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This needs a little more work, but basically, this guy has a house full of yarn, pins and pictures, a tangled web of fate. When he plucks the strings of this web, he can grant luck or unluck, or listen to the strings to tell him where someone is, and who they are tied to. It's very rough, but he's not a Player Character, so maybe he doesn't have to be so accurate and rulesy. Clive Daniels Anansi, the Yarn Man VAL CHA Cost Roll Notes 8 STR -2 11- HTH Damage 1 1/2d6 END [1] 13 DEX 6 12- 12 CON 2 11- 23 INT 13 14- PER Roll 14- 20 EGO 10 13- 15 PRE 5 12- PRE Attack: 3d6 4 OCV 5 3 DCV 0 3 OMCV 0 3 DMCV 0 2 SPD 0 Phases: 6, 12 2 PD 0 2 PD (0 rPD) 2 ED 0 2 ED (0 rED) 4 REC 0 20 END 0 10 BODY 0 20 STUN 0 Movement Cost Meters Notes RUNNING 0 12m/24m END [1] SWIMMING 0 4m/8m END [1] LEAPING 0 4m 4m forward, 2m upward Characteristics Total: 39 Cost Powers 18 Web-Reading: Mind Scan 10d6 (Human and Alien classes of minds), Invisible Power Effects (Invisible to Mental Group; +1/4) (69 Active Points); OAF Immobile Fragile (The Web; -2 1/4), Requires A Roll (Skill roll; -1/2) - END=7 21 Understanding: Clairsentience (Mental Group And Detect Relationship), Discriminatory, Increased Arc Of Perception (360 Degrees), MegaScale (1m = 1 km; +1) (70 Active Points); OAF Immobile Fragile (Yarn, Pins, Pictures; -2 1/4) - END=7 60 Strand of Fate: Luck 4d6, Usable By Other (+0), Grantor can take back power at any time, Grantor can only grant the power to others, Ranged (+1/2), No Range Modifier (+1/2), MegaRange (1m = 1 km; +1) (60 Active Points) - END=0 120 Pluck You: Major Transform 4d6 (Normal Person into Person with Unluck, Another Application Of This Power), No Range Modifier (+1/2), Invisible Power Effects (Fully Invisible; +1/2), MegaRange (1m = 1 km; +1) (120 Active Points) - END=12 Powers Total: 219 Cost Skills 20 +10 with Pluck You 3 Charm 12- 3 Conversation 12- 3 Deduction 14- 4 KS: Conspiracy Theories 13- 2 PS: Welder 11- 3 Power: Fate 13- 3 Stealth 12- 3 Streetwise 12- Skills Total: 44 Cost Perks 3 Anonymity Perks Total: 3 Cost Talents 3 Absolute Range Sense 3 Absolute Time Sense 1 Ambidexterity (-2 Off Hand penalty) 2 Environmental Movement (no penalties in the Web) 3 Lightning Calculator 3 Lightsleep 4 Speed Reading (x10) Talents Total: 19 Value Complications 10 Social Complication: Recluse Frequently, Minor 5 Distinctive Features: Bathrobe, Slippers, Pajama Pants (In Public) (Easily Concealed; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) 5 Negative Reputation: Crazy Old Man, Infrequently Complications Points: 20 Base Points: 200 Experience: 0 Experience Unspent: 0 Total Character Cost: 324

Aside from being a backer, was there any other way to get these before now? I bought a couple of copies of MHI at Gen Con a year ago. Were they available somehow back then?

I have a Possess a Freshly Dead Body and Heal It So You Can Use It Power. Discarnation: (Total: 160 Active Cost, 130 Real Cost) Possession (Mind Control Effect Roll 40; Telepathy Effect Roll 30) (60 Active Points); OAF (Fresh Corpse; -1) (Real Cost: 30) plus Healing BODY 3d6, Resurrection, Trigger (Activating the Trigger is an Action that takes no time, Trigger resets automatically, immediately after it activates; Jumping to a Dead Body; +1) (100 Active Points) (Real Cost: 100) Real Cost 130 As for those others, I would think that Life Support: Immortal would cover that. As there is no other rule covering aging, so that means that aging just happens.

My Urban Fantasy HERO game goes live soon (As soon as Mummy's Mask is behind us...) so I thought I'd offer these Not Dying Talents (or Powers, your choice). I put various levels of Not Dying on a spectrum from almost Mundane to HIghlander and beyond... Flavors of Not Dying Life Support: Immortal is boring. Immortality is cheap… points-wise. Sure, you can pay 5 points and live forever. This is because HERO is balanced toward combat. Its 5 points to live forever, but you never play that long, right? Time is a special effect. Actually getting immortality is a lot harder than those 5 points imply. There are treatments, accidents, curses and rare spells involved. Do some research, why don't you? Fast Healer It might not seem like much, but this tiny bit of Regeneration is enough to make Mundane doctors sit up and take notice. Fast Healer: Regeneration (1 BODY per Day) Real Cost: 4 Unaging The Unaging Talent prevents a character from growing old or dying of age-related diseases They stop aging at the physical age of 18, or the age when the Unaging Talent was acquired. Thus, an infant with Unaging will stop aging around 18 and never look older, whereas a 48 year old man who acquires it (possibly due to potion malfunction) will always look 48. Forever. Yay. Unaging: (Total: 30 Active Cost, 20 Real Cost) Life Support (Immunity: All terrestrial diseases; Longevity: Immortal) (Real Cost: 10) plus Power Defense (20 points) (20 Active Points); Only Works Against Aging- and Time-Related Effects (-1) (Real Cost: 10) Real Cost: 20 Undying If you want the serious immortality offered by the Nicene Treatment, or the Jupiter Protocols, take Undying. Not only does it make you immune to diseases and aging, but as long as you keep your brain stem intact and connected to your heart, you can come back from the most grievous of injuries. Undying: (Total: 61 Active Cost, 51 Real Cost) Life Support (Immunity: All terrestrial diseases; Longevity: Immortal) (Real Cost: 10) plus Power Defense (20 points) (20 Active Points); Only Works Against Aging- and Time-Related Effects (-1) (Real Cost: 10) plus Regeneration (1 BODY per 6 Hours), Can Heal Limbs, Resurrection (Real Cost: 31) Real Cost: 51 Ever-Living This version of Immortality not only allows for protection from disease, aging, and the regeneration of damage, it can magically overcome bodily destruction. Limbs and heads removed by violence can be re-attached and function as normal. It is also faster than Undying. Ever-Living: (Total: 79 Active Cost, 69 Real Cost) Life Support (Immunity: All terrestrial diseases; Longevity: Immortal) (Real Cost: 10) plus Power Defense (20 points) (20 Active Points); Only Works Against Aging- and Time-Related Effects (-1) (Real Cost: 10) plus Regeneration (3 BODY per Hour), Can Heal Limbs, Resurrection (Real Cost: 49) Real Cost 69

<Nero> Hi, Christopher </Nero> Do you list somewhere the qualities of the magical materials you mention in your Treasure PDF on your website? Does the Fantasy Codex have this info? I'm buying it either way, but I thought I'd ask.

I would agree. That's why I'm trying to re-tool them with this Limitation.

Good Advice. I'll lower the Limitation.

So, something like this? (the +0 on Illusion Magic is not an error, just a reminder. Phantasmic Fireball: Killing Attack - Ranged 2d6, Illusion Magic (+0), Alternate Combat Value (uses OCV against DMCV; +1/4) (37 Active Points); Can Be Disbelieved (-2) Real Cost: 12 Obviously, if the caster was someone known to employ Illusions, there might be a bonus to the Breakout Roll, or would there even be one?

Say I want to make Illusionists cool again. Could I allow a Limitation on Powers like "Can Be Disbelieved" and "Illusion" to represent that the Powers aren't real, just weird, magical light, and that they all share a common special effect, that of Illusion Magic. A target would get a Breakout Roll to defend against them. (or they might be required to target DMCV) What sort of Limitation would that be? -1? -2? More? Also, if this has been covered before, please direct me to that discussion, I'd love to read it.

My notes for Ravenna are getting kinda complex, so I thought I'd start sharing some of the content. Certainly, especially in the case of victims of institutional abuse like the girls in the Magdalene Laundries, I do not mean to do anything but highlight where the evil in the mundane world hides. Ravenna is a place of Extradimensional Evil, to be sure, but ordinary humans can create horrors without casting spells. That's my intent, if I go too far, please tell me. Backgrounds The following are a few ideas for characters who might want to fit into Ravenna by truly being part of its history. Each of these origins connects to “actual” events in the Ravenna timeline. Asylum Survivor Not too long ago, “fallen women” were confined to asylums to aid them in changing their ways. The excesses of such places as the Magdalene Laundries in Dublin left scars that have not yet healed for some women. The last of these nightmare factories was shuttered in 1996. The youngest of their victims is barely 30. A female character having gone through her youth in such a place would have tales of physical abuse and black rituals. This experience makes her strong, and might have given her knowledge of dark paths. She might be yet tempted to walk these paths, or she might fight her memories, taking battle to the demons and spirits that manifested in the asylums. Take skills related to dark times, and talents like Resistance and Lightsleep. Complications involving physical abuse (or worse) would make up your psyche, and trust would come slowly, if at all. No apology is coming, and few care to hear your tales. Black Schola Survivor Your boarding school was magical, but this wasn't Hogwart's. The survivors of demon- or spirit-led Black Schola are frequently very strong people. The schools exist to weed out mundanes from those youth who might be turned down the Dark Paths. They often operated by demonologists or actual demons (Fairseemers or Deceivers, most likely). You understand Demonology, and might have a Magic Skill related to it. At the very least, you have your memories of draconian discipline, nights spent screaming and the scent of rendered human fat. IT has hones you into a weapon, but who is your target? Child of Ravenna Lucky you. You were born in the hidden city of Ravenna. To your eyes the outside world is a dead, colorless place. It took many years to discover the joy to be lived in a mundane life. Perhaps you now live this simple existence, made just a bit easier by the application of a little covert magic. You have access to all kinds of magic, but little understanding of the Realms of the Mundanes. A Physical Complication (Doesn’t Understand Mundane Culture) is almost certainly in order. Mundane Upbringing You were born into a family of non-wizards, but somehow obtained magical abilities. Perhaps, the magic skipped several generations from your Fae ancestor, and suddenly manifested in you. Perhaps that ancestor showed up one day, and you never saw home again. Then again, maybe you have powers and don’t think that any other wizards exist. The discovery of others with power would have been joyous and terrifying all at once. For one, you aren’t the only freak on the streets, but then again, you find yourself in a strange new world just behind the curtain. Welcome home, kiddo. Lastly, maybe you are just a normal, no frills HUMAN. No magic, no special powers, no strange ears! Just a barista, a welder, a truck driver or common criminal. Deal with this new world on human terms. Good luck. Don’t buy any magical skills that require understanding. No Knowledge Skills, or Skills relating to the Reality of Ravenna. Learn as you go, role playing your new life and being amazed at the least of magical occurrences. Embodied Spirit They found you covered in dirt and leaves. They cleaned you up, fed you and nursed you to health. But deep inside, you know you aren’t like these mundanes. The girl thinks you are easy to talk to, the one with the guns and muscles is suspicious of you, and the little guy with the glasses might be in love with you. You aren’t sure. You’ve never been in love before. That’s because you were until recently a spirit, wandering the astral. By some agency, you are now perfectly human. Well… perfectly human with animals following you around and lakes growing still at your approach. You have some purpose in this cold, colorless realm, what might it be? Buy spirit powers and try to cope with the physical world. Try to remember the Astral and what “real life” was like. Take Complications related to unfamiliarity and innocence. But ask the GM to buy you some secret powers you will discover as play progresses.

I admit it. This isn't much of a plotline as obscure social satire. It's a reason for PCs to go blow up some cultists. Oh, and there are not-so-subtle parody elements to it. I know I'm gonna take heat for even writing this, but it's lunchtime in Indy, and I was bored. As some background, Ravenna is the name of my Urban Fantasy campaign, which features modern elements and crossworld fantasy tropes. Evil things lurk in both the city streets and the shadows of astral space. The Yigothu are a race of astral slavers I nicked from GURPS Cabal. Dark Dungeons: a Ravenna plotline Marcie “Black Leaf” Anderson was a typical gamer girl. Her GM, Ms. Vandela Frost, is an evil, Yigothu-worhipping dark priestess. She is luring the kids in her group to the Yigothu via a game called Dark Dungeons. Recently, her lead gamer/acolyte, Debbie “Elfstar” Morgan, has shown promise as a spellcaster. She plans on handing Debbie over to the astral-travelling, magic-hungry monsters as soon as the girl increases her power a bit further. The Yigothu prefer developed spell-casters over mere “promising” students of the Arts. During the games, the players are exposed to minor occult secrets and strange astral energy. Playing the game is addicting as a result. When Marcie blows a roll, Frost uses the event as an excuse to drive Marcie away, no need to waste dice of Mind Control on girls who won't ever be proper slaves to the Yigothu. A friend of Marcie’s notices a change in her after she is ejected from Ms. Frost’s group, perhaps alerting the PCs at this point. Alternatively, the PCs can be alerted after Marcie’s suicide. The PCs can track Marcie down, learn of Ms. Frost’s misdeeds and would have to face not only a powerful cult leader, but the rest of the Dark Dungeon players. If the PCs are particularly potent, the cultists might summon a Yigothu to deal with the pesky player characters. Timeline: Marcie is ejected from the game after failing a poison save. Debbie treats her cruelly during the debacle. Elfstar is initiated into the Yigothu cult, her powers grow rapidly. Marcie becomes depressed, an effect of the withdrawal of the Yigothu emanations that took place during the game and her outcast status among her former “friends.” She hangs herself in her room from a particularly sturdy light fixture. Elfstar freaks out and encounters the PCs. Players lock and load. They interrupt game night in spectacular fashion. How they deal with the authorities investigating a shoot-out in a high class neighborhood is their problem.

Thanks for the replies. As it happens, I'm also using Cyber Hero for this purpose. I've done about 25000 words since March 2nd. I could share it if such a thing is desired. I'm not sure about copyrights on such old materials, however. I think 70 pages of conversions is a bit more than "Fair Use" Some of the net programs are little more than an evocative name followed by "RKA DoT" or "Entangle" at this point.

So the last two days, I've been typing like a mad fool. Bringing Cyber Hero up to 6th Edition from 20 years ago. I'm at 38 pages and 14,353 words. I've a way to go.... I really want to include some kind of netrunning Tron-like action, with Powers as programs. I could just translate the existing ones, but I'm keen to hear new methods... any thoughts?

I'm always coming up with game ideas, most of them go nowhere, but I had a weird one this morning that I thought I'd share. HERO System Kingdom rules. Each "Kingdom" is a Directorate in a Soviet-style government on a fictional recent-past (c.1956) Earthlike world. Each player is a Director of one of these Directorates. Directors almost always rise to the position of Supreme Director of the Red Star Republic (Soviet Union, right?). Very few Supreme Directors were military heroes or the like. Opposing the Red Star Republic is the People's Democratic Alliance (China) and Federated States of Placida (America). The GM plays the PDA and the FSP (and all of their little satellite nations). There are also a number of smaller power blocs who may or may not get involved. You also have to consider the actions of the Global Coalition - a union of nations who get together to avoid more World Wars like the first three that were so devastating. What do players do? They direct. They order their apparatchiks to undertake various tasks, issue orders and...sometimes... meet in cold dark alleys with questionable persons to get things done covertly. Phases are 3 months long, but once a year (or more often) the action becomes personal (you might have to shoot someone, or hand them something, and that doesn't take 3 months). I have a plotline in my head, and some great character ideas for NPCs. So far, the Directorships up for grabs are these: Communications - Oversees Media, Internal intelligence activities Intelligence - Spying. External Intelligence Agriculture - Feeding people and researching new means of food production Red Star Military - Guns, tanks and planes Research and Development - Science! Other Directorships are probably available. Players can invent new ones and I'll decide whether they get used. There are a number of interesting talents I've thought up, and clever maneuvers characters can use in their attempt to rise to the top of the Red Star. There are other outcomes that I'm preparing for. Names are in Russian, of course. My plan is for a 4 week run between 2600CE and Pathfinder.

It went surprisingly well. My son (the impulsive "isn't my character cool" one of the bunch) was the one who started the fight. The Psi-blade nearly killed him in one 2 1/2d6 HKA AP (5 shots) attack after he realized who Erickson was. Brian (Capt Black) wanted all the participants dead. He accused everyone of everything and wanted revenge, cash, and heads on pikes, just like a proper space pirate. My wife tried to be polite to John Ladra, the 100 Active Point Psionic, only to find out he's quite a nice guy with dreams of something called the "Pax Galactica" and he's willing to destroy all current governments to get it. Chris and Dan (who play via Skype) stayed away from the auction, busied themselves with exploring the station and messing with Youngblood.

Attached are my adventure notes for today's Star Hero game. If you like, read them and comment. This evening, I'll post again and let everyone know how it went. I suspect it will all blow up in my face. I'm the type of GM that lets his players wander from the plot. For all I know, they'll not take the job and I'll end up improvising for 6 hours again this week. Amaryllidaceae.pdf

I tried MegaRange and Trigger on this spell to represent the act of attaching a Fireball to an email. Open the mail, get the Fireball. Is this enough? MegaRange certainly brings a target close enough, and if they leave the area, the spell fizzles. The question is, can someone be targeted in this fashion? I almost think not, but I do not know what else I'd use to represent this kind of targeting. A further limitation from the original work includes the requirement of including the spell name in the email subject line, though it could be hidden in a larger phrase - "Save Big on Fireball 1500XE Video Adaptors from NerdTek!!" The mail would detect as magical. Fireball Email: Killing Attack - Ranged 1d6+1, Trigger (Activating the Trigger requires a Zero Phase Action, Trigger requires a Turn or more to reset, Trigger can expire (72 hours); Opening the Email; +1/4), MegaRange (1m = 100 km; +1 1/2) (55 Active Points); OAF (Email-capable electronics; -1), Expires 72 Hours from Send (-1), Requires A Roll (Computer Programming roll; -1/2) Real Cost: 16 Inspired by "Emailing Spells" in d20 Modern by WotC.

You are right. That's what's missing. The AOE on the TK. I want the fighting bit. Thanks for the replies!

When a player (for example) wanders near this gate, it activates, sucking them in. This trap (I suppose it could be worked into a spell) uses Telekinesis to drag players into a 2m Gate. Is this how you'd do it? Hungry Gate: (Total: 64 Active Cost, 18 Real Cost) Teleportation 3m, Area Of Effect (2m Radius; +1/4), Trigger (Activating the Trigger requires a Zero Phase Action, Trigger requires a Minute to reset; Entering TK Range; +1/4), Constant (+1/2), Usable As Attack (+1 1/4), MegaScale (1m = 100 km; +1 1/2) (14 Active Points); OIF Immobile (-1 1/2), Gate (-1/2) (Real Cost: 5) plus Telekinesis (20 STR), Affects Porous, Trigger (Activating the Trigger requires a Zero Phase Action, Trigger requires a Minute to reset; Entering TK Range; +1/4) (50 Active Points); OIF Immobile (-1 1/2), Only To Pull Objects and People Toward Gate (-1), Limited Range (20m; -1/4) (Real Cost: 13)

In Caleon, we have an arch that purifies water, a floating castle or three, some spell-focusing bells for which I've never really decided a function. Various magcal prisons that cage deities. That sort of thing.

As the title suggests, I'm wanting to do some Ripper-related mayhem in my game. Where can I find a 6E version of him?

How about this: The Galaxy is in ruin following a Great Interstellar War. Hundreds of worlds have lost technology's benefits and most aren't aware of other occupied worlds. The ENEMY species is still out there, struggling to gain a foothold in space once more. The UNION is a legend. Once it ruled great swathes of space; now it's a meme for a war in Heaven. We focus on one planet, 1260 years after the fall of the UNION. Egariah is a single-world of ATRI 7.5 or so, struggling to make it into space. However, space is dangerous; so bad in fact that there is a group of intersteller spies on-planet trying to retard technology and (perhaps more importantly) acceptance and trust of space travel. Call them GROUNDERS. Counter to this is a group of folks working with certain government elements to counteract the first group. Call them STARFARERS. Both work against each other toward one goal: Rebuild the UNION. They are small teams of humans waging a war against their unseen counterparts. Recently STARFARERS have infiltrated the PCs government (and most others) and started a progressive movement to explore the moons and other worlds of their system. When the PCs world is ready, they will reveal themselves and the UNION. Egariah will have a part to play in resettling the galaxy. They aren't conquerors, but rather want to drag humanity out of the long night quietly. They are active on dozens of low- and mid-tech worlds. If the ENEMY finds this world unprepared and earthbound, they're toast. Getting them into space makes them ready to fight when the battleships arrive. The GROUNDERS oppose this. Far out in space, the remnants of the ENEMY and the tatters of the UNION rage on against one another. Space is unsafe and deadly to low-tech worlds. It's better to keep such folks from making too much noise. Already Egariah's first radio broadcasts have reached a 200-ly radius and might be detected by the ENEMY's picket ships. its a long shot, and the energy of the signals is very low. If that happens, even a single ENEMY ship could do tremendous damage to Egariah. Where do the PCs come in? Glad you asked. They are members of the government of the superpower that will first make it into space if left unchecked. They have government organizations (Kingdoms) to run and bureaucracy above and below to contend with. Over the course of the game, they will learn about the two teams influencing their world. The timeline includes elements such as deaths of NPCs, newly-opened fields of research, incidents involving GROUNDERS or STARFARERS and such, the discovery of a 1300 year old fighting ship in orbit around a distant moon and many other clues to the TRUTH. An election year might see a PC run for higher office, and new resources will be heaped upon the PC to represent the increased political power. But it's not all politics. They have the option of a second character, who acts as a minion or other representative in a more intimate setting. Regularly, we'll focus on these lesser PCs who will do the actual legwork of uncovering the secrets of the game. I have much more detail available, but this is enough to get a conversation started, yes?

Has anyone every tried running FH without any fantasy elements? Just a bunch of guys hanging out in Mercia c. 1200, doing what Henry, George or John tells them to do? If so... what did you leave in? Monsters? Perhaps only those that appear in heraldry? Or not even those? I'm planning on buying Here Be Dragons for just this purpose.

Re: Here Be Dragons [PDF] now available. That's awesome! Consider it sold!

Re: Here Be Dragons [PDF] now available. I'm keen on getting this. I'd like to know how many critters are contained within and if other middle-ages support material will follow...Perhaps even a table of contents?