AmadanNaBriona

Re: Herophile Fantasy art

It's the little thread that WOULD NOT DIE!

Re: House rules: speed, height advantage, gang up bonus, facing, dodging?

Thanks Lucius. Been too long since I delved into TFT, couldn't remember any specific system details. About what I was thinking tho. Think Speed 2 = normal 1 attack/TFT turn character, Speed 4= 2 attacks per TFT turn

Re: House rules: speed, height advantage, gang up bonus, facing, dodging?

the original incarnation of HERO, Champions, was first conceived during the same "wargames style tactical rules for combat systems" era that spawned TFT, and has functionally evolved since. I'm a pretty hard core old school tactical wargamer, and HERO is darn near the only RPG system I'll play or run anymore. That might hint at the system's actual flexibility. Seriously, this system has the capability to support incredible tactical depth, flexibility and realism, once you learn it's tricks. Trying to alter the system to adapt comfortable rules from other systems is the #1 way newcomers to HERO end up breaking the system and leaving players with a poor initial experience.

Re: How do you Hero GMs prepare for new campaigns?

As I see it the main pitfalls right out the gate are don't get hung up on the rules too quickly, and beware trying to directly convert from other games systems by making house rules, at least until you grok the underlying axioms of the system solidly.

That out of the way, I start by dreaming.

I dream about the kind of campaign I want to run, what kind of world I want to set it in. I scribble notes, and sketches, and maps. I ponder the supernatural, and how it works in this world. I think about what kinds of stories this world seems to lend to mind, to establish a general character level (Epic, Super, Legendary, Heroic, for me, I seldom go less except for one offs).

A key HERO axiom is designing to effect, so the better a grasp you have on the way your game world works, the easier it'll translate into game stats, and the easier it'll be getting pro-level help from the friendly folk on this 'ere board.

Step in with an esoteric rules quibble and a help thread'll derail in seconds.

Ask "How would you folk write up this idea?" and you'll get pages of responses falling over themselves to come up with the cleverest most elegant build.

Oh and welcome back. We have pie

Re: Making Magic seem distinct.

I kind of like that for combat spells, but for non-combat stuff, that tends to have high Active points, but lots of limitations. For example, all three casters in my quick little playtest had Caps of 60 active points for any Non-damage based combat utility spells, where damaging spells had caps at half of that (basically to keep Magic-users seeming magical, but not overshadowing non-magic users), however two of them (and to a lesser extent, the third) had a big spell that essentially defined their character flavor-wise. It was usually filled with tons of limitations, so in many cases, it ended up only being one or two points, and almost never applicable for any situation that the players would encounter, but it was something that made the characters feel special. The old earth elementalist wizard was an architect, so he had a spell that took a week to cast, but he could summon a house or castle built on up to 300 total points (135 Active points for the spell). The cleric of the goddess of Freedom and Revolution had a 180 Active point spell that could convince all the peasants and serfs and otherwise downtrodden in a city to rise up in revolution, after, of course a week solely devoted to making speeches, which, if she was caught by whatever tyrannical government she was inspiring the people to revolt from, would grant her and all people involved, a death sentence, and/or the Negative reputation complication, and of course the spell could only be used once a year. Even the Inquisitor, who was the least magical of the casters, had an 80 active point spell which compelled the target to tell the truth, and his next most powerful spell was a Magical Damage Negation spell, built on 30 Active points.

 

So is there any system that can allow for these spells which are significantly more powerful, in terms of active points, but are also heavily limited to prevent their use (except, more or less, as fluff)?

You could totally do this with a High AP Control, low Real Point Pool VPP, which was gonna be my suggestion for a Divine Ritual style of magic as distinct from the MP style Tuala Morn style magic suggested above for an Arcane system

Re: Post apocalyptic HERO

Lucifer's Hammer is basically what I am going for. Somewhere in between Lucifer's Hammer and Dies the Fire.

 

My game is going to be set in Charleston, WV - a combination of world geopolitical turmoil (nuclear war in the middle east) and tectonic plate shift caused tsunamis have rendered society pretty much back to the dark ages, except for what they have hung onto. The coastline of the USA is devastated, and without power/irrigation, much of the west and midwest reverts to a dust bowl scenario quickly. One of the "suprises" I intend to spring on the players is that West Virginia is one of the places on earth that are better off.

 

The early plotlines are going to have the PCs facing off a bit with minor political overlord A (a cult leader basically) and eventually overthrow her hold on part of the city. Another political leader who seems nice but really isn't will be sitting there waiting for them to put him on the throne - or to be a rival. Meanwhile the in between plots with bandits, scavenging, rumors of equipment, etc. will fill in the blanks.

 

Once they've got the city straightened out, they either decide to stay and improve life there or move on to form their own area. Generally thats what I've got planned, I have a lot more detail written out but don't want to share too much on a board that could be read by players.

 

Its low post apocalyptic, like mad max. nothing fantastic. I'm going to rely a lot on tough moral decisions, environment-as-villains, political intrigue, and your basic bandit/cannibal type plots to make it go. I'm really looking forward to the group being faced with some tough decisions and having to make hard decisions instead of "powering through" with magic or something.

Sounds like a solid basis to work from. I just finished rereading the whole After the Change series (Dies the Fire), have you read the counterpart Nantucket series? It gives a good perspective on what kinds of technologies could be salvaged into forming the basis for a post crash technological level.

where in the time scale are you setting this? Both of the examples you mentioned are mostly set During the Apocalypse. Technological civilization will survive in some sense for the first couple of generations... too many diesels, too many solar panels, tons of alternators waiting to be turned into water or wind generators, black powder is too easy to make. Heck, low power solid state LEDs are everywhere now, they're tough as heck, and easy to wire. My default assumption is that the first 50-75 years are likely to stay around

19th Century tech levels, on the lower end for the rural types (Flintlocks/caplocks/crossbows and animal pulled farm implements) with Victorian tech for the upper classes (Limited electricity, indoor plumbing, artisan crafted machines and weapons, limited industrial production). It'd take active social suppression to wipe out that level of tech, it's just too well understood and documented. The old Anti-tech fanatics idea could be used, perhaps tied into your bad guy Cult.

Opens up an amusing option...if West Virgina and environs are stuck in the dark ages because of the local cult, once they've stomped him and King Jerk@ss is trying to take over, having a Royal Australian Air Force Airship show up on a survey flight could really throw things into a tailspin if everything's been swords and crossbows to that point.

Re: More space news!

I like living in the future, baby

Re: Post apocalyptic HERO

Heh...ran my Aftermath game modeled on Lucifers Hammer as well. Great Minds.

 

~Rex.... Such a good book as well. Think I'll dig it out and re read it when I get home.

It's one of the best Pre-to-Post Apocalypse books ever written, and I hope someday to either see a good screen adaptation

, or make enough dough to fund my own

Re: The cranky thread

Damn.

Sorry to hear that, buddy. My heart is with you.

Re: Post apocalyptic HERO

Run various forms of "Post Apocolyptic" ranging from Realistic "Mad Max" stuff up to full blown Thundarr the Barbarian Conquers Gamma World stuff .....Not to hard, just depends how "real you want it".....

 

~Rex....Veteran of Every Post Apocalyptic RPG ever made. Converted them all to HERO but still has a Soft spot for Aftermath and The Morrow Project.....

I'm with Rex here.

Nothing I like better than sitting down with a shiny new atlas and deciding how I'm gonna destroy the world.

I've got that same soft spot, Rex. Two of the best ever made. Played the living hell out of The Morrow Project, eventually converted our Lucifer's Hammer inspired Aftermath game into Hero. We also mashed up the rules from Danger International, Champions 2 (for the vehicle rules) and Autoduel Champions and did a Car Wars inspired hero game.

So, yeah, count me in as a willing brainstormer

Re: A Thread for Random Musings

I remember listening to the Apocalyptica tecno remix of O Fortuna while driving my '66 Mustang through the ruins of North Hollywood, loaded down with water, MRE's, blankets, and lanterns, with an M-1 Garand sitting between the seats and APC's on every major intersection.

You just can't make sh*t like that up.

(day after the North Ridge quake, if you were wondering. My Fiance' lived down there)

Re: Superman Averts World War II?

Some general random thoughts.

No more "No Empire, No More" Colonial Imperialism would die hard if WW2 was averted.

If the Germans were stop punched that early, would the Hindenberg disaster have played out the same? Airships might have continued to play a significant commercial role for quite a lot longer without a very public disaster combined with the research boost the war gave aeronautics. Would possibly also have delayed the onset of the space program, once again by removing the wartime research imperative.

I'd suspect in this world, the first time a nuke would be used in anger would be at Supes, because he'd serve in the deterrent role if you're thinking realistically about it (While DKR and Watchmen are both Iron age, both address some of the possible "Superman as Deterrent" style world changes). It's also possible that things would go the way of Golden Boy in the Wildcards series, where Supes would use his powers along side the "Good Guys" to fix the various woes of the world until the politicians get scared and go all McCarthy on him.

Re: Cool Guns for your Games

A couple more interesting things...

 

http://www.ar15performance.com/new_products

 

I may have posted these in the past, interesting bullets

http://lehighbullets.com/products.asp?cat=31

http://lehighbullets.com/products.asp?cat=26

 

and one that is fascinating, somewhat terrifying, and I am not sure how practical... Imagine vaporizing varmints, with a .45-70!

http://lehighbullets.com/products.asp?cat=32

LOL. Seriously. If I ever get me a .45-70 lever gun I GOTTA get me some of those.

Low recoil, 10 foot muzzle blast... the very idea of a .45-70 CQB round has me all grinnin'

Re: The cranky thread

My sympathies on the various cats and appetite problems, as I've been suffering both myself.

I awoke far too early today, drenched in sweat and despair.

I don't usually remember my dreams.

Given how I sleep, I'm generally glad of it.

When I do remember my dreams, they hit me in strange ways.

Apocalyptic landscapes, horrible eldrich abominations, hordes of undead, premonitions of my own death... These don't faze me.

Dream that my girl friend is lying beside me in bed, and that she reached over to give me a loving hug, and I can't freaking cope.

Re: A Thread for Random Videos

Ha. I was thinking the same thing.

I'd need an ammo hopper the size of the damned mech, just to handle the continual fire being produced by my maniacal smile of doom

Re: Alternate History Trooper Loadout?

Keep recoilless rifles instead of guided missiles. Instead of grenade launchers' date=' stick to rifle grenades. Keep the cranked Gatling principle for machine guns (which means electrically driven mini-guns become the norm in place of gas operation) or keep MGs water cooled ah la the Maxim.[/quote']

I dig these ideas. A significantly worse Franco-Prussian war could easily have bred these into common military use, as these were all pretty much cutting edge tech. Gatling toying around with a motor driven gun but couldn't see a use for the insane ROF it produced, and shelved the idea because it wasted ammo. the idea could have been readopted anytime after that, certainly.

 

And then I could have a chain gun version of my 5 pound Hotchkiss Revolving Cannon...

 

Can't help you with explosives - dynamite is' date=' well, dynoMITE! It's the BOMB. Really, TNT's invention was pretty much IT for explosives. Everything else is is just fancier, but having your campaign world stick to TNT won't make it feel all that different from reality.[/quote']

Indeed, although if materials tech had progressed a little faster the idea of the dynamite cannons and torpedoes they were playing around with might have gotten further along, enough to entrench the design ideas and possibly lead to a very early development of the liquid binary high explosive propellant cannon, which are just under rail guns for *oomph* on the projectile weapons tech tree.

 

Also, if you're looking at advancing RR and gatling tech, there might be a larger demand for impact detonated Semi-AP HE rounds, like tungsten jacketed Lead Azide rounds. IIRC Silver Azide is even more volatile, but loads more expensive to produce. Could see this being a nasty upgrade to either tech (I'm thinking beehive type munitions in the case of the RR's) Rotary drum style magazines with the ability to select your rounds would be a logical advance we currently use on shotguns that'd track over to recoil-less arms. Advances in recoilless-ness tech would probably also lead to a sort of assault GL style portable RR as a squad support weapon.

Re: Chainmail Bikini Effects

All this time and nobody made a 'Woad Rage' joke? I'm disappointed.

but now YOU went there. Well done. *golf clap*

Seriously, on the woad topic... while I'm not sure quite which one they used, it's pretty clear to most of the pagan reenactor types who've been trying to figure out the "twue" Battle Woad recipe that one of the many DMT bearing plants and or fungi native to N. Europe was a major contributor. Possibly a natural MAOI as well, which would put the concoction into Ayahuasca territory, effects wise. No reason to think the Picts didn't understand Amanita Muscaria just as well as the other indigenous people of Europe like the Suomi.

Re: Chainmail Bikini Effects

I missed this comment the first time around, I guess.

 

Yes, I could see abilities like these on Shampoo's character sheet. They are meant to represent abilities women can have to take advantage of male chauvinism.

 

"She's only a woman! How is she beating us?"

I had an ex who consistently tried to take advantage of the distractions available from her rather hypnotic cleavage. Actually worked rather well on a lot of the guys she sparred with, and she was always kinda annoyed that I could ignore her doing it.

Maybe Combat levels, with RSR, opposed Seduction/Charm roll vs Ego roll and Only vs. Appropriate Orientation?

Re: A Thread for Random Videos

I once played a Toon character inspired by that wolf....

Re: Paladin Martial Art?

Yup. One of my favourite old FH characters was a serjent from an order of Paladins. One of the other players played a young, idealistic Paladin, with jedi-like powers. I played a grizzled, cynical old warrior with a few dirty fighting tricks.

 

cheers, Mark

Heh, sounds much like one of my characters, a mercenary turned bounty hunter.

Got into it with my friends' fresh-off-the-monastery warrior monk (of the more D&D style of Monk) over the escaped slavegirl I was dragging back in chains (my g/f's character, in fact) and demonstrated that a handful of sand and a sucker punch can in fact trump a youth spent studying unarmed combat, if one is unaccustomed to unethical fighters.

Re: A Thread for Random Videos

She will be my bride. I know I already have one, but seriously, we'll make room. I love every thing about her, except of course that she can just run the heck away from me and there's not much I do to catch her.

 

That video is freaking hypnotic.

I have come to realize, by careful examination of the available data, that I have a strong preference for broad shouldered women.

She pretty much makes me go all Roger Rabbit, yeah.

Re: Paladin Martial Art?

yeah, I think you have to look to some of the tribal cultures to see any hints that might exist. The Tain Bo Culainge mentions Scatha's Battle School for heroes, where men gathered from around Europe to study her war arts, we know the Acheans had Pankration, I have always been fond of the semi-crackpot idea that the various Norse shapeshifter types were actually folk records of early animal totem blood cults.

The great "martial art" embraced by European military thinkers from the time of the Romans onwards was Discipline, more than anything else. Those massive heavy cavalry charges that became the ultimate force multiplier of the period took iron discipline. So did formation fighting. Everyone kept trying to reinvent the successes of Rome, because all those flashy ritualized combat cultures got pretty well rolled over when they came up against Roman discipline, and as professionals they weren't dumb, and were quite prideful and didn't enjoy losing, so a lot of them abandoned their old ways in fairly short order and took to the new techiques.

Re: Why Your Heroes Shouldn't Kill

I agree with this assertion, too, though I would modify it slightly to add that "no killing" is a genre convention most strong in Silver and Bronze Age comic books, a convention driven by the perceived youth of the typical comic book reader at the time and by the Comics Code Authority. By the mid-1980s, this specific genre convention became much less universal, in my observation.

 

I don't personally think that a character with super powers necessarily has to adopt a "no killing" approach in order to be considered a genuine 'super hero.' I suspect others here may feel otherwise. "Reasonable people can disagree," as they say. It's just a matter of personal opinion.

Indeed, this is my take on the matter as well.

point in fact, the source inspiration for our main Champions campaign wasn't comics at all, but the Wildcards series, which takes a different tack entirely, not only spurning the tropes spawned by the McCarthy era Comics code, but also actively depicting that whole period of American history as the low point it should be remembered as.

Re: Paladin Martial Art?

And thus, Martial Arts development in a campaign setting designed with a Medieval European feel in mind (such as many traditional Fantasy RPG's) would be a very personal endeavor as opposed to the skill passed down approach used in Eastern traditions.

 

That doesn't mean your knight couldn't/shouldn't have martial maneuvers. It just means the one's he does have, he developed himself through years of combat experience, or maybe learned from Dad or granddad.

Indeed. like Dirty Infighting.

Re: Paladin Martial Art?

Generally I have to agree with MarkDoc RE: "Medieval Martial Arts", although I might argue semantics... some of the fighting manuals I've seen date to the mid 1400's, which is debatable as to being late Medieval or early Renaissance, and having systematic schools to teach these techniques argues that they must have seen some period of development in practical use in order to develop into a system that could be recorded and taught.

There is a valid argument/contention that many of the pre-dark ages cultures appear to have had warrior mystery cults, but if they did have Martial Arts type systemic training it was a word of mouth/cult secret lore kind of deal, and a LOT of that sort of knowledge has been lost to time by the ravages of war and plague. The Black Death eliminated a LOT of European oral tradition.