Barwickian

Re: A campaign wishlist That's one of the things I need to check. My academic studies of ancient Greece focussed mostly on Athens and Sparta of the 5th century BC, and even then I'm rusty. I definitely need better research on Homeric Greece. Fortunately, that kind of research is much easier in these days of teh interwebz.

Re: A campaign wishlist More Robin Hood than Pendragon. There wasn't much pagan/wyrd stuff left outside the Baltic states by that time, contrary to what the Margaret Mead disciples believe. I'm talking really about going back to the medieval stories and using them as my basis. For instance, although there was no accepted medieval word for 'faerie' until the 14th century, there were stories about what we'd consider now to be faeries. But none of them show any vulnerability to church bells or hallowed ground - and one of them was baptised without any ill effects. The fairy aversion to Christianity dates from a later period (I postulate that it is an allergy acquired over time). Another example: stories of werewolves exist. Theologians debated whether or not it was sinful to kill one. They concluded that it was permissible to kill someone turned to a wolf by God, as God changes the true essence of the thing, so you're actually killing a wolf. It is, however, sinful to kill werewolf created by magic because magic cannot change the true nature of a thing, only its semblance, so you'd really be killing a person. There's also the delightfuly amusing story of a woman killed by eating lettuce, because she forgot to make the sign of the cross over it and there happened to be a demon hiding in it. Talk about devilled food. Would something like this be of use? It's very much a work in progress, and it's not exactly period-specific (I need to sort out sources a little better), but it's my start on a map of Homeric Greece. [ATTACH=CONFIG]42414[/ATTACH]

Re: Blueprints/Maps for sailing or oared ships

Re: Blueprints/Maps for sailing or oared ships As mentioned, TUV and HSVS provide game stats for vehicles, not plans. There are some sailing ships between them, though not many. Are you after real plans or fictional/fantasy ones? For real plans, Britain's National Maritime Museum has hundreds [link]. You might also google for nautical archaeology if you're looking for older vessels. I did a little work as a digger on some 17th/18th-century river barges known as Humber Keels a number of years ago; if I can find the archaeology report, that may be useful. Those barges weren't oared, though, and finding those old notes may not be easy. They're sail=powered, rather than oared, but it should give you a good idea of one form of pre-industrial barge. I can't find the old excavation report right now, but here's a plan of later version, near identical to the ones we were working on [link] For fantasy ship plans, Flying Buffalo's old Citybook III: Port of Call has three, I think, with ships and crews detailed. The Pilots' Almanac for Harn/Harnmaster has plans for around 30 medieval-ish boats and ships, ranging from riverboats through Viking longships, through cogs, carracks and massive trade galleys.

This is a list of FH games I want to run at some point. Most of them are historical fantasy, reflecting my love of history. Name: Borderlands Status: Active/irregular Description: My current campaign, set in the borderlands between Vestria and Khirkovy in The Turakian Age. We play as and when we're able, which is not very often (for two of the four of us, work has been ridiculously busy recently). The idea is to write this game up as a sandbox-style campaign compatible with the Basic rulebook to give away for free, hopefully giving new Hero GNs and players a from-the-box adventure pack. Name: The Anarchy (until I can think of a better one) Status: Under research Description: Medieval English c. 1140AD. Campaign originally inspired the the Anarchy campaign in ICE's FH/RM RObin Hood pack, followed up by 25 years of historical and archaeological research. Primary problem with this one is that it coincides with my primary period of historical interest: I never stop researching. Fantasy elements will be based on 12th-century stories of the supernatural, not post-Elizabethan ones (as is the case with Ars Magica). Ultimately, I intend to publish as a generic (no rules) sourcebook for general gaming. Name: Sengoku Hero/Chrysanthamum War Status: Researched/writing started Description: Hida Province, Japan, c. 1460s, in the early Warring States period. Fantasy elements based on Japanese legends. Not much concrete known about Hida during this period, which means I'm less likely to get too OCD fitting in my ideas with the actual events (my definition of "not too OCD" will probably still seem completely anal to others). Some info on this on my blog [link] Name: Greek Hero Status: Toying with the idea Description: Based heavily on Aaron Allston's Mythic Greece supplement for FH/RM, which I've had for more than 20 years and never used. Think Clash of the Titans. Keeping my fingers crossed for the Mythic Hero kickstarter... What's everyone else working on?

Re: Source for Comstar Traveller Hero books? Yeah, I'm thinking that despite FFE's very generous fan licences, this is something a little more. I was thinking of emailing Marc in advance, but despite the fact I've played his games for 30 years, I don't know him from Adam. And he doesn't know me. If you can ask him, great. If you don't see him, I'll email him.

Re: Source for Comstar Traveller Hero books? That's two out of three authors in favour. FFE's fan/non-commercial licence currently allows pretty much anything that isn't a direct copy of FFE material to go up, with the disclaimers, subject to a 90-day rescinding order from FFE. As an aside, I see Mongoose's MGT-compatible version of 2300AD is now available from RPGnow and DriveThruRPG. Now there's a tasty treat. 2300AD has been in the wilderness for far too long.

Re: Source for Comstar Traveller Hero books? I have the Comstar books, but since they're copyright and were commercial releases, I won't share them. I also have the old Traveller HERO 0.9 pdf, which was the solid core of what became the Comstar version. Shadowcat originally released that for free on the now-defunct Star Hero Fandom website. If Shadowcat and Tancred don't mind, I'm happy to give it a web-home. It carries the FFE disclaimer and is non-commercial, so shouldn't infringe Mongoose's licence. Eodin hasn't been on the boards for a year, but I could try emailing him for his consent also.

Re: Back to Traveller Hero I think the lack of mass and volume in Hero vehicle design is both a great strength and a weakness. It makes it very easy to model real-world vehicles very simply: you simply look at what they can do and rate them accordingly. For vehicles without clear stats, or for fictional-but-realistic (or fictional-with-verisimilitude) vehicles, it still satisfies in game terms, but it doesn't quite satisfy my need for as solid a base as I can get. What I tend to do in such circumstances is use GURPS Vehicles, with the 2 expansion booklets and the GURPS Vehicle Builder software (designing ehicles under GURPS is an excercise in masochism without some computerised support; a spreadsheet is the absolute minimum requirement). So for instance I have a fairly good idea of the speed and crewing requirements of a 1930s tramp steamer. If my party had a three-island tramp, its not hard to find plans and many of the stats. But when I was putting a pulp game together, we decided something smaller than the three-island design was appropriate. Pumping numbers into GURPS Vehicle Builder gave me a cruise speed close to what I expected (11 knots), gave me rates for burning coal at cruise and maximum speeds, allowed me to work out the size of the hold, etc. I took those numbers and statted the ship in Hero terms. The bits Hero doesn't cover (size of hold etc) go into the background notes. For Traveller, I've been using Megatraveller or GT (back to Vehicles again, or GT Starships), though MGT looks pretty good. For Autoduel Hero, what better than using Car Wars to design vehicles? Well, either that or... yes, GURPS Vehicles again. When I first really started getting into Hero, the freedom from such number-crunching was one of its great appeals for me. Now I tend to do the number-crunching as a preliminary step in designing a Hero vehicle unless I can find out the real-world numbers. Though I thought I wanted to get away from the number-crunching, it turns out I need it. The workflow works for me. And shadowcat, I am truly glad you're recovered after the heart attack. I've missed your posts. It's great to see you back.

Re: RIP: Professor MAR Barker One of the great world-builders. RIP, Professor.

Re: The cranky thread Heh. I don't do it on the internet (except in dedicated writing forums, where correcting grammar and/or spelling is expected); I cut people the same slack as I cut myself. I frequently post in semi-darkness, via a phone or a laptop perched on my knee - the perfect breeding ground for my already bad typo habit. And this *is* the cranky thread. Since I post under my own name, I limit what I am publicly cranky about even here. I won't bitch about anything personal. (To be perfectly honest, I don't have much that frustrates me anyway - and the things I posted are generally the bitching issues of any sub-editor.) And cheers for the rep.

Re: The cranky thread

Re: Ultra-Tech Punishments?

Re: Ultra-Tech Punishments? I should add that there are four components to sentencing I can think of (someone with legal training may know better), and so far we've only really been discussing one of them. Societies will emphasise different aspects. 1) Punishment of the offender (what we've been talking about). 2) Rehabilitation of the offender 3) Reparations/compensation to the victim 4) Public safety A more draconian society is likely to emphasise punishment. A utopian society is likely to emphasise rehabilitation and/or reparations (unless it's a dystopia in disguise, in which case offenders may just disappear - see Hot Fuzz).

Re: The cranky thread Collie, I'm recruiting for the copy desk I run. Alongside " unique", I loathe "best ever" or "first ever". A thing is best or it is not. A thing is first or it is not. And then there's the people who use "over" when they mean "more than", and those who confuse "less than" with "fewer than".

Re: Ultra-Tech Punishments? Mindwipe/lobotomy/personality alteration - there are potential ethical issues here. Is a mindwipe just another form of death penalty? What of personality alteration (either by partial mindwipe, lobotomy, psionic intervention or advanced psychiatry)? Is it simply curing a mental illness or something more ethically unsound (consider Traveller's psionic Zhodani, who regard 'crimes' such as theft, murder, being unhappy with one's lot in life and dissatisfaction with the government as curable mental illnesses). A Clockwork Orange explores some of the ethical issues (the book does it better than the film). Exile or transportation might be used - transportation could be to an "prison zone" such as the Midwest ('Coventry' in Heinlein's Revolt in 2100), an island (Brave New World), an abandoned area of a city (Escape from New York) or a dedicated prison planet (sources too numerous to mention). There may be guards and authorities present (as with the British colonies in Virginia and, after some colonial types had a tea party without inviting us, Australia), or transportees could be left to fend for themselves. If guards and authorities are present, prisoners may be used as captive labour (state-imposed slavery, basically), and the employment may be hazardous. Even if guards aren't present in the prison zone (or planet), they'll likely patrol the boundaries to look for escapees. Tagging/physical control - already used to enforce curfews, house arrest, bans on being in certain places, etc. Do as you will be done by - if braintaping is possible, you could make the convict feel the pain of his victim by playing the tape back through their brain. A murderer or a mugger would relive the event from the victim's perspective. Mankind being what it is, I'd expect a black market in snuff braintapes to develop. Enforced paralysis/sensory deprivation - again, ethical issues arise (is it a form of torture?) Enforced paralysis (done either surgically or with drugs) would leave the victim unable to move, and possibly requiring IV drips, but their brain alert. Sensory deprivation is possible now. Extended periods of either are likely to lead to madness. The Long Death - you lose your access to rejuvenation tech and/or cloning, and must grow old and die while those around you remain young. Drafted - you (or just your brain) are conscripted into the armed forces. Stick a killer's brain into a cybertank, drug it up when not needed, unleash it on the enemy when it is.

Re: Ultra-Tech Punishments?

Re: Starting from scratch, newbie help request I think that's a much more well-rounded build. He's still not great in combat (though he has his psi powers to back up his pistol and his fisticuffs), but he's better than a rank beginner. Test combats are a great idea. I learnt a lot about how Hero functions from that. Consider making yourself some crib notes to speed up combat (or buy the Hero System resource kit PDF, print it out and alter the ranges and manoeuvres to fit 6e - the resource kit is a 5e product). Hunting up rules is a major source of slowdown when you're familiarising yourself with the system. And born 'n' bred, eh? Nah then, ah'll 'ave it known Robin were Yorksher, an' Nottinum owny 'as t'Sheriff. Sithee!

Re: Starting from scratch, newbie help request First, psionic powers - predesign some you're happy to have in your campaign. This will give players a list to pick from, or something to inpsire them. If you allow custom psi powers, it is usual to have some standard limitations (for instance, do the all cost extra END, no END, do they require a power skill roll? Will you have one Psi skill or separate ones for telepathy, clarivoyance, etc). Likewise prepare some standardised weapons (unless you use the ones from Star Hero). Decide also which weapon styles you want. Slug throwers, lasers, blasters... Same with armour. Next, give some thought to the abilities you'll give NPCs. This isn't simply a Star Hero issue, it applies to all Hero games. You need to know what the players will be going up against so that you can tell the players what counts as good in combat, weak in combat or average in combat. Board regular Tasha has an excellent guide to creating Hero characters on her blog here. Look at what she suggests a player needs to know in order to design a character, and make sure you have that information ready. You will need to help them create characters as well. For example, many beginners, if they want a sniper character, will buy high OCV and high skill with ranged weapons (or just rifles if they want something cheaper). An experienced player is more likely to spend somewhat less on the skill, but buy penalty skill levels to counteract range and hit location penalties, allowing them to pull off headshots at range with ease. Name abilities you give your characters. It's a wonderful way to add colour and flavour (for instance, in the example above, I might call the OCV rifle skills Sharpshooter, the range penalty skill levels Hawk Eye and the hit location penalty skill levels Crack Shot or Dead Eye) On the example character you gave... He's rubbish in combat. All his combat-relevant characteristics are at base level, which makes him about as effective as a Normal. This may be intentional, but to be honest I'd expect a cop, even a psi-cop, to have better combat skills. His psi-skills are also weak, because you've added only one level of OMCV (and you haven't added any DMCV at all, which makes him susceptible to psi attacks). His TK Push (bought as a blast) isn't too likely to be effective as that will use his OCV. That may also be intentional. I notice you've used 4 points to add +1 skill level each to Conversation and Interrogation. For those points, you could instead buy +1 skill level with all interaction skills (call that Smooth Talker or something). Or you could spend just 3 points to get +1 skill level with Conversation, Interrogation and another related skill (High Society, perhaps). His skill list is extensive. Maybe lose a few in order to boost combat or mental combat skills? Also, create (or adopt) an Everyman skill list for your campaign - these are skills everyone gets at the 8- level for free. If you're figuring players will spend around 70 points on psi powers (as this character has), maybe the 175 character point level is too tight a limit. Consider moving it up to 225 points, which will allow them to do some non-psi stuff as well. Finally, don't be afraid to keep asking the boards for help. The more specific your question, the more likely you are to get a useful answer.

I picked up a copy of Mongoose Traveller (MGT) when I was last in the UK anearly three years ago. After a brief flick through it ("Humph! Doesn't do anything the LBBs didn't do."), I put it on a shelf, and I've only just picked it up to start reading it. And I'm kicking myself for not giving it a proper chance when I bought it. It DOES do things the LBBs didn't do, and it manages to do them while keeping the LBB feel. To be able to modernise such a classic game and keep it thoroughly old school is as close to genius as I've seen in a game for a long time. And its default setting is the CT one: 1105 - whatever variation of Trav I play - LBBs, MT, GT - I always go back to that era, the build-up and actuality of the Fifth Frontier War. I took advantage of the GM's Day discounts at RPG Now to buy up a long list of MGT PDFs. The really cool thing about the system is that you really only need the core book in print for play - everything else is gravy and optional rules for very specific styles of play. And yet... I don't think my players are going to bite. I've spent too long easing them into Hero, and they're now loving the flexibility both in character design and in tactical situations. So, I'm back to toying with the idea of Traveller Hero again. I have the now unavailable Comstar PDFs but (a) they're for 5th edition ( they're ridiculously mechanics heavy, © they add unnecessary and occasionally non-canon stuff (at least, non-canon from the perspective of one who skipped T4) and (d) I feel some of the danger of Trav combat is reduced; I'd add a DC or two onto most of the weapon damage, for instance - not quite enough to make it as lethal as Trav combat, but definitely cranking it up from the usual Hero level. All of those basically amount to starting over, as far as I'm concerned. I think there's a lot I can draw directly from MGT. Trade will work from the box, with a little finesse on things like DMs (I'd rule for characteristics and skills, 11- is +0, 12- is +1 and so on). And if trade works from the box, then prices must come directly from MGT as well. Starship combat may require more thought; Travifying Star Hero ship combat may be the way to go. World design can come straight from MGT. Character design, personal equipment, psionics, etc, will be Hero. I'd be inclined to build things like ships and vehicles in MGT and convert them to Hero 6. That has the advantage of allowing for volume and power requirements, which Hero hand waves (and the fact that Hero hand waves them makes converting things like this into Hero very easy). This is not a project I'm planning to start soon. I've an ongoing, if irregular, Turakian Age game going, which I've committed to writing up as a free Fantasy Hero sandbox in the hopes of attracting new players. But I am interesting in board members' suggestions and ideas for when I am ready to start. I think the FFE fair use licence will allow me to post stuff online. I envisage this material being the kind of stuff you'd need Hero 6, MGT and some form of Classic Trav-compatible setting material to use (CT, MGT and T4 supplements should all work). For instance, if I give my way of using MGT trade and speculation in Hero, you'd need the MGT core book to use the trade and speculation rules in that.

Re: What Have You Watched Recently? Last night's movie: Cowboys & Aliens. I really enjoyed it - a romp, for sure, but a nicely done one. Craig and Ford worked for me. Watched it twice, as Number One Son missed the first run. Previous night's movie: Casablanca. Thank you TCM, it's been too long - my copy is on VHS and I haven't had a VCR for 6 years.

Re: Dungeons, suitable for crawling or delving? They'll assume it's undead. I would.

Re: "Neat" Pictures You could peel the stickers off and put them back in order...

Re: Ctrl+V Maldives’ former President Mohamed Nasheed, center, waves to wellwishers as he marches with his supporters in Male, Maldives,

Re: "Neat" Pictures