Jump to content

CourtFool

HERO Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    3,112

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by CourtFool

  1. Typical NPC

    in Fantasy Hero

    Posted

    Re: Typical NPC

     

    As have I. Now I frequently just allow the PCs to succeed in any task I believe they have sufficient Skill Levels in. Granted, this is very arbitrary, but it speeds up the game considerably and allows the Skill Monkeys some spot light time.

     

    After reading through Spirit of the Century (SotC), I am considering changing my approach to Skill Rolls. SotC suggests that you should only have the characters roll when both failure and success would be interesting and add to the story (Yes, a very narrative approach. Why do you look so surprised?).

     

    When the PCs attempt something for which I believe failure would be boring and distract from the story, I will decide the outcome based on their Skill Level and tell them. I will then have them roll the dice, and if they make their roll by a wide margin, I will improve upon the 'base' outcome. For example, if I need them to discover a clue, I may say they find it after an hour of searching. They roll and someone makes their Perception by 4, I let that character find it after five minutes.

  4. Persuasion Restrainable?

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    Re: Persuasion Restrainable?

     

    To be honest' date=' I think the system works pretty well as is.[/quote']

     

    It is extra work, but it has never been overwhelming for me. I do not expect to know the exact percentage of times a particular thing is or is not going to be a factor. Plus, I only really need to get to within 25%, right?

     

    I am willing to listen any time one of my players has concerns about the game. This includes, but is not limited to, the player feeling they paid too much for any ability which may not be as useful as originally thought. I also reserve the right to request changes to the character which I see as appropriate, including additional costs for something that has been more useful than I originally thought.

     

    Yes, the system works pretty well as is. I am still not going to give points for Hunted in a one shot where I have no intention of that Hunted showing up. Why am I going to penalize the players who have to play their Psychological Limitations?

  5. Persuasion Restrainable?

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    Re: Persuasion Restrainable?

     

    Hmm...this line of thinking concerns me a bit. Skills aside' date=' are you saying that you base the whether to allow limitations such as gestures and restrainable purely on how many bad guys you plan on giving a Grab or Entangle attack?[/quote']

     

    I base Disadvantages and Limitations on how often I expect them to be a factor in my campaign. I also sometimes reduce the cost of Skills (Languages being a good example) and Powers based on how often I expect them to be a factor as well.

  11. Persuasion Restrainable?

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    Sure, I would allow 'doe' eyes.

     

    Would any GM here allow someone to use Persuasion without being able to move or speak?

     

    If the player came up with a plausible situation where they could attempt Persuasion without speaking, I would probably allow it with the penalty for 'Poor Conditions' or 'Lacks the Proper Equipment' as I mentioned earlier. I view Skills as having built in or implicit Limitations. You do not get a cost savings for this anymore than you get points for Dependence Air, Water and Food just because you are 'human'.

  12. Total Newbie Here; prospective HERO-er

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    Re: Total Newbie Here; prospective HERO-er

     

    And then we'll argue amongst ourselves about answers, producing another handful of answers. We will eventually hijack your initial question as we go off on a tangent about an esoteric bit of rules that most of us change from campaign to campaign anyways.

     

    No we won't. We always stay on topic. Are you from Kansas?

  13. Typical NPC

    in Fantasy Hero

    Posted

    Re: Typical NPC

     

    The problem I have with the "taking extra time" and "pull down at least +3 in bonuses” and "ordinary situations…doesn't have to make a Skill Roll" arguments is that I have yet to play with a GM who allowed any of this. Whenever I get called to make a roll, it is a straight roll (if I am lucky) or a roll at penalties. This is regardless of the situation which may allow extra time, or complimentary rolls or what have you. The default is a straight roll.

  14. Persuasion Restrainable?

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    More Munchkin Skills!

     

    The correct answer is' date=' of course, that Skills should never get Limitations.[/quote']

     

    I know you later backed down from this sentiment, but I thought it would be a fun exercise.

     

    Resident Wealth of Useless Information - Knowledge Skill (All Trivia): 20-, Activation (8-)

    One Hit Wonder - +5 w/All Combat, 1 Charge

    Natural, Likable Guy - Seduction 18-, No Concious Control

    Teach the Rocks to Sing - PS Singing 11-, Usable by Other, Requires a PS Teacher Roll

    Together, We Can Convince Anyone - Persuasion 13-, Requires Multiple Users

    Character Actor - Acting 13-, Side Effects (Acquire Psychological Limitation Appropriate to Portrayed Character)

  15. Typical NPC

    in Fantasy Hero

    Posted

    Re: Typical NPC

     

    8- is a familiarity. 11- is suppose to be your average professional. This has been argued before, but my opinion is that your average professional has better than a 60% chance to do his job.

  16. Persuasion Restrainable?

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    This was posted in the rules section, but I had to comment.

     

    Ok Well I have a member who to all ends will argue with me on this, even though I'm GM. He placed a limitation on Persuasion, Restrainable. His reason was that because if someone covered his mouth, he can't persuade. I told him that was a given. He said that because powers aren't a given and need limitations to better describe how the power works, that the same goes for skills. I'm not going to allow it.

     

    Basically he wont stop unless he gets a ruling saying that he can't do that.

     

    So…all Interaction Skills are Restrainable?

     

    I smell munchkin. I would strongly suggest the poster tell the player their playing styles are incompatible and that they should part ways. This is merely a sign of what is to come.

     

    I Smell Munchkin - Detect Munchkin (5 Active Points), Extra Time (1 Turn; -1¼), Only From Second Hand Account of Activities (-¼) (2 Active Points

     

    Or, the poster could rule that being able to communicate is a necessary tool to perform this Skill. You can do it gagged, but you suffer the 'lack of proper tools' penalty.

     

    Or, the poster could allow him to take the Limitation but at -0 since it is 'not limiting' in his campaign.

  18. High power magic (Brainstorming welcome and requested)

    in Fantasy Hero

    Posted

    Magic: The Gathering

     

    Just a quick hop over to The Gatherer and searched for high cost Enchantments...

     

    • Angelic Chorus - +X BODY, Only Up to 10% of Number of Soldiers in Army
    • Angelic Renewal - Healing, Resurrection, Ranged, Megascaled, Trigger
    • Aysen Highway - Running, Reduced Endurance, Usable by Other
    • Bazaar of Wonders - +5 w/Trading plus Reputation plus Wealth, Usable by Other
    • Black Market - Aid all Magic, Only Up to .01% of Treasury
    • Beathstealer's Crypt - Xd6 Mind Scan plus Xd6 Ego Blast, X Only Up to 10% of Number of Target's Soldiers in Army
    • Caustic Tar - Xd6 Energy Blast, Side Effects (Something Bad to Land)
    • Cowardice - Teleport, Usable on Others, Must Pass Through Intervening Space

  19. High power magic (Brainstorming welcome and requested)

    in Fantasy Hero

    Posted

    Re: High power magic (Brainstorming welcome and requested)

     

    I would use Change Environment for something like that.

     

    +1 Overall Skill Level, Usable On Other 2 Billion People

     

    Bless Childbirths - Aid to Constitution and/or Paramedics and/or PS Midwife [or] Change Environment, Megascaled, Only to Survive Childbirth (for both mother and child)

     

    Return Travelers - Detect 'Home', Megascale

     

    Find True King - Summon

     

    Summon Hero - Summon

     

    Sanctuary - Mind Control, Megascale, One Command (Do Not Attack)

     

    Prosperity - Wealth, Usable by Other

  21. Total Newbie Here; prospective HERO-er

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    Re: Total Newbie Here; prospective HERO-er

     

    There are no classes. There are templates, but they are completely optional. Characters are defined by the Characteristics, Disadvantages, Perks, Powers and Skills they posses.

     

    There is not really a predefined magic system. This is good news and bad news. There is a default 'magic system' for The Turakian Age and The Valdorian Age. However, there are not as many spells already designed as there are in The Game Which Shall Not Be Mentioned. The good news is Fantasy Hero goes into detail into how you can design your own magic system. In my opinion, an even better resource for creating a magic system is found on Killer Shrike's website under High Fantasy Hero. Look in Content - Advanced Concepts - Magic. He even presents systems to mimic The Game Which Shall Not Be Mentioned.

     

    There are many more options in combat which can be intimidating.

     

    There is no Challenge Rating mechanic to give you an idea if you are crafting a Total Party Kill encounter for your PCs. You really need to run some combats to get an idea of how they will play out before you can judge how tough your NPCs are.

     

    Hero only uses d6's and a 'roll under' mechanic for task resolution. This is an abomination to some. I always liked the bell curve.

     

    I would say 95% of the crunchy material found in Hero System supplements show you how to do things with the already existing rules found in the core book. It is not like they provide more and more new rules. Think of them as recipe books. The core gives you the ingredients and for the most part, they stay the same.

×
×
  • Create New...