UbiquitousRat

Hi, hello, and welcome! I own Hero System 6th. I am kinda drawn to the system, but fear that (as GM) it's a bucket load of work to run a game. I picture me sitting up to the wee-hours designing NPCs, designing weapons, and basically engineering every minute detail of equipment needed for my game. And then I'd need to persuade my group that it's a) easy to play, and worth the effort to learn. My question: Why should we run Hero 6th? What does Hero give me that makes the benefits outweigh the effort? Secondary question: If you persuade me, what can I do to make GMing easy?

Re: Starting from scratch, newbie help request Tasha, that's an awesomely helpful post, thanks. I'll try and grab Kazei 5 in the morning too - it keeps coming up. I've got a lot of thinking and outlining to do. I also have a lot of "what makes this cool" stuff to decide. Game on!

Re: Starting from scratch, newbie help request Where can I find Shane's template? Sounds really helpful - thanks, Susano!

Re: Starting from scratch, newbie help request Thanks for the feedback on the build, Andy. I have the Resource Kit too, so I'll investigate editing it for use.

Re: Starting from scratch, newbie help request Again, thanks. Those guidelines are useful to refer to. I've had a second stab at Haussman, but it still feels like "finger in the wind" stuff. Feels like I need to run him through some fights so I learn how it all clicks (or doesn't). http://serenedawn.wikispaces.com/file/view/Jack+Haussmann+2.pdf

Re: Starting from scratch, newbie help request Much useful advice so far - thanks to you all. My major question right now is where to set the Power Level for the campaign. Drawing on Tasha's blog article, I need to set up some standards. If I plump for 175 pts with 50 pts Complications then is Characteristics set at an average of 11-13 about right for my reasonably competent heroes? How powerful should attacks be? Is 3d6 (AKA DC3, or 15pt attacks) enough for this setting, or should it be much higher? What should average and max OCV, DCV, OMCV and DMCV be? Is 3-4 enough? What about PD and ED? Is 5-6 enough? *head-fry*

Re: Starting from scratch, newbie help request Many, many thanks Andy. That's a really practical and helpful bundle of advice, plus a clearly useful link from Tasha. Jack was a very first stab (in the dark, mostly) at developing a character. Now I have some parameters to work with which is helpful in revising him... and going on to design NPCs. It feels like a big dollop of trust is required to invest the time in creating stuff for a Hero game. My (limited) play experience with the system means that I have seen it work well but have few ideas on how to get there. Your list is a very helpful one. I'll post back when I have more worked out.

Re: Starting from scratch, newbie help request First of all, thanks for the initial response. Those are good questions... Right now, here's what I have: 1. It's a kind of Imperial SF game with a massive backdrop but initially focused on the events in one city, on one world. I want Psi, paramilitary action, conspiracy and a growing scope for the players. 2. Right now, I don't have players recruited. My aim is to draw some folk into the conversation as I develop things. 3. Good plan. My own first writings are up on a wiki: http://serenedawn.wikispaces.com 4. Yeah, I want to draw in some elements from things players are familiar with, such as Star Wars and Trek. To get the ball rolling, and help me to re-learn the system, I have had a stab at creating a hero of my own. My idea is to use him to help me get a handle on how things work and then use him as a patron NPC once play gets underway. His name is Jack Haussmann and you can see his background PLUS a .PDF character sheet here: http://serenedawn.wikispaces.com/Haussmann So... does that make sense?

Hello one and all! Although I am not a TOTAL newbie to Hero, it's been a long while since I ran a game and I have never taken the full plunge into designing a campaign using the rules. In short, this is a help request in my effort to build a newbie-friendly SF setting for Hero. I am using Hero System 6E and have Star Hero 6E on hand. My questions are the first step stuff: Does anyone have any advice on where to start? How can I make Hero as friendly as possible for new players? Is there anyone who wouldn't mind "holding my hand" through the process and being an advisor? Crikey, now that I think of it... I don't even know which questions to ask. Where do you start?

Re: WWII Dark Reich Hero Quick update from the rookie GM: - I have constructed a "German Rifleman" basic template for characters. I've also come up with a "German National" Everyman Skills list. - I've established that 125 Character Points, with 35 points Complications, feels about right for the 1939 campaign thread. - Next step is to build a 10-man German Infantry Squad with that template at heart, and see how they all look. From that, I aim to offer players the choice of the squad members for play. - After that... comes the adventure outline...

Re: WWII Dark Reich Hero @Black Ops: The book is looking very useful. Putting it alongside Dark Champions and Urban Fantasy Hero, I have a pretty good selection of guidance. Right now, I am wondering what is lurking in the wilds of Poland to reveal the rising Dark Tide to a small group of Wehrmact soldiers.

Re: WWII Dark Reich Hero @Doc Democracy: I'm near Nottingham, UK. As for the campaign... we are also dealing with people getting recruited into Canaris' secret "Brandenburg-X" paranormal Kommando unit, being drawn into a plot to overthrow the Nazi's, and having a crack at Hitler. Along the way, in the alternate history, the war takes a different direction... plus a rising tide of Etheric Energy sweeps the globe, giving rise to magick and awakening the Dragons. War, emotion, politics, magick, and Commie Rage-Troopers... sounds like "Dark Reich" to me.

Re: WWII Dark Reich Hero I envision one of the first magickal effects I'd "release" to be a form of personal defensive barrier. I quite liked the idea of my Brandenburg-X archeologist being largely able to bounce bullets off his "shield"... until his Endurance runs out, anyway. One of the larger questions for me has been how to balance the character points bought powers with free equipment. In short, making sure that Magi are not at a disadvantage through having to buy magickal effects. One possible solution would be to tie spells to a focus, which is equipment, to give players a means to discount their power costs.

Re: WWII Dark Reich Hero I spent some time last night working through the character creation rules to see how a 100-point competent rifleman might shape up. Although I managed to get what I thought looked fairly necessary and reasonable, I have to admit there was little room for customisation. I am therefore thinking that it might be best to offer 125-points to player characters, which would make them Competent Normals with a slight boost. Thanks Black Ops for pointing me to the Kar98 stats in Pulp Hero, along with several other useful weapons. I think I need to create a few characters and then run them through some combat scenes to see how the rules function in actual play. Once I'm happy with the power-level of the PCs then I think a lot of other things become easily scalable and simpler to design with the rules. It is, after all, easier to scale (for instance) magickal attacks if you know both what a Kar98 rifle delivers PLUS what a character can reasonably take in a single hit. There is no substitute, I feel, for playing out scenes to give yourself a sense of how things work. I am hoping that perhaps by the New Year I will be in a position to share some character sheets for Doc Democracy to enjoy too.

Re: WWII Dark Reich Hero @Black Ops: Books I have... well, Hero 6th Edition for starters - which I intend to use. I have the two printed Core books, plus the Basic Rulebook .PDF. From 5th Edition, I have the Revised Rulebook + Star Hero, Dark Champions, Fantasy Hero, ALien Wars, Post-Apocalyptic Hero, Fantasy Hero Grimoire, the Vehicle book, the Martial Arts book ... and I just ordered Pulp Hero and Urban Fantasy Hero (print + .PDF). (I am also a major GURPS owner, so I am referencing WWII, Weird War II, and all the 4th Edition GURPS books.) Hope that makes some sense and proves useful.

Re: WWII Dark Reich Hero I like the example sheet you refer to and I do agree that it's a lot less intimidating to new players. Actually, it's a lot less intimidating to me! My problem is that I don't really have a sense of what I will or won't need on a sheet just yet. I am, however, drawn to the idea of pre-generating a Wehrmacht section's worth of characters to offer the 2-3 players I'll have some choice. I could easily custom-design some character sheets and use them for starters. I guess it'll be the attributes, skills and kit that will be the numbers focus. I can then add flavour and perhaps photos for extra yummy setting goodness.

Re: WWII Dark Reich Hero @Doc Democracy: Many thanks for those words - it's really helpful stuff. I am the kind of person who has a tendancy to put off doing in favour of thinking. In other words, I like to think about stuff that I often find I never get around to doing. That said, I think your advice on thinking out the setting in more detail is a valid one. If nothing else, it will get me nailing down the elements I want in the game. To counter-balance my natural tendancies, I think I will opt for creating a single scenario in the setting. By focusing on one specific set of setting elements that need to be created I will, undoubtedly, start to build something we can get playing quite soon. I think, for instance, that I might park the question of magick until I build a scenario introducing the Magi. My first story could, instead, focus on (say) werewolves and give the players an introduction to soldiering in Poland... perhaps something like the more modern film "Dog Soldiers". Doing this, I can see that my first questions are all about the skills and abilities that the average Wehrmacht soldier needs. In there also goes the weapon stats for the Mauser Kar98k rifle, Luger P08 and Walther PP pistols, MP34 and MP38 SMGs, and the Model 24 Stielhandgranate... and that's just the German side... It seems a big task. Yet, I guess once you begin it quickly builds up into a solid set of resources. Game on!

Re: WWII Dark Reich Hero Reflecting on the game I want to run, I am shy of Pulp Hero because my players and myself will want the game to be grittier and more dangerous. We want to begin by running a group of German Infantrymen caught up in weird goings-on during the Polish Offensive of 1939. As the campaign progresses, the heroes will unlock their hidden talents which are made accessable by the rising Dark Tide of Etheric Energy in the world. Perhaps one will start to channel the Ether for magick, but maybe another will simply find themselves getting faster and better with their combat skills. Maybe a character will become infected by lycanthropy, or vampirism, or something more exotic. My GMing instincts tell me that it might be best for us to start with low-powered characters, say around 100 points, and then allow them to grow as we game. I want competent normal soldiers who steadily become major, war-influencing heroes. I don't really feel that 175 points is going to deliver that sense of danger and limitation. Yet, I could be wrong and I am willing to listen to experienced GMs...

Re: WWII Dark Reich Hero Thanks to everyone for their suggestions - I am familiar with all the GURPS stuff, although I appreciate the references. Good reminders, one and all. For me the challenge is how to build my setting using the Hero 6th rules. I almost went with GURPS, actually, but on receipt of these rules decided that now is the time to overcome my nervousness about Hero and give it a go. What do I need to focus on creating? It seems to me that I will need: - Character templates for soldiers. - Weapons, armour and other kit. - Some idea of how I want magick to work developed into some example powers / spells. - A big decision on how many character points to give everyone (currently, I am leaning to 75 points). What else is essential? What else is desirable? Can anyone help a Hero-virgin? Game on!

Hello! I received my copy of the Hero System 6th Edition today, and have begun reading it. My intention is to develop my own alternate WWII setting using this set of rules to power the actual gaming. Reviewing my 5th edition setting books, I figured that WWII probably has more in common with Dark Champions than it does Pulp Hero. I have to admit that, whilst I have read and wanted to play Hero since the 5th Edition, I have never taken the plunge. There is a lot of work to do, it seems to me, before I even try to engage the players in a game. And then I have to overcome the fear of complex, detailed game rules... not that Hero strikes me as all that complex, once you get over the scale of the options. I was wondering if anyone else has done WWII Hero, and if there is any general advice for getting my game up and running? "Dark Reich" is a dark and fantastic-yet-gritty setting. The central idea is to play in an alternate historical setting based on the action of World War Two. This alternate history significantly changes the “real” outcomes of key events and also introduces magickal elements. If anyone is willing to help me, I would appreciate comment and advice from those who have GM'ed and played Hero. Game on!