens vs. Predator HERO could be fun. Or something with supernatural beings, because I'm a real big angel kick lately.

[Christopher]

Re: I can't decide what to run! Which of these sounds fun?

 

4) Here the Point Level could be a problem. When you want to include "Planet Killer" attacks on the sheets, it goes up to around 300-450 Active Points. So it might be best to Houserule such attacks to get point values more manageable.

 

A lot of the Stuff seen in the Series can be done with just rebranding Mental Powers "Ki Powers": Mind Scan is "Sense Ki". Telepathy/Mind Link is jsut Mind Link targeted using Mind Scan. Ginues Bdoy switch is APG I Posession with Limitations.

[Lucius]

Re: I can't decide what to run! Which of these sounds fun?

 

I think you should run a game in Indianapolis!

 

No, not a game set in Indianapolis, although that could be fun too. I mean, I think you should come to Indianapolis and run a game!

 

That way I can play in it.

 

As to your ideas, numbers 3 and 2 are appealing. 1 less so, but I know Susano has used it so you can ask him for ideas.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

You can ask a palindromedary for advice, but it's usually in two minds about things

[Claire Redfield]

Re: I can't decide what to run! Which of these sounds fun?

 

I think you should run a game in Indianapolis!

 

No, not a game set in Indianapolis, although that could be fun too. I mean, I think you should come to Indianapolis and run a game!

 

That way I can play in it.

 

As to your ideas, numbers 3 and 2 are appealing. 1 less so, but I know Susano has used it so you can ask him for ideas.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

You can ask a palindromedary for advice, but it's usually in two minds about things

 

Ah, if only! I'm kinda on the other side of the country from you, otherwise I'd be happy to! Especially that MMX game, which has been a dream game of mine for a long time. Now, of course, the story idea grew out of a fanfic which paired Samus Aran and X as romantic options, but there were some intense scenes and stuff in there, besides that.

 

4) Here the Point Level could be a problem. When you want to include "Planet Killer" attacks on the sheets' date=' it goes up to around 300-450 Active Points. So it might be best to Houserule such attacks to get point values more manageable.[/quote']

 

Actually, I don't see it being a problem. I'll use as many points as needed to accurately reflect the source material, and I am honestly curious to see how many it would take to reflect some of the higher levels. A Super Saiyan 2 can blow up the solar system at full power, after all. ^_~

 

So I don't mind taking more points. Eventually I'll work out benchmarks for what (in-universe) power levels require how many points, and limits on power and so on. I have never had a system that actually held together when you get up to Frieza-level and beyond, so... I'll bet HERO can do it!

 

A lot of the Stuff seen in the Series can be done with just rebranding Mental Powers "Ki Powers": Mind Scan is "Sense Ki". Telepathy/Mind Link is jsut Mind Link targeted using Mind Scan. Ginues Bdoy switch is APG I Posession with Limitations.

 

I don't have the APG yet. In fact, I only have HERO 6E vol. I because of someone's generosity. I need to get vol. II on hardcopy, because it's harder for me to read PDFs for long periods of time and absorb the information.

 

I also really need to get Hero Designer, because it would make experimenting with builds and things sooooo much easier.

[Ninja-Bear]

Re: I can't decide what to run! Which of these sounds fun?

 

Obviously you'll want to run something you like and the players like. But since you seem to indicate that you haven't run anything yet, I would suggest Left 4 dead. As you noted, its set at the heroic level so alot of things you don't have to build (unless you want to) the pcs, if new don't have to worry what to build. Note though that there are some optional rules used by typical heroic games which you may not want to use right away. For example, hit location roll adds flavor, but an additional rolls and calculations. Perhaps instead of Dragonball Z power levels, try it at the heroic level and then once you get the feel for it, you can then do a power jump and go full blast Dragonball. Once you get the basics down, adding optional rules is easier. Good luck and post us if you need anything.

[Mickael]

Re: I can't decide what to run! Which of these sounds fun?

 

Hi!

About DragonBall, some characters are available on Susano's website (probably in 5th edition, but the conversion isn't too hard).

For very big attacks you may want to use the Megascale advantage.

[MisterVimes]

Re: I can't decide what to run! Which of these sounds fun?

 

This is what I always do. Take your four options. Write a short, high-level overview of each and present them to your players. Let them decide.

[Claire Redfield]

Re: I can't decide what to run! Which of these sounds fun?

 

Hm, you know, for Left 4 Dead, I could always get a little fancy with it some way into the campaign. Have some or all of the PCs get infected, mutate into Kerrigan-esque Special Infected that keep their individuality and reason and either choose to fight the other Infected or rule them.

 

Or even do it like I have done with AVP games, like the old PC games where you had an Alien, Marine and Predator campaign. In this case, I could offer two choices, a Special Infected and a Survivor campaign. At various points, their storylines would intersect and each would affect the other campaign. You could then play as a Special from the game or make up your own.

 

That might be kind of fun!

[MisterVimes]

Re: I can't decide what to run! Which of these sounds fun?

 

Hm, you know, for Left 4 Dead, I could always get a little fancy with it some way into the campaign. Have some or all of the PCs get infected, mutate into Kerrigan-esque Special Infected that keep their individuality and reason and either choose to fight the other Infected or rule them.

 

Or even do it like I have done with AVP games, like the old PC games where you had an Alien, Marine and Predator campaign. In this case, I could offer two choices, a Special Infected and a Survivor campaign. At various points, their storylines would intersect and each would affect the other campaign. You could then play as a Special from the game or make up your own.

 

That might be kind of fun!

 

Sounds like a good idea.

[Claire Redfield]

Re: I can't decide what to run! Which of these sounds fun?

 

I like the idea because it'd make for a good, quick one-shot starter campaign. Start off Heroic, then move into some powers and things, but nothing too ambitious. Plus, it'd be fun. Hmmm... might have to hop over to HERO Central, or run this on RPOL.

[MisterVimes]

Re: I can't decide what to run! Which of these sounds fun?

 

Any time the story gets you blood burning. That's the one you should run.

[Sean Waters]

Re: I can't decide what to run! Which of these sounds fun?

 

It is a great idea to start simple, and leave expansion room. I am constantly inventing whole universes what may or may not be cool, but are just too big to focus on detail. if you take a setting you and the players may be familiar with it takes a lot of the spade work and exposition out of it and allows you to concentrate on what is important: enjoying the story and the characters.

 

What i have done with some success in the past is run a superhero game where the PCs start as baseline humans and develop powers as we go, which sounds like what you have in mind for the L4D game. That works well as the characters start human and their cool powers get added on later: they are not the focus from the start, and that can help to add character depth.

 

Have fun!

[bigbywolfe]

Re: I can't decide what to run! Which of these sounds fun?

 

I would highly suggest you private message Susano and see if you can get his L4D stuff. It would save you a ton of work and you can always tweek and change any design things you don't aggree with.

[Claire Redfield]

Re: I can't decide what to run! Which of these sounds fun?

 

Seems like that's the winner, then, I think, for a basic starter campaign. It shows of a little of everything. It'll be quite fun.

 

Now... I have been thinking about how to stat up some old enemies I used for a Dragon Ball campaign. They're a clan of elemental ninja, and in particular, these four are the leaders of that clan, each the head of a different school, I guess. Each has mastered a different of the four basic elements, to the point that he has become that element: Earth, Air, Fire, Water.

 

I was thinking about what the fight with the Water ninja would be like. In addition to the flight and super-speed and strength and so on that all ki-powered fighters exhibit, he can command water, shape it, use it to heal himself and even transform into water himself. Since you would fight him on an island chain, this makes him very difficult to defeat. His water pressure blades can cut mountains in half. He can merge with the ocean below and form a giant body, or heal himself completely as long as he has access to that water. I think defeating him would involve either somehow completely boiling away a large part of the ocean around the islands, or maybe freezing it so that he is slowed down, or something along those lines. Pure physical attacks aren't really going to get the job done.

 

What's mean is that all four of those ninja can fuse into one mighty being: Maelstrom, a titan of raging elements: boiling water, streams of fire, helices of rock and freezing whirlwinds. Very powerful, he has the powers of the four component ninja and would serve as the big boss for that particular story.

[BhelliomRahl]

Re: I can't decide what to run! Which of these sounds fun?

 

I would highly suggest you private message Susano and see if you can get his L4D stuff. It would save you a ton of work and you can always tweek and change any design things you don't aggree with.

 

I would agree, I just checked out Susano's Dragonball Z Hero World and it looks very good. Not sure if I would use it all, but gives you a great place to start.

 

Always had a fondness for DBZ, was the first game I run in the club I founded at my school. Used the Official DBZ books, what is interesting to note is the Power Level comparison table. It gives Superman a power level of 300. DBZ characters start out at a mininium of 1100. This will present your greatest problem, there really is not a mechanical method in Hero to represent the full power available to them without giving them 100000's of points (A starting level character can blow a planet up and will given the chance).

I would suggest running the game without worrying about the devastating powers mechanically. Factor in enviromental destruction as Special Effects and Planet / System Destruction as plot or stated effect. This will stop a lot of nights thinking on it (personal experience).

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With your Water Ninja I would create powers as:

Water Manipulation - Telekinesis - Only to Control Water

Healing - Conditional Power - Must be in contact to large body of water.

Water Form - Desolification, Shape Change, Stretch (Reach), etc. Depending on what powers Water form gives him.

Pressure Blade - Hand Killing attack (Fx - Water), Focus OIF - Water

Giant Form - Growth - Conditional Power. Volume of Water equal to size grown.

Immune to Physical Damage. Either build him with enough defensive points to negate all potential damage or use desolifcation - only to defend against physical attacks, no non-combat use.

 

Possibly a vulnerability to an opposing element.

 

Most of the powers for any of the ninja can be built similarly but with different FX and with Limitations representing the need for the appropiate Element to be present.

 

For Maelstrom look into getting APG1. It has details on the Power Combining, with several different methods for doing it.

 

APG2 has an interesting section on using Dimensional Travel to represent entering specific phenomenon, i.e. the Speed Zone or Stopped Time. I was thinking of using this for DBZ super speed. Characters enter it and are unperceivable to people unless they have a specific sense or can enter it themselves. With this system the people in this zone could fight for 1 turn but to people outside the zone only 1 segment has passed. As in the Cell Games when Goku and Cell fought, where the Z-Fighter could percieve them (mostly), but Mr Satan and the reporters were unable to follow them except when their movements stopped.

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Overall the games all look very interesting.

 

I always think the most important thing is to find a game that you are comfortable running. If you enjoy the game your running and bring life and vibrance to the world, those feelings are passed onto the players who can't help but enjoy it too.

[Ninja-Bear]

Re: I can't decide what to run! Which of these sounds fun?

 

another option if someone can do the wayback machine (I could never get it to work), is to find the Shou Zhan Chuan Temple and the Shou Zhan Knight Training by Bryan Salois. The synopsis is that the earth has a nexus which all kinds of bad and evil things cross into this world and can only be defeated by martial arts. What is neat is that in the training he describes how a person is selected to be a initiates and has power levels ranging from form the initiates,recommended 50-100 pts upto full knights, 200-250pts (this is set in 4th ed). Its pretty neat and it can give you the flexibility to start small (rules wise) and grow to how you see fit.

[Erkenfresh]

Re: I can't decide what to run! Which of these sounds fun?

 

Well Damage Negation from 6e makes it easy to simulate powers that would destroy a planet but barely scratch a warrior. Imagine 100 levels of damage negation and 100 DC of energy blast for every power as an "everyman power" so to speak. In game terms, you don't bother writing this on the character sheet at all, but when you decide to fire that destructo disk at a mountain, the top of the mountain slides off to reveal that the disk did indeed split the mountain in two. Now you can have powers in the 12 DC range similar to a normal Champions game. I would absolutely love to play a game in this setting but none of my players have ever watched, nor want to watch DBZ.

[Barwickian]

Re: I can't decide what to run! Which of these sounds fun?

 

I want to use HERO sometime' date=' but the old "open-ended point buy system" problem comes back to haunt me: I can't figure out what to do! HERO works well for many things, I'm discovering, though I'm still reading through the rules (there's so much to digest), so it's hard to narrow down a single idea.[/quote']

 

He-he. Well, you've already decided on the campaign to press ahead with right now. The other ideas seem pretty cool as well.

 

And welcome to the club. Hero can do so much, and I have so many ideas for what to do with it, that I often feel like the donkey starving to death between two haystacks.

 

All is not lost, however. While you may pick one game to do right now, keep a note of the other ideas. When you want to think of something fresh, keep adding to your notes on them. It may be as simple as statting up a Second World War Tiger Tank for fun, even though you're currently running a high fantasy game. Those tank stats will come in handy when you get round to your Weird War Two game.