Xiawarr

Re: If magic cost full price... I agree. I've always had trouble with allowing the purchase of abilities (e.g. weapons and armor) with money! The Hero System is based on points for a reason. Making everyone pay points for everything (although crossing over into the "superheroic" style of campaign) solves the balance of power arguments. Everyone pays points for everything. Then, if you do allow for things like multipowers (and I do!) then allow it for everyone. Wizards would have "spellbook" multipowers; fighters would have "martial feats" multipowers. As I have stated on a previous (old) thread, I don't like bean counting in my RPGs. So, I prefer an abstract house rule that combines the "Money" Perk with a 3d6 die roll and a pre-constructed table for equipment availability; rather than actual handing out gold and the "post-adventure shopping spree" (hand me the equipment list... now, let's see a masterwork sword costs...). Do a search on my handle, if you want to track down the house rule.

Re: Some Package Deals I need help on. [Duck Clan? (snicker) All I can hear is King Arthur answering Sir Bedamir: "What else floats?" "A DUCK!" (with conviction) Sorry, I know I'm not helping. Carry on. Ah... but Ducks are a venerable rpg convention. They were originally included in Runequest 1st Edition as a PC race. Do you ever remember seeing an old Judge's Guild module called "Duck Tower"? It was for Runequest. Scan E-bay if you want to get a little more info. RPG trivia lesson over.

Re: Anime Gothic Western Hero? I am assuming you are already aware of "Deadlands, the Weird West" by Pinnacle Entertainment. If not, try to track down the original books, not the latest D20 conversions. This setting is very similar to what you are describing. Also, there are a number of web-rings for Deadlands that you might find useful. My other suggestion would be to take a look at "Castle Falkenstein", although this is less gothic, it does have both magic and the wild west in the setting. I agree with the previously referenced "Horror Hero" setting. Good stuff there.

Re: Pulp Sci-Fi If you want the feel of true pulp sci-fi as captured in Iron Lords of Jupiter, Edgar Rice Burroughs John Carter of Mars (probably the first three books) are a must. From a gaming perspective, if you can track down Space 1889 it would be helpful. (Heliosgraphics, I believe has them in reprinted versions) Also, from a Hero sourcebook perspective, Lands of Mystery by Aaron Allston would be useful. I read the same article and was similarly inspired. I was thinking "Space Hero 1939". Using the "War of the Worlds" broadcast as an actual event and turning point in history. Everything we know about interplanetary space today is wrong. Jules Verne, Arthur Conan Doyle and Burroughs had it right. All of the planets of our solar system are earth-like and inhabited...then choose a cultural and or climate and go wild. For example, Venus would be a tropical world (swamps, jungles, shallow seas, reptiles and bugs-big ones!) No mammals. Or, Mars is a Gamma World-esque apocalyptic wasteland. The martian invasion was some of the last surviving technilogically advanced martians trying to find a new home. Just some thoughts on the topic... As I believe the discussion of EE Doc Smith writings were not exactly what you were looking for.

Re: Converting the Arduin Grimoire to Fantasy Hero bump... Lemming, I'd be interested in seeing Arduin Hero. I never really learned straight AD&D 1st, my original gaming group always used the Arduin Grimoires with our D&D! Of course, then I discovered Champions...been hooked ever since.

I thought we solved all of that with Crisis of Infinite Universes... Oh, wait, then Kingdom Come messed it all up. You're all right. It just depends upon which parallel universe we're looking at. However, since the WB owns (or at least their parent company) the rights to these shows and the animation style is the same (not anything like the Super Friends), I'm with Twilight on this one.

Forgot one: Urbana Arcana D20 (modern characters battling an influx of D&D beings)

Non-Hero Sources to mine for ideas I have a couple of things that are interesting melds of fantasy and sci-fi in my collection of gaming books. I am very fond of mining other systems for settings and ideas and using them in my hero games. Some you might want to look into are: Shadowrun (cyberpunk meets spellslingers) Deadlands, Weird West (cowboys and spellslingers) Deadlands, Wasted West (mutants and spellslingers) Deadlands, Weird Wars (Nazis and spellslingers) Dragonstar D20 (Spaceships, hi-tech and D&D3) GURPS Technomancer (Alternate earth where magic replaces technology) Feng Shui (wuxia martial arts, cyborg-demons, transformed animals, chinese sorceror eunnuchs, two-guns blazing shooters) Those are just the ones off the top of my head. I hope that might help. For what it's worth, I consider the Star Wars setting essantially science fantasy, not science fiction.

Take a look at this thread, maintained by "RDU Neil". http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12191&perpage=15&pagenumber=1 I highly recommend you read through the entire post (all seven some pages). Interspersed throughout the narrative are a number of interesting and cool house rule variants. Sounds like it might save you some trouble for your campaign idea.

Yep...got it and I have used it to develop a pulp adventure. Went for my own design, based loosely on AD&D 2nd "Hollow World" It was great for helping my players create the proper archetypes. May have to dig it out again...

Sorry - Double post.

Neil, Just finished reading the entire thread this morning... WOW! I'll definitely be borrowing some of these ideas for a campaign I hope to write up someday. More a "Feng Shui/Shadowfist" sort of thing. I was reading your comments on reducing/raising DCs for martial arts vs guns for armor. I have an alternative suggestion that is a variation on something I remember from Aaron Allston's Strike Force supplement. In Strike Force, KAs could be bought higher than normal, with the limitation only for "causing property damage" or vs inanimate objects. I was thinking if you turned that idea around. You could add +6 RPD to your armor (for those that are designed to stop or minimize damage from bullets), only vs unarmed attacks. I think this might help sufficiently reduce damage caused by unarmed martial arts attacks, without having to recalculate all of the maneuvers DCs.

You could also visit the on-line store and purchase the E-book, Kazei 5. I own it and it is very useful for the genre.

I started a similar topic on these boards a while back. Here is the link to it: http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=306 I hope you find it helpful. Thanks, Xiawarr

HappyCat, Nice upgrade! And thank you. Keith (aka Xiawarr)

Spyritwind, Haven't actually used the mechanic in awhile... I've been taking a break from GMing. I am currently in a standard AD&D3E/d20 game. That's one of the reasons I made the post. I find it boring to spend the first half-hour of our gaming sessions shopping and re-calculating wealth. However, what did appeal to my players last time I used it, was the fact that they had a chance to acquire, say a warhorse, if they made a lucky roll. It also, sped up the standard shopping trips. Scan the "price list", make a couple of rolls. Everyone's done in at least half the time. In addition, it prompted actual use of the Money Perk. I often start my campaigns with characters being poor (Money Perk disad.), so that they have something to work for. Unless of course a good character concept changed my mind (e.g. "I am Cholon Jolar, the last prince of Betterovia").

Spyritwind, I suppose bad rolling could make that a possibility. However, it is up to GM's common sense to group items in appropriate categories -- so unless you roll an 18, it would be unlikely that a character would be unable to get a beer or a meal. I would list that under Everyday items, which for the average character with no Money Perk gets a 17 or less roll (11 base + 6 for Everyday category). As for characters trying all the time to "hit the lottery", again that is where GM common sense comes in. I don't deny that it is abstract, it's suppose to simplify what can often be (for me) a tiresome process. (Count the gold. Could someone get me the calculator I need to check what I can afford. Now double check it to make sure I haven't made any mathematical errors). Thanks for the feedback. Keith (aka Xiawarr)

Kage, Good upgrade! Actually, I realized after I posted that I left off a few ideas. -1 for every 10 active points above the first 10 (e.g. 11-20 = -1 roll; 21-30 = -2 roll). This allows the GM additional control for those players that want a quick magic item fix. They need to quest/adventure for those (or pay their hard earned experience points). And, for those that still like to delve for treasure of the monetary kind, award temporary levels of the Money Perk. Glowingly describe the mounds of gold and jewels during the adventure then award 5 points of the Money Perk usable for the next two sessions or adventures. I might even suggest some combination of this Money Roll mechanic and experience points, for those characters back wealthy from an adventure, who want to commission their own artifact. The roll represents the availability of materials and appropriate magical artificer; the experience points allow the character to keep the item permanently. Thoughts on these upgrades? Keith (aka Xiawarr)

mudpyr8, Sounds sort of like the cards from the Torg system. Any chance I could get a copy of your fate card rules? I can be reached at clendnn@pacbell.net Thanks again, Keith (aka Xiawarr)

I can't seem to find it on these boards, must have been on the temporary boards, but I remember someone asking about a cash to Active/Real Point conversion for Hero. I just wanted to share a house rule that I use in my FH games. I have never been fond of the prototypical AD&D/D20/Runequest shopping trips, nor the constant bean-counting associated with every treasure hoard. Granted, I prefer a cinematic, wild-action and epic style of play, to the gritty, sword and sorcery style. Using the Money Perk as a starting point, I developed a fairly simple 3d6 game mechanic. Basically, everyone starts with an 11 or less to acquire any piece of normal equipment (permanent magic items/artifacts you pay for with points). This roll represents a combination of both availability and the character's personal financial situation. Essentially, you add modifiers to each roll based on the Money Perk and your personal (GM's) availability list. Mine looks like this: Money Perk Modifiers Destitute: -5 Poor: -3 Middle Class : N/A Well Off: +1 - +5 (depending upon points spent by player) Wealthy: +6 - +10 (same as above) Filthy Rich: +18! Availability Modifiers Everyday: +6 Very Common: +3 Common: +1 Uncommon: -1 Rare: -3 Very Rare: -5 Exotic: -8 Unique: -11 Military Only: -5 Magic: -5 (Potions, scrolls, etc. If you want characters to be able to buy them with "money") High Tech/Specialized Equipment: -1 to -5 For the above availability modifiers, the GM merely needs to classify equipment/weapons under the appropriate categories (Everyday through Unique). The last three simulate the additional availability constraints of those type of items. Have your characters make one roll for every item they want, individually. An 18 is always a failure, a 3 is always a success. I also recommend creating "equipment packages" (e.g. the standard dungeon delvers kit). Let me know what you think. It has worked well for me.

Eternity Shard, Thanks for clarifying my post! ) I really appreciate it. I love the Deadland settings as well, but always come back to Hero. I've been playing since 1st Edition Champions. I also use the poker chips in my Hero system (call them Karma points). There is nothing quite like tossing a poker chip to a player as a reward for a great idea, or good roleplaying. It's immediate gratification that you can hold onto! mudpyr8, Actually it works very well. I have used it with as few as four players and up to ten at the same time. I like the random element, without anyone losing any of their actions. It may not be for everyone, but it works for me and my player group.

Fitz, I actually posted a solution on the old boards, but caught some flack from those that love the speed chart. I have played the original Deadlands system (not the D20 version), in which a regular deck of cards was used to determine actions. I adapted that for my Hero games and it has run quite well. Deal out cards based on the SPD characteristic to each player and NPC. In cases of multiple people pulling the same card with a different suit, first check DEX to determine who goes first. Otherwise, use the Deadland system (e.g. Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs in order). I found that it worked very well. Especially when you are gaming with large groups of players. It adds just the right amount of randomness, without limiting those who have paid for higher SPD values. I hope you find it useful.