Nolgroth

My favorite YouTube channel.

Not really any single player, as I have encounter this phenomena many times over a long gaming career. It usually goes along these lines. This is one of two or three really hot button topics for me. Bob never really liked Mike. Whether something happened outside of the game or just not liking "the cut of Mike's jib," Bob just detests Mike. To make matters worse, Mike has no clue regarding the situation and if he does, he doesn't understand why there is a problem. To Bob, though, Mike is an unwelcome addition to the gaming group. Now, for the most part, Bob is able to constrain his darker impulses but somewhere along the line, he passes a note, "I backstab/attack Mike's character." The ensuing conversation, carried out via passed notes basically turns out that there is no valid in-character reason, it's just that today Bob has decided to show his proverbial ass. This has happened to me in literally every single campaign I have ever run. The two players may be different, but the situation is almost identical. I ended my last online campaign (way back in 2009) because of this. The "Bob" in that situation was a close friend to two of the other players. That left the "Mike" in that scenario and one other player. As I didn't want to cause discord and malcontent, I just walked away from the group and the game. I could have handled it better, but that move completely took the wind out of my proverbial sails. I have created two solutions to this. I explain both to a group when we first start playing. The first one is a strict "no notes" policy. The only time a note can be passed is if it pertains to something outside of the game. A valid example would be something like "Hey, my daughter has a dance recital at 6, can you find a way to write me out for the night that doesn't involve killing my character?" Other than that, everything must be announced at the table. Roleplaying is a group event that should be shared anyway. If somebody insists on passing the "Backstab" note anyway, I immediately cease the game. I have to, because the situation is one of those that genuinely makes me angry. I explain why (leaving out the involved names) and promise to give the campaign a second chance next session. If it repeats itself, then once again I explain the situation and resign my position within the gaming group. Now, this is not to say that conflict between two characters is not allowed. If the campaign events suggest this as a viable course of action and the players are good sports about it, party conflict can be an amazingly rich story development. It is the underhanded, one player trying to ruin the experience for another that pisses me off.

C:TNM remains the only version of Champions I actually played more than one session of.

Long As I Can See the Light - Creedence Clearwater Revival

Been awhile since I ran a game and studied the deep esoterica of Hero System, but I would judge that Aid would require AoE. It is a good method if the spell wears off but might get prohibitively expensive to do so. Transform is not something I would recommend. Barrier is your best bet if the change is permanent. The special effect of transforming the rock to this new "dense rock" can easily be simulated using that rule more easily than others. Just toss on a "Only to harden the existing rock" requirement (which, at best, I would allow a -¼ Limitation on) and define it as the existing rock in the defined area. I know the Barrier power says "create," but sculptors "create" art from existing clay or stone. This is much the same concept. Just my $0.02.

Thanks for the info. I will consider your offer.

Hey Savinien. Long time. When and what format does your group play at/with?

I came late to Turakian Age and I never actually fell for it as written. It always seemed better suited to something like the Wheel of Time to me, where humans were the overwhelmingly dominant species and there was a lot of detail regarding the individual nations and cultures therein. Even the map evokes that feel for me. Using Tolkien/D&D staple races always seemed to detract from the setting at large. I could force a sort of "Forgotten Realms in Hero" vibe overlay, but it just wasn't as satisfying to me. Ultimately, I gave up and just decided to work on more personalized settings. I still tinker with them from time to time, though I doubt that much will come of them. I haven't been involved in a game since 2009 and these days, where taking offense at every little thing seems to be a new art form, I don't feel really confident in looking for a new group.

I too love Shadowrun 4/5 (essentially the same thing but with some finer points changed from one iteration to the other). For the longest time, I thought that the Hero 3d6 curve was BOR-ING. I spent a lot of energy trying to shoehorn different dice systems in its place. In the end, a Hero but Roll High method has become my favorite method for speedy dice rolls. I will stick with the Shadowrun system for Shadowrun, but for almost everything else, the Hero system pretty much has an easy to use dice system. Still boring though.

This. This right here. I love Hero. I love the way it flows once you start actually using it. I just don't have the time, energy and motivation to create an entire setting from scratch. It's just easier to pick another product off of the shelf and run with whatever system it was built for.

Hello Herophiles, I've corrected and re-uploaded my campaign to the RPTools site at http://forums.rptools.net/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=18939&p=199843#p199843 I will not be posting or responding here at the Hero Games site, but I will check the RPTools thread.

interesting. There is a member here that spews far more filth onto the page than my little "stick" and appears to be unchallenged. I suppose if the rhetoric agrees with you then it is fine. Whatever. Go ahead and give those Moderation Abilities a whirl. It has been a fun ride but I am, quite frankly, sick of the bias around here. Thank you, and I mean that in all earnestness, for keeping this place going. I'm just not prepared to shut my mouth when I have to read insults that encompass me because of my ideology while a little poking earns me a threat. See y'all down the road someplace.

Well, in the interest of full disclosure, I was just using the pretense as an "in" to slam Hillary Clinton. Juvenile of me perhaps, but somehow it still satisfies my inner gremlin.

I've heard the equal and opposite view espoused by folks on the Right. They often miss the point that the Right pretty much holds the cards right now and is doing a much better job at playing 52 pick-up than they are playing their hand.

I support your opinion. Hillary never need run again and trouble us with her evil cackle. Besides, I am willing to bet that the Democrats can field a way better candidate than Hillary Clinton could ever hope to be.