Citizen Keen

STEVE! Your wrote FREd, and you (co)wrote Star HERO. Fix this! (edit) Please.

But I don't need "always on" to be "inherent", right? Like Extra Limbs in Star HERO is Inherent but not Always On.

I think this is a rules question, but I'm erring on the side of caution and posting it here. Either way, I'd appreciate Steve's feedback. What's the difference between Inherent (an Advantage) and Always On (a Limitation). I was building an Alien race and I stopped to consider this. If I buy Extra Limbs, and they're always there, why pay an extra point (5 * 1 1/4) when I can pay one less point (5 * 3/4)? Or is this just a "If it's good to have it on all the time, it's inherent. If it's bad to have it on all the time, it's Always On" kind of thing? -cK

Solid

Thanks. Man, this program is awesome!

Never played Traveller, but I can see what you mean. Maybe it could be ten for it even worse. Five if you can tell gender, and (the alien equivalent of) asians from hispanics from caucasians, but can't tell between the (alien equivalent of) two hispanic males or two caucasian females; and ten if you can't even distinguish between "race" and gender.

Re: Armour with Differing level of Protection What program did you use to do this?

Can you look this up and tell us what page? I'm getting frustrated with the specific armor table at the end of the equipment section of FREd. Thanks!

When I run the program, it doesn't create the folder. It creates the index.html, with links, but no systems folder. Something weird? -cK

I've always had trouble with the Distinctive Features Limitation in Star HERO - you get points for having a scar on your face, but wings and an exoskeleton are normal. Then I figured it out. If you look different from your race, you get DF points (scars, birthmarks, whatever). If you look the same, you don't. However, other character can take the following disad: All Them Greenies Look the Same: Infrequently, Slightly (5 pts.) The character has trouble distinguishing between members of another species. The character may choose one species in addition to his own (A Perseid could choose Humans in addition to Perseids, for example) that they are able to distinguish between. For all other species (Fex and and Mon'Dabi, for example) the character must make a PER roll at -3 to distinguish between similar looking members (by similar, I mean same gender (if it matters), same color, etc.) This explains why a Perseid doesn't get point for knobs on their forehead, but a human with a scar does. Thoughts? -cK

So, this sounds mostly like a subgenre of Champions, a la Dark Champions. Am I somewhat correct on this?

Like I said, this was not meant to be an attack on the book - I have, for all intents and purposes, read it (i.e. spent about four hours perusing it at my FLGS). I was just curious why one genre book beat out another. My question has been answered. Thank you.

Now, I know that technically, the only book you ever need is FREd, everything else is "supplementary". But let's assume some dependency - you need Star HERO for Terran Empire, and you need Terran Empire for Spacer's Toolkit. You need Champions for Champions Universe, and you need Champions Universe for Millenium City. Under those assumptions, what books will we need for Galactic Champions? Will it be a genre book like Champions and Star HERO, and then we'll see a Galactic Champions Universe, or will it be a campaign book, like Terran Empire or Champions Universe? And if it is a universe book, will it "require" Champions, Star HERO or both? Thanks, -cK

Steve - Feel free to move this post, I wasn't sure where it belonged. Oh yeah, and this question is probably directed at you, too. Why was Ninja Hero published? Not "why do we need a Ninja Hero", but why has it already been published? And, of all the genre books, why does it not have any support? It seems to me that Fantasy Hero is a more popular genre than Ninja Hero. This can even be seen here, because we have a Fantasy Hero forum, but not one for Ninja Hero. We also lack any support for Ninja Hero, other than the Ultimate Martial Artist, which is a great sourcebook for any genre. There is no setting, or toolkit, or anything. If Ninja has demand, why doesn't it have support? And if Ninja doesn't have the demand for support, why was it published so quickly, even before Fantasy Hero, when other genres (like Western and Cyberpunk) aren't even confirmed? This post is not meant as a discredit to Mr. Surbrook. I have looked over both the book and his site and am very impressed with the work that exists in both.

Has anybody played in Heinlein's future history? I'm reading the complete set right now, and it seems like a wonderful Pulp Star Hero campaign.

BTW, I'm designing this thing with an OIF for a StarHERO campaign. So, the STUN thing doesn't work because it's a device.

Just bumped the DVD combo up to the top of my Netflix account. Do either of the movies on the combo require knowledge of the third through fifth seasons? And more importantly, will either ruin any surprises in the third through fifth seasons? What is the schedule for seasons four and five?

Do you mean side effect? How do you build a power with a susceptibility?

Slightly OT GRRR! NetFlix only has the first two seasons on DVD. I just finished season two and no more! Stupid stupid stupid! I am ready to scream. Does anybody have any of the other seasons on DVD or VHS? Preferably seasons 3-5.

I want to make a FF, but I want it to work like this - THe FF runs off an END Reserve, but it only uses END when it gets hit. So, special effect is that the FF runs on a built in recharging amount of power, but when it gets hit, the reserve has to expend some additional END to bolster it back up. So, the FF can be super strong, but can be undermined by enough attacks (the weak Energy Blaster hits the guy 10 times, and by Segment 12, his Reserve is out of power and the FF shuts down, and the Brick hits the guy hard). How do I do this?

Arooo - Great, as always. Almost done with second Season (will finish it tomorrow), but... Should the Narn have the PhysLim "lack of psionics". This is a limitation to the race, but not the specific character. (To my knowledge), Garibaldi doesn't have any psychic powers, but I wouldn't give him a Limitation for that. I would just tell players they can't make a psychic Narn. Once the character is created, he will be no more hindered than any other non-psychic character. I think you should get rid of it. Just my two cents. -cK

I stand corrected - since the top of the STK says it's a sourcebook for Star HERO and not Terran Empire, I assumed it was the definitive "power compendium" for star HERO. If we're going to see equipment guides for Alien Wars, Solar HERO, etc., I am completely satisfied. Thanks for clearing that up.

Before I begin, I would like to disclaim the following: This post is not meant to be a flame. I like Spacer's Toolkit, and will use it often. I feel it was well crafted, and worth my $22. Ben Seeman did a commendable job. The art was solid, althought I do wish Nato had done some more of the drawings, I really like his/her work. But I want to voice my concern about what I view as a shortcoming in the Toolkit. That having been said: Why is it so short? It's about half the length of USPD, and not half the price. I feel a little stiffed for playing in a science fiction campaign instead of a champions campaign. Ben or Steve?

Re: New Character So, I just finished watching first season of B5, after seeing Aroooo's website. (Well, only the first 20 episodes, not the last two.) Question: In what season does Centauri genitalia get discussed? That seems a little.... weird.

Something I don't get about the HERO system. Anybody able to help me out? What's the point of putting characteristics in racial package deals? Let's say I'm creating a race, we'll call them the Foogers. So, in my campaign, Foogers are stronger then humans, but not quite as bright. So, that part of the package looks like this: Now, Frank likes other aspects of the Foogers (their wings, their infravision, whatever). But Frank has envisioned his character as smart and weak. So, Frank buys three points of STRength and sells back two points of INTelligence. Then, Frank buys 7 points of intelligence (taking him to 15 with a net cost of buying 5 points), and sells back five points of STR (taking him to 8 at a net cost of selling 2 points). So really, the package did nothing. Wouldn't it have been easier to just write in the racial description that as a rule, Foogers are strong and dumb? The only reason I see for putting it in the package is that, when you have an average human, everything's 10. When you have an average fooger, everything's 10, except INT and STR. Am I right on this?