CourtFool

Re: _Lost_ Hero No, but I have thought of using Lost as an opener for a Fantasy Hero campaign. It would be an easy way to get disparate characters working together. I am not sure that flashbacks work well in a RPG. At least in Lost they are used to give the audience history about one particular character. To do the same in a tabletop RPG would leave the other players rather bored I would think. Sideboard e-mails would work really well for this.

Forgotten Realms² Are you going to consolidate the two Forgotten Realms listings like you did all the rest? I figured it just slipped past you.

Re: The City of Smokes No, it is not based on Raliegh-Durham. Although, maybe I should consider that. Yes, I know I do not have to follow canon. I just like to out of laziness. If it were important to be a swamp, it would be.

I am adding some detail to the City of Aarn from the Turakian Age for a possible future campaign. I am modeling some of the information from a real city and would like to avoid making any major errors due to my lack of biological and geological knowledge. Has any reference to seasonal temperatures, local flora and fauna or the landscape of Aarn been made? Is the land surrounding the city swamp? Is it reasonable that there are seagulls, pelicans and crane throughout the area? Could the fishermen haul in Spotted seatrout, sandtrout, redfish, black drum, croaker, and flounder? Thank you in advance for any help.

Re: Clarke's Third Law as basis for fantasy campaign As I am reading this I am thinking Westworld and Futureworld. Not exactly the same. However, it certainly has some of the feel of what you are describing. The first thing I would do to make it feel different would be to not have 'Dwarves', 'Elves' or 'Orcs'. Change their name and their physiology to be more inline with their origins. Also, if 'wizards' are programmers wouldn't they send out avatars to do their bidding much the same way the Council does? Therefore, 'wizards' would actually be immortal. One might be able to defeat an avatar, but another one would appear.

Bad Rep

Re: Racial Disadvantages The do count against your total. (ref. FrED pg. 16) You are, of course, free to say they do not count against your total. However, that always creates a hot debate as to whether that gives Package Deals an unfair benefit.

Re: Saving Throws/Resistance Rolls

Re: Encounter: The "friendly" ogres Seen Shrek, have we?

Highlander + MJ I am for hordes of dancing zombies created by a mysterious green gas invented by russian scientist, dropped on America in a top secret invisible fighter jet all plotted by the Kurgan. Oh! And Quincy has the cure.

Re: How about this?

How about this? Let's see, DEX gives you OCV, DCV, SPD, Skill Levels with DEX Skills and Combat Reflexes. Someone help me if I have missed something. DCV can be bought for 5 points per 1. OCV can be bought for 8 points for all combat but could also be used for DCV. It would seem reasonable to me that you could charge a straight 5 points for just +1 OCV. SPD is 10 per 1. Skill Levels with DEX is 5 per 1. Combat Reflexes are 1 per 1. So give everyone OCV: 3 DCV: 3 SPD: 2 Skills based on DEX: 11- Combat Reflexes: 0 (or base 10 for determining who goes first) ...and let everyone buy up from there. Remove DEX altogether. Drains target specific abilities. Am I forgetting something? For Agility vs. Hand-eye coordination... +1 w/Agility Skills = 3pts +1 w/Hand-eye coordination Skills = 3pts Define which skills go where and do not allow the 5pt skill. It will require a little more accounting and make Drains more effective but I do not think it should break anything else. Does that help?

Re: DEX is used too much On point 2, you and I will have to agree to disagree. I believe DEX reflects agility and eye hand coordination and should be the base for hitting and avoiding being hit. This has never really been a problem for me since 'fighters' just load up on DEX and/or Combat Skill Levels. On point 4, many agree that DEX is too cheap. Of course many argue that a few other stats are too cheap as well. If you want to take the time to break out DEX and rebalance everything to your liking then go for it. Everyone has their own house rules. I was merely offering a 'quick fix' that would not require too much extra work.

Huh? I am still not understanding why this is a problem. Anyone with a high DEX has good OCV/DCV. Of course they still need to buy weapon familiarities or they are at -3 with any weapons. Granted with a 7 OCV/DCV this still gives them a 4 OCV vrs. someone with a 10 DEX and weapon familiarity for a 3 OCV. Give your thieves +2 Skill Levels with All DEX related skills for 10pts and leave their DEX at 10. Now all their 'class' skills are the same, but they are not as combat effective nor as fast. This is a lot easier than trying to change the game mechanics of DEX and trying to balance cost. How long have you been playing Hero? Did you mostly play D&D before Hero? The reason I ask is because this sounds like you want to model D&D classes more closely where thieves are less effective in combat than fighters. If that is the feel you are going for I really think you should give the Skill Levels a try.

Re: DEX is used too much I see your point but I really do not want more stats than Hero already has. Also, if we start breaking up DEX (Agility, Eye-Hand Cordination, Manual Dexterity and Quickness) then we would have to break up the other stats as well Reasoning, Knowledge, Education, ect. If you would like your thieves to be agile without having an OCV of 7, but Skill Levels for all DEX related skills for 5pts instead of DEX itself. This may not seem obvious at first if you are coming from the assumption that Skill Levels explicitly mean training/experience. Just chalk it up as agility without combat effectiveness. I am curious why you do not want an agile thief to have a good Combat Value? For me, the high DEX = Good CV is perfect for simulating the lightly armored, wily theif.

Not Fractions!

Zornwil is a fraud!

I am running a Fantasy Hero - Turakian Age campaign for a friend of mine online. He is playing an ex-sailor, ex-mercenary with the potential for magic, but no spells yet. Brett, the PC, is a 75/75 fairly well balanced character. Light on combat. I may post him later. I loved the idea of tieing in a album into an adventure/campaign. Since my friend use to be a Police fan, I thought I would do Synchronicity. Below is a very rough draft of what I have planned so far. For those not familiar with the album idea, you take an album and use each song on it as a theme for each 'chapter' of your adventure. The album title should be the over-arching theme for the series. In each 'chapter' you try to incorporate the song lyrics into the game. The closer the better, but I do not think anyone minds if you take some creative licence. Here are my notes so far: Leaving the Big City and Bright Lights After hearing of a new mercenary company in Fellburg paying 30 gold Dollars a month for strong arms, our hero leaves his current company and heads out of Kasselden. He also plans to visit his mother while in Fellburg. A Connecting Principle You are still a few miles from Essen, a small farming community as dusk draws close. The light breeze you welcomed during your daylong trek now feels chill. Before you, in the middle of the road, lays a rolled up parchment. A careful inspection reveals that it is not very old and bares no arcane symbols. The following is written on the scroll in Trade-Tongue: A connecting principle, Linked to the invisible Almost imperceptible Something inexpressible. Science insusceptible Logic so inflexible Causally connectable Yet nothing is invincible. (A connecting principle) As soon as you finish reading the last line you hear a voice call out, “Allo! Would you give me a hand, good man?†Off the side of the road, in the ditch, stands a middle-aged man. As you approach closer you can see that his mule and cart have slipped from the road into the ditch and now lay on their side with bushels of grain spilled around them. Do you tell him you do not have time to assist him, offer aid or something else? “Thank you, good man. I am Jonas. My mute companion,†Jonas motions towards the mule, “is Axel. We lost a wheel and took a tumble off the side of the road. Night is coming soon and I would hate to be caught out here after dark.†“You know, you are the second strange face I have seen in two days. A fellow passed me just yesterday. He said he was looking for the Lady of the Woods. Said his name was Emilo and that he had come from Dasselden in search of the Lady.†“Have you not heard of the tale of the Lady of the Woods? Ah, that is right. You are not from here. Well the Lady of the Woods is a ghost of a long forgotten maiden who died before her time. Every now and then someone claims to have seen her dancing through the woods at night.†Jonas motions in the direction of a forest a few miles north. “You aren’t afraid of ghosts, are you? She is a nice ghost. She never really bothers anyone. Just dances. Sometimes she is seen crying but then runs off. No one really knows who she is.†The Mug and Stein While the rest of Essen appears to be asleep already, lights, sounds and smells still escape the Mug and Stein. It appears exactly as the countless other taverns you have visited in your travels but is still a welcome reprieve from the chill night air. “The least I could do is buy you a mug.†Comments Jonas as he goes about unhitching Axel from the cart. The tavern should be bright, loud and constantly moving. It will also be filled with locals. (Linked to the invisible) Invisible thief picking people’s pockets. I would love input from my fellow Herophiles. Specifically: Constructive criticism of the above notes Ideas on where to take it from here Suggestions on keeping with the Synchronicity theme Thanks in advance.

Minstrel Cramps I think I will try to work that into the next game I run.

Re: Romantic Fantasy

Re: Hook, Line and Stinker Great idea. A stowaway could turn nearly any mundane event into an adventure.

Re: Saving Throws/Resistance Rolls Revive and old thread, why don't I. I have seen enough D&D conversion threads floating around I thought this might be relevant. I am with Keneton. I do not think Saving Throws are needed. That being said another solution I propose would be added defense against particular spells with a RSR. Damage Reduction w/Requires Dex Roll Mental Defense w/Requires Ego Roll Power Defense w/Requires Con Roll (since this would probably be used against a Transform into a Toad type spell)

I thought I would do another hook thread since the last one was such a success. That was sarcasm for those of you who are now searching through countless threads looking for a successful hook thread. I thought I would do a hook specifically for the Turakian Age. I am sure it can be easily adapted to any other faceless Fantasy campaign. However, if you use it for a D&D game I will hunt you down and kill you like the spineless swine you are. The Thurisian Mountains once stood to separate the independent grand duchy of Fellburg from Thurgandia. Now it provides refuge for a band of bandits who prey upon caravans traveling between the two regions. The leader of the bandits claims to be a descendent of the grand Duke of Fellburg and seeks to ignite the fires of nationalism. Does the bandit leader have a legitimate claim to the throne of Fellburg? Is this just a ploy to gain sympathy from the peasants and distract from his true motive of greed? Is this some kind of plot by King Aurick to give him a reason to tighten his grip on Fellburg and possibly remove Duke Lambrett altogether? The characters could be hired by King Aurick of Thurgandia to put a stop to all this nonsense. They could be hired by Duke Lambrett of Fellburg to discredit the upstart and allow Lambrett to request aid from thurgandian forces to arrest the bandit. The characters could be hired by curious scholars who seek the truth behind the bandit leader’s claims.

To Dodge or not to Dodge I would think #3. It sounds suspicious to me though.

Re: Teen Spy Campaigns Star Trek slash-fic is all gay. Coincidence?