Michael Hopcroft

Should I consder buying a VPP for a wizard character in FH to reflect the vast number of (relatively) minor spells he knows? If the same limitations apply to all the spells in the VPP (gestures and incantations, Extra Tinme perhaps) this could theoretically create a very flexible mage, particulaly if he can change powers every minute or so. The one problem I forsee is that it would be a very expensive way to construct a mage, especially if you aloso want him to have a few specific, more powerful spells.

Meeting my Waterloo It would be very interesting to see someone simulate Waterloo or Gettysburg with these rules. In a sanse, musketteers are just like archers ion that they can attack ar range, and adding cannons, exploding shells, and cavalry charges to the mix could result in quite an intriguing battle.

Armor vs. arrows IIRC my hisotry, the reason the English won at Agincourt was because their archery was so deadly. The French came in their heavy armor on their heavily armored horses, got stuck in the mud instead of charging with speed, and were easy pickings form the longbowmen whose arrows were fast and deadly enough to penetrate the plate -- and they were flying at the enemy at the rate of several hundred a minute. The flower of French chivalry never stood a chance. How can this be applied to smaller-scale fantasy combat? Remember that the archer can strike first and that arrows, especially from longbows or composit bows, hit hard. There's no way to make arrow-proof armor in the long run. And in the real worl, people never wore plate armor unless they expected to be in a fight right that very moment -- it was too uncomfortable and hard to put on to wear under any other circumstances (although you can put on a suit oif plate by yourself, it's a lot easier to have your squire strap it on for you). For travel, even in wartime, the knight usually wore some sort of lighter -- and more penetrable -- armor. If you can attack your enemy when he doesn't expect it, you have an enormous advantage. the reserve is also true. And if the enemy knows you have a habit of slitting the throats of unconscious foes, they might just do the same to you. If you're helpless, and someone does something obviously fatal to you, it doesn;'t matter how much STUN or BODY you have left -- you're dead.

This is going to sound like a very off-the-wall question, but what sorts of martial arts can a halfling learn? I know Tolkien hobbits scorned martial pursuits, but halflings in the campaign world I am imagining are more involved in the world and do not foolishly scorn the need for self-defense. However, what can bodies that small be trained to do in the way of disdging physical attacks, striking opponents (I doubt they can be trained to leap very high or far, so flying kicks are right out!) or using melee weapons?

I got my FLGS' last copy I got my FLGS' last copy myself. I'm kind fo worried about how long it may take them to get more. FH is evidently a hugely popular book.

I wouldn't want to put these in the hands of starting PCs, but how does one go about desinging a really massive spell within the confines of FH? In the past, I ocne started a thread about building a spell designed to skill a dragon with one shot. What if this spell also did massive collateral damage? Likewise, in the 4th edition version of Fantasy Hero, there was a section about genres in which lone wizards can take on an army and win. Do that he would need a truly massive spell -- something that would destory a large enough chunk of the army with one shot that the rest would break ranks and flee rather than face it again. They don't have to know that it was a one-shot spell that the wizard will never be able to cast again.... Likewise I can imagine building a spell that does massive damage, enough to destory a God, but has such devastating Side Effects that it can only be cast as a very last resort. An example would be a spell that ages the caster fifty years, causes massive collateral damage on an almost unimaginable scale, or even causes the entire world to explode if miscast. Finally, what kind of spells do Gods cast themselves?

What a massive, crunchy book What amsssive book "Fantasy HERO" is. Just skimming through ti took me half an hour. I haven't even tried doing anything crunchy with it -- that could take hours. I know that Hero has plans to release settings books next, but there are sopme things I could use like a whole boatload of packaged spells and magic items to make it easier to create characters that use them.

What is the URL to rejoin the Hero System e-mail mailing list, and are there other Hero-based mailing lists with more specific focuses (like Star HERO, Fantasy HERO, or so forth?)

I wouldn't be so sure about that In the episode I've seen her siblings mainly tried to keep her out of harm's way, so it's kind of hard to tell from what I've seen what her capabilities are.But she isn't particularly gloomy (she enjoys good food and drink, for example, and complains loudly when she doesn't get it) or apathetic (she is bound and determined NOT to destroy the world, but at the same time euqally determined to live for those who care about her). All the while, aside from her two adopted siblings, everyone else treats her in the curelest way imaginable. The episode I saw was obviously not the first time she has ben told things like "Your very existence is a sin!" and "You are poison to this world!" by people determined to snuff out her life (the only way they can see to prevent the prophecy from coming true). She must have a few dice of Luck to have survived infancy (her real, royal parents abandoned her to her fate so quickly they didn't even bother to name her) and growing up.

How would you model a character who is the subject of a terrible prophecy, and consequently is being hunted down by almost everybody on the planet? The new swords-and-sorcery anime Scrapped Princess features as its heroine the young girl who is, according to almost eveeryone, destined to destroy the world on her sixteenth birthday. Everyone knows about the prophecy, and ALMOST everyone wants to kill her because of it. Her only protectors are her two adopted siblings (her royal parents abandoned her to her fate so fast they didn;t even give her a name). She is not an evil person and does not want to see the world destoryed. Now the prohpecy does not say HOW she will destory the world, just that she will. Putting the poor girl into an almost unbearable moral dilemma that challenges her compassion, her conscience, and her very will to live. Can such a character be written up in HERO terms?

Why I came up with it Let's just say i was in an especially bad mood at that particular moment. I remember seeing issues of Tiger-Man posted on my high school library wall, but never reads the comic. I have no idea who published it and somehow it didn't strike me as being reading-worthy to any particular degree.

How difficult is it to Mind Control someone into killing themselves or doing something equally self-destructive (like carrying a bomb or a deadly plague onto a subway train for you)? This would be a truly nasty ability for a villain of terroristic or sadistic bent. I also wonder how you can build a device (Focus) to the effect of "Look into this gem and you will be automatically compelled to kill yourself immediately". This could also make for a villain so foridable that he cannot be defeated -- he can literally kill anyone he wants to with full legal impunity, and any superhero who attempted to stop him would be dispatched with their own powers!

I'm not going to tell you. So there. PLUH! (The sound of a man sticking out his tounge....)

Has anyone ever run a fantasy campaign in which none of the PCs can use magic? Maybe magic is a closely-guarded secret that none of the PCs got in on. Maybe magic is forbidden or inherently corrupting, and only villains use it. IN any event, how does that change the game?

Steve will probably have a few answers to these questions, but I thought I'd get a few opinions. What, in your opinion, is the best way to build a heroic-level mage in the Hero System 5? Some possibilities that come to mind: 1. Take a VPP and have the player pre-generate a spellbook with as many spells as he likes. This would create a versatile but less powerful mage, as the control cost could mean he couldn;t cast excessively potent spells. 2. Buy the mage's powers as a Multipower with ultra slots for each spell, for the character who knows a small-to-moderate number of powerful spells. This might be a good combination for battle mages. 3. Build and buy each spell as an individual power. The character either knows only a few spells or can do nothing else but cast spells. To get a decent variety, each spell would need to have massive amounts of limitations stacked onto it. Is there some other option I'm not considering?

On one of the other boards I frequent the subject of Escaflowne has come up. I was wondering if anyone had thought of using that series (which I have always found extremely depressing for some unknown reason) as the basis for a HERO campaign.

Any progress? Has anyone made any progress on modeling any of the Gundam mecha and characters?

I'd like to see what people think of this character. The Greyhound Player: Michael Hopcroft Val Char Cost 18 STR 8 23 DEX 39 15 CON 10 13 BODY 6 15 INT 5 13 EGO 6 18 PRE 8 18 COM 4 12 PD 8 10 ED 7 7 SPD 37 15 REC 16 80 END 25 30 STUN 0 46" RUN02" SWIM03 1/2" LEAP0Characteristics Cost: 179 Cost Power END 71 Running +40" (Improved Noncombat Movement (x4)), Combat Acceleration/Deceleration (+1/4) (106 Active Points); Increased Endurance Cost (2x END; -1/2) (added to Primary Value) 22 27 Desolidification : Only while running (40 Active Points); Conditional Power (Power does not work in Common Circumstances; -1/2) 4 Powers Cost: 98 Cost Martial Arts Maneuver Speedster Martial Arts 5 1) Flying Dodge: 1/2 Phase, -- OCV, +4 DCV, Dodge All Attacks, Abort; FMove 5 2) Flying Grab: 1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, -1 DCV, Grab Two Limbs, +10 STR for holding on; FMove 5 3) Passing Disarm: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, -1 DCV, Disarm, +10 STR to Disarm roll; FMove 5 4) Passing Strike: 1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, +0 DCV, STR +v/5; FMove 5 5) Passing Throw: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +0 DCV, STR +v/5; Target Falls; FMove 5 6) Rapid Strike: 1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, +1 DCV, STR +4d6 Strike Martial Arts Cost: 30 Cost Skill 3 Bureaucratics 13- 3 Criminology 12- 3 Deduction 12- 3 Forensic Medicine 12- 6 Gambling (Card Games) 14- 3 Oratory 13- 3 Seduction 13- 3 Sleight Of Hand 14- 3 Stealth 14- 3 Streetwise 13- 2 TF: Common Motorized Ground Vehicles Skills Cost: 35 Cost Perk 4 Contact: Police Commissioner (11-) (Contact has access to major institutions, Contact has significant Contacts of his own, Contact limited by identity, Good relationship with Contact) 2 Fringe Benefit (Local Police Powers) 2 Fringe Benefit (Concealed Weapon Permit (where appropriate)) Perks Cost: 8 Total Character Cost: 350 Val Disadvantages 25 Dependent NPC: Sgt. John Casey, Normal, 14- (Frequently), Unaware of character's adventuring career/Secret ID 15 Hunted: VIPER, As Powerful, 8- (Occasionally), Harshly Punish, Extensive Non-Combat Influence 20 Hunted: The Mob, As Powerful, 8- (Occasionally), Harshly Punish, Extensive Non-Combat Influence, PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find, Custom Adder 20 Psychological Limitation: Code Against Killing, Very Common, Strong 20 Psychological Limitation: Sense of duty to Police Officers, Very Common, Strong 20 Social Limitation: Police duties take substantial portion of free time, Very Frequently (14-), Major 15 Social Limitation: Secret Identity, Frequently (11-), Major 5 Unluck: +1d6 10 Vulnerability: Drains, Uncommon, Vulnerability Multiplier (2x Effect) Disadvantage Points: 150 Base Points: 200 Experience Required: 0 Total Experience Available: 0 Experience Unspent: 0

I don't know if there are ANY places on earth (or in any fantasy world, for that matter) where plants cannot grow. People grow plants in tall buildings with concrete floors all the time. A better limitation for a druid would be "Not outside forests". He needs a full, living forest around him to be able to cast his spells. Definitely a -1/2 at least; druids with enemies venture into cities at their peril, and dungeons are out of the question.

I was wondering what people had to say about trying to run Rebellion-era Terran Empire campaigns in the age of Sigismund and the period with the Epire teetering on collapse. I always wondered why the Torgons of Xenovores didn;t sieze on the oppotunity to wipe out those pesky humans and take all their worlds while they were fighting among themselves....

Newspapers are so 20th Century. I bet we won;t even have them in 25 years except as online equivalents. Now a web designer -- THERE'S an occupation for a superhero. Especially if he's a freelancer -- nobody cares what he does during the day, or at night, as long as he keeps on making his deadlines.

I remember talking with Mr. Tucholka And he was pretty PO'd with the studio that released Stargate. He felt at the time it was a blatant ripoff of Fringeworthy and felt they should have asked him, at the very least, before making the film. I don't know how he feels about the TV series, which is VERY much like Fringeworthy. I personally would love to see new editions of the classic Tri-Tac games, with updated mechanics, sample characters, and new art and production values. Only lack of funds has kept me from buying a copy of Incursion, which would have made one of the greatest Science Fiction TV series of all time. I can see the intro now. "Eight men and women from Earth, the present day. They were abducted to be sold as slaves on the galactic market, but have broken their bonds and now control a starship like no other. Relative position of Eearth: UNKNOWN...." and then the theme music begins. That would rock in a way no Trek clone ever could!

Ouch. And I can see why you would be. Getting back to teran Empire -- I've ordered my copy by Internet and am waiting for it to come by whatever means it comes. Hopefully it'll show up in my PMB during my trip. I hope the Terran empire book didn't fall into "there was only one emperor -- he just happens to be immortal/keeps on cloning himself/etc." trap.

Fifth Rules EDition. There is a great deal of controversy among Hero circles on whether you should call the main Hero System Rulebook FRED. Some people claim it's somehow disrespectful. Others say it's a cute little acronym and very memorable. I personally fall into the altter camp. Now all we need is to figure out a book to call BARNEY and we'll be all set....

Why? Lina's a genius who always has the right spell -- she just has a ton of Psych Lims that hapmer her behavior and a very nasty Enraged. Gaurry may not be the smartest tool in the shed (and who wants smart tools?) but he sure does know how to use a sword and his Perceptive abilities are uncanny. Amelia would probably rank pretty high on the smarts table -- comeday she's going to run a COUNTRY, for crying out loud.