Roland

Re: Resurrection In the ancient Middle East (the context where our idea of Resurrection originated), the spirit was popularly imagined to linger near the body for three days after death before departing. Resurrection after the third day would have been considered . . . miraculous!

Earlier this week, Steve answered my question in the Rules Forum about whether the Flail Maneuver costs END beyond that for STR to use the weapon: http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41936 Steve referred me to 5ER, p. 383. The relevant sentence reads, "Using a Combat Maneuver typically costs 1 END (see page 425), and the character also has to pay the END cost for any STR or power used with the Maneuver." So it appears that when you use the Flail Maneuver or any other Combat Maneuver you have to pay 1 END for the maneuver in addition to the END you pay for the STR you use. I had never heard of this before - we have not done it that way in either of the Fantasy Hero campaigns I have played in. So I started digging. This sentence did not appear in the equivalent section of 5E. I consulted one of my GMs (I first played in his Champions campaign 20 years ago, so his knowledge of the rules goes way back). He tried to explain it away by suggesting the 1 END was only for maneuvers that did not involve a STR min, but I have trouble reconciling that interpretation with either the Flail-Maneuver context or the literal words of p. 383. This rule is apparently mitigated by a sentence on p. 425, which says, "Martial Maneuvers do not cost END." So it would appear that a warrior who uses a plain old Strike maneuver with a weapon must pay an extra 1 END for the maneuver, while a martial artist (with the proper weapon element) could swing the same weapon with Martial Strike without paying the extra END. Am I interpreting the rules correctly? Is this a change introduced by 5ER, or has it always been this way?

The description of how to build the Flail Maneuver on p. 169 of Fantasy Hero does not include Reduced END. When I construct it in HD, it comes up with an END cost of 1. Is the Flail Maneuver intended to cost extra END beyond that used for STR with the weapon? The Whip is described on the same page. It also lacks Reduced END. Does one pay END for RKA or Stretching in addition to STR?

Re: Dragon Wing-Buffet Using the Double Knockback advantage was the first thing that occurred to me too. Could this be fleshed out into a full dragonish martial art? In addition to Shove with the wings, you could use Legsweep with the tail. (If this is an Asian-based campaign, you could give the human form Shaolin Dragon Kung Fu!)

Re: Please Critique My First Ever Build Yeah, give him a few Everydragon skills! He will need some sort of language. Do dragons have their own language? I think a general PER bonus might be in order. As a fire-breathing dragon, he might have some vulnerability to cold-based attacks (in case the GM thinks 35 points of Psych Lims is too much for one disad category). As to your question about Leaping . . . I recall seeing a rule, probably optional, about decreasing Leaping distance for characters of greater mass or density.

Re: Mental Attacks: Visibility Thereof From 5E (not revised), p. 131: "If the Effect Roll is insufficient to reach the desired level, the attack has no effect, but it does alert the target."

Re: Influx of Slaves If elf-slave labor displaces human labor in any region or sector, then you'll have a problem of unemployment or underemployment. You could have lower prices and plenty of money in circulation, but anyone who can't find a full-time paying job won't reap his share of the benefits. One way or another, I would expect the situation to resolve itself by using some of that money to employ or support the displaced peasants and workers. Markdoc gave two possibilities - military recruitment and a public dole. I suggested public works projects. Another possibility is colonization - encouraging the unemployed to settle in newly discovered or conquered lands. Perhaps the nobles who have staked claims in the fairy lands will need to import human workers to farm their land, work their mines, etc. There could be an exchange of populations - elves to the mundane world, where their magic does not work, and non-magical humans to the fairy lands. The rulers will think they have precluded the possibility of magical revolt. But maybe the humans will start to develop magic if they live in the fairy lands long enough . . .

Re: Influx of Slaves The impact of the influx of booty from the elf lands would depend on 1) whether gold/treasure is considered ultimate wealth, in and of itself, or simply a means to various ends; and 2) the proximity of countries with good trade relations. If the lords of your home country try to keep the treasure at home by rigging trade laws to discourage imports (mercantilism), the inflationary effect of the treasure influx will be magnified, and it could make for hostile relations with neighboring countries. But if they freely spend their newfound wealth abroad, then the inflationary impact will be spread out and diluted, and foreigners will be eager to sell them stuff. In the latter scenario, the long-term impact will depend on how they spend their new wealth. If they live it up and squander their wealth on an unsustainable standard of living (silks and spices), it will be easy come and easy go. If, OTOH, they are wise enough to invest their windfall in something that will pay long-term dividends (new port facilities, public sanitation, repair of fortifications, R&D), they could put all those unemployed peasants to work and improve their nation's long-term prospects. This is unlikely, however, unless you have power concentrated in the hands of a strong, visionary leader. Historically, I'm afraid, the easy-come, easy-go scenario is more common.

Re: Why the "Big Release" Polls Are Flawed Which election? 2000 or 2004? Primary or general election? If American-style democracy actually picked the candidate a majority of Americans wanted, John McCain would now be serving his second term. He was clearly the popular favorite in 2000, especially among rank-and-file Republicans and independents. But independents can't vote in most states' party primaries, and the hacks who run the parties can manipulate things in favor of "establishment" candidates. Any system that involves multiple rounds of voting on different combinations of issues/candidates is easy to manipulate. A well-positioned, well-organized minority can often thwart the will of the majority.

Re: Older HERO rules in 5E games In my Fantasy Hero campaign, we have continued using the 4E weapon tables by unanimous consensus. The 5E change that has drawn the most complaints is Combat Sense, which jumped from 3 points to 15 points, with a write-up that makes it more like a psychic ability than a skill (since it's not based on natural senses).

Re: Why the "Big Release" Polls Are Flawed The problem Super Squirrel points out here is not unique to Hero polls - it is inherent to democracy. According to Arrow's Impossibility Theorem, it is impossible to devise a voting scheme that will always meet all the criteria one would demand of such a scheme. There is an entire sub-field of economics called public choice that looks at collective decision making. Public choice economists have found all sorts of anomalies like Derek's example.

Re: THE ULTIMATE SPEEDSTER -- What Do *You* Want To See? Road Runner! From the Cartoon Hero genre . . .

This is a follow-up to my earlier question on this topic. 1. A character uses Sweep to make two attacks. He uses the Passing Strike maneuver for both attacks, and he has Running speed of 10". He runs far enough to get the full damage bonus from his 10" Running (+2 DC on a normal attack or +1 DC on a killing attack). Does he get the full damage bonus on both attacks or only on the first? Or, to put it differently, is his velocity still 10" when he makes the second attack? 2. Same scenario as above, except that he uses Passing Strike for the first attack and Martial Disarm for the second. Is this allowed? (Using a maneuver with the Full Move element in order to close distance and set up a second attack with a different maneuver seems a bit cheesy to me.)

Re: Quick Question Okay, I read up on HtH Attack in 5E, and I think I get it now. The fact that it adds to STR is a two-edged sword - both an advantage and a limitation. It is a limitation because you can use HtH only with STR, whereas you can use EB (even with the No Range limitation) in situations where you cannot use STR. I also compared to 3E and 4E. In 3E, it appears HtH did not exist. In 4E, it was only 3 points per d6, so it is actually a bit more expensive in 5E. When my copy of 5E Revised arrives, maybe I'll keep the old 5E at the office so I can look up these things when I'm near my computer.

Re: Quick Question The default advantage of EB is that it has range. The default advantage of HtH is that STR adds to it. It makes sense that No Range is a -1/2 limitation on EB, since that gives you, essentially, a HtH attack that you cannot add STR to. But it appears to me that Erkenfresh's proposed HtH Attack is STR+8d6. He pays for the +1.25 AE Selective advantage only on the +8d6 and effectively gets it on his STR for free. That's why one might want to buy a HtH Attack instead of buying STR with a naked advantage.

Re: Quick Question How does Hand-to-Hand Attack limit a Hand-to-Hand Attack? Why is it worth -1/2?

Regarding (e): We had assumed that Passing Strike functions, essentially, as a Martial Move By. Since the Sweep mechanic cannot be used with Move By, we had assumed Sweep also cannot be used with Passing Strike, but that one would need to do Multiple Passing Strikes instead. If Multiple Passing Strikes are out, can you use Sweep with Passing Strike?

Re: Character ideas for a new player Increase your Running speed from 6" to 7". That will increase your half-move from 3" to 4", which can be important for a light fighter.

Re: [Campaign Log] Sophia's Barbarians What's happening in Elweir? Did Sophia give the barbarians another week off?

Re: Combat Skill Levels Yes, it would be munchkiny. Fantasy Hero anticipates the munchkiny question and issues a mostly negative response (see page 87). It is suggested that, for a 2-point CSL, one should narrow the applicability of the CSL by weapon class or circumstance, since Strike is the standard generic attack in the fantasy genre. As for your other question, a 3-point CSL with a HtH weapon should only be applied in ways that are appropriate for that weapon. I can't think of a HtH weapon that would help you block or dodge a missile attack (if you want to do that you should buy Missile Deflection). However, if you took a 3-point CSL with your shield, I think you could make a case for applying the CSL against any attack the shield applies to (assuming you are allocating the CSL to DCV, and not to OCV for a shield bash).

Re: A Question of Title Fantasy Hero lists baronet as rank 3, above squire (1) and knight (2), below baron (4). It does not say anything about a baronet being the son of a baron. Here is how the Encyclopaedia Britannica defines baronet: British hereditary dignity, first created by King James I in May 1611. The baronetage is not part of the peerage, nor is it an order of knighthood. A baronet ranks below barons but above all knights except a knight of the garter. The baronetcy is inherited by the male heirs of a baronet. One became a baronet by paying a specified sum of money to the king (originally 1,095 pounds). Yes, the title was invented as a scheme to raise funds for the royal treasury! Like a knight, a baronet was addressed as "sir." Unlike a knighthood, a baronetcy could be passed on to one's heirs. So this title is probably not appropriate to a medieval campaign if you want to be historical. Perhaps you could replace it in the Lordship Perk hierarchy with a higher sort of knighthood, e.g. a rank of knight commander or membership in an order of knighthood.

Re: Assorted Magical Artifacts I didn't see STR minima listed for any of the weapons. Does this mean anyone can use them? And add his full STR to the damage?

Re: Growing Up Polytheistic

Re: [Campaign Log] Sophia's Barbarians Yes, but you should assume the creature has its reasons, even if the GM does not (yet) know what they are. The GM might later think of some interesting logical repurcussions that would have been foreseen by the creature at the time.

Re: Growing Up Polytheistic