TheRealVector

On 5/26/2018 at 10:57 PM, Roth said:

@therealvector :  What kind of  costs did you apply to the SPECIAL Stats and did the characters all get 1 to start in all stats?  Looks like an interesting adaptation.

I gave my players 40 "points" to distribute (just like when starting a character in Fallout: New Vegas) among their seven S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats. For this purpose, the actual Hero System character points were irrelevant. So far it's worked out very well.

On 5/5/2018 at 1:18 AM, HaukeaCanada said:

Added: Realized that adding the various drugs to Hero will be immensely difficult, as I can't find any solid rules for addiction, et al. House rules here I come...

I just used the Side Effect limitation to cover the addiction chance. Psycho for example:

Psycho:  +3 CSL Only To Add DCs With All Attacks, Usable By Other (+1/2), Recipient must be within Limited Range of the Grantor for power to be granted; 1 Continuing Charge lasting 1 Turn (-1 1/4), OAF (-1), Gestures (-1/4), Side Effects (Side Effect only affects the recipient of the benefits of the Power, Side Effect occurs when character stops using power; 20% Chance Of Psycho Addiction (-3 EN & -3 PE); Removed by more Psycho use, Fixer drug, or application of appropriate medical skills -0) plus Cannot Be Stunned

23 minutes ago, Pyre-Archer said:

Did you have any problems mapping the SPECIAL stats into the Hero system?

This chart shows how I handled stats. My choices might not fit everyone's style, but it has been working very well in our game.

12 minutes ago, Pyre-Archer said:

And what did you do for Luck?

I made Luck (LK) it's own stat, so my Fallout characters lose EGO (no real use in Fallout, just use Intelligence and/or Perception depending upon the exact nature of a mental attack) but gain a Luck stat. Also, players gain Luck or Unluck depending upon their Luck stat.

1 Luck = 3d6 Unluck

2 Luck = 2d6 Unluck

3 Luck = 1d6 Unluck

4 Luck = None

5 Luck = None

6 Luck = None

7 Luck = 1d6 Luck

8 Luck = 2d6 Luck

9 Luck = 3d6 Luck

10 Luck = 4d6 Luck

4 minutes ago, Pyre-Archer said:

I’d love to see a character sheet!

Here is a word file of one of the player's character sheet. Once the basics of the conversion is has been explained to the players, the idea is for the character sheet to just present useful info without the need for the player to convert anything. So, for example, all stats are expressed as S.P.E.C.I.A.L.

EZEKIEL MOREAU.docx

Nice to see that I wasn't the only one interested in running a Fallout game. I love the flexibility of the Hero System, and knew that was the way to go when I got the idea. I've been running a Fallout game set in the New Vegas setting for some time now. There was a good bit of work to get it off the ground. So far, I've been able to create  all the Fallout Weapons in the Hero System. Also, I've imported nearly all the Perks, and have created several new ones along the way.

Have you gotten you're game up and running? How are you're players liking it so far?

I've had an unconventional approach to adapting Fallout to the Hero System rules. What I've done, to "simulate" the experience of playing the video games, is adapt the rules to the Fallout universe where possible.

For example, my players have S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats, skills organized into the FO categories, and get to choose a Perk every two levels. Adapting a level mechanic to the Hero rules was easy, and has worked well so far. Like the video game, it's a very skill and equipment based campaign. The only 'powers' are found within the Perks.

Fire up FO3, New Vegas, or FO4, along with the creation kit, console command 'free camera' plus 'screen print' and I have endless tokens and tactical maps for roll20. Extract the sound files straight from the pc game files, and I have tons of authentic sounds for use in Syrinscape.

The game has been a blast so far!   

Re: Istvatha V'han - why can't she conquer Earth?

Istvatha V'han - why can't she conquer Earth?

Because of me, Vector, baby!

I've got the Overconfident disadvantage so I can say that.

Re: Information for HERO/Champions Fans About The Champions Online MMO

Congratulations are in order!! This sounds like a good move for the company.

Since I never actually use the Champions setting it won't affect my game all that much.

Re: What Are You Listening To Right Now?

Futile pleas for help...from the basement.

Re: Istvatha V'han - why can't she conquer Earth?

Umm... I have a question...

 

If she can only bring ships through one at a time... why the heck did she come into orbit, then start bringing them through? For pity's sake... hang out somewhere far enough away (among the asteroids, perhaps?) where she's not likely to be easily detected, bring through a few hundred or a few thousand ships, and move them en masse to Earth!

Uh, because then the heroes would be defeated, the Earth enslaved and the campaign would be over?

See where your Vulcan logic has taken us! Are you happy now?

Re: Istvatha V'han - why can't she conquer Earth?

Why? Cause that's where Vector keeps all his stuff, that's why!

Re: First Impressions of Traveller Hero

But is there a good chance my character dies during the creation process?

If not then it's not true Traveller! LOL

Re: Is "Hollywood-style" decompression accurate?

Of course' date=' accurate tends to be cinematically boring.[/quote']

 

Won't argue with that!

 

And for the record Total Recall is awesome! Arnie at the top of his over the top game!

Re: Is "Hollywood-style" decompression accurate?

Also, to save future time and effort, if anyone is thinking of asking "Is 'Hollywood-style' (fill in the blank) accurate?" here's the answer...

NO.

Re: Is "Hollywood-style" decompression accurate?

I loved the 'Eyes balooning up to the size of grapefruit' bit in Total Recall myself. Followed by them shrinking back down to normal size with the return of pressure' date=' [i']and everyone being apparently perfectly OK then[/i]!

 

That, and the rapidity with which the air-generator gave mars a near-earth pressure atmosphere in 15 seconds, is what tipped be towards the 'Its all a computer game' side, rather than the 'its real' side. Of course, it could just be abysmal science on the part of the writers and it -was- supposed to be real.

I've always come down on the side that it was all just his awesome vacation memories.

When they are prepping Arnold for his "trip" in the Recall office the final woman displayed on the video monitor during his sexual preference quiz is the actress who plays the Mars prostitute/rebel.

And the young assistant even looks at some computer discs and mumbles to himself, "blue sky on Mars, hmm."

That added to all the scientific imposibilities has always made me think it was all just a wild memory implant.

Re: Dumbest thing...

Is there a reason to list individual females, as opposed to E84's more accurate "anyone with boobs"?

 

Boobs are, in Hero terms, a big VPP. Well, two big VPPs, the point values of each apparently being higher as cup size grows.

I think this also works in RPGs for many GMs.

Re: Hulk vs Superman

If he actually breathed in the gas it could potentially affect him until his system purged it. But Hulk can hold his breath for... well, pretty much as long as he wants it seems.

 

He's swam with whales and had combat in deep space.

Thanks for the info. Sounds like a wee bit of retcon, but not too much a stretch I guess.

Re: Hulk vs Superman

Unless Superman has been as badly mooked as Firelord in the infameous Spiderman vs Firelord battle, Superman and Hulk trade punches for a page or two, then Kal-El grabs Hulk and flies straight up.

 

Who has life support?

Both of them

Whoah! I haven't read Hulk in years (been enjoying my Hulk DVD with all issues up to 2004, just finished 1969) but the Hulk has always had a weakness to gas attacks and has passed out on a number of occasions after finding himself in the upper atmosphere (with heat/cold, radiation, vacuum not being the problem).

Did they retcon something while I was away?

As for Superman, if he was one of my players I would kick the crap out of his munchkin ass here in the real world, but that's a whole other (several in fact) thread.

Re: Hulk vs Superman

In theory, these two shouldn't have to fight, but why should that stop it?

 

Superman should win, hands down. However, the Hulk (like Wolverine) has gone down the path of MarySue-ism. I first recall this happening when the Hulk fought Wolverine. The writers "suddenly" realized that the Hulk would lose as soon as Wolverine dug his claws into the Hulk, thus they gave the Hulk regeneration. If the Hulk is now punching asteroids to smithereens and surviving planet-destroying bombs, it's just snowballed from there.

I think the Hulk vs. Wolverine battle you refer to is back in the Hulk's "Grey Hulk/Mr. Fixit" days. That version was much weaker than the traditional green Hulk. The traditional green goliath was often described as the "mightiest mortal on the planet". That just might have been Stan's usual hyperbole, but I think he meant it.

As I recall the Hulk and Wolverine's very first encounter, in the comic that introduced Wolverine, Logan was unable to penetrate the green Hulk's skin at all. The Hulk was drawn with simple dark lines arcross his skin to represent where Wolverine struck. Kinda like the red marks I might leave across my arm if I scratched it.

Re: When GMs Rewrite the rules

The Hero system rulebook is an awesome value.

In addition to containing one of the best roleplaying systems it is also heavy and sturdy enough to be used as a bludgeon against bad GMs.

Re: Where have all the Superheroes gone?

[/font]

 

One of the factors that defines the "Bronze Age" from the earlier periods was a willingness to address social issues and consequences.

 

I don't know. It seems to me that the kinds of fears I mentioned in my OP are what is driving the renewed popularity of Post-Apocolyptic gaming.

(http://nodwick.humor.gamespy.com/ffn/index.php?date=2007-06-20)

 

But, one might correctly point out, that the sub-genre is not new, so we have been to this place "culturally" before.

It seems every generation thinks they're living in the "end of times" and it's never been worse.

On some level the comic industry/talent/audience did grow up and realize the superhero genre is inherently silly. So are a lot of wonderfully fun genres!

Just try to grab a little optimism in your real life and pull on the old thights and cape in your game and have fun!

Or do gritty Post-Apocolyptic gaming or anything in between.

On a slightly related note I'm looking forward to the next Fallout PC game.

Re: How to kill characters?

Would that even kick in at short range?

Well, I don't claim to be a rules guru like some around here, but your knockback can't be megascaled until you actually get some, and you've got no chance of inflicting knockback on an opponent until you hit them with your punch, and punches are usually short ranged.

I've got a couple of block busting brick villains with special haymakers that do megascaled knockback. I run it just like a regualar haymaker attack and if knockback is generated then I read every hex of knockback as 1 kilometer instead of two meters.

I've seen megascaled knockback listed in the UNTIL powers book and the Ultimate Brick so they're legit if the GM will allow it.

Now when it's apropriate to use it is another question.

Re: How to kill characters?

Megascale? I thought megascale was uselessly inaccurate at close range.

I believe he means Megascale knockback.

Re: Help With Avoiding Cliches...

The chemicals found in the possession of a rambling nutcase who was found wandering naked and steaming in the middle of a thunderstorm. He's still a babbling loon in a research facility somewhere. He was clutching a gristly organic pod in which several pustulent cysts gleamed and throbbed and was of unquestioningly alien origin. The liquid in the cysts was analysed and found to be an incredibly powerful genetic mutagen and early tests showed that the substance was likely to have an enhancing effect on human subjects. Given that the substance was in such short supply and impossible to replicate these dodgy boffins decided to covertly administer it to live subjects rather than 'waste' it on endless safety trials on petri dishes and guinea pigs (there are already too many superpowered guinea pigs rampaging around blasting each other with radioactive dung).

 

No doubt through the course of the campaign the PCs can find out about this and maybe even get to meet the babbling loon incarcerated in the research facility.

 

The complications then start to stack when they meet/are assigned/randomly encounter a new NPC aide of some kind. Who, it transpires, resembles the babbling loon (though this is not immediately evident as the loon is considerably older and more babbling). Genetically identical.

 

Is he a plant from the aliens come to find out what's happened to the stolen mutagen?

 

Nope, he's the babbling loon's earlier self who is completely ignorant of the reasons for his future self's actions and motivations.

 

The mutagen was stolen at great personal risk, in the practically post-apocalyptic future, from the future PCs who have continued mutating and evolving, and also been slowly degenerating morally into self centred, power hungry demigods who rule over the world with an iron fist etc etc. The babbling loon, having been close to them in the early days of their humanity, managed to steal some of their secretions and flee into the past to warn the earlier world what was in store for them, using the goop to (he hoped) formulate some sort of weapon against the superhuman tyrants. Sadly the time travel mechanism fried his brain as he came through...

 

How's that for cliched!

That's damn good!

I like to keep aliens and time travel down to a bare minimum even in my full blown super hero games so I will in no way be using aliens or time travel.

In this game I'm going to shoot for a mix of "Real Life" (the one outside your office window), Heroes (the NBC TV show), Sin City (the movie and comics), and Max Payne (the video games). I'm planning on them dealing with only normal crime for quite a while before they meet anyone else with exceptional powers/abilities.

Re: Help With Avoiding Cliches...

Uh.. mummies.

 

That's right. Ancient Babylonian mummy science experiments.

 

From the Babylonian gods.

 

From space.

 

The chemicals came from blown up mummies. And the mummy spirit now resides in each of the servicemen.

 

And the mummy was a Babylonian cop. From outer space.

 

Sorry, I'm tapped. I got nothing.

While these ideas aren't really standard cliches, I do now plan to avoid them.

Thanks!