Spence

Re: New guy here, wondering about hero system You will also notice a wide variety of what Hero "can do well". Some believe that Hero doesn't work well in a non-cinematic gritty real world setting. Or that you need to modify the system if you do. I have played many real world gritty games, mostly modern crime/spy types. And have found that the phased speed system actually works well. At least no worse than a turn based initiative one. As a general rule though, I prefer a little more cinema in a game. Less lethal to the cast.

Probably been beaten to death But there have been a lot of great series hit the US in the last year or so. With that in mind. Which Anime series would you like to either run as a campaign, base a campaign on its concept or would like to see a source book about?

Re: Champions Or Mutants & Masterminds?

Re: Champions Or Mutants & Masterminds? I'll probably get the full book. I find a GM section to be a lot of help in getting a "feel" for a game. A quick question. Is M&M a D20 clone?

Re: Champions Or Mutants & Masterminds? Arrrgggghhhhh! I hate you all!!! Just kidding Now I have to go buy at least the core book so I can at least follow comments intelligently.

Re: New guy here, wondering about hero system Instead of Hit Points, Hero uses two stats. Body and Stun. Body is reflects damage before death (blood and gut damage) and Stun is damage until knocked out. Additionally you can add Wounding, Hit Location, Knockdown and Bleeding. Also affecting combat is Endurance or the energy available to the character before becoming exhausted. This can be made more gritty by using the optional "Long term endurance" rules. In Hero the ability to knock out a character and have them wake up later isn't just tacked on as an option, but a balanced and integral part of the damage system.

Re: New guy here, wondering about hero system Hello and welcome. Most of your questions have been answered, but I thought I throw in my .02 cents. First off Hero System may have started as a Superhero game but it has evolved into what is arguably the best "generic" system ever made. I say "arguably" because opinions are a varied as there are people. But for myself I have never found a better one. As Thia Halmades mentioned the game revolves around "Reason from Effect" rather than plugging in a rule. This is the hardest concept. The idea of "Special Effects" can also be difficult to follow for someone that has only played class/level games that seem to hold 90+% of the RPG market. The method I use is to write out the character concept and then go back and do the build. The main reason is the rule system is so flexible there are dozens of way to achieve anything you think of. An example of this is the power effect energy blast. For 5 pts you get 1D6 of normal damage. What kind of damage? I can make it fire, ice, rubber bullet, and so on. By selecting the SFX (fire ice etc) I also determine its other effects. An Ice bolt striking a gas can has an entirely different result than say a fire bolt. But the point to all this is you can model virtually anything. I lean more toward flashy heroic games rather than gritty real world simulation, but I have played in a game that was a real world medieval game and Hero was able to to do it very well. We went back to a more heroic setting because realistic heroes tend to die a bit quickly . I would recommend picking up a copy of Sidekick to take a look at. I have a few copies to hand out to players. Sidekick is a no frills condensed version of the game. But it will give you a good feel of the game. There is a genre book called Fantasy Hero I would recommend. While it is mostly aimed at a more heroic game it does have a lot of good info for a realistic game. Its sections on armor, weapons and combat are especially good. It also has very good chapters on world design. All in all I believe once you play/run Hero a couple of times you will have a difficult time putting the straight jacket back on I do still enjoy other game systems, but I always come back to Hero, especially when I GM. I apologize if I sound like a Herophile, But I guess I am one Browse the forums and you will find a very wide variety of experience and game knowledge. But be warned! With the flexibility of the system, be prepared for at least a half a dozen correct answers for every question. The regular forums are great and very civil. But when entering the NGD be sure to put on your asbestos underwear

Re: What's with all the points Well everything said and done. For four color supers games I play/run we still play at the 270 point starting level. But then we tend to use broad skills and be much less gritty. For instance rather than buy surveillance, forensics, law, deduction ad infinity.... We will just buy Detective skill as an overall umbrella covering all of them. Since we don't use skills to replace the players ability to think but rather as a way to get hard data. A successful detective roll may tell the PC that the man was killed 6 hours ago, strangled by someone taller than him, but what the players does with the info is up to the player. This is mostly because skills in a supers game support the superpower aspect of the game, rather than drive the game. If we are playing a different genre we do get more detailed. Heroic games are more driven buy a PC's skills, so they are much more important. Plus PC occupations tend to be much more specialized.

Re: What Have You Watched Recently? Had a hankering for some anime space battles. So I am half way through watching "Banner of the Stars" again. I really wish I could see "Legend of the Galactic Heroes", I have heard is was great, just not released in the US.

Re: What Have You Watched Recently? Could anyone tell????? Prequel...sequel...smequel......

Re: why the UNITED NATIONS? (for global super-agency) Once again you didn't understand what I was talking about. But if you insisted on making a Heroic Level "normal" ninja because it was your concept. Don't be surprised when the Grond smashes you. The other players would probably be happy with a super'd ninja. Also a secret nemesis is only secret if you don't know about it.

Re: why the UNITED NATIONS? (for global super-agency) For the first question. Of course, I always make sure players understand how I GM. I would think that would be a given. Also I don't think you understand what I am actually talking about. The vast majority of "hidden" points are spent within the framework already provided by the existing character concept. In many comics/anime a hero "discovers" a hidden source of power/strength in a moment of dramatic stress. Many times this cannot be covered by simply pushing. Also when a PC acquires another hunted, they may not actually know they did, hidden disads. Generally I have only used them for "drastic upgrades" for new players that just refuse to grok the setting. Take the "I train really hard mook", I've met the new player that just doesn't click a supers world concept. Now if he is "100% normal" with "just" training, you could just limit him to NCM and let him get pasted in the first super fight, and then hope they will still want to try the game after losing the first PC needing to make another. Or dumb down the session so the supers are bored but the "I train really hard mook" is OK. Or you can do what I do and beef his PC up so he can survive. Then when UberEvilBrick punches "I train really hard mook" through a wall and he discovers he is dead, he can be suitably amazed at his "hidden inner strength" and stay in the game. afterwards I sit down explain what I did. Most times they will grok supers and redesign the PC after tweeking their concept a bit. For Heroic level games there is much less utility in using hidden points in the power/ability role. There it is mostly plot and skill driven. Heck, there have been some players that were so good at character concept and such that it was hard to feed them the "new disad" points for new secret hunted's and such. Overall, remember hidden points should be used sparingly and only if they really serve a purpose plotwise.

Re: What Have You Watched Recently? Spiral (anime, the complete collection). OK, but not an overwhelmingly great anime. Teen Titans Season 2. BooYaa! research for my con game...cough cough Planetes (anime, complete collection) I enjoyed this one. A little less than satisfied with the ending, but a good character driven anime. Mars Daybreak (anime, v1) Pretty good so far. Good character development and story line. I like the lack of whining (I can't do it) and the fact the female characters are "normal" rather than "weak" or fanservice.

Re: why the UNITED NATIONS? (for global super-agency) For me I really don't have a problem with any of them. I guess it is because I use "hidden" ability/disads in vitually all my games. All PC's have extra hidden points the players don't know about and I skim a small % of XP as the game goes on. Take the "I train really hard mook" in your example. He may believe that, but in "reality" his abilities are from {insert choice here}. It may be several sessions before I actually define the details of a hidden power or disad. But I always make sure it meshes with the players character concept. Many times it will just be a "boost" of an existing power. Sometimes it will be that critical ability that the new player "didn't want to waste points on" because "I can always buy it latter if it becomes a problem". It is great to enhance the "unknown" for plots and such. Rather than the players "knowing" who all his hunteds are. [/ramble]

Re: Character: Admiral Dame Honor Harrington Wow. I've played the game several times. What fleets? I guess you could call 4-10 ships a large fleet. You can lump several hulls in one formation and have them all move as one multiplying the number of ships on the board, one shipbox = several instead of one shipbox = one ship. But once ships start taking damage and falling out of formation it becomes a real mess. It s true that the mechanics are simpler than AV:T because there is no fuel accounting. But the game is still more than just flailing away with broadsides. Their maneuvering is much more nimble than AoS. Of course if the scenario has not objectives then like any AoS or WW1 naval game it does become boring. But a running fight between a raiding force of DD's and CL's versus a convoys escorts can be very challenging. I'm not saying "run out an buy a copy", but try it out at a con or try and find someone nearby who has a copy. You might be surprised.

Re: Strange But Useful Powers. This would be a problem...............

Re: Coming back to HERO... I know there will be people who disagree, but.... After many many disasters with brand new players I never have the players make their own PC's for the first session in a supers game. I always, and that is always make the PC's for them. After a couple of sessions, once everyone has the hang of how "their" character works, they can remodel it, keep it as is or completley chunk it and write up their own ideas. For me the big gap in getting people hooked on Hero is the initial understanding of how to build a character. And to understand that you need to play one. Kinda a Catch 22. Just my 2 cents....

Re: Thrilling Places!

Re: City of Heroes (Champions of Champion) Did they ever add role-playing? I subscribed for a short time, but it was just the normal online game. Of course instead of "Run around aimlessly killing stuff and stealing the treasure", I "Ran around aimlessly getting into meaningless fights and "faux quests" for experience".

Re: Strange But Useful Powers. Not a power. It's a EveryMan Talent for Pulp Heroes....

Re: why the UNITED NATIONS? (for global super-agency) In my world when I use the UN, it has broken into three distinct organizations. 1) Diplomatic Neutral Zone and International Aid. The existing structure has become a place where countries can interact diplomatically, even when they are "officially" at war. They no longer have anything to do with Peace Keeping and they no longer have a "legislative" purpose. No security council, etc. With the loss of the glamour of big bucks funneled into secret personal accounts and countries using the UN as a way to force their personal agenda the attraction for the corrupt has gone down. The UN has become a respected organization of impeccable honesty that specializes in face saving arbitration of international disputes. It is organized with a Director and a Council. These lead Divisions that specialize in different regions of the world. These same divisions also oversee the distribution of Aid. This “Golden Age” of UN honesty is secretly maintained by the Director and Senior council who are powerful mentalists who can sense the ethics and morals of anyone they meet. By selectively hiring only those who will truly follow the organizations purposes they have built a truly neutral UN. 2) Interpol Interpol has been gathered under the UN umbrella. In much the same way as the UN diplomatic core has been cleansed, so has Interpol become a force for true justice. Possessing only police powers, Interpol only serves to prevent crime or apprehend criminals. Working in close cooperation with law enforcement agencies world wide they have built a sterling reputation as fair and incorruptible. Since they do not have a court system they cannot dispense final justice. Instead criminals that are apprehended are turned over to the UN Council Criminal Justice Liaison Division to be remanded to the appropriate jurisdiction for trial. For some reason the UNCCJL always seems to always pick the best judiciary for the administration of true justice. 3) UNTIL Pretty much like Interpol, but for the “special cases”. UNTIL is also the custodian for the worlds “Stronghold” complexes. Yes, I know what you are thinking. But I prefer to run my superhero games a little more black and white morality instead of gray. I get gray everyday in the real world.

Re: Sam Rami to do a Pulp Film? any guess as to the year it will take place in?

Re: My Cool Color Hudson City Map I am totally on board with that line of thought.....

Re: Character: Admiral Dame Honor Harrington A definite truth there. Back to the paperclip principle.....

Re: Character: Admiral Dame Honor Harrington