Michael Hopcroft Posted September 19, 2012 Report Share Posted September 19, 2012 Uresia, the whimsical fantasy world originally published a decade ago for BESM and BESM d20, has been revised and reprinted by the author in a system-free version. I have my copy and haven't read through it yet, but have wanted to try playing in it for a while and how better than with Hero? The promo page is up, and will at least tell you where to buy it. The basic concept is that there used to be Gods, but they obliterated themselves in a war. Man and various other species have built a new set of civilizations, where all sort of bizarre things tend to happen. For example, there are Emerald Knights around who use mecha powered by mystical stones. One of the sentient species are Slimes, who probably most closely resemble Jell-O that thinks and speaks. One of the Great Kings is Timberfell, who started out as a displaced Earth teenager with a decided lecherous streak and ended up marrying into the crown. As I said, I haven't read it all the way through, but if it worked in BESM I'm pretty sure it will work in Hero. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted September 20, 2012 Report Share Posted September 20, 2012 Re: Uresia Hero Reminds me of Rifts or Earthdawn in some ways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted September 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2012 Re: Uresia Hero Well, it's certainly more cheerful than either. You'd think there would be a lot of mourning of a glorious past gone forever, but for the most part the end of most of the gods was a matter of "good riddance" as much as anything else. That and the Skyfall created an endless supply of dungeons and other Unexplorable Places to be, naturally enough, explored. It's not for kids, though -- but not because of violence. Not when you have Satyrs around as a popular player race. Satyrs are given heavily to their emotions and love deeply. they are also liable to go on dangerous panty raids and to "share the love" with anything that moves (and a few things that don't). In fact, lechery of all sorts is a common theme in the Uresia book -- entire demon infestations, for example, are the result of lonely noblewomen whose husbands neglected them summoning lovers from other realms (here "demon" usually simply means "he came from some other dimension -- we think....") Not to mention all the innocent children who make snowmen and accidentally bring them to life through a little innocent, subconscious necromancy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted September 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2012 Re: Uresia Hero You know, the classic "Seemingly Silly Things" thread on these boards seems to include several things that would fit just fine in Uresia. The Satyrs, for example, might have those among them who are more powerful and skilled the more "turned on", so to speak, they are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted October 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2012 Re: Uresia Hero A few notes before I do anything seriously: Uresia has a lot of different, incompatible languages, few of which are covered in any detail in the book. The two most notable are the collection of sorcerous tongues in which magic scrolls and spells of various sorts are written (and spoken) and the unique squeaks, trills and belches (and other emanations) that are the language of the Slimes. Non-Slime Humans (and the term "human" in Uresia is a catch-all term that covers all intelligent beings -- even slimes -- that call the islands home) can learn to comprehend spoken Slime, but actually speaking it is usually beyond them. Slimes can learn to understand other beings' languages and can learn to speak them after a fashion (though it isn't easy for them either). For simplicity's sake the sorcerous languages should probably have a single space on the Language Chart for the setting. But it's the most expensive space available -- the language of magic is actually dangerous and mis-speaking or mis-reading it can have effects that border on the disastrous. Reading or pronouncing a spell-bearing scroll or other writing you happen to find should ideally require a skill roll with bad consequences for a critical failure. The consequences get worth the more raw power you have at your disposal. It probably won't kill you outright (unless you're really unlucky) but it will at the very least ruin your day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egyptoid Posted October 2, 2012 Report Share Posted October 2, 2012 Re: Uresia Hero I thought I replied to this thread before. I love Uresia. I still have my D20 copy, long after I've tossed most other fantasy stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted October 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2012 Re: Uresia Hero I thought I replied to this thread before. I love Uresia. I still have my D20 copy' date=' long after I've tossed most other fantasy stuff.[/quote'] The new version has no game stats in it (for any system) and there are no dramatic meta-plot developments going on (unless you count the annual wars over Sour Plum Jam in the rural Rindenland) but there are a ton of hooks in it for new adventures. Even little details may cause ideas as well as chuckles. For example, I'm curious about the recipe for Kovali Apple Pie (which probably involves apples, cinnamon, sugar and EVIL....) and what happens to you after you graduate Madame Ona's School for Girls in Shadow River, Temphis (where they train the best Magical Girls in Uresia). Most of the PC options for my "Duke of Orcs" adventure I run at conventions would fit nicely in Uresia, especially the "Wildcat Wizard" Tomotaki who might actually have a small portion of Catgirl (more formally Creesh, but you get the idea) lineage when transplanted to Uresia. (Remember that "mankind" covers a massive range of sapient beings in Uresia -- just about everything that thinks is part of it to some degree). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted October 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2012 Re: Uresia Hero Wondering also how the Order of Holy Killers from the "Duke of ORcs" adventure would play out in a world with few active gods. On one hand, there's nobody to slap them down and say "No! I didn't say you could do that in my name!".... Alyssa excelled in the training and was steeped in the code of the Holy Killers: She is only allowed to slay enemies of the order' date=' can only take the money she needs to support herself, eat only what she needs to survive, avoid alcohol, live by a vow of absolute celibacy, never reveal the existence of the Order to outsiders, and must continually train herself to be the ultimate human killing machine. Violating any of these dictates would mark her for immediate execution by the Order, who have their tendrils everywhere.....[/quote'] This tends to make her be in a position that can't be comfortable... Alyssa is as cold and dark-minded as the shadows she dwells in. The very concepts of compassion, humor and mercy are from another world. When given an assignment by the Order, she will do everything necessary to carry out the assignment -- no matter how dangerous, uncomfortable or humiliating. The only exceptions are her ironclad vows, which she will keep even if it hampers her mission. Alyssa will never joke, and will never understand a joke told to her. She doesn't understand why people actually eat for enjoyment -- or indeed do anything for enjoyment. In her eyes the world is a dark, unholy place that can only be purified by the blood of the wicked. While there are many system ways to build a character like that (in many different systems) but in this particular setting the fish-out-of-water element will be what makes her interesting to play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted October 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2012 Re: Uresia Hero I'm having some fun on the mailing list with some systemless character writeups. Should be interesting to prepare for my convention adventure (if that turns out to be what I decide to do). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted October 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2012 Re: Uresia Hero And now I'm trying to do some characters IN system. Based on one or two of the systemless characters I posted. Uresia, in my mind, is a high-powered heroic setting. High-powered, that is, if you value PC survival. Everything is over-the-top and extravagant. So it's definitely 275/50 point territory. And I've been, thorough my experimenting, noting how much of 6e I've been getting wrong, even on some fairly fundamental concepts. It's still heroic -- these characters won't have to pay points for their armor, mounts, etc. Unless of course I decide to give them magic weapons and equipment, which I'm leaning against for these (you don't have a lot of people making magic swords; though you can probably find them as treasure they are as unpredictable and unreliable as all magic is). The sorceress I'm building has a smallish (20/35) VPP for "all the little spells": spells that don't count as her main attacks but are utility spells. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted October 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2012 Re: Uresia Hero Speaking of being Too Sexy for your Chainmail Shirt.... I'm in the process of writing up the variant Elf template for Uresia HERO. Elves have an interesting problem: all other races (except Dwarves) think they're sexy and cool. Which is advantageous if an elf actually wants to use their sex appeal, but is a pain even more often. Specifically, people will tend to objectify them, think they're being flirts when they're not, and make indecent propositions with alarming frequency. I want this to bite Elf PCs every so often and I'm not entirely sure how to work it in-system. Negative Reputation to affect reaction rolls, perhaps? Can you put Limitations on Striking Appearance without breaking things? Is there another way to do it? Expiring mimes want to know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted October 28, 2012 Report Share Posted October 28, 2012 Re: Uresia Hero You might want to check out Narosia's QuickStart rules on their webpage. They have some races that have Striking Appearance and Negative Reputation that only applies to how other races view them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted October 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2012 Re: Uresia Hero How much of a limitation on Striking Appearance would it be to say "Has no effect on Dwarves or other Elves"? Heck, even Slimes think about mating with Elves (if that is even physically possible!) when they see them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted October 29, 2012 Report Share Posted October 29, 2012 Re: Uresia Hero I think if you go with the 2-point version (only vs. non-Elves), that would be fine. One or two levels should be sufficient for Striking Appearance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormfalcon Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 Re: Uresia Hero Having just gotten Champions Complete, which books would be recommended for a Uresia campaign aside from Fantasy Hero, or will Fantasy Hero do just fine alongside CC? (Currently toying with the idea of revamping a Kovali magical girl for Hero that was done originally under Risus) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted November 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 Re: Uresia Hero Having just gotten Champions Complete' date=' which books would be recommended for a Uresia campaign aside from Fantasy Hero, or will Fantasy Hero do just fine alongside CC?[/quote'] The main things you would need Fantasy HERO for are the genre tips and learning how to create the Race and Profession Templates. Uresian versions of Elves and Dwarves, for example, are different from the normal versions and decidedly non-generic. So you'll want to model them into their own templates. Fantasy HERO is also good for determining systems for magical powers, but then UResia's take on those is both different and eaves much to GM discretion. Several different "systems" of magic share the setting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormfalcon Posted November 14, 2012 Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 Re: Uresia Hero Thanks! I'll definitely look into that then (once I get myself more familar with the core rules as well as renewing my contract for Hero Designer) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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