Xavier

Re: HERO System 1/4-page damage tracker sheet handout I don't know if anyone still cares about this, but I found this in my old stuff...and weirdly I can't find it in the free stuff from Hero (maybe it isn't free?). Anyway here is the old combat record sheet from back in the day. [ATTACH=CONFIG]42650[/ATTACH]. Hope that helps some people.

Re: Probability Manipulation Thanks everyone for the excellent assistance. This will be a big help.

Re: Probability Manipulation

Re: Probability Manipulation Thanks Rose, I have seen this before, and it was the concept I thought I had in mind. Though to be honest I don't think I actually read the character very closely when I saw it the first time. Wow! This character is freaking genius! The twisted mind conceived of such a build is likely beyond me, but it sure is cool.

I hope this hasn't been covered somewhere else, I tried searching the forums. I am interested in creating a hero with probability manipulation that does not break my game. I feel like I've seen it somewhere before, but I couldn't find it here so I need some help. I was thinking of using luck and allowing the number of sixes to adjust the rolls. I have admittedly not really invested much into that idea yet, but I figured most of you all out here have probably seen something along these lines. Any help would be much appreciated.

Re: My Game Concept: Hero Magick

Re: My Game Concept: Hero Magick Ah...a fellow Scaper....good to meet you! As for the surviviability of the players well now...mind you I have not had the opportunity to playtest this thing quite yet as I'm working out the particulars...most vexing of which is the damn XML code for the template I'm trying to write. However I digress...yes it is easy to die, but then again they have spells available to them which while difficult to cast will more often than not give them a considerable advantage. Also I don't expect they will be encountering the SOV very often. Usually they will be dealing with what ever gov't agencies who have been tasked with secretly containing this obvious threat to national security. Of course magicians who don't work for them are basically part of the problem. And of course any gov't with magicians is bound to use them without the moral quandries associated with the application of power. There will be many adversaries not just the SOV. Other magicians perhaps? Witchhunters? At lower power levels they may find themselves running from some threats if they encounter them. I'm thinking the default value of Verity will be 2 or 3 with a x10 multiplier per additonal point. I'm thinking they should be 100 or 150 point characters. I don't want them to start off powerful. What do you all think? Do you think they will be too weak given the setting? Additionally what would you suggest if it is too deadly? I hadn't considered whether a pc could be redeemed...I suppose that would make for interesting roleplaying opportunities. Maybe if they killed the one who warpmarked them or found the item...etc?

Re: My Game Concept: Hero Magick

Re: My Game Concept: Hero Magick On second thought here is the info. I'm not sure if Word is the best format since I want to be sure everyone who wants to read it can if they so desire. Hero Magick So…you might be asking yourself what exactly is Hero Magick? Good question. Hero Magick is a quick and dirty rules construct that allows for the use of magic or “magick” in a world that looks very much like the one in which we live. This is a world where those with power fight for control and losing the war means more than just death. As you might imagine this does complicate things a bit; which is good of course because here, you are the heroes, you have Magick. The world of Hero Magick can be a very sinister place. The over-riding theme is of an impending disaster of incomprehensible proportions. Over the ages mankind has always been able to utilize magick. However this has declined over time as people moved away from old ways of doing things. The capacity to believe reality to be malleable shifted and along with it a sense was lost. This sense was verity. Verity was what allowed those who possessed it to see and feel the infinite possibilities and by extension bring them to fruition. In time the number of those with verity was diminished to the point that there were fewer than 10 individuals the world over. Suddenly without anyone understanding why, a threat of unimaginable virulence surfaced spilled forth and all that it touched it changed. At the time it was given the name Warpmark. Just as suddenly the numbers of those manifesting an ability to spontaneously understand magick jumped dramatically. Suddenly the world is awash again in the power and possibilities offered by those who wield magick, but this world is forbidding and there are many different powers and forces at work that have interests which are not mutually compatible. This is the world in which you live. “To start off it should be understood, before one goes off and starts throwing fireballs everywhere willy-nilly, this is not without cost. This stuff is HARD. Magick isn’t the stuff you read about in those stupid novels, failure hurts and can do worse things than kill you. Human belief is a fragile thing; doubt assails us constantly. Let doubt snare you at the wrong time and the gears of the universe will grind you into a wet, red paste….if you’re lucky. It is utterly unforgiving. Now back to the Endless Vortex spell, as I was saying if things go awry your allies will want to be very far away from….” -- Magician Miranda Charles Magick Skill – It is in short the ability to cast spells. Depending on the rating, you will be able to cast spells of greater or lesser complexity; the higher the magick skill the better. Spells – Spells are the formal structured formulae by which a task is accomplished. Because of their rather specific nature typically they perform only one task. Spells have a Name, Description, Formulae (the actual Powers and die effect, Specific modifiers), Active cost, End cost, Magick roll penalty, Verity Penalty and Casting time. Concerning Verity, it is typically the same as the Magick roll penalty, only positive. Verity – Verity is the magicians’ belief in what is possible in reality, what is true. This is not a new concept generally speaking; the question of what is and is not possible has changed over the ages as a result of the growing base of knowledge available to mankind. Reality for nearly all people is a set, fixed thing. These things are possible…these things are not and generally this paradigm does not change. Then there are those with Verity. Verity allows those who possess it to change what is and is not possible in reality to the extent that their belief will allow. That is not to say that those with verity are not without limits. They too must overcome their own fixed notions of how reality works, though it is fairly safe to say to a certain extent their view is a bit more flexible. The fabric of reality is normally like a coiled spring, push against it and it pushes back. Push against it harder and it pushes back harder always in the direction of the one doing the pushing. Verity allows magicians to treat reality like clay, shaping and molding reality to their needs and wishes. Unfortunately because verity represents a subconscious strength of belief, it is quite possible to consciously know something is possible, but not be able to make it happen. Such is the nature of verity. Verity can also be stored. Such devices are called Verity Frames. Verity sources such as this are very much in demand by those who wish to give themselves a temporary elevation of power. It allows a magician a boost to capability by using stored Verity. They can look like anything, any device that can be imagined from a rock to a gun to a box of Kleenex. Many have kept verity frames available for use in well hidden places. Verity frames function like a battery storing verity transferred from a magician’s own Verity or directly transferred as XP into the item where it is stored as Verity. The Verity frame serves as a temporary augmentation to the magician’s base Verity adding directly and available for use once only. There are also items known as Verity Constructs these are items that do not become exhausted after one use. They are exceedingly rare and the formula for making them is a closely guarded secret. Ancient magicians, magus and wizards routinely make use of these devices to perform works of unparalleled power. Casting Spells A magician can cast any spell he desires, but as the magick roll penalty increases the spell becomes more difficult to activate and the greater the toll on the caster in the form of endurance loss. When a spell is cast the magician makes a skill roll. Depending on the power and complexity of the spell, the spell is more or less difficult to cast properly. This is represented by a magick roll penalty. The magick roll penalty is always equivalent to the Active cost of the spell divided by ten or if you like: AC/10. The spell also costs endurance to cast represented by an END Cost that is also based on the AC/10. Additionally, all spells have a verity penalty such that when a spell is cast the magician’s verity score should equal or exceed the verity penalty. It is possible to cast a spell with a higher verity penalty however doing so can be very costly and dangerous. If the spell succeeds then that is the end of it. If the magick skill roll was not successful the magician spends the 2x the endurance that would have powered the spell and have done with it. If however the failure is critical, an 18 on 3D6, then the magician spends 2x the endurance to power the spell AND suffers the loss of the difference between the spell’s verity penalty and the magician’s verity score. If this drives the verity stat below 1 then there is a chance for reality backlash (not to be confused with a spell energy backlash) at 3D6 + (Current Verity) or more. Verity in Action So let’s pay a visit to our buddy Randor who is in a bit of a bind with 5 heavily armed guards who have taken exception to his ability to breathe. Randor is justifiably panicked and decides to cast a spell he just found. Randor is a fairly accomplished magician with a Magick skill of 16 or less and a Verity Score of 7. Of course he knows he has no chance of escape because of a recent leg injury so he decides to cast the spell Ground to Quagmire, which looks something like this… Ground to Quagmire: This spell allows the caster to turn any natural earth, stone or soil into a swampy muck that makes it very difficult for anything trying to move through the affected area. Formulae: Entangle 5d6, 5 DEF, Specific Modifiers: Area Of Effect (2" radius; +3/4) (87 Active Points); Gestures (Requires both hands; -1/2), Only When In Contact With The Ground (natural earth, stone, and soil only; -1/2), Concentration (1/2 DCV; -1/4), Incantations (-1/4) Active Cost = 87. END Cost: 8; Magick Roll: -8; Verity Penalty: 8; Casting Time: ½ Phase Randor is worried; this spell is pretty tough for him. A Magick Roll of -8 is a pretty significant penalty to his Magick Skill roll of 16 or less. To make matters worse he has a verity score of 7 and the spell has a verity penalty is 8. This means that Randor better make it. Randor casts the spell rolls a 9… and fails! He is in serious trouble now. He failed his magick skill roll so not only does his spell not go off, he also must spend the End for the spell anyway, not only that, but the cost is doubled! Our boy Randor is having a very bad day. He spends the 16 END and tries again. This spell is the only thing between him and certain death. He casts again and rolls a 7…Success! He made his Magick skill roll by 1, and the spell activates, he targets the hex for the spell and lets it fly hitting his mark. However this is not without penalty, he is very tired as he had to spend 8 more End, additionally Randor’s Verity Score is only 7, and the spell’s verity penalty is 8. He got lucky this time, generally speaking this spell is something he can barely comprehend and as such his belief in the spell is a bit shaky. Had he failed critically (18 on 3D6) He would have spent 16 END and suffered the permanent loss of 1 point of Verity, something he would later have to purchase back with experience. Had he over time lost all his Verity things would have become grim indeed. The Price of Power Crystal Mear Realms are places that are created by people who have such high verity that it alters everything around them. The degree of this effect is proportional to how much verity one has. This effect is largely unnoticeable in someone who has verity below 15. From 15 to 20 the areas frequented by the magician (or the magus as they are called at this level of power), such as homes and the like, become…odd, typically reflecting the nature and tastes of the magus. This can have several effects, though usually it is a place where the magus is more powerful and where others are weaker. Those with verity above 20 begin to influence areas well beyond their personal stomping grounds. Unfortunate, Bad and Very Bad Things Spell Energy Backlash occurs when the magician wishes to dispel their own spell at the point just after the spell is cast, but before the spell takes effect on the next action phase of the target. This is not without consequence; all spell effects are stripped from the spell and what is left is pure energy. This energy is drawn back into the magician and dispersed within his own nervous system. This can be very painful and exceedingly dangerous depending on the power of the spell. The damaging energies are equivalent to 1/2D6 for every 10 AP Reality Backlash is a circumstance to be avoided at all costs. To be clear this is not reality doing something to you, per se; this is a failure of the magician. It occurs not as a result of the failure, but as a result of the negative verity score. No one has ever endured very long with negative verity. There are exceptions to this, but not anything that is an actual option to self respecting magicians, more on this later. This situation can be deadly or worse to the magician. Some of the results can be: Bad Things • Spells have unpredictable effects (though rarely beneficial) • Spell effects turned on the caster instead of the target (again, rarely beneficial) • Reality lock is a circumstance where nothing works around the magician for a short period of time. It affects the immediate locality. This is especially troubling for his allies who can’t work magick in the same vicinity, but useful against some enemies. Very Bad Things • Verity sensitivity, this is a limitation imposed by fear that limits the maximum level of the verity stat permanently. • Crystal prisons are crystal mere realms that are pocket realities that split off from reality and are for all intents and purposes inescapable. • Paradigm Shift: This condition occurs when the magician “suddenly” realizes that all magic is impossible. Attempts to reason with the caster are ineffective. • Paradigm Inversion: This condition is permanent. PCs become NPCs. See The Implied Order for an explanation of this particular form of reality backlash. The Implied Order In the grand state of things the universe tends toward order with entropy being one part of that ordered system. If there is doubt in this all one has to do is consider where we live for a moment. Long ago when the universe was being born there was a war. Not in the typical sense that we understand it of course, but it was a war none-the-less; it was fought between the positive and negative, particle and anti-particle. Where they met one another there was annihilation and chaos. For reasons unknown, but fortunately for us, the balance was shifted ever-so-slightly to the side of the particle. What followed was the growth and coalescence of the universe itself with all the attendant rhythms that make life and consideration of it possible. Paradigm Inversion Paradigm inversion occurs when the verity score becomes the inverse of what it was at its highest point. For instance a magician with a 22 verity score suffers from paradigm inversion, this means his Verity becomes –22. Paradigm inversion is what occurs when a magician has stepped so far beyond his capabilities that something goes horribly wrong or seeing the possibilities to gain unimaginable power, decides to walk this path. In either case the magicians in question have become abominations. Rarely does a magician voluntarily become an abomination; typically they are killed in a warpmarked zone or by a warpmarked item or device. Why a magician becomes warpmarked under these circumstances is unknown. The standard effect of verity is the shaping of reality, the inversion of that is the massive warping of reality into events and effects that should not happen. Worse yet this spreads like a sickness. It would seem that with the inversion of the verity also comes the inversion of the mind, though that is a bit of an oversimplification. It would seem with the inversion of the verity the magician becomes something else altogether different. This difference is… hostile, in the extreme. The magician seemingly becomes an agent of pure destruction. Tainted The warped mind of the magician informs all manner of deranged creations and effects that consume everything nearby until there is nothing left but a warpmarking. A Warpmark is a place where reality breaks down completely and cannot reassert controls or rules. It is either a place that was created by an abomination or the result of the placement of a warpmarked item in the immediate vicinity. All people and things within a warpmarked zone when it is spawned, unless they leave the area immediately are tainted and spread the warpmark where ever they go. If they spend too much time in a warpmarked zone they become warpmarked. For instance say a warpmarked individual wants to infect his office. All he needs to do is take a coffee cup from his warpmarked home and sit it on his desk at work and the creeping influence of warpmarking begins. His office over a period of time will become warpmarked starting at the desk and going outward which in time affects the individuals who work there who in turn spread the warpmark ad infinitum. This is why paradigm inversion is so dangerous. Even more dangerous is the fact that this place can look like anything. It can look perfectly normal to everyone standing right in the middle of it, but once tainted, they are tainted forever. Those in avertedly caught in a warmarked area are automatically allowed a perception check to sense that something is “wrong”. A successful perception check allows them automatically take action appropriate for them in terms of ensuring their own safety. As if this wasn’t bad enough some of those who have suffered paradigm inversion have a tendency to organize. They are collectively known as the Servitors of the Obsidian Void. A piece of warpmarked obsidian is always carried on their person, an indicator of their allegiance. Their existence is fundamentally wrong to reality and reality has no defense…except other magicians. Magicians are very careful when engaging a warpmarked individual, particularly when in a warpmarked zone. This is because magicians are not as powerful here as they are in a normal reality space. Too many magicians have fallen to the Servitors because of pride. Servitors of the Obsidian Void Servitors of the Obsidian Void are those who work constantly toward the inversion of all things because from their stand point this would make the universe over into their version of paradise. They are most interested in finding ways to corrupt those who are in a position of power or those who wield power…such as elected officials. Curiously it would appear that those who demonstrate a certain amount of inherent corruption seem to slip into the fold of the warpmarked very easily. Thus for certain individuals who resist ordering forces or those who manipulate ordering forces becoming warpmarked is something of a slippery slope. There is apparently a subjective moral component to the selection of potential Servitors. Conversely those who maintain order tend to be resistant; this is not to be confused with immunity. Given enough time anything or anyone will become warpmarked. As previously alluded to, the Servitors tend to seek out those who have to capacity to advance their interests. No one is precisely certain why the Servitors are as persistent as they appear though it is speculated that they are guided by intelligence. If this is true then much would be explained by this; particularly their interest in magicians. Some of this is understandable since the power that magicians are capable of wielding make them exceptionally potent Servitors. However their interest goes well beyond that, upon stumbling across a magician, all other actions are halted and all further efforts are directed toward the acquisition of the magician or his destruction if he proves to be too resistant.

Okay all you herophiles out there, I have a notion. I wanted to do a modern magic-based game vaguely similar to mage at least in tone. I realize that strictly speaking such a thing is actually not all that hard, but I felt the need to try to make things logical in the game context. The only way I could do this was to put fingers to keyboard, and I would like to humbly submit my results to "the hero board" for examination and constructive criticism. I ask you all ahead of time to please excuse some of my naming conventions...they make sense in my head and I will explain them as the situation arises. At the moment it's all in a word doc. I considered copying it all and just posting it as a long text, but it's roughly 6 pages and I think that might be a bit much. It is somewhat unfinished, but I kind of wanted some opinions on the direction and possible content suggestions. It's still a work in progress and hasn't been tested, but as a group no one else has as much collective experience with balancing such things as the people here. If it is better to put this in some other format other than word let me know. BTW I'm working on creating a template for this as well so that others could create characters with the necessary changes for the game.

Re: The Interogation Skill as a "Lab" Well! You've given me something to which I should aspire.

Re: The Interogation Skill as a "Lab" No, don't misunderstand. I might retain the ability to appal myself, but I will most certainly make use of every bit of detail to totally creep out my players and hopefully have them squirming in their seats. Hey the biggest compliment I ever got was when a couple of my players told me that they had bad dreams after playing one of my games.

Hm...moved this to the "Other Genres" section of the boards. Sorry about that folks. My bad.

Re: The Interogation Skill as a "Lab" Too much information. Um...I don't know anyone's paying attention, but this thread is a bit disturbing. Yes I know I don't have to read it and it's for a game and it's merely factual info but still kind of disturbing. Sort of took a turn there right at the end. And I must point out that I have run some very disturbing games in my time (and I'll probably use this stuff). It's sort of like a really bad accident, and you can't look away.

Re: Firefly LOL! Um...Yeah that would be a direct insult. There are some people who through no fault of their own know nothing of Firefly...and that's okay...you're okay...we're all okay... LOL! Dude...switch to decaff!