tomd1969

Actually, the rule exists in 5th, too. See the section "Adding Damage" in the part about "Determining Damage." In the original 5th (not Revised), this started at p. 270.

In DC Heroes, the characters are separated into two camps, heroes and villains. Each camp had five motivations. Among the heroic motivations were: * Upholding Good (Superman) * Seeking Justice (Batman) * Responsibility of Power (Green Lantern) * Thrill of Adventure (Batgirl) * Unwanted Power (Cyborg) The villainous motivations were: * Psychopath (the Joker) * Mercenary (Deadshot) * Thrill Seeker (can't think of an example) * Power Lust (Lex Luthor) * Nihilist (can't think of one, though Darkseid is one possibility)

Warning: cracked.com is a black hole; Cracked.com: "If you liked this article..." Me: "Ooo, that sounds interesting..." Four hours later: Cracked: "If you liked this article..." Me: "Ooo, that sounds interesting..."

You could also define spheres that a particular arcana belongs to, and which ones are restricted to it. For example, the Bardic Conservatory could have the Mind and Spirit spheres but cannot have Elements sphere. The Hermetic College can have Primal (the sphere of magic itself) and Knowledge, but cannot have Spirit. Each spell would then be given a sphere or two it falls into: fireball would be Elements and Scrying would be Knowledge and Correspondences. Of course, I could be accused of stealing the idea from Mage: The Ascension...

I agree to a point...but the best way to get people to play a new game is to GET THEM TO PLAY A NEW GAME. What that means is going into environments where the gamers are and letting them get hands-on with the system. You've got to find good people to run games using the system at the various gaming conventions and even at local gaming stores that provide gaming tables. I went to Gen-Con in Indianapolis a few years ago, really hoping to get an opportunity to play in a couple of HERO system games with people who really knew and loved the system and could explain the ins and outs to me, so I could take that knowledge back to my gaming group and get my group started with the system. Unfortunately, I only found 1 reference to HERO game, and that was for the first night of the convention (Thursday night), which I was unable to attend because I had to work and could only come up on the weekend (Friday night through Sunday). Outside of that one game, there was HERO was represented by a booth selling the books. There may have been other HERO games being run/played there...but, I wasn't able to find them. The point of all this is that if you want more people to play the game, you need to take advantage of every opportunity to enable people to play the game. I'd almost say the best scenario would be 3-person teams to run the game: 1 GM and two "plant" players who understand the mechanics, role-play well, and are willing to help explain the system to neophytes to help "get the mechanics out of the way". (Assuming the game would be run for 6 to 8 total players.) Another interesting idea for gaming conventions: Create a bunch of pre-generated characters, print them out (no dups), and just give them away to anyone who wants them (or have them included in the typical bag o' goodies)...Then have a couple of people at the convention ready to run some sort of "pick-up" games for HERO in the various gaming rooms. Since character creation tends to be the most time-consuming part of the system -- particularly for new players -- you've eliminated that hurdle to getting started with the game. There will be challenges to this approach (consistency of power level, what type of adventure to run, whether the characters are supers, fantasy, sci-fi, etc.); but not necessarily insurmountable. Another option would be to do more of a tradeable card thing...do a higher-quality card run with a depiction of the character, a basic stat-block, etc; but have each card map to a full character sheet that the people running the "pick-up" games would be able to provide. The cards could be tradeable (collect the complete set!) and would help generate interest in the system... ...but, I'm just thinking out loud at this point... You really need to see what Darren does: not only does he print out his character sheets (and they're of KISS from "Phantom of the Park") in color, he lets you keep them. I have a copy of Gene Simmons around here somewhere...

Re: [New Product] Champions Complete Co-signed. Congratulations, Derek. While I'm saddened that Steve's work on the 6th ed is kinda sorta (I know it's not really; that's why I said "kinda sorta." I didn't fall off a turnip truck, you know) being pushed to the side/replaced, I think this is a good direction for Hero to be going in.

Re: 6th Edition Equipment Dark Champions is heavily-laden with weaponry of all shapes, sizes, and types (the ammunition tables alone are enough to blow your mind). The stats wouldn't be that much different for the 6th edition (the rules haven't changed *that* much ). It is available here: Dark Champions Stats for tear gas and flash-bang grenades are in DC, p. 255.

Re: Order of the Stick Of course, the question I have to ask: Why are you thinking about the oracle's gonads? Sorry, it was the first thing that came to my mind.

Re: Small Project: Hero System Intro Pretty good. A couple of nits to pick: Actually, these are called Offensive Mental Combat Value and Defensive Mental Combat Value in 6E (OMCV and DMCV respectively). No, if you've taken twice your original BODY, you're dead (essentially, if your BODY has been brought down to -BODY through Bleeding, Adjustment Powers, or Damage). Quoth 6E 107: The Local Rules Lawyer....

Re: Villains Campaign I won't go into details, since they wouldn't be suitable for this forum (and I don't want to get banned), but they're playing heroes so badly that I sometimes throw up a little bit in my mouth. Here's how I'm defining anti-hero for the purposes of this discussion: Someone who is nominally a hero and fights on the side of the heroes, but his actions leave him indistinguishable from the villains. Think Belkar from Order of the Stick without the humor.

Okay, I'm at my wit's end. I'm tired of amoral, psychopathic "anti-heroes" ruining my enjoyment of a good Champions campaign. I'm beginning to think that we need to switch gears and run a full-fledged Villains campaign. Other than the immorality of it (which I'm finding myself struggle with, frankly), what other pitfalls do I need to look for? Additionally, I'm looking for some good adventure ideas. I have a couple: The villain team is approached by a security guard of a bank, looking for a payday. He tells the villain group that he can get them into the bank, and practically give them the keys to the bank. Is he on the level, or is this a trap that the villains are walking into? Through one of the gang's heists assaulting a hero base, they discover details of the local VIPER Nest, complete with maps, schematics, security details, and an inventory listing that includes some pretty hefty hardware--tanks, RPGs, blasters, and other weaponry. What does the villain group do with the information? If they give the information over, they might be able to forge an alliance; but if they use it to assault the Nest, they might get some nifty hardware. Any other ideas?

Re: And 6e print books start to arrive

Re: What Genre book Reprint are you most anticipating? I would like the following, in no particular order: Star Hero Horror Hero Champions USPD Ultimate Mystic (or the 6E equivalent) Mystic World (or the 6E equivalent)

Re: And 6e print books start to arrive Susano hasn't gotten his, but I've gotten mine, so that kinda blows that theory out of the water.

Re: And 6e print books start to arrive I finally have them! Wahoo! I never really grokked the heft of these books until they were sitting in my hand.

Re: And 6e print books start to arrive My books are actually on Long Island, now. In fact, I could almost walk to the UPS warehouse from where I live. So they should be in my hot hands by tomorrow afternoon.

Re: And 6e print books start to arrive Ugghhh... don't mention that game last night. Two home runs in one inning? At least they were solos. I just received confirmation that my books were sighted in Jersey (Secaucus, to be exact) by UPS. A little closer, my preciousssss....

Re: And 6e print books start to arrive

Re: Order of the Stick Don't MESS with the KITTY!

Re: 6E Speedster Suite Instead of having three different forms of movement, why don't you use Usable [As Second Mode of Movement]? (c.f. 6E1 p 158)

Re: 6E Rules changes confirmed so far

Re: The unofficial: I Have 6th edition thread I ordered the 6th edition mega-bundle... I'm going to say Thursday night. I've glanced at it (I'm glad Steve included a conversion page for those of us old-timers). I had to work Friday and Saturday, caught ill on Sunday, and had to work Monday. I'm trying to muddle through it as I get free moments here and there.