Panpiper

Re: Character Backgrounds (free for all) "Me uses be called Runt. Me was little once. Little Runt me was. Chase'n rats with me little club. Other kids not play with me. Me scare little kids. Then get big. Big Runt they call me. Me have hard time say Big Runt. Sound more like B'runt. Me called Brunt now. Still chase stuff with club. Club bigger now. Stuff bigger now." Brunt is actually not stupid. He was nailed with a curse as an infant, the curse being intended for someone else who used him as a shield. There is a high order of mental activity going on inside Brunt's brain, but only a little bit of it is able to penetrate into his conscious awareness due to the curse. Perhaps someday this curse may be lifted. Brunt was found in his cursed state when he was an infant, chasing rats with a stick. It was a kindly innkeeper's wife who found him, the innkeeper tolerating his wife's adoption because he had a rat problem and little 'Runt' was really good at killing them. Where he came from, who his parents were, is unknown. The fact that he was cursed is also unknown, it being assumed that he is simply, simple minded. Brunt thinks he is ugly and scary looking. In fact he is rather comely, the kids being scared of him simply due to him having a very high presence from his size and temperament. Brunt is in fact mostly human, but with touches of changeling influences that explain his extraordinary size and strength. He has never had the head for education or even more than the most basic of chores. He has his whole life, been chasing down whatever the village wanted hit with his club. He's actually quite quick of foot and good with his club. This lifetime of fighting biting creatures and running through forest branches while unarmored have given him a natural toughness as well. Now that Brunt is largely fully grown, he is 'employed' by the village as a guard. The normal threats the village might face however have learned to keep a wide berth, and so Brunt is rather bored. Brunt is restless. Brunt would welcome the idea of adventure. Anyone who gets to actually know Brunt will discover that he is in fact a very gentle soul, only wanting to hit 'bad' things, or 'good' things to eat. If he could ever get his full mind back...

Re: Character Backgrounds (free for all) Trope's mother, Talahena, was a warrior Amazon, a powerful woman who had a glorious adventuring career. Stories were told of her in the dwarven drinking halls. High praise indeed for a warrior to be talked about in such halls, especially for one not a dwarf! For years she adventured with several of the Clan Irongrip, winning both their respect and their hearts. But as things are want when shared with those who are not dwarves, things changed, and the group went their separate ways. A few years passed, hard years growing harder as a troll cheiftan tried to make a name for himself at the expense of Clan Irongrip. Talahena returned to her friends just as the fighting reached it's fiercest, she had heard of our plight and would stand with her friends. And valiantly did she fight! She herself put wounds to the troll chieftan as the clan finally brought him down and won a peace. But in so doing, she also suffered, a terrible wound that layed her low. The Clan did what it could for her, but the troll chief's axe was cursed with some foulness of the troll's brood and her wounds would not heal. It was on her sick bed that it was discovered that she was with child. She would not say how it could be. Perhaps she did not know. It is hard to say for what times she was awake were filled with fevered delirium. She held to life for many months, staying alive that her child might be born. And hold on she did till she could hold Trope in her arms, hold her baby and know for a brief lucid moment, a smile and a kiss for her child, and then she lay down to an eternal rest. Clan Irongrip owed this Amazon and Dwarves pay their debts. Trope was adopted by the clan. He might not be a dwarf, but he would be raised in a manner befitting a dwarf. Trope grew, big, tall and strong, far stronger than any human aught, even the dwarves were impressed. He took to his lessons as well as a human might, learning what he could in the short years before he was a man. But much of what the dwarves might teach is of little use to such a giant of a man as Trope. They taught him the ways of the axe, and dearly did he love to swing the axe. The swinging was easy for Trope, it was the rest that he could not learn, for the tricks of a dwarf do not work the same for a giant half again as tall. While it was a consternation for Trope's teachers, it did not bother Trope so much. Trope liked to swing his axe. Trope learned not just fighting, but letters and numbers. He learned the ways of the forge. And for the short time he had been studying, the dwarves were not unimpressed. Given a few more hundred years, the way any dwarf apprentice would approach it, Trope might make a good smith. Good by dwarven standards anyway. Trope became a man, and his human nature became all the stronger. Humans have a much shorter time than dwarves. Humans have to hurry if they are to experience all that life has to offer. And so, inevitably, the day came when Trope left Clan Irongrip to seek his fortune in the world. Trope had read of the marvels of the world, but that did little to quell the excitement he felt at learning the likes of horses! And seeing cities beneath the sky! Quickly though he learned to temper his youthful enthusiasm and keep it beneath a scowl and a glare. For it was not long before Trope learned first hand of how dangerous and dark the world can be. Time and time again, Trope found himself between kindly folk who reminded him a bit of home, and foul creatures, both human and not, bent on rapine and pillage. Time and again he would bathe in their blood, dealing death to them in droves. People would speak of him in whispers afterwords, whispers sometimes heard. "Death Dealer" they called him. "Trope Irongrip", The Death Dealer, is a mountain of a man, as tall and as wide as one might expect of a man almost as strong as a giant! He wears dwarven plate to shield his mighty girth and with his shield and axe is a force of nature on the battle field. His enemies swear his eyes glow red when he slays. His enemies say he is not man at all, but some beast from hell, come to collect souls for hell's armies. But what does it matter what his enemies think? His enemies are all dead.

Re: Character Backgrounds (free for all) Background Trenton was born third son to landed nobility, as his rather impoverished family was want to point out at every opportune moment. They did in fact possess some small land, the village of Linet, if a den of filth and poverty could so be called. His father held mayorship over a small village frequently beset by raiders, slavers, and all manner of fell beasts. What meager surplus crops the beleaguered peasantry were able to harvest were utterly siphoned away in a vain attempt to hold back the tide. In fairness to his father, Trenton must admit, the man tried. But his insistence upon his class, his privilege, and his right to anything and everything those under him possessed, ultimately drove Trenton into rebellion and estrangement. Trenton has little brook for snobs. This was not before he was asquired however to a landless knight who taught him well. Sir Morgan had been born of common folk, and knighted on the field for his deeds and valor. It was to this knight, Sir Morgan, that Trenton feels the loyalty traditionally due his father. He passed into Sir. Morgan's tutelage at the age of seven and a few years later was officially squired to him. From the age of seven, somewhat in defiance of tradition, he drilled Trenton in the ways of war, but it was the stories Morgan told over supper and at night that served the greatest education. Trenton's heart was filled with the romanticism of adventure and heroes. He would of course never admit to such to his peers, but Trenton really would be a grail knight, if such were real. Trenton grew to be a huge and powerful man, far more trained than was common for a squire his age. So it was that when Trenton was sworn to his liege at the age of 21, he had already seen a good deal of action at the side of Sir Morgan. His title and experience granted him immediate promotion and a posting that would make the most of it. He served with distinction wherever the worst fighting was to be found. For ten years since, Trenton's life has been filled with combat. He has suffered many wounds, and they have left their mark in scars across his body. For several years, Trenton believed that news of Sir Morgan's ultimate fall in battle was the worst of his wounds. It was however the last wound he suffered that was the most grievous. He was struck in the head with a mighty mace blow in the thick of a melee. His helmet sundered, his skull was split. He lay there unconscious for many minutes till the battle was over. The unit's chirurgeon did what he was able though everyone believed he was lost. Trenton however, though unconscious, struggled and held onto life. His convalescence has been long, over a year. His compatriots saw to his upkeep as they could, as such lengthy medical care is not commonly available. Unfortunately the year made it quite impossible for his horse or even much of his possessions to be maintained. His possessions were sold off to pay for his care. He was left solely with his armor which was too big to find an easy buyer. Fortunately that armor was his prize, having been meticulously and lovingly fabricated just for him, not just so as to fit his unusual size, but also to fit his every movement. His friends, simple soldiers that they are, have no further means to support his rest. Fortunately he is finally well enough to fend for himself, though he is far from fully mended. He retains his size and impressive appearance, but he is less of the man that he used to be. His strength, strength of body, even his strength of will have yet to fully recover. And his memory, that may never fully recover. For several months after he regained consciousness, Trenton was unable to recognize even his friends. Things have been coming back to him, but they have been coming back slowly. He has made effort to relearn some things, to study rather than simply remember, so at least the most essential heraldry is familiar to him. And some vigor to his natural abilities have finally started to return. In the early days of his wounding he was assumed lost and struck from the Guard rolls. The cloudiness that remains in his mind, the redness of his latest scar, the relative weakness of his once mighty frame, have led the bureaucrats that administer the guard to believe that he is no longer suited to the life he once led, and he has not been reinstated to active duty. In Trenton's mind, this may be just as well, as he is weary of that life. His friends gave him a bastard sword and scabbard, taken from a bandit, it is serviceable enough. They also pulled a weathered shield out of storage and had his arms painted on it. He has his old helm, showing still that heavy crack, in a sack at his side. It was a good helm, it can still serve, but that crack must be mended as soon as possible. He is 32 years old with a lifetime of hurt behind him. And now his feet hurt. He is unaccustomed to walking. Sometimes has is able to hitch a ride on a merchant's wagon in exchange for the extra security the sight of him may bring. That and a meal, perhaps some small measure of coin. He was told rumors of opportunities out west. He could use an opportunity right now. Appearance Trenton presents a startling appearance to the world. He is big, scary big, though not ogre big, standing 6'5" and weighing 230 lbs, and that is after the significant withering he's suffered during his convalescence. He is weathered and covered in battle scars. He has a couple of exceptionally pronounced facial scars, including the biggest of them all, still showing some redness. His eyes take in a room with a piercing glare, the superstitious might well ward themselves. He is used to command and used to being obeyed, his poise and manner communicate it. His hair is a rough cut, short brown mop usually, but he keeps clean and free of lice. He actually washes with soap, regularly! His armor is clearly not new, it bears witness to countless battles, but it is in excellent repair. He stands with an apparent easy comfort, but the well martially trained will see in his bearing that he is coiled and dangerous. His eyes are a bright steel grey to match, always watching, checking shadows, noting exits. And he never shows his back to an entrance. One learns a lot after half a lifetime of constant combat, and it shows. Personality & Motivation Trenton suffers a world weariness from having seen little but misery among the people he risked his life daily to protect. It is not despair, for that he would never allow himself, but there is an anger in him, an anger that the world should be so. And there remains still a hint of the boy, who sat long hours at the campfire entranced by stories of heroes, who made the world a better place. Trenton is quite capable of boisterous laughter, he drinks hard, he wenches with the best. And sometimes he can be a bit too loud. But in the morning he will apologize if it be warranted, and he will pay his bills. His laughter can strike at odd moments that most would find most inappropriate, and not understand, save the few who might have seen much of combat. They understand. They understand how the constant horror will either break a man, or teach him to laugh, and laugh hard, lest he cry. Whether Trenton will leave the world a better place for having lived, remains to be seen. But Trenton will die before he allows it to be a worse place for what he has done. Perhaps there is a benevolent god who watches over the world, and if so Trenton hopes that he is watched with a smile, even if it be one of amusement. And maybe, just maybe, he'll someday have a chance to prove to the world that the heroes in those campfire stories, are real after all.

I've gotten a bit of a bug the last few days for the writing of character backgrounds. I am using one or two of these for characters I am playing. Some of them I am not likely to ever play. Rather than have these descriptions simply languish futilely on my harddrive, I thought it might be fun if other people could avail themselves of them either as inspiration, or even to use them copied and pasted just as they are. I share these with you. Feel free to use them any way you please. Perhaps some of you might like to share character backgrounds as well? Note I am not intending to provide full writeups for these characters. The idea is not to stifle other people's creativity but to inspire it.

Re: Magic System: Winding Well, that would define me. ;-) Way back in the days of yore, when 3rd edition was still new (and I was still playing), a GM made the profound error of seeing nothing wrong with me having a 45 point cosmic power pool for my magic. He insisted only that it require a magic roll. Well, 19 character points later, I could cast anything I could imagine for 45 active points. Never did a GM so sorely regret his error. (I enjoyed myself immensely for several games and then created a new character. I took pity on him.) Here you have a system that would allow me to again play my old character, but much more tightly reigned. That means that I could 'not' have to abandon my character out of pity for the poor GM and still enjoy the pleasure of concocting whatever I needed to win the day, albeit at a somewhat lesser power level and amid other 'interesting' consequences. :-) Dimensional conduits... Hmm...

Re: Magic System: Winding Were I actually playing this character instead of just wishing I could play this character... ;-) (I do finally have a game starting in which I am playing but it is a relatively low magic S&S game and I have a godzilla of a melee character already approved.) So, back to, ...were I playing "Sheherazade; the Vim Dancer" in a game, I expect the very first five XP would be spent on buying a Vim-touched Dice. Then it is a toss up as to whether to spend a few points on critical spell masteries, such as the ideas you mentioned, or a couple or few more OCV levels for Vim Lightning. I expect before I ever started to save up for a fifth rank and an additional 'magic' die, I would have purchased already a lore die for any of the lores I was intending to use regularly at any decent power level. I'm not sure about Channeling Dice, as the +1 phase is a killer for anything in combat. Maybe for the healing lore? And I might want to pick up another lore or two before starting to save for more ranks. Light or Illusion would both be great for her dancing. :-)

Re: Magic System: Winding I really like your Winding magic system. But I prefer 'my' version of 'Persistence of Vim'. ;-)

Re: Magic System: Winding So, would I be correct in assuming that this character would have roughly a 50% chance of successfully casting a 30 active point spell when Not In The 'Tween? This is 'not' a particularly effective combat character, but has enormous flexibility outside of combat and could be a lot of fun to play. (175 pts 6th Ed.) 'Scheherazade' the Vim Dancer (Female) 8 Str -2 11 Dex 2 10 Con 10 Body 13 Int 3 10 Ego 13 Pre 3 3 Ocv 3 Dcv 3 Omcv 3 Omdv 2 PD 2 ED 3 Spd 10 6 Rec 2 30 End 2 20 Stun Stats total: 20 3 Striking Appearance +1 Exceptional and 'Unearthly' Beauty 2 PS: Dancer 3 Seduction 13- 3 Persuasion 13- 2 KS: Winding ways... 2 KS: Best Dance Venues Non-magic skills: 18 5 Lore: * Red Winds: Energy Magic 5 Lore: * Orange Winds: Life Magic 5 Lore: * Blue Winds: Divination Magic 5 Lore: * Violet Winds: Travel Magic 60 Winding to Fourth Rank: Increases Variable Power Pool to 40 Pool 20 Magic Die: 4d6 4 +4 Mastery of Vim Lightning Spell (2d6 RKA Energy) 4 +2 OCV with Vim Lightning Magic total: 108 Persistence of Vim (Third Level) 29 Points Real Cost, 61 Points Active. -3PD/3ED Resistant, 9 active points, Does not protect Vs. the first point of body or stun from each separate increment of damage taken [-1/2], Does not work over hit locations covered with any resistant armor (-1), Special effects reveal character's mood (-1/4) -Three DC of Damage Negation 'Physical', 15 active points, Does not work over hit locations covered with any resistant armor (-1), Special effects reveal character's mood (-1/4) -Three DC of Damage Negation 'Energy', 15 active points, Does not work over hit locations covered with any resistant armor (-1), Special effects reveal character's mood (-1/4) -Three DC of Damage Negation 'Mental', 15 active points, Does not work over hit locations covered with any resistant armor (-1), Special effects reveal character's mood (-1/4) -Three points of Longevity (800 years), 3 active points, Special effects reveal character's mood (-1/4) -Life support: Intense heat and cold, 4 active points, Special effects reveal character's mood (-1/4) Distinctive Feature: Persistence of Vim Effect plus Stunningly Beautiful 20pts Distinctive Feature: Unconcealable, Always Noticed, Major Reaction Social Limitation: Stunningly Beautiful Very Frequently, Minor 15pts. Adventurous And Funloving Common, Strong 15pts. Tends to wear 'very' little clothing (harem suit, belly dancing outfit). ;-) Full character background, in case anyone might be intrigued, can be found here: http://www.herogames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1934349&postcount=11

Re: Magic System: Winding I'd really like to see a sample character of your own creation using Winding magic. I started giving it a shot myself but got sidetracked creating an additional power that I thought might fit well for such a spellcaster. "Persistence of Vim". Persistence of Vim 6 Points Real Cost, 14 Points Active. 1PD/1ED Resistant, 3 active points, Does not protect Vs. the first point of body or stun from each separate increment of damage taken [-1/2], Does not work over hit locations covered with any resistant armor (-1), Special effects reveal character's mood (-1/4) One DC of Damage Negation Physical, 5 active points, Does not work over hit locations covered with any resistant armor (-1), Special effects reveal character's mood (-1/4) One DC of Damage Negation Energy, 5 active points, Does not work over hit locations covered with any resistant armor (-1), Special effects reveal character's mood (-1/4) One point of Longevity, Special effects reveal character's mood (-1/4) Description: Persistence of Vim is a persistent effect around the character that mitigates damage, an alternative to wearing armor for a caster of Winding magics. Vim energies swirling about the character reduce the damage that might otherwise harm the character. Constant use of Winding magic has created a small but persistent vortex of Vim energy swirling about and within the character, they are slowly becoming one with the Vim. This interferes with objects near to the character, the more vigorously the object would 'interact' with the character, the more vigorously the Vim reacts. This has little actual effect on normal interaction with objects such as eating or brushing hair, but a weapon or other attack will find it's effect mitigated by the Vim vortex. This Vim is constantly visible, it cannot be turned off, the nature of the visible effect changing upon the mood of the character. The character cannot stop this revealing effect upon their internal state unless they can actually change their internal emotional state (ego roll with appropriate modifiers). Characters in close proximity may experience minor environmental effects from this, depending upon the nature and intensity of the emotions. May be purchased in as many increments as the GM allows with the effects stacking (only the first point of body/stun penetrates the resistant defense, regardless of the levels of Persistence of Vim purchased). Note that five levels of Persistence of Vim means the character has effectively become one with the Vim. They will live for as long as Vim exists in the universe, assuming their physical vessel is not otherwise destroyed (they can still be 'killed, this just means they no longer age). An unconcealable distinctive looks complication is obligatory when purchasing Persistence of Vim (and depending upon the campaigns attitude towards magic users, this could result in other complications). (At the GM's discretion, wearing full plate with the visor down might hide the effect by containing it, but of course the plate would cancel the protective benefit.) If the player has purchased Persistence of Vim after play has started, they get the complication anyway, even though it exceeds the number of complications they are required to have. At their GM's discretion, they could work within the game to justify 'paying off' old complications with the points of the new ones. Actually, I'm thinking of adding grades to this spell effect that would slowly add a few extra effects (mental defenses, extra life support effects) as it climbed in power. By the way, if someone would 'proof' the build of this talent, I'd appreciate it. I used to be a wizard of Hero System, but that was fifteen years ago. My memory from back then is rusty, and my reading of the current rules is so far sparse. A preliminary stab at making this progressive, rather than people simply stacking the first effects: Persistence of Vim (First Level) 6 Points Real Cost, 14 Points Active. -1PD/1ED Resistant, 3 active points, Does not protect Vs. the first point of body or stun from each separate increment of damage taken [-1/2], Does not work over hit locations covered with any resistant armor (-1), Special effects reveal character's mood (-1/4) -One DC of Damage Negation Physical, 5 active points, Does not work over hit locations covered with any resistant armor (-1), Special effects reveal character's mood (-1/4) -One DC of Damage Negation Energy, 5 active points, Does not work over hit locations covered with any resistant armor (-1), Special effects reveal character's mood (-1/4) -One point of Longevity (200 years), 1 active point, Special effects reveal character's mood (-1/4) Persistence of Vim (Second Level) 17 Points Real Cost, 38 Points Active. -2PD/2ED Resistant, 6 active points, Does not protect Vs. the first point of body or stun from each separate increment of damage taken [-1/2], Does not work over hit locations covered with any resistant armor (-1), Special effects reveal character's mood (-1/4) -Two DC of Damage Negation 'Physical', 10 active points, Does not work over hit locations covered with any resistant armor (-1), Special effects reveal character's mood (-1/4) -Two DC of Damage Negation 'Energy', 10 active points, Does not work over hit locations covered with any resistant armor (-1), Special effects reveal character's mood (-1/4) -Two DC of Damage Negation 'Mental', 10 active points, Does not work over hit locations covered with any resistant armor (-1), Special effects reveal character's mood (-1/4) -Two points of Longevity (400 years), 2 active points, Special effects reveal character's mood (-1/4) Persistence of Vim (Third Level) 29 Points Real Cost, 61 Points Active. -3PD/3ED Resistant, 9 active points, Does not protect Vs. the first point of body or stun from each separate increment of damage taken [-1/2], Does not work over hit locations covered with any resistant armor (-1), Special effects reveal character's mood (-1/4) -Three DC of Damage Negation 'Physical', 15 active points, Does not work over hit locations covered with any resistant armor (-1), Special effects reveal character's mood (-1/4) -Three DC of Damage Negation 'Energy', 15 active points, Does not work over hit locations covered with any resistant armor (-1), Special effects reveal character's mood (-1/4) -Three DC of Damage Negation 'Mental', 15 active points, Does not work over hit locations covered with any resistant armor (-1), Special effects reveal character's mood (-1/4) -Three points of Longevity (800 years), 3 active points, Special effects reveal character's mood (-1/4) -Life support: Intense heat and cold, 4 active points, Special effects reveal character's mood (-1/4) Etc... What do you think, should I continue this to level five or six?

Re: A Storeowner's First Impression Up until fifteen years ago, for a period of ten years, I was a manager of the largest sales volume game store in Canada. During my ten years, Hero System sold very well, and we had a vibrant Hero Games community in this city. Then I left the store to pursue other things, and there was no one at the store who championed the Hero System. In fact there was no one at any store who championed the Hero System in this city. The situation today; my city is a wasteland if looking for Hero players. But there are legions of D&D players and all manner of other games being played. No doubt, the single most important element to the success or failure of a game system like Hero is the support of people like the OP, a store manager. We need people working in game stores who know the system, who can 'sell' the system. But I would also 'STRONGLY' caution you all to attend to what a store manager says when he gives you feedback about marketing. Nobody knows how to sell games better than the people whose job it is, to sell games. Yes, there are those of you who mostly purchase online nowadays. I'll bet however than nine out of ten of you did not discover the Hero System online. You found it either through friends, or someone like the OP talking to you about it. Hero ignores his feedback at their (and your) peril.

Re: Disappointment Drat! You've found me out!

Re: Disappointment Drat! You've found me out!

Re: Speeding up combat "Restrict SPDs" is Dead Wrong Ok, that makes a lot of sense. I truly did not read it that way. But it is true, if someone with a low speed is getting bored and tuning out, such that when it is their turn they need to be brought back up to speed, then yes, eliminating speed might help. Honestly though, if someone has tuned out because a couple other people 'extra' gamed a phase, I strongly suspect they would be tuned out in any case simply because 'it wasn't their phase'. I've had very simple combats take an eternity because people weren't 'in the game', and very complex fights with all the options in play, go very fast, because people were paying attention, and knew the rules well enough to actually play without having to ask "What do I need to roll?" I think 'that' is the true key to speed.

In volume 2 of the 6th Ed. Rulebook, on page 53 there is advice on how to speed up combat. And the advice could not possibly be more wrong. "1. Restrict SPDs: The more Actions the participants can take, the longer combats last. Limiting characters to relatively low SPDs (such as a maximum of 4 or 5) can help to speed combats up some." A villain has a certain amount of stun and a certain amount of defense. A given character (or set of them) will need to hit that villain with their attacks X number of times on average in order to do enough damage to bring the villain down. Reducing the speed of the characters does absolutely nothing to reduce X, the number of attacks it takes to bring the villain down. Players still have to play the exact same number of action phases in order to get in X number of attacks. The effect of reducing speed is quite the contrary of what the book says in fact, because if the reduced speed means that the players cannot do enough attacks during the turn, the villain might well get a post segment twelve recovery, meaning it will take X attacks PLUS extra attacks to reduce what the villain gained during the post segment twelve recovery.

Re: Love for Non-Casters? The worm in the Tequila bottle, I expect.

Re: Love for Non-Casters? Hows this for a rule? You can only ever purchase a spell that costs in real points, a number equal to the number of spells you possess. So if you want to buy a spell that costs 15 real points, you have to already know 14 other spells. If you know 15 spells now, want to buy a spell that costs 20 real points, you would have to buy 4 other spells first. Nothing prevents you from making them cheap spells mind you.

Re: 'Hero System' online

Re: Disappointment

Re: Bloodmäter I have in one sitting, read your every installment, and read them much as I would have a fantasy novel. And I've enjoyed it just as much. Thank you ever so much for sharing.

Re: Disappointment No, if I was a troll I would start my own thread. I would not post my disappointment on page seven of an appropriately named thread. And I especially would not fail to attack actual posters if I did. (My disappointment was stated politely, without invective, and I did not attack people.) I would have LOVED to play the Hero System online. I am legitimately very disappointed. I availed myself of this thread to simply say so.

Re: 'Hero System' online I'll bet on the latter. I might even be involved. ;-)

Re: Help with cost of living in 1630's France The earlier editions of Chivalry & Sorcery had fantastic details on precisely what you are asking. I do not know about the later editions. Sadly I no longer own copies. See if you can locate a copy perhaps? Check for more details, as a start anyway: http://index.rpg.net/display-entry.phtml?mainid=1571

Re: 'Hero System' online I am quite perplexed. People would get 'upset' if an online game used some system other than a class/level system with distinct set of predefined abilities? Why would they get 'upset'? They might not play due to increased complexity, but 'upset'? I mean this respectfully. I just utterly fail to understand.

Re: 'Hero System' online Thank you Killer Shrike. I can see where my next few hours are going to be spent. ;-)

I was very excited when I learned that Champions Online existed. I have had a love affair with the Hero System since the very first few months from the first publication of the 1st edition (I still have the books.) I left tabletop gaming fifteen years ago but my interest in the Hero System was rekindled by the thought of being able to play my beloved system online. Imagine my disappointment when I discovered that not one iota of the 'Hero System' exists in Champions Online. Instead it seems to be a Diablo variant writ super hero. This post is a muse and a wonder. Does anyone think, or like me hope, that there will someday be the opportunity to play the 'Hero System' online?