Legendsmiths

Re: Fallout Hero (6E) Books present an interesting challenge. What I decided, since the effect was permanent, was that Books allowed a character to increase a skill at 1/2 cost or, in the case of general/background skills, 1 xp = +2 skill. Magazines are much easier. Regardless of conversion, a Magazine granting a 1 time +2 bonus seems about right. With the appropriate perk, you would take that to +3. I do also like your idea of the books basically being a skill focus and granting the bonus as long as it is in your possession. In which case a +1 is about right.

Re: Costs LTE Limitation? I have used this in my games a fair amount... -1/2 is where I ended up.

Re: Left 4 Dead Hero Play Notes Then you could still put Set in there, because it can be used by Melee as well. In my modern games, I use Set as a limitation on Rifles to get the accuracy bonus with a scope (Only when Set & Braced -1) to reflect the time it takes to acquire a target. I do the same for Iron Sights but require (Only when Braced -1/2) since that is a little faster. That might be a little advanced for what you are trying to do, but that is the difference between the Hunting Rifle/Sniper Rifle and other weapons it is "slower". I like that slowness to result in a bonus rather than just a time penalty. Set: Take a Full Phase to ready your next attack and gain +1 OCV with that attack on your next phase. Aim: Required for Scoped Weapons, Aim requires a Full Phase to ready, puts you at 1/2 DCV, and grants +1 OCV and +2 OCV vs. Range on your next attack.

Re: Left 4 Dead Hero Play Notes Crouching: don't necessarily agree. Bracing gives you +2 rMOD and you can still do a full move. I don't think Crouching should penalize DCV. I would just have Crouching be the special effect of Bracing with a modifier for Ranged attacks. Crouching: +1 DCV vs. Ranged attacks, +2 OCV vs. Range Modifiers, 1/2 Movement Rate

Re: DC and Marvel for 6E? Sure thing. I need to do another editing pass on them and then I'll get them over.

Re: DC and Marvel for 6E? I have several of the Avengers and X-Men: http://www.legendsmiths.com/adventures/champions/characters Wolverine Colossus Jean Grey Cyclops Beast Iron Man Captain America Luke Cage Dr. Druid Black Widow

http://hps.org/hsc/documents/Planning_Guidance_for_Response_to_a_Nuclear_Detonation-2nd_Edition_FINAL.pdf Official government document with awesome charts and diagrams.

Re: Left 4 Dead Hero Play Notes They did indeed. A smoker and a hunter were the specials encountered. I had the sounds pulled off of L4D as well so I could give a wailing horde or the hunter scream to add to the atmosphere.

Re: Left 4 Dead Hero Play Notes Nice approach. I used the L4D zombies you crafted in my Marvel Zombies game at U*Con. They worked out great. I did not play a full L4D style event however, so tough to say how it will play with normals.

Re: Spell Resistance That is a very interesting approach. You might want to make it Inherent so it can't be dispelled.

Re: GM chart / screen referance? Added Presence Attacks, Mental Powers, Breakout Roll text, and PER Mods. http://www.legendsmiths.com/downloads/HeroReferenceSheet-Landscape.pdf?attredirects=0&d=1

Re: GM chart / screen referance? That's essentially what I'm doing. I had the Portrait display version, but I don't like hiding behind the screen, I like the landscape orientation. I just updated the files to include a speed chart plus changed the coloring to be more 6E (blue on white).

Re: GM chart / screen referance? That could solve the "how do you roll and determine crit success" as well. Crit success would be 3d6 + DCV/2 vs. (OCV +12)/2. Somewhat arcane, but doable.

Re: GM chart / screen referance? OpenOffice. When I'm done I'll post the ODG file as well.

Re: GM chart / screen referance? It's not done yet, but it has the essentials (combat maneuvers, combat mods, hit locations, status, impairing, disabling, bleeding, STR, throwing). Works well with Hammerdog Games TWGS.

Re: Quick reference sheets? It's not done yet, but it has the essentials (combat maneuvers, combat mods, hit locations, status, impairing, disabling, bleeding, STR, throwing). Works well with Hammerdog Games TWGS.

Re: My thief can't hit a firbolg? It's talked about on 6E2 99. I generally go with can't more than double base damage, but only with respect to STR. Skill, Extra DCs, Maneuvers and such aren't limited in that manner. I also usually house rule that you can still roll the appropriate amount of dice, but you can only max out at the value of double the base. So, a 1/2d6 base damage weapon could only go to 1d6+1K plus other mods. If I had a +2 DC Sneak Attack, and a 20 STR (assuming a STR min of 5 for the weapon), I would roll 2d6+1K but would max out at 12 damage (since my extra 5 STR takes the weapon over its base damage limit). This is fun in that high STR characters are more likely to max out the damage without necessarily doing extra damage. It requires more bookkeeping so it may not be appropriate for all games.

Re: My thief can't hit a firbolg? Thief STR 10 w/ Dagger = 1d6+1K. I'll assume OCV 5 Firbolg: 15 PD (6 rPD), DCV 5 (+2 OCV to others due to size to hit) Thief tactics (no talents): Stealth into position (vs. PER 12-) and Option 1: "The Drop" Here the Firbolg isn't expecting an attack and is "out of combat". This means... 1/2 DCV, 1/2 Hit Location Penalties, x2 STUN. So... OCV 5 vs. DCV 5/2 = DCV 3; Thief is +2 OCV due to size of target so... OCV 7 vs. DCV 3 = 15- to hit. Worth is to go for the Head or Vitals (now only -4 OCV = 11- to hit), but equally worth it is to go for Stomach (now only -3 OCV since rounds in your favor = 12- to hit for a little more surety). Since STUNx is before armor, you will be doing x10 STUN to the head and x8 STUN to the stomach. Averaging 4.5 BODY (which won't pen rPD) you will still do 45 STUN or 36 STUN respectively, which is almost enough to Stun the Firbolg (45 - 15 PD = 30 and with a 30 CON you'd need to do 1 more point of STUN to Stun him). Option 2: "The Assist" Coordinate with a Fighter's attack from Surprise (via Stealth). This means... 1/2 DCV and your STUN damage that gets through armor will add to the Fighter's for purposes of Stunning. That means: Stunned = 1/2 DCV, 1/2 Hit Locations (see above) All in all that is still going to be a tough fight. Now, as for talents Sneak Attack is an obvious choice at 16 points for +3 DC (taking you to 2d6+1K). Flexible GMs can allow the purchase of single DCs. My pref is to not allow more than +2 DC (for 10 points) just to keep the damage in my games in line. If you had that, "The Drop" would end up doing another 35 STUN (head) or 28 STUN (stomach), in which case you would definitely Stun the Firbolg and in the case of the head hit KO. Plus, you would actually do BODY, but not enough to kill (4 in the case of the Head). Why is that a good deal on damage? Well, it really only is in a heroic game and then if you have restrictions on skill levels/OCV. To get +3 DC from skill levels (which is how the talent is built/based), you'd need 6 skill levels. These can't be 2 pt levels either, they have to be 3 or more. In this case it applies to all attacks made from surprise - flexible GMs might allow you to restrict it to "light weapons" or "thief weapons" or some such to make it cheaper. Regardless, few GMs are going to allow a character to buy 6 skill levels in a 175pt game... that would allow your OCV to be 14 if you bought your base up to 8 and that doesn't include maneuvers. I am pretty tight on how many skill levels I allow, but I always allow additional restricted/limited levels. PSLs vs targeting/range, CSLs for damage only (like Deadly Blow) as they don't upset (terribly) the balance of the game as much as raw OCV modification. Fighters are built to do lots of damage all the time. Rogues, when built for combat, are more focused and can only do damage in limited circumstances. Other options: draw his attention. Rogues usually have high DCV. A successful PRE attack is often enough to get him to attack you, and then you can either abort to a Dodge or Dive for Cover. If he's busy missing you, he can't hit the fighter. Your idea to knock him down is good too - Trip as a maneuver can be very effective in that case. You use your attack to get him down (since you can't hurt him directly) and then your fighters can more easily do a called shot (since he will be 3 DCV and they will get +2 OCV due to size). Good luck.

Re: Anyone working on a Fallout 3 conversion? I've got a Deathclaw, and that's about it. Oddly enough I don't often stat out my "bad guys" - I never seem to get around to it. I just ran "Clean Water Action" at U*Con this past weekend and it had: Radscorpions Raiders shotgun trap Dynamite trap (which they dismantled and used later) Tinker Joe (I usually use the wiki/prima guide as a resource for NPC interactions) Sentry Bot (which the team set up an IED to cause a small landslide to knock over the sentry bot so they could try to disable it) Protectrons Mole Rats Several security terminals Turrets Mr. Gutsy w/flamers Unstable floor hazard I intend to write up the details on this and share, but right now just have my notes. One thing I love about running Fallout at a con... everybody wants to play, even if they don't know Hero. And the way this conversion works, they don't care about the system because it doesn't get in the way and it feels just like Fallout, down to VATS targeting. Fun stuff.

Re: Anyone working on a Fallout 3 conversion? Not at all - and I am open to discussing the stuff and approach as well. I'm not doing any more work on DC Wasteland... I like the New Vegas approach better, so I will be working with those materials from now on.

Re: Questions about the HERO system. Steve is, as always right. However, Hero expresses movement and range in meters, has rules for "attacking from behind/surprise" and has turn modes (where appropriate). So, define your scale and voila, you have a minis system I don't think I've ever run Hero without minis (and my players get cranky when I suggest it). Also, as a person who runs games exactly as you've described... yes it fits those criteria.

Re: How do Hero System players/GM view DnD? Hey, just let me know when you come down in the area. We can always throw together a game.

Re: Open Source or Free Map Making Software Oooh, care to share?

Re: How do Hero System players/GM view DnD? Every game can be fun, and the rules can enhance or inhibit that. I won't presume to speak for others, but I play D&D, in all its flavors, including HM. I even run Pathfinder and generally enjoy it. However, there comes a point when you are trying to craft an adventure that you need the right toolset and the feel of the game you are trying to create. My view of D&D is that it is what it is. Much in the same way I don't fault Risk for not allowing an Abort to Dodge, I don't fault D&D for the same. However, if my game is to be high dramatic action with lots of unique abilities, D&D might not be an adequate enough ruleset to meet my objectives. I do like the ability to play a variety of genres in the same ruleset without relying on custom rules. As an example, this weekend I am running 4 events at U*Con. Gritty post apocalypse (Stalker), campy post apocalypse (Fallout), intricate fantasy (Narosia), and crazy supers (Marvel Zombies). Could I do that with D&D/d20? Not really. I mean I could do some custom d20 Future stuff with highly customized D&D stuff for Narosia and then run Mutants and Masterminds but that really isn't the same thing. Each of those solutions would have slightly different variations to the rules (what's +4 in one system is +5 in another, different action choices, and so on). Whereas Hero is consistent across each of those games, even with some of the custom stuff we have done in Narosia. So, D&D is like a good turkey sandwich. It's perfect if that's what you are hungry for.

Re: Open Source or Free Map Making Software If you want a few more options, you could download the Tile Mapper from Wizards and then use all of the tiles in MapTool. While that is more of an online mapping program, the drag and drop aspect of it, combined with the ability to both draw and export maps actually makes it a good way to use those tiles outside of the Tile Mapper interface.