schir1964

Rats!!

I'm going to have to come back to this and try to recreate my Protean power.

Duke Bushido, I'm going to steal your term porosity because it's a perfect term for the defintion. (8^D).

Be back tomorrow.

I had a thread that had a New Power: Protean that addressed the non-desolid character that can squeeze through or flow through things with openings.

Worked on it quite a bit. Had a lot of discussion with some useful and some not so useful (8^D).

The lost threads doesn't make sense. I've found other threads I've created from 2000 to 2006, but after that nothing. Really strange. I even lost the thread that was simply a collection of various ideas people had on New Power/Options.

It had a cost structure that allowed for just how Protean a character was and that would determine just how small an opening they could go through.

I also had limitations that defined time constraints and so forth to make handling various SFX easier.

It would make handling various SFX much easier (Sand Man, Robots that can re-assemble themselves, Fluid like characters, and so forth).

I found Desolid just too far removed from what you need for a Protean character. I found trying to use Desolid like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

If only my threads were accessible on this idea. (8^D)

- Christopher Mullins

Can't really say I have a preference. I was introduced to 4th Edition and loved it. I liked 5th Edition also (what little I got to play it). 6th Edition would probably would be to my liking but I didn't have the money and had other priorities. I have the money now, but have even less time to game. I would be curious as to what 7th Edition would be like and what changes it might have.

Shout Out: Doc Democracy, RDU Neil, Lord Laiden, lemming, and others I'm sure I'm missing. Nice to see all of you still active here.

- Christopher Mullins

I kind of agree with PhilFleischmann as far as the concept of Luck being out of the control of the player. 

I can see Luck being implemented similar to how the Disadvantage: Arch Nemesis works.

This disadvantage is basically giving the GM direct avenues of influencing the game that directly affects the Player's character and the characters around him (in a negative manner).

Luck could be seen as the opposite of this in that you are spending points to allow the GM to have direct influence on the game in that it affects the Player's character and those around him (in a positive manner).

Nothing wrong with the mechanic. Just the concept of Luck doesn't seem to mesh with what it actually does. Just from my perspective.

I am still amazed that this thread continues to grow. And the amount of amazing artwork presented.

-- Christopher Mullins

I've seen people try to use Endurance Reserve to simulate this, but it is not really what you are looking for.

Basically 'Extra Time', or another way of naming it 'Pre Time', is forcing a minimum amount of time required between each use of the attack. I would simply rename it 'Post Time' and instead of the time required before the attack can be used, the time required is after each use.

- Christopher Mullins

I have a power write-up I am working on that involves an ability that takes a little while cooling down after it has maxed out its Time Limit before it can be restarted. I've currently written it up as having both Time Limit and Extra Time, but the Extra Time only affects restarting the ability. The power runs, hits its Time Limit then has a cooldown period before it can be restarted.

 

Is using a form of Extra Time the best way to do cooldown in Hero terms?

In response to some of the posts:

I use the term 'Hard Core Science Fiction' which usually means that technology is based on current knowledge of science with some exceptions where super science might exist. Such exceptions should also be an extension of science and considered plausible/theoretical but not provable. Consider the technology of FTL ships. Not provable with current science but perhaps plausible based on the warp bubble theory.

Social Status: Social status was used as a way for a character to have some sort of recognition of power/influence in the universe and also affected a character's amount of starting credits and starting possessions. In MegaTraveller this was utilized even more since the groundwork for existing Noble Families were fleshed out and parts of the universe where different nobility had influence. Granted it could be a two edged sword depending on where your were and in many backwater areas it had little effect whatsoever. So it's effect in game depended on the GM in many ways.

- Christopher Mullins

I've created a separate thread to discuss the 'Authentic Feel' of Traveller so as to not side track this thread anymore.

- Christopher Mullins

Based on what other have said, I'll try again and say that Traveller has a 'Hard Core Science Fiction' feel to it.

I think this has to do with the realistic mortality of characters in the game.

If a character is careless then survival is the exception, not the rule.

Even if a character is careful death is just around the corner waiting for an opportunity. 

And the details of certain background elements helps to foster this with Ships designs being restricted by volume, fuel, and life support requirements.

- Christopher Mullins

... And how do you describe the 'authentic feel' of the orignal Traveller game?

I'm creating this thread to allow for a continuation of a discussion and prevent further sidetracking of the other thread.

Those who were discussing it there feel free to copy your posts over here.

- Christopher Mullins

This could make for some interesting type of "Early Edition" adventures. Especially if the individual feels obligated for some reason to save each one he sees with the Aura. But potentially very powerful.

- Christopher Mullins

Given Teleportation's mechanics, I'm now convinced that I don't even need special OCV modifiers/rules to deal with this. The logical ramifications are that hexes have a DCV of 0 and attacks that target them are at normal OCV (I say normal instead of full because other factors can still reduce OCV, like range mods). Hexes, like any other completely static hex-sized target, could conceivably receive DCV bonuses for things like concealment, but the base DCV would always start at 0.

And this is all that really matters. That you find a solution that works and makes sense to you for your games. Good gaming! (8^D)

- Christopher Mullins

If empty mid-air hexes had infinite DCV that nobody could possibly target accurately, then Teleportation would never work as written. Ergo, the assertion is not valid.

Please keep in mind that I'm going off 5th Edtions rules for this specific response, so if this is no longer true for 6th Edition please enlighten me.

Teleportation only requires Line-of-Sight (LOS) to make a Point-to-Point movement. 

In layman terms, all I need to do is perceive the distance and direction I want to move (not specific location) and I can move that distance and direction from my current location.

To me, this is vastly different than trying to get an attack to hit (by aiming) something at a distance accurately.

If teleporation movement and attacks worked the same way (even mechanically) then why do the rules let you apply a LOS modifer to an attack. They aren't mechanically the same.

Thus, from this my assertion is valid. But I doubt you'll agree and that's okay.

Addendum: Teleportation and how it worked (5th Edition) definitely had some 'magic smoke' built into it. (8^D)

- Christopher Mullins

For Classic Traveller, I always got a 'Hard Core Science Fiction' feel. MegaTraveller less so. Space Master II somewhat less.

Probably due to percentages of success for various things. Usually things that you depended on worked over 90% of the time. Things you were inexperienced with failed over 60% of the time (at least it felt that way for my characters). Everything else was either a 50% coin flip or complete failure most of the time.

Hard to pinpoint why I guess.

- Christopher Mullins

Frankly, there can be justification to handle base DCV/OCV bonuses on a case by case basis depending on SFX (even with Area Effect).

First, with an example of impact grenades, the HEX's base DCV should change depending on SFX. For normal use, the DCV should be based on the sliver of ground that can be seen. For vertical structures that base DCV should be different. And for empty mid-air HEX's, the DCV approaches infinity so that no matter how good someone is, they aren't going to be able to hit the Hex, because nothing is there to hit (presuming one is not attempting to hit an obstacle that will be passing through that hex). 

Second, with an example of Flame Man who shoots massive blasts of Fire in straight lines, filling a specific hex with fire should be as straight forward as target practice with DCV not really playing a part.

However, the rules for base DCV/OCV weren't designed to handle many of these subtleties based on SFX. There was an attempt to separate SFX from these mechanics.

And it really doesn't matter what the rational was for the rules, unless one is wanting to use that rational as a basis to extend or expand on the design officially. Then it makes sense to get an idea of why a certain baseline was chosen. And as others have said, that rational is probably beyond our reach anyway.

zlane has made some solid points as to why the current baseline values might work better if they were changed for his game.

I hope he comes up with something that works well for him and his campaigns.

- Christopher Mullins

Having been markedly disappointed with T5 thus far (as a RPG. It is a very lovely gaming universe builder), and liking the traditional Traveller feel, I'd very much like to have something like this come out, since I missed the original TH era.

Why were you disappointed by Traveller 5th Edition?

I'm curious because I was thinking of purchasing it at some point if it were not too expensive just to see how that version compared to the classic (LBB) version.

- Christopher Mullins

...and i dont have a problem with Hero printing settings books with a basic version of the game system in them for pick-up-and-playability, just so long as a core system book is released and the generic/universal nature of the system is maintained.

As far as I've seen in these posts this is exactly what everyone has been suggesting, even ghost-angel.

No one has suggested that the core system books and the generic/universal nature of the system be dropped, replaced, changed, or no longer maintained.

Unless you are responding to a specific post that suggested otherwise, I don't think you are really disagreeing with those of us who proposed a set of setting books created from the core rules to make it easier for new players to try out the Hero System for a 'test run' so to speak. These books would be in addition to the core books, not a replacement for them.

As for any particular setting being supported, I think that is the other side of the coin that many of us are addressing. Hero needs to fully support any setting it decides to put forth. If they produce a Super Heroes setting book then they better have it fully fleshed out with everything you need to pick it up and play. The same for a Fantasy or a Science Fiction setting.

- Christopher Mullins

Traveller - game world provided, create a character (then create a new character when yours died half way through creation), start playing.

I just had to say ghost-angel that I got a good chuckle from this. I remember the times I would be generating a character and roll the dice and go, "AHH MAN!!! Now I have to start over!". It's the one game system where I was sorely tempted to fudge the procedure and say, "I get a re-roll on that one..."

- Christopher Mullins

I'll add again that the idea put forth is to not create a new system, but use the existing core rules to build a Setting just as a GM would with all the rules and groundwork a GM would have to make decisions on to create a rich Universe for the players to interact with.

An example of one such setting I would consider rich in "flavor" and detail would be from Spacemaster 2nd Edition. There were source books and settings that gave such detail about the universe that I've even thought about trying to purchasing those old books off of Ebay in order to recreate it in Hero System terms. This is where sales come from I think. There's been some GMs here who've said they've purchased source books from systems they've never played or plan on playing but just wanted to read those books because they were so interesting.

- Christopher Mullins

... I don't mean you would lose them as players and gms, but rather would probably not make many sells from them on basic stuff geared to the newbies...

I would suggest that perhaps this might not be true. At least not based on the various posts I've read here over the years. I've read threads where the discussion was about what sources GMs use to pull ideas from for campaigns they build. Many reponses stated they have bookshelves full of source/settings books they purchased that they just use to get inspiration from for new campaigns. And many of the books they had weren't even for the Hero System. So I'm not sure that existing GMs who like creating their worlds from scratch are going to just not purchase source/settings books for the Hero System. As long as the settings are rich in detail and storyline that will inspire one's imagination, then they will sell.

Now the economy being bad and it getting worse in the future, that is what will kill off many small companies in the entertainment industry.

- Christopher Mullins

I can't recall ever reading an explanation for why a (non-adjacent) hex is given a DCV of 3 despite being around 50x larger by volume than a default human character standing within it (who would have a DCV of 0 if immobile, you know, like a hex). The notion that a normal human body "fills" a 2m hexagonal volume isn't a horrible simplification, but it is inaccurate enough that giving hexes a DCV of 0 certainly feels to me like reasonable compensation.

 

Is "Hex has DCV of 0" a common house rule? If not, why not?

If you do a search you might find a thread that asked this exact same question. Presuming those threads have survived until now.

Anyway, if I recall correctly the idea put forth that any person/object/location(hex) had a default DCV 3 at range only. A stationary person/object/location(hex) was considered DCV 0 within a certain range based on some obscure rule mentioned in the BBB at the time. Never thought to check if that rule survived to later editions. I could be mis-remembering though (it was over 10 years ago).

Addendum:

These rules above were talking about hitting the ground at the hex location not the air filling that hex location. If you are talking about hitting an object that fills the entire space of a hex then I would suggest looking at the bonuses one gets for larger targets. An object that fills the space of a hex would easily get a +4 bonus for being a larger target I think.

- Christopher Mullins

...

Make a serious effort to create an actual set of Setting Books with A Rules Chapter like we've never seen before that literally walks you through Character Creation, and has some serious guidelines of "X Points should be spent in Characteristics" - and no, I do not mean those pre-built Templates we got in Champions 6E. But a step by step "Choose X here. Choose y Here." and the setting books do not come with "How to build your Spells" but a "Here are Spells, choose Z Points of them."

 

If you want to actually lower the barrier of entry, or create a more standard Read & Play book, you have to remove many of the choices that the base rules provide. Which means you really stop making Genre Books and just make Rule Books and Setting Books.

This is kind of thing I was alluding to when mentioned "Guidelines" for both GM/Writer alike.

I can see this as potentially breaking down the barrier for new players to get into the Hero system.

- Christopher Mullins

How to bring specific Settings books from concept to a tangible reality?

Well, one person could do it (Christopher Taylor), but with just one person the amount of time to produce what is needed may be too long of a wait.

Another avenue is to have a group of close knit individuals work on it as personal project. Which lends to idea that each setting should have an agreed upon guidelines which govern how new material is generated for the specific setting. However, committees tend to bog down over minutia and suffer from attrition. Or changes to the guidelines are made in the middle of the process creating inconsitencies in the generated materials.

A kickstarter, which I don't have detail knowledge of how it works, might alleviate some of the issues mentioned above, but I wouldn't know.

Whether these settings are offically santioned by the Herogames company, unoffical books that can be purchased through Herogames, or free PDFs offered by the community (how that would work I'm not sure) will have an impact on the quality and amount of material produced.

- Christopher Mullins

This discussion has taken an interesting turn.

Based on what's already been said I'll offer my view on this.

Those that know me on these boards know that I've been huge advocate of core rules being as complete and as flexible as possible with the idea of pushing the separation of SFX from mechanics as far as the system can feasibly handle it. Even to the point of separating the Physical/Energy distinctions from the mechanics (whether that is a good thing or not is not the point here). The goal of pushing things this direction was to have a set of core rules that could build any Story in any Genre while retaining a balance of relative effectivness in game (how they manage to do that so well with the existing rules so far is still a mystery to me).

Anyway, that goal I think has been met or is very close to having achieved that goal. 

So I think those rules could, and probably should, be used to create three Universe settings: super heroes, fantasy, and science fiction/space opera.

By using these rules to create settings of each type (much as described by others in presentation) could be the gateway needed to grow the numbers who choose to play a Hero game and down the road maybe GM a Hero game. A number of these GMs will want to customize the setting or build their own specific setting which of course would require the core rules to tweak things as needed.

I agree that building these settings would entail some specific Universe definitions of how things should be built for that specific setting. A set of guidelines for any GM or Writer who wants to expand, not alter, a specific settings universe. Perhaps these settings will not appeal to many existing GMs who love building their own specific settings, but I think there might be as many or even more who would buy these settings to augment and inspire their own campaigns if not use them outright.

Just An Opinion

- Christopher Mullins