tancred

Re: Knowledge Skills in the Future Interesting thoughts, Labrat. I haven't looked at the Ultimate Skills threads in detail, so I don't know if this is addressed there or not. But your comments fit quite well with my own experience. Back when I worked at Microsoft, one of the concepts drummed into us was that you don't have to memorize everything to be an expert, you just have to know how to find the information you need. This has become even more true now that I've moved into programming. I actually answered several questions during the interview for my current job by stating that the information asked was something that I didn't remember off the top of my head, but could find in Help. So I tend to agree with you that specific, detailed knowledge of specific topics seems to be being replaced (or at least supplemented) by the ability to acquire information as needed.

Re: A couple Questions from a (semi) old herophile Buy HD v3 as soon as possible. It's improved over v2, not least being that it's faster and that it's constantly having new things added. (Just look at the list of updates on the Hero Designer site already linked to.) It's actually cheaper than the older versions, and you are guaranteed to get updates as they come out for 2 years from the day you buy it. Absolutely indispensable if you want to run a Hero game in any genre.

Steve, the old goblin has read 5ER 290, and still just doesn't get it. As I understand it, any time you activate an Instant Power, you have to use all the Limitations that apply to that Power, e.g., Gestures, Incantations, Extra Time, or whatever. So for example, if the Power has Requires a Skill Roll, you have to make that Skill Roll every single time you use the Power. That in turn implies that you have to take the Extra Time every single time you use the Power. If that's correct, then I just can't see how Only To Activate applies to Extra Time for Instant Powers. Only to Activate implies that there's some other time that the power uses (such as maintaining a Constant Power). But because it's an Instant Power we're talking about, there is no maintenance time. Or anything else I can see that wouldn't be activation time.

Steve, I've looked at the rulebook and the FAQ, but didn't find an answer to this question there. Is Extra Time, Only To Activate available/appropriate for Instant Powers? The name "Only To Activate" seems to imply that it is specifically for Constant or Persistent Powers, not for Instant Powers. It seems counter-intuitive for a Power that doesn't have to be maintained in any way (Aid, Dispel, or Energy Blast, for example) to have this option. What prompts the question is that Hero Designer allows you to choose this option for Instant Powers. When I asked Dan about it, he said he wasn't aware of any rules restricting it. Thus this becomes a Steve question.

Re: Sonic Screwdrivers Didn't the Doctor, in the episode "Dalek," mention something about fleets being wiped out in a tremendous battle between the Time Lords and the Daleks? (Or was that only the Dalek fleet he mentioned?) As well as saying that his home world had been destroyed?

The Science Fiction Book Club has just released all (or most) of the John Grimes novels and short stories in a six-volume set. I've been re-reading these; hadn't seen them for years. Has anyone done or seen a writeup of the universe, or any game conversions of it? I'd particularly like to find a map showing all the planets and political entities, if such a thing exists.

Re: Question about Star Hero I REALLY had to bite my tongue not to make a comment to that effect. But I figured it would just sound snippy. And who needs a snippy goblin?

Re: Question about Star Hero As for science fiction settings, Hero also has Alien Wars. This setting takes place the century before Terran Empire begins, and is ideal for a military SF game. If you're looking to use an existing setting (Star Trek, Traveller, or some such), be sure to check out starherofandom.com; lots of conversion info there.

Re: Clever use of illusion spell My proudest use of illusion ever wasn't even in combat. Not really. Playing second edition D&D, we had a barbarian PC in the party, and he'd gone berserk during the immediately previous combat, when we'd fought giant scorpions. He failed to break out of it, and was about to attack one of our party, who couldn't take a lot of damage. Thinking quickly, I cast my illusion and re-animated one of the giant scorpions. The barbarian failed his saving throw and promptly started fighting the scorpion. Another player (not the sharpest knife in the drawer) fired an arrow in his direction, for a reason I can no longer recall. When the arrow hit the barbarian, and he was about to turn and attack the archer, I had the scorpion sting him in the exact spot the arrow struck him. Long story short, I managed to keep the barbarian swinging at illusions until his berserk finally wore off. Most creative use of an illusion I ever pulled off.

Re: Post-Apocolyptic Hero Setting Edsel, that sounds like it would have been a fun game. Another good variant on that PA setting would be John Ringo's War Against the Posleen book series (A Hymn Before Battle, Gust Front, etc.). The Posleen are an alien carnivorous race who invade Earth and kill off around 80% of the Earth's population before they are stopped. Having your Morrow Project teams wake up after that invasion would provide an excellent PA campaign.

Re: post-apocalyptic genre book Well, phooey. So now I have to come up with a new name for the campaign I'm running, while still trying to get it written into a sourcebook. Guess I better get cracking, then.

Re: BSG Hero Update This is truly awesome work, Patriot. I eagerly await further updates. I've wanted to run a BSG Hero game for years, and now you've provided the means. 2 questions for you: 1. Do you have / would you be willing to post hdc files for the ships you have written up? 2. Have you written up any of the characters from the series (in Hero terms)?

Re: post-apocalyptic genre book

Re: Character: Paksenarrion Dorthansdotter (SPOILERS!!!) That's the way to go. It's definitely better than just the flat high PRE (which I had doubts about even as I suggested it). She could inspire and lead anybody when she worked at it.

Re: Character: Paksenarrion Dorthansdotter (SPOILERS!!!) Very good writeups indeed. The only possible quibble I can see would be her PRE on the 3rd sheet. I'd consider giving her a 30 PRE, or perhaps more, possibly as a power. She commanded the people of that little village, after escaping from the priests of Liart; inspired them to follow her into battle even though they weren't trained. And didn't she take command of troops during the final battle in the book? That might be too much, though. I'd have to think about it some more. BTW, there is (at last) a hardback edition of The Deed. I'm considering replacing my nearly worn-out paperbacks, despite the cost.

Re: Stats for Paksenarrion? This looks really good to me. You have captured Paks quite well. I think Divine Favor (the Talent from Fantasy Hero) would be appropriate for her too, or perhaps in place of one of the abilities you've suggested. Gird does seem to be looking out for her, even during the first book. Nice job; one of my favorite characters of all time. BTW, if you've never read the Deed before, the 3rd book has a moderately graphic torture scene. But it also has one of my favorite lines of all time, when Paks says "Paladins show that courage is possible."

Re: Monte Cook's Arcana Evolved One of the mundane magic items I worked up, without having thought about the consequences first, was the Magic Icebox (and its companion, the Magic, No-Flame Stove) . The Icebox costs 3 Real Points, which struck me as something that could possibly be affordable, at least by the well-off. Then I got to thinking about the consequences. If you read anything at all about the Napoleonic era, one of the things that strikes you is how absolutely miserable conditions were for soldiers and especially sailors. But now, with the magic icebox, (relatively) fresh food (or at least food that isn't full of maggots), whenever you want it. And with the No-Flame Magic Stove you can cook on a wooden ship, even in bad weather. Then I invented another magic item, the Bug Zapper (1 Real Point). Suddenly, anyone who can afford any magic at all can have a room permanently free of vermin. Strikes me that both of those would have long-term social consequences.

Re: post-apocalyptic genre book I started to suggest that you may have missed one, but the one I have in mind is a combination of Microbiotic Doom, Scientific Doom, and Unrestricted Warfare. Specifically, what I had in mind is the plot of Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six. If you don't know what I'm talking about, run, don't walk, to the library and check it out. That plot gives me so many ideas.

Re: Paladins, take 2 Bill, add one more line here: [shameless Steal] A Paladin shows that Courage is possible. [/shameless Steal] (Thank you, Elizabeth Moon and Paksennarion.)

Re: fear-ability Several creatures have "Offensive" PRE, that is PRE that is only used for making Presence Attacks, but doesn't help defend against one. I also notice that the published Skeleton has this "Physical Limitation: Affected By Necromancy (has EGO 20 for purposes of necromancy spells, and can be affected by necromancy-based Presence Attacks Infrequently, Greatly Impairing" Hope that helps. Edit: There are also some Templates in the Bestiary that apply: Battle-Trained has: Combat-Acclimated: +3 PRE (3 Active Points); Only To Protect Against Presence Attacks (-1) and Ferocious has: Terrifying Appearance: +5 PRE (5 Active Points); Only To Make Or Resist Presence Attacks (-¼) Total cost 14 points.

Re: post-apocalyptic genre book I would definitely purchase Post-Apocalypse Hero, as soon after it came out as possible. Of course, I would really like to have had it BEFORE I started the post-apocalypse game I'm running. On the other hand, the game is going so well that I'm actually writing up the background for the game in a systematic way. If I can discipline myself to keep working on it, maybe I can get it submitted before Steve writes PAH.

Re: Fantasy Cliches There were several Dancing Gods novels. And ALL of them have quotes from the rules. Nearly all of the quotes are funny, and belong in this thread.

Re: Alien Invasion I once ran a short "invasion" arc in my old The Fantasy Trip campaign. A group of lost Travellers (yes, Traveller characters from our other campaign) crash-landed on Cidri (the world of The Fantasy Trip). Technology didn't work on Cidri (because the Ancients constructed it that way), so their starship couldn't take off once it landed. Unfortunately, their technology began shorting out magic all over the known world, so the PCs had to find out what was causing the problem. The fun part was trying to figure out how to launch the starship once they discovered that it was the source of the problem (round up every wizard in the known world, and have them all cast Telekinesis). It was only good for 2 or 3 sessions, but it was only intended as a slightly-humorous break from our regular game anyway.

Re: Ninja / Martial arts questions I also own the original Ninja Hero, but not the current edition. I haven't bought the new one simply because we aren't running a game where it would be as useful. I did, however, buy UMA right after it appeared, and it's still my most-used Hero book (even more than the 5th Edition rule book). UMA is extremely useful for any genre you might want to run. It's seeing a lot of use in my current Post-Apocalyptic HERO game, and it will continue to get used when we switch over to Fantasy (the other GM in our group) in a few months. If you have to choose, absolutely pick up UMA.

Re: Valdorian Age at 1/2 Price -- should I buy it? I'd pick it up myself at half price, if I hadn't already bought it at full price at my FLGS. The magic system is very cool. It appears to do a very good job of reproducing the feel of swords and sorcery. I will probably run a short campaign of VA in the (not-too-near) future, just to be able to try out the sorcery system. At half price, it is in my opinion quite the steal.