Reynard

Re: THE FALLOUT BRIGADE: Ongoing P-A HERO campaign design

First Actual Play Session!

On Sunday night, BL and LS came over and we played the first session of the Fallout Brigade.

The setup was simple: The PCs (uber-techie and mutant ranger/sniper) are on their way to Bunkertown -- home of the Fallout Brigade -- for the Brigade's annual meeting and information exchange. They have some time to get there (a month or so) and so they can continue their mandate of exploration, recovery and aid while they go. The setup here allows us to get a few sessions in before the other guys start school again and then everyone can meet in Bunkertown and the 'real' campaign can start.

As the PCs walked a cracked and broken road in northern Texas, they saw a bright glimmer ahead. After some semi-paranoid creeping up, they saw a small town with two unusual features:

1) In what looked like a corral, there were giant worm like creatures undulkating in a deep, stinking muck, and

2) there was a squat, perfectly square building made of shining metal.

Upon entering town (GS's character walked in while BL's covered him with the sniper rifle) they met the town's Sheriff Grey -- an older but very competent looking man that BL easily identified as a frmer (?) special forces type. He gave them a warm enough welcome, but a stern warning to stay out of trouble.

While talking, they saw two men poke and prod one of the giant undulating worm things into the sliding doors of the metal building. After the doors closed it just started to hum. Sheriff Grey explained that the worms were Steakums -- giant boneless slabs of frankenbeef created near the end of the Resource Wars as a way to feed troops. the building -- which no one knew how to work, really -- was an Automated Meat Processing Facility. Steakum goes in -- cut and packaged beef comes out.

The PCs explored for a little bit, meeting some of the locals (Mayor Lippitz the Used Car Salesman, Ma Rainey the owner of the converted Applebee's, and Bill the Mechanic with a conpiracy theorist side). They learned the town was called Cudchew (after the horrible slop the Steakum's ate) and had survived the Big Drop relatively unscathed. Cudchew did good trade in beef, but only locally: no one knew how to make the AMPF produce preserved stuff. Even the wasters and raider paid for the beef, lest some little war over the town ended up destroying it all. They also learned that the power for the AMPF -- and the town in general -- was somehwere to the west (some townsfolk had uncovered a conduit going to the facility but never followed it back far). Also, a raider army called The Steel Vipers from a military base about 25 miles east basically strongarmed Cudchew into feeding their troops. A lot of this was just laying ground work for future events.

The next day, while GS is working on fixing a Scavbot for Bill the MEchanic -- now micro-fusion battery! -- BL heads out to hunt rabbit (everyone is town is damn tired of beef). That's when he sees the Recyclotron heading toward town. It is a robot on tracks the size of a dump truck with 6 arms covered in saws, laser torches and other implements, with a huge bin for "recycling" tech. The Recylcotron looks like it is pretty bad shape. Swarming around the Recyclotron like fish following a shark are a half dozen Scavbots (imagine a Segway with four similarly equipped arms and a UFO for a head).

The PCs figure out pretty quickly that the thing is going for the AMPF. they try and delay it and distract it by having a Steakum drag a junk car to the edge of town. Both car and steakum get pukped. GS decides to turn on his radio, which does get the thing's attnetion, while BL takes shots at it that can't quite pentrate its armor. GS realizes he has to get close and deactivate it, so he convinces Sheriff Grey to take his blaster and irritate the thing. While BL gets in close with the Scavbots -- which view the locals' homes as a smorgasborg -- GS runs up to the Recyclotron and, after afew turns, manages to pop the control panel and shut the thing down.

That's pretty much where we ended, with the following things happening in the "downtime" before the next time we play:

1) GS will finish fixing Bill's Scavbot and program it for him (spare parts and extra batteries galor) for a high end toolkit (+2).

2) GS will also examine the AMPF and figure out a way to get it to produce preserved meat and then both PCs, when they get to Bunkertown, will help negotiate a deal between Cudchew and the Brigade.

3) They'll work on turning the Recyclotron into their very own Armored Personelle Carrier.

Re: THE FALLOUT BRIGADE: Ongoing P-A HERO campaign design

What's a post-apocalyptic game without the walking dead?

Zomborg

Val Char Cost Roll Notes

15 STR 5 12- Lift 200.0kg; 3d6 [1]

12 DEX 6 11- OCV: 4/DCV: 4

14 CON 8 12-

16 BODY 12 12-

6 INT -4 10- PER Roll 10-

0 EGO 0 9- ECV: 0

0 PRE -10 9- PRE Attack: 0d6

4 COM -3 10-

4 PD 9 Total: 4 PD (0 rPD)

4 ED 9 Total: 4 ED (0 rED)

2 SPD 0 Phases: 6, 12

0 REC -12

28 END 0

Total Characteristic Cost: 14

Movement: Running: 4"/8"

Leaping: 3"/6"

Cost Powers END

60 Automaton (Takes No STUN)

15 Life Sense: Detect Living Things A Large Class Of Things 15- (Unusual Group)

5 Nightvision

Skills

24 +3 with All Combat

7 Breakfall 13-

7 Climbing 13-

7 Stealth 13-

9 Tracking 13-

2 WF: Small Arms

Total Powers & Skill Cost: 136

Total Cost: 150

100+ Disadvantages

25 Distinctive Features: Shambling Corpse (Not Concealable; Extreme Reaction; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses)

15 Psychological Limitation: Only capable of killing. (Uncommon, Total)

10 Vulnerability: 2 x Effect Electro-Magnetic Attacks (Uncommon)

Total Disadvantage Points: 150

Background/History: During the waning days of the Resource Wars, goverments were not just running out of food, fossil fuel;s and potable water. They were also running out of soldiers. While a number of research groups and governments experimented with stop gap measures -- genetically enginner and fast-grown clones, superior battefiled medical care, improvements in armor, advanced robotic drones, etc... -- one organization created the Zomborg. The dead littering the theaters of war were of no use to anyone, but those same dead reanimated and turned into unrelenting killers were the perfect weapons. Especially when it didn't matter whose side the deceased had been on, since zomborgs could be programmed with specific instructions regarding who was the enemy.

The key to the zomborg wasn't the dead; there were so many of them that they hardly mattered at all. the key was the Necrobot -- a 2" diameter, disk shaped robot. The necrobot, using flexible tendril limbs, would seek out deceased or near-deceased victims on the battlefield and, after analyzing the bodies for suitability, would attach themselves to the back of the heads of the corpses. the tendrils would then enter the central nervous system and send out thousands of monfilament tendril throughout the entire nervous system. A quick spark later and the body was mobile again, a Zomborg under control of the Necrobot.

Necrobots are still found in the wastelands, and whenever they get the chance, they reanimate the dead in an attempt to complete their programmed goal -- which is usually to kill every living thing with detectable distance (often during the end of the Resource Wars, living soldeiers were fitted with Transponder Chips that told allied Zomborg's to leave them be, as well as attracting Necrobots should the soldier perish in battle). Worse yet, Necrobots are self replicating -- given the right raw materials -- which can create "zomborg plagues" in entire communities given the right set of circumstances.

Powers/Tactics: Zomborgs pick up whatever weapons are available to them and immediately seek out living targets to kill. They often "swarm", all targetting the same nearest living creature. This makes them very dangerous in large groups, but at the same time predictable and relatively easily fooled.

Re: THE FALLOUT BRIGADE: Ongoing P-A HERO campaign design

While creating characters last night, we discovered that among the prefabs for Hero Designer v2 I had downloaded there was little to nothing in the way of armor. So I decided to make some. This isn't an exhaustive list by any means, but it is a start.

A couple of notes: The "Piecemeal" armor listed below is your ty[pical Mad Max style tires/metal bits/leather/etc... stuff and all has an activation roll. You might also notice some of the the armor has a +1 Advantage called "Advanced technology". this is simply to increase the cost, because what I did was base the $ cost on Real Cost x 10 + Active Cost, since I really couldn't find any guidelines on how to set the $ cost for things in heroic games. I will determine how much money the PCs have at the start once I get a good idea of what things cost once I have a more complete equipment list.

Without Further Ado -- Post Apocalyptic Armors

Piecemeal Armor, Light

Value: $39 Weight: 6.10kg

Armor (3 PD/3 ED) (9 Active Points); Normal Mass (-1), OIF (-1/2), Activation Roll 14- (-1/2), Real Armor (-1/4)

Piecemeal Armor, Medium

Value: $68 Weight: 17.50kg

Armor (6 PD/6 ED) (18 Active Points); Normal Mass (-1), Activation Roll 14- (-1/2), OIF (-1/2), Real Armor (-1/4)

Piecemeal Armor, Heavy

Value: $107 Weight: 49.00kg

Armor (9 PD/9 ED) (27 Active Points); Normal Mass (-1), Activation Roll 14- (-1/2), OIF (-1/2), Real Armor (-1/4)

Combat Armor, Light

Value: $49 Weight: 3.50kg

Armor (3 PD/3 ED) (9 Active Points); OIF (-1/2), Half Mass (-1/2), Real Armor (-1/4)

Combat Armor, Medium

Value: $98 Weight: 10.00kg

Armor (6 PD/6 ED) (18 Active Points); OIF (-1/2), Half Mass (-1/2), Real Armor (-1/4)

Combat Armor, Heavy

Value: $147 Weight: 28.00kg

Armor (9 PD/9 ED) (27 Active Points); OIF (-1/2), Half Mass (-1/2), Real Armor (-1/4)

Rad-Zone Trooper Armor

Value: $362 Weight: 80.00kg

(Total: 72 Active Cost, 29 Real Cost) Armor (8 PD/8 ED), Advanced Technology (+1) (48 Active Points); Double Mass (-1 1/2), OIF (-1/2), Real Armor (-1/4) (Real Cost: 15) plus Life Support (Safe in High Radiation), Advanced Technology (+1) (4 Active Points); OIF (-1/2) (Real Cost: 3) plus Life Support (Self-Contained Breathing), Advanced Technology (+1) (20 Active Points); OIF (-1/2), 1 Recoverable Continuing Charge lasting 1 Hour (Recovers Under Limited Circumstances; Recovery requires extra oxygen tank; -1/4) (Real Cost: 11)

Rad-Zone Trooper Armor, Advanced

Value: $634 Weight: 80.00kg

(Total: 104 Active Cost, 53 Real Cost) Armor (12 PD/12 ED), Advanced Technology (+1) (72 Active Points); OIF (-1/2), Half Mass (-1/2), Real Armor (-1/4) (Real Cost: 32) plus Life Support (Safe in High Radiation; Safe in Intense Cold; Safe in Intense Heat), Advanced Technology (+1) (12 Active Points); OIF (-1/2) (Real Cost: 8) plus Life Support (Self-Contained Breathing), 1 Recoverable Continuing Charge lasting 6 Hours (Recovers Under Limited Circumstances; Recovery requires extra oxygen tank; +0), Advanced Technology (+1) (20 Active Points); OIF (-1/2) (Real Cost: 13)

HardShell Armor-in-a-can

Value: $118 Weight: 20.00kg

Armor (8 PD/8 ED), Advanced Technology (+1) (48 Active Points); 1 Charge which Never Recover (-4), OAF (cannister; -1), Ablative BODY Only (-1/2), Half Mass (-1/2)

Re: THE FALLOUT BRIGADE: Ongoing P-A HERO campaign design

We finally settled on The Fallout Brigade (yay!) and so BL and GS came over to create their characters -- with the help of HEro Designer.

BL's Character: Jodiah Forelon

Jodiah Forelon is a mutated human from Bunkertown, a community that managed to survive the Big Drop mostly intact and eventually became the birthplace of the Fallout Brigade as its citizens sought to determine what else had survived. Jodiah is a little funny looking with round black eyes and big mouse-like ears, but they afford him greater than normal human sight and hearing. Raised a hunter and town defender, he is a stealth sniper type armed with a long range -- though conventional -- rifle and scope. He isn't much good in a close up fight, but his motto is if you're that close, you've already lost.

GS' Character: Thomas Edison Grey

Thomas Edison grey was born in the Forge. Before the Big Drop, the Forge was a miltary research facility cranking out advanced weaponry for the Resource Wars. When the Drop came, the Forge sealed its doors and its miltary-scientist leaders continued their work so that they could one day open the doors and retake the world. Being a genius and near-savant with technology, Grey became one of the Forge's researchers at a very young age. As he studied the Pre-Drop world, however, he came to realize that the Forge was a threat to whatever civilization might still exist beyond the blast doors. He "defected", escaping one night through the ventilation system and wandering out into the broken world. The Forge doesn't take kindly to defectors, however, and is hunting him. In addition, Grey has become something of a scavenger of Pre-Drop technology and has accidentally crossed the Scavenger's Guild -- temporary name -- who are looking for him as well. The character is loaded with skills relating to technology, but isn't mcuh of a combatant (though he does carry a laser pistol with which he managed to escape).

One thing I have always liked about table-top RPGs -- as opposed to the computer kind, even super cool ones like Fallout -- is that players often come up with ideas that inspire me, as the GM, to create setting elements that I might not have otherwise thought about. In the above, Bunkertown, the Forge and the Scavenger's Guild were all player-inspired and will all feature prominently in the campaign.

Re: THE FALLOUT BRIGADE: Ongoing P-A HERO campaign design

So while I doubt that Steve would mind you writing it' date=' I don't think you can look forward to him publishing it. [/quote']

 

I was partially joking. if I learned anything writing for RPGs, it was that I much prefer developing settings/NPCs/adventures than producing rule books. I think if my HERO campaign ends up being The Fallout Brigade, I am going to use the opportunity to write and playtest my Big Fat Epic Post Apocalyptic Mega-Module that I have had in mind since I first worked on Gamma World d20.

Re: THE FALLOUT BRIGADE: Ongoing P-A HERO campaign design

Hey' date=' Reynard, nice to see you bringing your project over here. [/quote']

 

I figure that between here and RPG.net, I can get full coverage of response and opinions.

 

Post-Apoc HERO is actually a fairly popular subject on this forum. Here are a few representative threads, with interesting and potentially useful opinions, info and links:

 

Thanks for the links. Some interesting reading there.

 

Hmmm... I wonder if Steve would get mad if I wrote this up as a genre Book. it has been a couple years since I worked on game stuff for publication, and I got a hankering to flex those muscles. plus it is a solid excuse to watch entirely too many PA movies and delve into some books I have always meant to read.

Re: THE FALLOUT BRIGADE: Ongoing P-A HERO campaign design

Character Creation Guidelines Part I: Points and Backgrounds

I figure I will use 75/75 for PCs in THE FALLOUT BRIGADE. The first thing in creating a PC will be choosing a "cultural" background.

Each of the following cultural backgrounds provides a list of Everyman Skills, as well as 1 or 2 free Weapon and Transport familiarities. Cultural background is intended to describe, in very broad terms, the social and technological environment in which the character was raised, and may not have any bearing on where the character is right now.

Survivor: Typical citizen scratching out a living in one of the towns and villages that dot the landscape of the ruined world.

Everyman Skills: Animal Handler, Climbing, Mechanics, Navigation, Paramedics, Persuasion, Survival, Trading

Weapon Familiarities: Common Melee Weapons, Small Arms

Transport Familiarities: Common Motorized Ground Vehicles, Two-Wheeled Motorized Ground Vehicles, Carts and Carriages

Sheltered: One of the lucky few who was raised in a sheltered community – be it an underground Vault, and undersea dome or a mountaintop retreat – with access to pre-Fall technology and culture.

Everyman Skills: Bureaucratics, Computer Programming, Electronics, KS: Pre-Fall History, KS: Pre-Fall Technology, Oratory, Paramedics, Systems Operation

Weapon Familiarities: Small Arms

Transport Familiarities: Small Motorized Ground Vehicles, Grav/Hovercraft Vehicles

Primitive: Raised among the wasteland communities that have retreated back to hunter-gatherer and/or subsistence farming and have rejected or lost nearly all connection to pre-Fall technology and culture.

Everyman Skills: Animal Handler, Breakfall, Concealment, Navigation, Riding, Stealth, Survival, Tracking

Weapon Familiarities: Common Melee Weapons, Common Missile Weapons

Transport Familiarities: Riding Animals, Carts and Carriages

Outcast: Truly alone, the outcast is a wanderer, a hermit or an exile that has learned to survive on his or her own, but sacrificed the ability to live within civilized society in the process.

Everyman Skills: Breakfall, Climbing, Concealment, Disguise, Shadowing, Streetwise, Survival, Trading

Weapon Familiarities: Common Melee Weapons, Common Missile Weapons, Small Arms

Transport Familiarities: Common Motorized Ground Vehicles, Riding Animal (any one)

Next Up: "Professional" pack deals and "Racial" package deals.

I decided that I was going to play HERO, and that my second favorite genre -- post-apocalyptic science fantasy goodness -- was going to be where it is at. This thread will detail my trials and tribulations as I attempt to piece together a campaign and force it on my poor players.

I look forward to comments and suggestions on how to get the most out of the HERO system in this.

THE FALLOUT BRIGADE Campaign Pitch

BACKGROUND

The century of conflict known collectively as the Resource Wars that precipitated The Big Drop fueled an unprecedented period of technological advancement. Robotics, cybernetics, biotechnology, genetic engineering, near-Earth space travel and artificial intelligence all saw massive leaps undreamed of by those who lived in the Unquiet Time between the second and third World Wars. Al of these advancements, however, were directed toward one purpose: war.

By the time The Big Drop came to be, the world was ravaged by war and depleted of resources. Tens of millions had died in convention, biological, chemical and nuclear conflicts around the globe. The billions that lived were scarred not only by the trauma of constant battle, but by the ever increasing techno-shock . In the end, super-powers had broken down into private fiefdoms struggling for the last remaining deposits of fossil fuels and tracts of arable land, with everyone else caught in the crossfire.

Some few saw the end coming, moving families and sometimes entire towns to the most desolate places they could find to escape the chaos. Others, knowing their massive wealth was soon to become useless, built subterranean vaults, undersea domes and mountaintop refuges in which to wait out Armageddon. There were even some who, seeing no way to survive, collected themselves and all their experiences into time capsules and digital fortresses, in the hope that someday the descendents of the survivors might learn something of what the world had been.

Despite all preparations and plans, all hopes and prayers, the end did come. The asteroid known as Mjolnir, captured as it passed close by the earth some years before and meant to be mined for precious ore to continue the construction of the machines of war, was pushed into the atmosphere by a faulty control program. It struck the mid-Atlantic, first drowning the east coast of the Americas and Europe and west Africa. The seismic trauma caused earthquakes and volcanic eruptions the world over. Madmen with their fingers on button, in last ditch efforts to be declared “winner” before the end of all things, launched their deadliest weapons.

When the roar of the fires and the shaking of the earth stopped, there was quiet for a long time.

The, a mere 50 years ago, the world woke. Survivors crawled out of their distant communities and their secured shelters to see what man had wrought in his quest for resources and power. And sadly, the quest started up again almost immediately.

THE CAMPAIGN

The Fallout Brigade is a post-apocalyptic campaign inspired by the likes of Gamma World, Fallout, and Mad Max (with shades of everything from Cherry 2000 to Hell Comes to Frogtown to Six String Samurai).

Rather than being simply survivors and scavengers scrounging to survive, the PCs will be members of the Fallout Brigade, a loose affiliation of activists that share the common goals of 1) bringing law and order to the ruined world, 2) uncovering the lost wonders of the former age and 3) helping those in need in whatever fashion that takes. It isn’t a powerful organization (yet) and can provide only the most modest support to its members. But as those members garner both respect and treasures for the Brigade, it may one day serve as the foundation upon which a new world is built. In the meantime, however, there are mutant raiders, would-be warlords, and uncontrolled war machines out there that need stopping, caches of old world technology and history that need recovering and struggling survivors that need protecting.

As a post-apocalyptic campaign, the Fallout Brigade will resemble traditional RPG-style adventuring in many respects, with touches from the Western, Sci-Fi Horror and Pulp gaming genres. The PCs are adventurers and heroes in equal measure. The typical PC will be capable and, while filling a party niche, self-sufficient. Some characters may be more-than-human in some respect, but only marginally. The big mutations, psionic powers and mega-tech will be more commonly encountered in enemies and possibly allies. At least in the beginning, the characters will be wanderers, but may find a place to call home as a base of operations relatively early on. They will have the opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of survivors, even as they defeat enemies and uncover lost technology and weapons. And while there will certainly be powerful forces at work against the PCs, the only ‘big story’ is that of the PCs and what they build or tear down.

Next Up: PC Generation Guidelines.

Re: Google Images + Photoshop = Fake Covers for PCs

I got a TON more - but hell if I can figure out how to post thumbnail versions. So I'll save some bandwidth and just go with the two.

I am not sure how PhotoBucket works, but ImageShack will allow you to link directly to the thumbs.

I am going to try and link an image of the patriotic power armor flyer Technaught. Here goes.

EDIT: Yay, it worked. Now here's his stats:

Technaught

Val Char Cost

35 STR 5

23 DEX 39

15 CON 10

14 BODY 8

16 INT 6

14 EGO 8

20 PRE 10

18 COM 4

3/18 PD 0

3/18 ED 0

4 SPD 7

8 REC 4

30 END 0

36 STUN 6

6" RUN 0

2" SWIM 0

7" LEAP 0

Characteristics Cost: 107

Cost Power

30 Armor (15 PD/15 ED) (45 Active Points); OIF (Technaught Battlesuit; -1/2)

7 Sight Group Flash Defense (10 points) (10 Active Points); OIF (Goggles; -1/2)

50 Flight 20", x8 Noncombat, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (75 Active Points); OIF (Technaught Battlesuit; -1/2)

15 +20 STR, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (30 Active Points); No Figured Characteristics (-1/2), OIF (Technaught Battlesuit; -1/2)

7 Life Support (Self-Contained Breathing) (10 Active Points); OIF (Rebreather; -1/2)

50 Technaught Battlesuit on-board weaponry: Multipower, 50-point reserve, all slots Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (75 Active Points); all slots OIF (Technaught Battlesuit; -1/2)

3u 1) Force Bolt: Energy Blast 10d6 (50 Active Points); OIF (Technaught Battlesuit; -1/2)

3u 2) Force Wall Generator: Force Wall (12 PD/6 ED/1 Flash Defense: Sight Group; 2" long and 2" tall) (50 Active Points); OIF (Technaught Battlesuit; -1/2)

3u 3) Force Bomb: Energy Blast 5d6, Area Of Effect (3" Radius; +1) (50 Active Points); OIF (Technaught Battlesuit; -1/2)

3u 4) Force Bands: Entangle 4d6, 6 DEF (50 Active Points); OIF (Technaught Battlesuit; -1/2)

Powers Cost: 171

Cost Martial Arts Maneuver

5 Defensive Strike: 1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, +3 DCV, 7d6 Strike

4 Martial Dodge: 1/2 Phase, -- OCV, +5 DCV, Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort

4 Martial Strike: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +2 DCV, 9d6 Strike

5 Offensive Strike: 1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, +1 DCV, 11d6 Strike

3 Martial Throw: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +1 DCV, 7d6 +v/5, Target Falls

Martial Arts Cost: 21

Cost Skill

12 +4 with Technaught Battlesuit multipower

10 +2 with HTH Combat

3 Breakfall 14-

3 Bureaucratics 13-

5 Combat Piloting 15-

3 Electronics 12-

3 KS 12-

2 Navigation (Air) 12-

3 Security Systems 12-

3 Tactics 12-

Skills Cost: 47

Cost Perk

4 Fringe Benefit: Captain

Perks Cost: 4

Total Character Cost: 350

Pts. Disadvantage

10 Psychological Limitation: Overconfidance (Common, Moderate)

15 Psychological Limitation: Bound By Duty (Common, Strong)

10 Psychological Limitation: Code Against Killing (Common, Moderate)

20 Hunted: The Anti-Tech League 11- (As Pow, NCI, Harshly Punish)

15 Social Limitation: Secret ID (Frequently, Major)

10 Reputation: Patriotic Hero, 11-

25 Hunted: The Shadow Cabinet 11- (Mo Pow, NCI, Harshly Punish)

5 Rivalry: Professional (Mr. Patriot), Rival is As Powerful, Seek to Outdo, Embarrass, or Humiliate Rival, Rival Aware of Rivalry

20 Dependent NPC: Mom 8- (Incompetent; Unaware of character's adventuring career/Secret ID)

20 Social Limitation: Must act within the law or by government approval. (Very Frequently, Major)

Disadvantage Points: 150

Base Points: 200

Experience Required: 0

Total Experience Available: 0

Experience Unspent: 0

Re: Got an idea at work today.

I wonder, could you take a naked Limitation as a disad? In this case, perhaps Side Effect, w/ the effect being a Dispel on tech? I am not sure how many base points you would "base" the lim on, but it might be feasible.

Hey all

Here's the deal. I decided to run a FREd (Sidekick) game at a local "mini-con/gameday" but since I have a new baby (yay!) I have a lot less time that I would like. And it is this weekend! So, help me out. Point me to a free, downloadable adventure that I can run for 4-6 players in 4-6 hours, please! Genre doesn't matter, though I would like to do a Heroic game rather than a superheroic one. Once I got the aventure, I'll use HD to created the pre-gens (or do it by hand after my character gets killed in the annual D&D Game of Death).

Help me, Herodom, you're my only hope.

Thanks.

Re: Generic Power Nullifiers

As a side note' date=' in my current game, Scorpia, along with Durak and Mentalla, was taken out rather quickly in the first big battle of my "Dread Whispers" adventure All three villains were captured. Oddly enough, my brother's hero, Union Jack, has Scorpia as a hunted. Chances are, she will be incarcerated for a long time. Lovely that the Disad has become null and void so quickly into the game. I am wondering if I should let Union Jack keep the hunted by Scorpia after this.[/quote']

 

Absolutely. Remember, all a hunted has to do is show up now and again (based on the frequency) and mess with the character (based on the severity). Scorpia is likely looking at a long and complicated trial, especially if she(?) gets herself a top notch lawyer trying to reinvigorate a flagging career. When the lawyer calls Union Jack as a witness for the defense and starts turning all the facts around, in a very publicized trial, I think those Hunted points are being well spent.

 

Just a suggestion.

Re: Sidekick for PA one shot

So, I picked up the Hero System Bestiary yesterday and am very pleased with the purchase. between the regular animals, the templates, and the robots, I should be able to populate my Fallout-style one shot pretty easily. The only porblem is that I have only run Hero a few times, and not recently (and not 5th Ed.) so I am a little wary on how to balance encounters. Assuming a group of a half dozen 100+50 Heroic characters, how many points makesa good challenge? How "big" should a single monster be, versus a pack of them? And what kind of heavy weaponry can I have the PCs discover before the climactic battle.

Basically, I would like an intro scene, a role-play scene, and skill based scene, 2 short combat scenes, and one big fight scene, and I want to do it all in 4 to 6 hours. Can this be done?

Thanks, all.

Reynard

aka Ian Eller

Game Writer Type Guy

Hey all

I am planning on running a Post Apocalyptic one shot adventure (more Fallout than Gamma World) for a super small con/game day in a couple of weeks. After considering d20 Modern (and GW that goes with it -- which I worked on), Darwin's World, Tri-Stat dX, and Adventure, I decided on using HERO becuase I want to introduce my group to the system without forcing them to swallow the whole supers level HERO system (which can be a bit daunting for newbies). So, my question(s):

Does anyone have extensive experience using HERO for PA games? Any advice on character and/or villain generation?

Does anyone have any general advice for using Sidekick with HERO newbies? Should I pick up a couple extra copies and have them cretae characters? Should I use pre-gens? Any snags or wonkiness I should be aware of?

Thanks all.

Re: What superhero world concept are you tired of seeing?

Marvel and DC's approach to non-US supers suck.

I disagree, and wonder whether you are currently reading titles from those companies. The porblem is not that international supers don't exist in those universes, or that they are treated as stereotypes and cliches. DC introduced a whole world of supers a few years ago, and they writers all made a concerted effort to create dynamic, non-stereotyped characters. A lot of them were cool. Marvel has always ahad a strong international character roster, from Sunfire to Alpha Flight. The problem is that they don't sell, so you don't see them much.

In fact, new heroes in general don't sell. Ho many times does a new hero or team title appear from either company and disappear, while the Batman and X-Men book keep multiplying. It takes a lot to get a new character enmeshed in one of the existing universes.

On topic in general: (in gaming) I am tired of seeing dystopian supers worlds. BNW did it best, but even then pretty much 90% of all published super hero rpg worlds are places where supers have wrecked civilization. The alternative, of course, is pretty much the illegitimate child of Marvel and DC dressed up with a new timeline.

What I would like to see is a super hero setting with a unique origin for powers -- say, mystical -- without the requisite crumbling of society that those settings tend to bring.

I am sure such a setting exists. Point me to it.

Reynard

Re: Who let the Id out?

Ah, that's different. Then I would consider Summon to get the Id Monster and Transform to weaken the original character. Come up with some arbitrary, dramatic ritual for the two to "recombine." Then buy the Summon so that it cancels when the ritual is complete, and buy the Transform with the ritual as its reversal condition.

 

As Steve pointed out, using Duplication for this effect would put the Id Monster in the player's hands. And anyway, if the monster is totally different from the original guy, then you're basically just using the Duplication power to crib the "recombining" mechanics. Better to do it manually.

 

-AA

Cool. That's what I started to think as I looked at it more. And for the record, I was thinking of this as a villain power but I still don't believe it is necessary to hand wave it: after all, half the fun of using HERO is figuring out how to do stuff within the rules and within a certain budget (so the villain is balanced for the PCs)

Reynard

Re: Who let the Id out?

Hmm... I think I might have made myself unclear. i am not thinking so much that Id-Man would attack Bob and Evil Bob would appear. I am thinking more that Id-Man would attack Bob and Monstrous Bob, who bears only a passing resemblance to Bob, would appear. Anybody Id-Man targetted would produce the same (stat wise) Id Monster. Simultaneously, Bob (or whoever) would suffer from a collection of Wussification disads, and the only way to get rid of them would be to recombine with Montrous Bob -- which would be... how?

Reynard

Re: What super hero concepts would you like to see more of?

Do you think we can blame the players for the dearth of non-combat superhumans? IMO, the blame mostly lays with GMs, comic book writers, and RPG book writers.

 

The GMs are the ones who design adventures that usually revolve 90% around combat. The other 10% is stuff to help "us get into the combat scene". I play a game, I want to shine. I'll not design a "social" or "brainy" character if it's going to be wasted (except when the brainy character thinks up a way to win the combat, we can try as we might, but it *always* ends in combat). So those characters are condemned to supporting roles. Most people don't like to be supporting actors (I, for one, don't).

I disagree. Unless the GM builds the characters for the players, he is reacting to the team they put together. If the players create characters that are primarily about kicking the crap out of villains, they will call foul if the GM makes an adventure designed around social skills. The GM has to cater to his players' sense of fun, and players that create combat characters are essentially stating that their sense of fun involves combat.

And the GMs, in their turn, are mostly influenced by comic books and RPG systems. I'll not say superhero comics are only about combat, there is a lot of character stuff and drama going on too, but when there is an "adventure problem", it usually involves combat or something that will get us to the combat.

Depends on the comic. I am one of those people that think we are in a comic Rennessance right now and you can pretty much find any kind of super hero story you are looking for, from the death and destruction laden (Ultimates and The Authority come to mind) to almost serene (Noble Causes and whatever).

In some fantasy worlds you can play a merchant, a seductress, a politician, a non-combat priest or magician, and a good GM will find you a niche. In superhero fiction usually there is no such niche. Plot problems just don't revolve around this stuff.

Not true. How many comic stories end up requiring characters to use their abilities, their technical or mystical know how, or their non-powered resources to solve the Big Problem. For good comics, a whole lot of them. See recent runs of JLA, Superman, Greenlantern, and the Flash for examples of how things other than punching the villains are just as important as punching him.

And that is another thing. There is nothing wrong with having a good amount of combat, even if the characters are not built to be powerhouses. The guy without the 60 strength or 15d6 EB is more likely to have to think his way through a fight and come up with the kind of cool fun we are all looking for when we sit down and play a supers game.

IMHO. YMMV.

Reynard

Re: Who let the Id out?

This would be a Mental Transform... probably Major

Well, the thing is that the real person is still standing there, dumbfounded as his dark inner self begins rampaging all over the place. What would be interesting, though, is to link a mental transform that adds a few Psych Disads like "Coward" and "Pacifist" to the target, because all their "inner strengh" is bound up in the Id Monster duplicate thingy.

Reynard

I was just reading the FAQ and came across this:

Q: Could a character buy Duplication with the Usable By Other or Usable As Attack Advantage, and if so, what would the effects be (and who’d control the Duplicate)?

 

A: A character could apply Usable On Others to Duplication with the GM’s permission — though given that one comes with a “caution sign†and the other with a “stop sign,†few GMs would grant that permission.

If the GM allows this, normal rules for who controls the granted/inflicted power would apply: if it’s Usable By Others, the grantee controls the use of the power; if it’s Usable As Attack, the grantor controls when it’s used and pays the END for it, etc.

The big question here then becomes: with Duplication Usable As Attack, does the attacker automatically control the actions of the Duplicate? The answer is: no, he does not. He controls when the target can Duplicate, and could force the Duplicate and original victim to rejoin if they were in contact. But otherwise, the Duplicate acts as an independent character with the same personality, abilities, etc., as the original victim. If the grantor wanted to maintain full control of the Duplicate, he’d need Linked Mind Control.

and it got me thinking.

Imagine a supervillain that has Duplicate,completely different, Usuable as Attack, who forces someones "dark side" to emerge as an actual physical entity. Load it up with all sorts of Psych Disads and Berserk, and you could have lots of fun.

But it raises some questions. How do you determine the point cost, sicne you might not know how many points the target has (say you create the duplicate as a 250 point monster, but use it on a 50 point normal)? Also, how does recombining work (probably when the END isn't being paid for anymore? what happens if it is bought as 0 END and Persistent?)

Just thinking.

Reynard

Re: What super hero concepts would you like to see more of?

I've never seen anyone ever play a fat brick' date=' a'la Big Bertha or the Blob.[/quote']

 

Or, by extension, players taking generally unatractive characters. i mean, the human ooking characters be all hawt is okay, because that is the way it is in the comics. But players seem to shy away from being the guy covered in thorns or the chick who is a pile of worms. Unattrative (as opposed to wierd but still cool) is generally associaed with villains, i guess.

 

Also, you don't see enough non fighting types, frex Raven from the orifginal Teen Titans. She was a high point character and a badass, but all her powers were healing, empathy, and the occasional such you into my dark soul. Everybody likes being able to hit things, I guess. Or, maybe, characters like that are too complex when it comes to char gen.

 

Reynard

Re: Telekinetic Silly Putty!

Okay, here is my first shot at this.

I decided that doing this as a Duplicate would be the easiest. It is a 350 point, completely different duplicate with 0 phase recombo and full feedback. This costs the original character 100 points. Basically, the core characters summons Ecto the Id, the ectoplasmic manifestation of his own telekinetic power. i have not worked out what he looks like himself, but here is Ecto:

10 Str 20

15 Dex 15

10 Con 15

10 Body 15

10 Int 20

20 Ego 20

0 Pre 10

0 Com 10

0 PD 4

0 ED 3

5 Spd 3

0 Rec 7

0 END 30

0 STUN 32

CHARCTERISTIC COST: 90

15 EC: Ectoplasmic Form (15 pnts)

17 Desolid (cannot pass through solids)

15 Stretching 6"

15 Affects Physical World (+2) on Strength

15 Flight 12" (usable under water +1/4)

TOTAL COST: 77

120 Extoplasmic "Attacks" MP (60 pnts; APW +2, No range -1/2)

6u Energy Blast 12d6

6u Entangle 6d6

6u Force Wall 12PD/8ED (4" Wide, 3" Tall)

TOTAL COST: 128

45 Full Life Support

10 +2 CSLs w/Multipower

There were a few things I was going to add, but I ran well over 350 points (Life Support usable by others, linked to Force Wall; more varaitions on EB and Entangle, etc..). Also, I was trying to figure out a way to have the main character be forced to pay for Ecto's endurance. I am not sure how to accomplish it. And finally, I need disads for this ting. Any suggestions?

Reynard

Re: Telekinetic Silly Putty!

Allow me to expound a little:

The TKSP is actually a mass of telekinetic "material" the size of a beach ball or so. He "summons" it mentally (I wanted to avoid using that word, so as not to confuse you -- it is not itself sentient in any way). He can manipulate the TKSP like, well, silly putty, but he can also move *it* independant of himself.

Example: The Silly Putty Keeper (or whatever his name is) is performing crowd control while the other heroes stop the Giant Robot or whatever from destroying City Hall. He sees a mother and child about to get smooshed by falling debris, so he send the TKSP over to form a dome around them. At that time, the Giant Robot breaks up into hundreds of Smaller Yet Still Evil Robots, one of which comes after the TKSP. it throws out psuedopods to bash the robot while still protecting the mother and child. Unfortunately, when a SYSER comes after the Silly Putty Keeper, his TKSP is half a block away protecting the mother and child and he is, momentarily at least, defenseless.

Hope that helps.

Reynard

It has been a while since I toyed with the HERO system, but I have found myself recently wanting to do some Champions gaming. Since my group prefers to play games with a "d" and a "20" in the system title (though I did manage to get them to start an X-Men inspired Exalted game), I am reduced to creating characters for my own enjoyment.

I probably should have started out with something easier, but what fun would that be? So, without further ado, please help me figure out how to model the following power(s) in FREd:

Telekinetic Silly Putty (TKSP): the character in question is able to create or summon a mass of psychokinetic engery that he can then shape to his whim. The only limitaton is that the TKSP cannot be broken, though it can be stretched and molded and can even operate multiple uses simultaneously. I went through the powers list and things that struck me were:

Armor (he covers himself in some or all of the TKSP, which absorbs damage)

Energy Blast (a "psuedopod" of the TKSP can reach out and touch someone, hard. There are lots of advantages and limitations that can be applied here, like Indirect and Area Effect: 1 Hex, etc..)

Entangle (again, lots of variations)

Extra Limbs

Flash (covering soemones head would be Sight and Hearing, maybe even taste/small, groups)

Force Wall

Gliding (he can form it into a parachute, should he fall off something tall)

Leaping (if he covers himself completely, he can "bounce" with it, or perhaps even recoil it into movement)

Life Support (a sealed bubble to survive under bad air and maybe radiation conditions. How long would it last?)

Stretching

Telekinesis

Now, I am not certain whether these should be in a a single multipower, more than one, or different frameworks depending on the ability. I am tempted to use a small VPP (20 points max) for some of the incidentals like Life Support, Gliding, and Stretching. Also, all the things that are able to be done at range are wierd, since he can send the TKSP away but it has to stretch to touch or attack anything.

Your thoughts would be much appreciated. oOnce I get a clearer idea on how to build the powers, I will come up with an actual character.

Reynard