Blue Jogger

Re: D&D vs. FantasyHERO vs. Palladium

This didn't specify if it was unarmed combat or not. If it is' date=' D20 just grinds to a halt trying to figure out how on earth to fight without weapons and surrenders.[/quote']

 

And by surrendering, do you mean it takes enough subduing damage that its surrenders? Or can it surrender volunteeraly?

Re: The cost of killing damage

Ok, had to share. This should have gone in the "best quote of the week", but it was more appropriate here.

Indigo Rhapsody was shaking down a dealer about some super-steroids when some of his clients came to help.

Although they were impressive, they weren't hurting him based on his ability to be desolid or dense and 8 normal dice is nothing to him.

When the battle was nearly over, he got hit (one gunshot) to his "13" by a passing drive-by and he had to call it a draw.

Re: Is Critical Success/Failure on dice mechanics a core rule

For Fantasy Hero, I had optional magic rules where 3 was a critical success (or a normal success if normally a 3 would fail), one could choose between double damage and max damage. 4 and 5 represented a minor bonus (if you would otherwise succeeded).

And on the other end, missing by 5 or more was a lousy failure (side effect was much more damaging rather than just annoying) and missing by 10, or rolling an 18, was a critical failure. This was designed to prevent people from going, well, I have a 5 or less chance...

Re: ~ All Out War~d&d Vs Hero Vs Palladium

You're right, that's from Palladium RIFTS and that's about as fair as pulling some of the weapons from Star Hero and claiming Fantasy Hero is flawed because of it. However, since RIFTS all about crossovers, it's not completely without merit.

However, I guess it depends on what one would do to "win" .

Re: World of Darkness Characters.

Well, the most basic rule in World of Darkness for vampires is blood points (vitae).

As long as a vampire can spend blood points, they are the most impressive thing on the planet save another vampire that can spend even more blood points.

Here's the official WOD wiki:

http://wiki.white-wolf.com/worldofdarkness/index.php/Main_Page

The scary one for spell casting vampires, is how many different paths of Thaumaturgy is he claiming.

http://wiki.white-wolf.com/worldofdarkness/index.php/Thaumaturgy

Re: ~ All Out War~d&d Vs Hero Vs Palladium

Ok, I'll pull out my 1d4 Megadamage pistol from Palladium.

I think I win, as long as I don't fumble, that would be... messy.

1 point of megadamage = 100 points of damage (even though mega is suppose to mean one million).

Re: Whats your view of PC expiry? What's your in-game mortality rate?

I came close one time.

We had a house rule, you could wield as much damage as you wanted to take. The fighters foolishly took 6D6 RKA weapons (great sword, STR minimums, inhuman STR, plus Fatal Blow x2).

After a few combats of, "Splat, that monster's toast", they had a combat with what they thought were orcs, but was really a mental illusion design to attack each other.

The fighters both took each other's 6D6 blow, against 10 resistant defense. Luckily, I did not use hit location, because head shot would have been nearly an instant kill.

They complained bitterly over that one.

Re: Is the term "bastard", gender specific?

A female steward is called a stewardess, a female actor is called actress, therefore, logically, a female bastard would be called a bastardess.

Just being silly, don't mind me.

Re: What rule don't people know?

DCV can only be halved once.

I can't tell you how many characters our group designed based on this rule. It makes for very funky bricks.

This stopped when the GM finally had enough and started using five-shot autofire (+1/2).

Re: Working Up The Spell Create Food & Water

However' date=' having a few variations on the create spell would keep people on their toes....[/quote']

 

Faerie Food and Drink

 

6 :: Faerie Food and Water : 2d6 Minor Transform - (Transformed spoiled, rotting, or filthy food and water into food that appears fresh and edible and fresh water), Concentration (1/2 DCV), No Range, Gestures (both hands, pantomime the blowing or brushing off the "bad parts" of the meal), Extra time - 1min

 

Transformation ends upon contact with stomach acid.

Re: The little wooden boy

Give him a 15 point Physical Limitation: Has the size of a small boy, plus the density of wood. +6" Knockback, floats in water. Weighs 6 to 8 kg, 1 meter tall. By all right, the floats in water isn't giving you anything for free that you aren't paying for with the +6" KB. (The villains are going to knock you around like a little doll).

Or buy 1" Swimming, 0 END, Persistent, only upwards -1/2, Always On -1/2, which is 1 point.

Re: Cool characters you'd never use

Universe man - "Universe man, universe man, size of the entire universe, man."

A simple enough character, has a 0 point physical limitation that he encompasses one of the universes of the multiverse. (Not surprisingly, being that big isn't that much of disadvantage.)

His only power is the ability to "grab" something from another universe (although he didn't have any telescopic or range powers, so his mobile viewpoint was limited to the campaign city) and keep it "safe" within himself. It was easier to this with inanimate matter, but occasionally a lucky roll would allow him to snag something alive.

Universe man was affected by antimatter and other things of a similar nature. Still, the only thing that could truly destroy him was something that could cause realities to collapse.

Re: Post your characters 1001 fantasy characters

Kitten

10 STR 0

13 DEX 9

8 CON -4

8 BODY -4

8 INT -2

8 EGO -4

10 PRE 0

14 COM 2

4 PD 2

4 ED 2

2 SPD 0

8 REC 8

16 END 0

17 STUN 0

8" Run 4

4" Leap 2

Skills

3 +1 Perception

5 Tracking Scent

10 Claws 1/2D6 HKA (1D6+1 w/STR)

12 Combat Luck x2

0 PS: Barmaid 11-

2 KS: Summoning 11- (Only to "Summon" self -1/2)

Disadvantages

15 Social Minority (Summoned Creature)

10 Physical Limitation: Must use Summoning magic to avoid reverting back to the "True Form" of a red panther.

Campaign Use

Kitten is a summoned catgirl transformed from a red panther. However, she has somehow learned her own spell and has managed to use it to maintain her intelligent and humanoid form. (She claims that she has become her own master.) It is commonly believed that summoned creatures have no soul or will and thus lack the ability to use magic, however, somehow Kitten persists.

Re: Working Up The Spell Create Food & Water

There seems to be an interesting dichotomy here.

Those that seem to think of the need of hunger and thirist along the lines of the need to breathe, sleep, and avoid disease. Or another words, annoyances that can be removed through the proper life support.

And those who see food and water as resources and as such should be created and crafted much like everything else magically created (via Transformation out of nothingness).

Which goes back to where this spell fits in the universe.

Is the purpose of creating food and water merely the act of ending hunger and thirst or is it the purpose of creation an experience which not only satisfies the hunger and thirst but does so in a pleasing manner? Leading to the extreme example of summoning animals for the purpose of hunting them down, killing them, preparing them, and consuming them.

Re: Working Up The Spell Create Food & Water

That would be the SFX of a Life Support: Doesn't Have To Eat/Drink with Usable By Others and some kind of time limit. Or Charges.

Hmm... I'm doing this from memory, I don't have my book in front of me.

Create Food and Water

LS: Does not need to Eat or Drink (3 points), Usuable on up to 16 others and self (+1 1/4), 1 Fuel Charge lasting a day (+3/4), (9 Active Points), Incantations (-1/4), Gestures (-1/4), OAF (-1), Extra Time: 1 Turn (-1/2), Physical Manifestion (-1/4)

3 Real Points.

This creates a large banquet meal that will feed up to 17 people (horse counts as 3 people's worth for this spell). Food created by this spell will becomes inedible within 24 hours unless magically preserved.

Re: A cheaper flashlight

Cheaper Flashlight

Images to Sight Group, +2 to PER, (16 Active Points), OAF Fragile (-1 1/2), Only to Create Light (-1), No Range (-1/2), 1 Fuel Charge up to 1 Hour (+0). Total cost 4 Real Points.

Real Cheap Flashlight

Images to Sight Group, +1 to PER, (13 Active Points), OAF Fragile (-1 1/2), Only to Create Light (-1), Extremely small area of illumination (-1), No Range (-1/2), 1 Fuel Charge up to a 5 Minutes (-1/2), Total cost 2 Real Points.

Re: Video Game character abilities

This sounds about right. Usually, this sort of thing is resolved in phases rather than at the DEX level. Usually using Extra Time (Delayed Phase, Extra Segment), limitations on Lighting Reflexes, and the Haymaker manuever.

For low speed games, where everyone is speed 3 or 4 and 5 is fairly rare, this might be useful. For superheroic games, where it is more likely to be, say, 4 to 7, it might be more frustrating...

Bob: "Hey, nobody else goes on this phase, I'll use my Mountain Hewing Strike (-4) and I'll hit on Dex 14."

Betrix: "That's not fair, I can't abort to disrupt with my Fire Burst Spell!"

Bob: "That's not my fault, you could have waited until this phase."

Betrix: "If I could have waited, I would have haymakered my last attack, as it is, I pushed and I'm low on END."

Bob: "Well, that's too bad. I would have liked to go after Boris, but his high DEX and SPD makes hitting very difficult. But maybe Boris will use his action to... Oh wait, he already hit me this phase."

Betrix: "This sucks."

Bob: "MOUNTAIN HEWING STRIKE!!!!"

Then again, phase arthimatics is part of the game.

Re: Opens book at random...

"Do you have Power Defense?"

"Yes"

"Hardened Power Defense?"

"Yes"

"Doubly Hardened Power Defense?"

"Yes, ever since that Double Armor Piercing Soul Attack."

"Hmm.... Is it bought Resistant?"

(Stream of unprintable curses.)

Re: How much XP per 'level'

To make 1st level really work, you need to define 0th level (i.e. peasants, kobolds, etc.) as being even weaker.

So, here's to lowering the bar.

0th level Peasant or Servant

Val	CHA	Cost	Roll	Notes
8/13	STR	-2	11-	Lift 150 kg; 1 1/2d6 HTH Damage [1]
8	DEX	-6	11-	OCV:  3/DCV:  3
8	CON	-4	11-
8	BODY	-4	11-
8	INT	-2	11-	PER Roll 11-
8	EGO	-4	11-	ECV:  3
8	PRE	-2	11-	PRE Attack:  1 1/2d6
8	COM	-1

2	PD	0		Total:  2 PD (0 rPD)
2	ED	0		Total:  2 ED (0 rED)
2	SPD	2		Phases:  6, 12
6	REC	4
16	END	0
16	STUN	0	Total Characteristics Cost:  -19

Cost	Powers & Skills
3	+5 STR, Only to Lift/Carry, No Figured Characterstics
2	KS: Peasant 11-
2	PS: Peasant Farmer 11-

100+	Disadvantages
0	"Curse of being Nameless" - x2 BODY from taking 6 BODY
(or more) in one attack (before defenses).
15	Social Limitation: Peasant (Minority)


Kobolds and other 1/2 HD creatures.

Val	CHA	Cost	Roll	Notes
0/8	STR	-10	9-	Lift 75 kg; 1 1/2d6 HTH Damage [1]
8	DEX	-6	11-	OCV:  3/DCV:  3
5	CON	-10	10-
5	BODY	-10	10-
7	INT	-3	10-	PER Roll 19-
5	EGO	-10	10-	ECV:  2
5	PRE	-5	10-	PRE Attack:  1d6
10	COM	0

1	PD	0		Total:  1 PD (0 rPD)
1	ED	0		Total:  1 ED (0 rED)
2	SPD	2		Phases:  6, 12
6	REC	4
10	END	0
8	STUN	0	Total Characteristics Cost:  -48

Cost	Powers & Skills
6	+8 STR, No Figured Characteristics
-4	Short Legs: -2" Running
-1	Swimming: -1" Swimming
10	Small: +2 DCV
4	Small: +2 to Stealth

100+	Disadvantages
0	"Curse of being 1/2 hit dice" - x2 BODY from taking 3 BODY
(or more) in one attack (before defenses).
15	Physical Limitation: Short

Re: Fantasy Hero Resources page

The downloads works for me, I have Adobe Reader 7.0 and I'm using Microsoft Vista.

Re: 0" Flight?

Cost for minor TK 	   	  w/Fine	Normal	Whole
 5 STR TK (110 lbs) 	  12	  8	  7
 0 STR TK ( 55 lbs) 	   8	  5	  5	 
-5 STR TK ( 28 lbs) 	   6	  4	  4
-10 STR TK ( 14 lbs) 	   5	  3	  3
-15 STR TK (  7 lbs) 	   4	  3	  2
-20 STR TK (  4 lbs) 	   3	  2	  2

I worked out this table for lower than 10 STR TK. This assumed 10 STR minimum, optional +10 points Fine Manipulation, and than a limitation based on the Strength difference (-1 for 10 STR, -2 for 5 STR, -3 for -5 STR, and so on...) It adds another level of complexity, but as a trade off Fine Manipulation gets cheaper (due to the limitation) for each smaller STR. Which made sense to me.

However, the limitation for affecting the whole object becomes moot except in certain rounding cases.

Re: A cheaper flashlight

But for a flashlight I like this...

1 point real cost. Enhanced senses Transmit (sight 2 active cost); OAF -1

 

Now for my question: if it's not a flashlight, what is it?

If you really want to know, it turns your eyes into a device that can transmit information at the speed of spoken word to another device using the same medium (in this case visible light).

"I looked deeply into her eyes, and somehow I just knew.... I was standing on her foot."

Re: What kind of fantasy campaigns do you love?

Oh, of course. When I say I like low lethaltity I absolutely do not mean some kind of License to Be Idiots. I just don't want BlueShield the Paladin to be slain by Lone Emaciated Goblin Without a Name.

 

And on the gritty front, I don't want BlueShield the Paladin to die a week later of tetanus because Lone Emaciated Goblin Without a Name had a rusty dagger

I did have the orc and ..er.. paladin come down with "sand fleas" because they visited the local orc population to... um... prevent the sand orcs from dying out. A little ice magic killed all the fleas and they were fine, but it was the right level of grit. This is easier of the two, because you can always throw out rules on bleeding, impairment and disabling and choose not to have diseases like tetanus or any non-magical fatal disease.

Lethality is harder since it requires more interaction with the players. While you can prevent the cautious paladin from being slain by goblin. A foolish paladin can rush into a higher lethality situation and it is up to the GM to either A) play it as it stands or lower the lethality but not so much that the character wins easily. Unfortuately, your players won't like it if you make it obvious that you nerfed the opponents because the paladin decided to rush into a goblin cave without his shield or weapon and somehow surrived without even a scratch.

Re: How much XP per 'level'

It doesn't work perfectly, but a crude ballpark seems to be 15 points of experience equals a level.

Killer Shrike's site seems to have done alot of research on this and his two pages (one for 2nd edition, and one for 3rd).

www.killershrike.com/FantasyHERO/Conversion2e/Class2e/ADD2e.aspx

http://www.killershrike.com/FantasyHERO/Conversion3e/Conversion3eStep1.aspx

Re: What kind of fantasy campaigns do you love?

Does Hero marry grit and lethality to low power levels' date=' and if it does, how simple is the divorce procedure? [/quote']

 

I don't think it has to be that way. I started the players out with a 25+25. These were die-hard superheroics who howled at playing 75+50 superheroes, but they took it as a challenge and went for it. Especially when I told them that they were still more powerful compared to the average peasant running down the street with 8 in all stats.

 

Now, they did have a magic pool of roughly 10 to 20 active points with a basic 8 or less skill level (with minuses) in doing magic. This was off the character sheet with the caveat that it was "everyman magic", everybody can do a little magic. The amount of spells prepared was INT/3, so most people had 3 spells prepared at one time and wizards with 23 INT had 8.

 

So the grit factor was easily reduced, you had magic to help you as long as you didn't abuse it. Although some chose to use their points to create magic items that were more reliable, and I had no problem with that.

 

 

The lethality factor was much harder to divorce. Many players expect an almost god-given right to slay anyone who so much as look at them crossed eyed. This has been a very difficult balance, I do make sure that there are "targets of opportunity" who exist for the sole purpose of weapon's practice. On the other hand, if they start causing major trouble for a city, they know that they can't stay in that city for very long.

 

One character (a bearman) almost died in a duel against a samurai. The samurai had clearly lost and the character did the honorable thing and ask for his surrender. Unfortuately, the samurai's anger was too much (failed an ego roll) and did a very dishonorable, one last attempt with surprise and got one very lethal blow in. However, the bearman was not alone and the samurai was quickly downed.

 

The healer rolled an 18, and killed the samurai. Accidentally removing the life-magic that was allowing him to take over 100

STUN from a great sword wielded by a 25+ STR bear with 2 levels of Deadly Blow.

 

Luckily, the healer stablized the bearman, but the player complained bitterly that the samurai was wielding a magic sword that did the same damage that he did. The rest of the party loved it, since it represented a whole subplot of trying to keep the bear from being killed for slaying a samurai.

 

 

In summary, grit, easy to divorce, just don't sweat the small stuff and even low point characters can have a basically grit-free life.

 

Lethality, well... some characters serve as a warning to others.