BhelliomRahl

Re: Remote Control I recently run a Hero Cyberpunk game and one of my players was a Rigger. Drones were built as vehicles. Consider putting limits on number of Multipliers for Number of Vehicles. A Rigger can easily have 32 drones all build on the same points for only a slight cost over a single drone. Built a Computer brain which was used with each Drone. This ment specific programs could be created for them. i.e. Travel from A to B, Observe Target, Attack Target, etc. It also allowed simple independant operation within the parameters of Programs and skills/knowledge. (I had his drones evolve over time and develop EGO becoming A.I.s which started hacking the Rigger and self modifing - He had taken a Complication Linked to this idea at the start) Mental Link was used for secure communication networks between the Rigger and Drones. Mental Defense as an Attack Barrier. Mind Scan was used to detect terminals; Drones, Cyberbrains, etc. Then Mind Control, Mental Illusion, Mental Blast, etc. were used as manipulation and attack methods. Have a look a Advanced Players Guide 1 p.70. It has a section on Cyberkinesis, using mental powers to control machines. Is what I based the above power usage on. Possession which is also in APG1 p.74 is useful for the Rigger to transfer his conciousness into a drone for direct control or if the drones can only be operated by the Rigger with no independant action. The Kazei 5 book is a animepunk/cyberpunk universe and has some really useful ideas, I would recommend having a read. It has some Rigger cyberware such as Vehicle Control Link, Skill Jacks, etc. Also has examples for computers used for controlling vehicles, altering them for drones is a simple matter.

Re: Fantasy Fiction From Steve in THE END WAS NOT THE END Anthology Congratulation. Looking forward to reading it.

Re: How do GMs out there handle late arrivals Sean Waters makes some interesting points. I have several players who are late or miss sessions of games but I do not penalize them because this is due to changing work hours, something beyond their control. I keep copies of all my players characters sheets and I play them as I would their players. Usually if I know inadvance that a player is going to be late or miss a game I will alter the game to focus on different characters if possible and correspond with the player by e-mail to discuss what their character is doing. To date I have not had a player who has been late or missing games on a regular basis without what I feel to be a valid reason. My main method of awarding Exp is based upon accomplishing goals. At the start of a Scenario I have players write a list of Long and Short Term Goals for their character and the group as a whole. I award a base exp for each session and bonuses based on working towards or accomplishing goals. If a new player joins the game or an existing player starts a new character I will start them off with Starting Character points. After I have checked the character and discussed the background history and goals I will give base exp and a bonus based on the characters background and goals which the character might have completed or worked towards. So their is often a little difference between character builds. However as Sean pointed out, how those points are used determines the effectiveness of the character.

Good day I wanted to confirm what the cost would be to add a Naked Modifer of Autofire to my Fantasy Hero's Sword Attack. STR:25 Most Damaging Sword: Great Sword - 2d6 (30AP) Weaponsmaster: Swordmaster 12pts for 1d6 (+3DC) Martial Maneuver : Slash (Martial Strike) - Weapon +2DC Want to apply Autofire 3 hits to the attack: +1/4 What would be the Active Points of this attack. Would I base it on the DCs. Weaponsmaster: 3DC = 15AP Martial Strike: 2DC = 10AP Therefore: 25+30+15+10 = 80AP So 80 x 1.25 = 100; 100-80 = 20 It would cost 20pts to purchase a Autofire (+3) Naked Advantage to apply to an attack using a sword of 30AP or less with his full Strength, Weaponsmaster and Martial Strike. Have I worked this out correctly? Thank you in advance.

I looking to run a Scion game for some friends. Never really liked the White Wolf (WW) system and neither did my friends, ended up converting to the Fate (Dresden Files). Was good fun, however I want to use Hero 6th Edition to run it and was looking for some suggestions on converting it. I have already decided to create a Legend Characteristic (permanent & temporary) which I use as each point in the characteristic = +1/-1/1d6. This will be used in situtation to determine if fate effect them. The Temporary will be used as Hero Action Points. The characteristic I will control it increase, however character can choose to lower it. A key part of WW Scion is the Epix Characteristics. These gave automatic successes to tests and addition points in Offense/Defense. They were limited by Legend and the Normal Characteristics. Was considering creating a series of Talents for each Epic Characteristic which provided bonuses. Each talent can be bought multiple times but could not exceed the Legend Rating of the Character. i.e. Epic Strength - +1 to all Str related Skills/Tests, +1DC Damage & +5str for feats of Strength. Epic Dexterity - +1 to all Agility Skills & +1 DCV (must be aware of attack) Epic Constitution - +1 to Con Skills/Tests Epic Intelligence - +1 to Int Skills/Test Epic Ego - +1 to Ego Skills/Tests Epic Appearance - Striking Appearance by another name The Epic Talents would also act as limits/prerequistes to certain powers. i.e. Damage Reduction would need levels in Epic Constitution. Also Epic Talents would raise the limit on Characteristic, each point raises it by 5 (Normal Mortal max strength 20pts, Scion with 2pts Epic Strength max is 30pts). Power Selection - Each Character has a patron god/goddess who they channel power from. Its easier to channel energies that are related to the Patron. Was thinking on introducing a cost reduction on powers that full within concepts of patron. i.e. Zeus - Concept: Sky - Powers: Weather Manipulation, Lightning Bolts, Flight, etc. I will use the perviews/concepts from WW Scion. Magic: Was planning to use a Virtual VPP. Players buy a Talent: Magic. They gain spells by learning them in play with a cost of 1pt per spell at the end of learning period. They can cast any spell they have knowledge of. However all spells have limitations: Requires a Roll (-1 per 10AP), Gestures, Incarnations, Extra Time (range: Full Phase to Days) and Side Effect (Only if RAR Fails) Spells can replicate most Powers but take longer with the chance of failure and mishap. What are peoples thoughts? Am I over complicating things, should I just treat it as a Superheroic game.

Re: Mind Control with Dog Collars In a previous fantasy game I ran I used a collar system (Taken from a book - Legacies by L.E. Modesitt, Jr). All Males of this country were fitted with a collar on their 13th Birthday and all prisoners. If the wearer attempted any sort of violence against a female citizen the collar inflicted pain and restrained them, this could be altered if they were soldiers or guards. Also certain ranking woman were able to active the collars at will (Only magic users, but this was unknown. Most thought any women could do this). Also if the collars were tampered with they inflicted pain and if removed incorrectly would detonate. Although they released if the wearer was dead. Kind of funny, the players noticed that all the males wore these collars so took some of a patrol they killed and put them on to blend in without finding out what they were for. Did I ever have fun with that. Just glad I had a GM Screen which I could duck behind to hide my grin when they put them on. Having them wear the collars did limit what they could do, some people thinks a GM should not do this but I see it more as encouraging the players to look at things differently and solve a problem in a new and possible unusual method. In the end the players discovered a method to get the collars off, although it took them about one and a half years game time. I mainly represented them as a Social Complication. Social Complication ( Infrequent / Major) - Collared Male - Males are considered Second Class Citizens, with few rights. Must obey orders or suffer pain possible death in extreme cases. It worked due to magic so that got around certain aspects off how it operated. If they were in the Military or Guard was increased to Very Frequent / Major. However I also did write it up mechanicly incase I needed it: Entangle - Trigger - Violence against a Female citizen or Activated by Magic, Time Limit - 5 minutes - No Breakout, Focus - OIF Killing Attack - 1d6 NND - Not Wearing Collar (Does Body), Constant, Trigger - Activation by Magic, No Endurance, Focus - OIF Energy Blast - 3d6 NND - Not Wearing Collar, Constant, Trigger -Violence against a Femail Citizen, No Endurance, Linked - Entangle (Only while Entangle active), Focus - OIF This is just a simplified right up, would need to search the loft for the notes on it for more detail. Although as I remember it I never used the mechanics. If a character met one of my trigger conditionals the collar would paralyse and render them unconcious in short order.

Re: Magical Skills. I have used several different skills in magic systems. Some of the more interesting were based on the Wheel of Time System. Magic was done by weaving 5 different elements; Air, Earth, Fire, Spirit and Water. In my first experiments each element had a skill and to use a weave the caster needed to succeed in a skill roll for each element that constituted the weave. However this could take time and I felt overly complicated. I later reduced it to a single skill called Weaving and added 5pt Affinity Talents for each element. When a person weaved a spell they received either a +2 for each element they possessed a affinity for or and a -5 if they possessed No affinities. If a person fails a weaving roll by more than 5 they could injure themselves or render themselves unconcious. In extreme cases they could destroy the Gift of Magic within themselves or kill themselves. What is worse was up for debated? and was in my game. I also had a selection of other skills: Embracing: I person must embrace the source to be able to weave. In this state they have heightened senses and are less effect by emotional stimuli. If they suffer injury they must make a roll to maintain the Embrace. Each point of body suffered gives a -1 modifer on the roll. This state can become addictive. Analyse Weave: If a person observed another persons weaving and succeeded on a skill roll at the same penalty as the weaver (excluding Affinity modifiers) they could learn the weave themselves. They receive modifiers to this roll based upon affinities for the elements of the weave. Inverse Weave: If succeeded on this roll the weave being weaved was rendered invisible to others. Penalty on Roll is same as Weave being used. If the roll fails the margin of failure is an additional penalty to the Weaving Roll. (Lost Skill) Linking: Weavers could join together to combine their powers under the control of a single person. This did not alter skills but it increased the Virtual VPP, both the pool and control which Weavers used. Tying Off the Weave. This skill allowed a person to make a weave they were holding remain without have to hold it themselves. i.e They craft a ball of light, they have to maintain concentration to maintain the light but if they tie it off they could leave it alone. Penalty same as the initial weave. Degree of Success increase the difficulty for another to unweave the weaving if intended. Unweaving: This skill allows a person to unweave a weaving either tied off all held. ----------------------------------- Their are Talents with provide bonus in attempted some of these Skills These are examples of the Skills I used in a Wheel of Time game, I also used the same magic system in another fantasy game.

Re: MYTHIC HERO: What Do *You* Want To See? People always say what would you do if you won the lottery. I can think I one very important thing straight off. MH is really looking interesting, thanks for keeping us informed on your progress. Of course the post I am really looking forward to is where you annouce that its being published.

Re: How do you feel about House Rules? I follow the the same principle. When I start a new game I give all players a hand out containing rules for character creation limitation and restrictions, Setting Rules and House Rules. If players have queries, they can be discussed then. If during the game I feel a rule needs to be; added, removed or modified I will discuss it with the players and make sure everyone understands why and how it will change the game. I always try to use rules as RAW, I dislike using House Rules for as mentioned in previous posts I don't understanding all the underlying principles behind the Hero Rules and adding a House Rule can create unexpected ripples however with some of the Setting Rules, a House Rule needs to be used for them to work. i.e. At present I am creating a Scion Hero game and will implement several Setting Rules, epecially a new characteristc called Legend which I will control. Legend will influence the chance of events occuring and other matters. I have not yet fully worked out its impact on the RAW but I am sure I will need to implement House Rules to accomadate them.

Re: Ignigena -- the Countess of Conflagration I feel the same way. When I see a picture like this it drives my Imagination wild, I just have to write something about them. "Burn all the things" is a very good combat tactic but from my reading of her I felt that she was the kind of Demon who would patiently plan and execute her schemes gaining what she wants. However if Burning everything in a great conflagration accomplishes that all the better, it might be her first thought to solve a situation but she would not do it for the sake of it. This is very different to most other fire Demons I have seen which can be a little one dimensional. I guess thats the great thing about Roleplaying, 2 people can see a being but convieve completely different concepts.

Re: Ignigena -- the Countess of Conflagration Interesting Demon. What I like most is her personality, usually with Fire Creatures they are all about destruction through fire and like their element are unpredicatabe raging infernos. Ignigena though shows a different aspect of fire; patient, mathodical, suductive and just a dangerous, if not more so than her raging fellow demons Also what sells it for me is the picture. As the saying goes "A Picture tells a 1000 words", I would find it hard to adequately descibe her or any being I present to my players, but a picture conveys so much more.

Good day. Thank you for answering my last post. Another question came to light as I was reading more on defense. Damage Reduction is applicable to attacks using AVAD but does it also effect NND?

Good day. Currently running a game where the players are a Military unit in a post apocalyptic America resently awakened from stasis. We are making good use of the HSEG, epecially the ammo tables. To the issue, some of the ammunition we are using has the piercing power. Some of my NPCs have Damage Reduction or Damage Negation, does Piercing effect these defenses and if so how? Thank you in advance.

Re: I need advice on mimic of a spell effect please.

Re: Wish List: Other Licensed Content Where to begin: The number of Series that I would want to be used in the hero systems is staggering. I could give an endless list of Series that I would be interested in see. Some examples of the most interesting: Shadows of the Apt by Adrian Tchaikovsky. A very interesting world in which humans are evolved from insects and each race has different traits relating to their heritage. It is also a world in which the old magic is in conflict with Technology. Most interestingly is that you have the Apt and Inapt. The Apt can use technology but the Inapt cannot even use a simple mechanical device such as a door handle. The Stormlight Archives by Brandon Sanderson. Only written the first book but is shows so much promise, a really interesting world. Worth a read. From the comic book world I would love to see Gold Digger by Fred Perry. Its got so much happening in the universe is staggering. I have used it for some of my fantasy games and my players really enjoyed it. Surbrook has written up two of the main characters on his site. These are just a few but ones I feel have a solid world behind them which has room for GM and Players to explore. To be honest everytime I read a book I create the characters from them in Hero Designer for a bit of fun.

Re: Mystical tests of character? I will have to remember the life boat idea. The specific setting is not so important but the option for the player to make a choice about his survivial or anothers. Most of my players would look for away around the problem and then would probably take the action that allows their character to survive but this is not necessarily what their character would do. I have used the Star Wars Cave test, in a Star Wars game I was running. The Setting was the Old Republic after the story of Knights of the Old Republic 2. The players were the first Padawans of the New Order. As part of a test they were taken to a Moon. They entered a cave network leading to the ruins of an ancient civilisation. The civilisation belonged to an evolved form of Mynocks which evolved due to the fact that they started to feed on the energy of the Force specifically the Dark Side. The Mynocians physical form had long since turned to dust but their spirits wandered the ruins. As each player explored they were shown visions (new realities), the visions depended on the characters back story and goals/desires. (I always get players to write about their past and future goals/desires - I usually award experience based on players working towards these goals). As the visions progressed the characters were offered ways to gain their desires quickly and easily. In the end of my 6 players; 1 played very true to their character and gave up their physical form and embraced the visions entering the perceived reality forever. One other accepted the offers and was given the knowledge to accomplish his goals, however what he failed to realise was that one of the Spirits took up permanent residence within him, from that moment on it started to influence his actions and he developed new force powers similar to the Mynocians, his fall to the Dark Side had begun. The others learnt something about their character and some came to term which psychological complications. It only worked well because I knew about the characters background and goals/desires. The players themselves and that I had taken notes on how they reacted to previous choices. The players quickly grasped what I was doing and worked with me. I'm sure some of them made the choices they did because they realised what the test was and playered it as themselves not their character, this can take alot from the game. As stated in earlier post and I agree, the GM and Players needed to work together and if they do so correctly the results can be fun and interesting for everyone.

Re: LEGIONS OF HELL Now Available! Its got some interesting Demons in it, I like the concept of the Book Demon. I can see using it in one of my urban fantasy games but instead of a book, an I-Pad or similar device. I can imagine the terror when the rumors start about monsters in Personal Media Devices. Please keep them coming Steve, I have found each of them interesting and useful

Good day. Poisons have recently made their way into my game and I wanted to comfirm when damage is first taken from a attack that uses Damage Over Time. From reading 6E1 p.328 I believe that when a person makes an attack they pay the endurance if needed when the attack is made. If the attack hits the target takes damage on the first increment of after the attack. i.e. Poison doing 1d6 NND(Life Support: Imm. Poison) with 6 increments and 10 minute intervals. The victim would first take damage 10 minutes ofter contact with the poison, over the next hour taking in total 6d6 damage. Also if the poison had Extra Time (Onset 5 Hours). Would the target suffer the first effects 5 hours ofter contact or would you treat the attack as occuring 5 hours after the initial attack and then wait 10 minutes for the first damage. Thank you in advance.

Good day. I wanted to clarify my understanding of the rules for Absorption as a Defense. My character has bought Absorption 20 Body vs. Physical Attacks w/ advantage Defensive Absorption. I believed this ment that I that always had an effective PD of 20 vs. Physical Attacks. However after reading the Thread "Absorption as a Defense" I believe I might of misunderstood this. As I read your post it occurred to be that the PD benefit of Absorption was an additional gain from using absorption. i.e. If I have absorbed no points my PD is 0, however if I absorbed 10 body I would gain 10 Character Points and 10PD which would both fade at a rate of 5/turn. Can you please clarify. Also if for example Absorption as a Defense was bought at the resistant level with a Limitation Only vs. HTH weapons, would the rPD protect against Range attacks or does the Defense only apply vs the specific type of damage absorbed? Thank you in advance.

Re: Clothes only TK

Re: Clothes only TK I like this idea. I agree that what needs to be defined is why the TK works on only Clothing. Is it the fabric or is it clothing, if a shirt is ripped into shreds it is usless as clothing but does the TK still work on it. Because this could open a whole host of possabilities. Buttons could be flung as projectile weapons (if it clothing parts), fabric bandages could be used as whips. If the TK could be used to make the fabric rigid and strengthened then the user could create armour from their cloths or a shield from a towel, a sword or club from fabric. The number of ways this could be used are staggering. However back to the original question, could a TK only effecting clothing be used to lift a person? Yes, from personal experience a person can be lifted by their clothing; examples (Have witnessed or done): 1) In Rugby lineouts people are held in the air by holding their shorts 2) Attaching a persons belt to a wall hook (Person is wearing it). Depending on the quality of the belt the person might hang for at least 30 minutes or the belt snaps after about 10 seconds. 3) In Judo many throws use the opponents clothing as a point to hold them. What the GM will need to consider is how violent the TK is used in relationship to the clothing. If a person is lifted slowly and evenly by his clothing then its likely to hold, however if the TK attachs to one point on the clothing and violently jerks, this could easily rip the cloths off or a least start to tear the seams. This of course depends on the strength of the fabric, Denim or silk is exceptionally strong. (If you wound wet silk around two parallel steel bars and tightening as in a tournoquet you could bend the bars). Could the person escape? Yes. If the person is physically strong enough they could exert more force than the TK however if they are in the air they would have to object to anchor their movement however violent motion would increase the chance of the clothing ripping. Also I would check the person weight and compare it to the clothings strength to see if it ripped.

Re: Magic and END cost? Technically method 2 & 3 are the same thing but thats not really an issue. I have used several different systems to power magical abilities depending on how powerfull I want magic to become. Example of my Systems: In all my systems I always use a Seperate Endurance Reserve for Magical Powers which can only be used for magic. 1) Magic was very common, everybody used it even if it was only for household chores. Used a basic Endurance Reserve w/ Limitation; for Magic Only. and normal Recovery 2) In this world only those that had the talent were able to wield magic. Magic was powerful and to balance this out I limited how much they could cast, this ment that the magic users thought alot more about how they used their magical energy. Used a basic Endurance Reserve w/ Limitation; for Magic Only. However complete Recovery only occured ofter 5 hours of rest. 3) In this world Magic Users gathered ambient magical energy and refined it in themselves for use. Used this concept in congjuction with methods 1 & 2 for some campaigns. Each area on my map had an ambient magic rating/index, 1 being the normal. This value can change depending on where the magic user is. This rating effects his Recovery Rate; i.e. Magic User had REC 5 and recovers every 5 hours. If the magic user is in an area with index rating 5 he recovers 25 endurance per 5 hours or 5 per hour. However some areas had lower index ratings, the area taken over by the Legions of the Undead, the Shadowlands had index ratings of 0-0.3 depending on their level of corruption. This ment that in some areas a magic user could not recover at all. I have used others but they are based around these concepts I have looked at the Narosia Quick-Start rules and the magic system their is quite interesting. Magic Users make a skill roll and they are able to draw ambient essence upto their Degrees of Success on the roll but may add personal essence to increase the potency of the spell, but only to the limit of their proficiency with that aspect of magic. What I like beyond this is the idea of enchantment spells, when the magic user casts the spell they must allocate the essence they spent on the spell and that essence remains allocated till they release the spell. i.e. The magic user has Essence 20 and is casting an enchantment spell that cost 5 ESS. If the magic user successfully casts the spell his maximium Essence would be reduce to 15 for as long as he maintains the spell. When the spell is released their maximium essence would return to 20. This is a system I have tried to implement into a new game I am writing and it nice to see it used somewhere. My advice is find a magic system which works for the power level of the Magic in your world

Re: Attractiveness - Comeliness Vs. Striking Appearance I owe the forum an apology, I did not intend to throw petrol on the embers of this war. Well I have settled my war. I created the five judges for the contest and decided their interests and what they consider attractive. I had the characters with Striking Appearance who entered the contest describe in detail what their Striking Appearance represented (Pictures were allowed). The contestants who meet the perceived attractivenss of a judge gained a point. Other points are gained for the other events; Talent and Q&A. I'm interested see how it will work out.

Re: The Forgettable Man The key thing is that as soon as sight of the target is lost the person forgets about their existence. Its why in Dr Who each time they saw them they put a mark on their arm. The next time they looked their arms they would have dozens of marks on them. The other key aspect of the Silence in Dr Who was that they worked out the existence of the Alien race (The Silience was a Religious order but an specific Alien race were forgetable not the whole order) by secondary means because any perceived information was forgotten when perception was lost. Later in the series they wore external data storage devices which recorded all that was percieved and constantly uploaded it to the persons mind so they could remember the Silence. If the GM is generous he might let the Forgettable Man get away with invisibility vs memory suggested by The Rose. An interesting idea, usually invisibility is to a sense not an information storage system (the Mind). As I read The Rose's idea you can perceive the Forgettable Man but none of this information is stored in the memory. Simple and effective. However if the GM is no so flexable I think you will have to resort to either Mind Control or Transform. These would need to be No Endurance, Trigger (When Person stops perception of any form of Forgettable Man (includes AV recordings)), Mega Scale Range (Global) (This is to cover people looking an image of him), No Range Modifier. However its done it is going to be expensive to do.

Its a matter which has come up in a game I am running recently about who is the most attractive. This is in relationship to Contest which the party has to infiltrate. In 5th edition it was easy, you had the Comeliness Characteristic, however in 6th edition its not so clear. Striking Appearance seems the best method but it does not necessary imply the character is attractive, just that their appearance is striking. My consideration was to say that people have a comeliness of 10, an average person and each level of Striking Appearance alters this by 5pts; Increasing comeliness if the level of striking appearance is in relationship to attractiveness or decreasing if its in relation to ugliness, however this comeliness score will be fluid depending on the perception of the viewer. The other benefit of using this comeliness conversion is that I can compare it to 5th edition characters and charts to work out how attractive someone is. i.e. COM 30 or Striking Appearance 4 lvls = Helen of Troy. Am I over complicating things, is it just better to use the levels of Striking Appearance and leave comeliness out of it?