Gunrunner

Re: THE HERO SYSTEM EQUIPMENT GUIDE -- What Would *You* Like To See?

Re: The HERO System Advanced Player's Guide Does the APG include alternate dice-rolling methods? I always thought 3d6 was just a bit too determinant (spelling?) and enjoyed more randomness in combat. I suppose I could just use 2d10 instead, but I don't know if the APG goes more into this.

Re: Online Fantasy HERO: Campaign genre I hate how some RPGs have most or all of their playable fantasy races better than humans (costs many CPs just to buy the elf/dwarf/whatever racial package). It's cool to have racial differences, as long as abilities are somewhat balanced with weaknesses. I prefer there to be as many races that are weaker than humans as there are that are superior. The more CPs you have to pay to be a certain race, the more limited you are in spending your remaining CPs. This limits the number of character concepts and professions for races with high racial package costs. This is of course assuming a standard heroic-level game.

Re: Omline Fantasy HERO: Campaign genre Serpent men would be cool. Other alternatives could be ape men or insect men. Maybe a race of humans with demon blood that have minor special abilities, but also have supernatural weaknesses. Whatever you like; I'm just throwing out ideas

Re: Omline Fantasy HERO: Campaign genre Agreed. It doesn't have to be too dark, but definitely Swords & Sorcery style would be preferred. Very few intelligent races or only human with mythical beasts, other-world dimensions, demons, dark magic and some political intrigue thrown in the mix No cliche races like elves, dwarves or faeries, please!

Re: Confused about 6th edition Nexus, I didn't see your post at first. Thank you, also!

Re: Confused about 6th edition Okay, I got it now. Thanks ghost-angel (repped)

Re: Confused about 6th edition Okay...I still don't get it. The 2nd post says at first that 6th Edition will come in two books: Characters...and Combat & Adventuring. Then the post goes on to talk about two rulebooks: basic and advanced. So are there four books or what? How does the basic and advanced rulebooks fit with the Characters and Combat & Adventuring books? Is there a basic and advanced version of each (by each I mean Characters and Combat & Adventuring)?

Re: Blocking - What's the point? Okay, that makes more sense. Thank you for the replies!

So if I block, I get to go first in the next phase regardless of my DEX against my attacker (if we share the same phase). Compare this to if I don't block, then I get an extra attack (the one I would have lost from blocking) AND I would get to attack him before he attacks me, because I still have the attack I haven't used to block. Even if he attacks me first, I would still get to attack him next before he attacks me a second time. Now, I understand that blocking would be useful if someone has a high OCV and low DCV as a form of defense, but even then, wouldn't you have to block every time to avoid getting hit? So I ask: what's the point of using the Block maneuver? There seems to be no benefit except if you just don't want to hurt your attacker.

Re: Limiting Combat Levels Then again, I think I like Killer Shrike's method of limiting CSLs by total character points. It "leads" players to spend character points on other things besides combat.

Re: Limiting Combat Levels How about this for an idea? Create a very low CSL cap (let's say a maximum of 2 CSLs total). Create these perks: Veteran-Level Experience (3 points): provides access to +3 more CSLs above the campaign's cap/limit. Expert-Level Experience (7 points): same as Veteran-Level Experience; must first have the Veteran-Level Experience perk. Master-level Experience (10 points): provides access to +5 more CSLs above the campaign's cap/limit; must first have the Expert-Level Experience perk. Professional Training (3 points): provides access to +3 more CSLs above the campaign's cap/limit. Advanced Training (7 points): same as Professional Training; must first have the Professional Training perk. Trained by a Master (10 points): provides access to +5 more CSLs above the campaign's cap/limit; must first have the Advanced Training perk and/or may require a quest to find a martial arts master willing to train the character. Further levels of Mastery in experience or training cost (previous level's cost) + 5 points and provide access to +5 more CSLs. They would of course have a prerequisite of the previous level of Mastery in experience or training and may require another quest. These perks would not pay for the CSLs themselves, only the opportunity to buy more CSLs above the campaign's limit.

Re: Tuala Morn in Online Store Yeah, let's burn him at the stake! BURN STEVE!!!

Re: Sliding bars measuring each spell's "energy" Ah, I see. I just kinda skimmed the whole thread after the first post, so I'll have to think about that one.

Re: Sliding bars measuring each spell's "energy" Easy solution: Each spell has Side Effect: 3d6 Drain on individual power; always occurs; return rate of 5 per (however long you want the recovery time) (-1) This way, each time you cast a spell, that spell loses about 10 active points of power until it becomes "burnt out" from too much use. Of course, this may require some book-keeping unless you apply the standard effects rule for the drain, making it an even 10 active point Drain for every use. Or even easier, give each spell a limited number of charges. END reserves would be unnecessary with this approach, unless you apply an extra -1/2 to the Charges limitation to account for the fact that casting still costs END.

I've been working out a magic system that was inspired partially by Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, but more balanced and adaptable for mid-to-high fantasy gameplay. One great thing about this magic system is that it doesn't break the standard Hero System rules (no real cost divisors or such) yet still remains powerful, diverse and flavorful. It can also be adapted to most spells in FHG and FHG2. I wanted to share it with you all in hopes that you could give me some input or perhaps you may find some use out of it. Channeling Wizards in this system are popularly referred to as "Channelers", but only in the broadest sense. Channelers can be very diverse, and even have other titles depending on the types of magic they may use. In game terms, every Channeler has a Multipower with these restrictions on the reserve and slots: RSR: Magic Skill, -1 per 20 Active Points -1/4 --- Casting spells is somewhat easier than many other forms of magic, mostly because such skill come naturally to channelers. A channeler does not cast spells flagrantly however, for everytime such wizards channel their power, they risk a condition called burnout (see below). Noisy -1/4 --- This is another reason a channeler must be careful when he uses his power. When a channeler casts a spell, other channelers and wizards (who may or may not be friendly) can detect the use of magic and the general direction it comes from much in the same way as a person makes a loud noise. The more active points in the spell being cast, the "louder" it is to those able to detect it. Major Side Effect: 3d6 Drain (or 1/2 Active Points of the spell) on power used, return rate is 5 per week -1/2 --- When a channeler fails his casting roll, he experiences a condition called burnout where his ability to cast is significantly diminished. It may take weeks to fully recover his ability to cast the failed spell again. Extreme Side Effect: 6d6 Drain (or Active Point value of the spell) on Channeling multipower and all slots, return rate is 5 per hour -1 --- This is the harsher, if more fleeting portion of burnout a channeler experiences if he fails his casting roll on any spell. In emergency or combat situations, this side effect can be crippling to the wizard. Even in normal situations, such an effect can be very inconvenient. This brings the total limitation value of the channeling multipower and all slots to -2. All spells can be purchased as flexible or fixed slots, but all spells must at least cost endurance to activate. The Uncontrolled advantage may be taken in conjunction with the Costs END Only to Activate advantage, but the duration of such a spell must be temporary, or the channeler must experience some significant side effect while this spell remains active. **A note on defensive powers** In order to prevent channelers from becoming invulnerable tanks, I have created this house rule: If a channeler purchases an Armor, Force Field, or Damage Resistance spell, the new active point cost is calculated as it's standard active point cost times the level of DEF desired. For example, if a wizard wants to purchase a 6 PD force field spell, the active point cost is equal to its normal active point cost - which is 6 - times the force field spell's level of defense - which is also 6. So the new active point cost for a 6 PD force field spell is 36 active points. A channeler is a living battery of mana, and through the natural use of his powers is able to store vasts amounts of mana in his body. A channeler is also able to recover mana very quickly upon expending it. In game terms, the channeler must purchase a standard END reserve with few or no restrictions. Usually, channelers purchase high values of REC and low amounts of END. Channelers practice all types of magic and are very diverse. A channeler must take at least an additional -1 worth of limitations on all his spells. This is mostly for flavor and indicates the style or type of magic a channeler is using. Magic is categorized in a couple different ways: by magic skill and by magic talent. Magic skills are the standard skills a channeler must learn in order to work with a certain style or type of magic. For the most part, these are the skills used to cast the spells in FHG and FHG2 (ex. fire magic, wizardry, necromancy, etc.) To many wizards, some magicks come much easier and more naturally than other magicks. These channelers have a talent when working with certain types of magic. Channelers also have titles that represent the types of magic they use or have talents for (Mage, Spiritualist, Elementalist, Mystic, Enchanter, Dark Wizard). In game terms, this magical talent is merely one or more 3-point skill levels in three related magic skills. With the exception of Dark Magic (see below), wizards can only take magical talents during character creation. He cannot increase them at all once purchased. Here is a list of magic talents and the magic skills they cover: Spiritualism (shamanism, necromancy, conjuration) High Magic, or Magery (wizardry, arcanomancy, areomancy) Mysticism (divination, sorcery, naming magic) Enchantment (enchantment, alchemy, rune magic) Hot Elementalism (fire, light, earth magic) Cold Elementalism (water, ice, air, shadow magic) The final magical talent does not manifest itself naturally in most humanoids, but is only earned through performing dark and evil deeds for powerful demons and creatures from the infernal realm. Such beings may reward their servants with greater ability to work evil magicks: Dark Magic (black, chaos magic, and witchcraft) A channeler with an appropriate focus will gain from it a +1 or +2 bonus to his magic skill roll. For example, a specially-designed bone necklace will confer to it's wearer a +1 bonus to his necromancy skill. Such foci may take the form of a wand, staff, crystal ball or jewelry - whatever the GM thinks is appropriate for the type of magic being used. Well, that's it so far. I still have some rough edges to work out, but tell me what you think. Specifically, does anyone see any errors or balance issues? Any ideas to improve or build on this system?

Steve, Going with what you said in my previous question, what is the default return rate for the "drain X" side effects on the Chaos Magic spells in FHG2? 5 points per turn or more? Thanks again; this should be my last question for awhile

Re: Alignment Issues I didn't read this whole thread, but another idea you could use is an aggregate scale to determine alignment. Take the total number of character points spent on "good" disadvantages and subtract the number of character points spent in "evil" disadvantages. The number you get will determine your character's "alignment" according to a self-made scale. You could also expand this to a "chaos" and "law" scale. Here's an example of a good/evil character point scale you could use: +5 to -5 would be "neutral" +6 to +15 would be "respectable" +16 to +25 would be "benevolent" +26 to +35 would be "good" +36 to +45 would be "saintly" +46 and up would be "angelic" Similarly, -6 to -15 - "corrupt" -16 to -25 - "malevolent" -26 to -35 - "evil" -36 to -45 - "wicked" -46 and lower - "diabolic"

Steve, If I define the Side Effect for a power as a Drain, how long should the effects of the drain last? I know that the guidelines for disadvantages as Side Effects are that the points should wear off at a rate of 5 points per month, but the standard return rate for a Drain is 5 points per turn. The reason I ask is because I need some guideline to be able to tweak the return rate of character points for the Side Effect Drain. How would the Active Point total of a Side Effect Drain be modified if I wanted the character point return rate to be 5 per day? If the Side Effect Drain fades at 5 character points per month (as I suspect), then normally it would be considered a +2 Delayed Return Rate advantage for the power. Thanks in advance (it may be worth mentioning that I have 5th Edition, not 5ER).

Re: VA campaign starts - a new challenge awaits [warning: long-ish] Best of luck! It's good to see people enjoying swords and sorcery instead of high fantasy for a change. If I were in the UK I would definitely look you up for a game As far as handling big parties goes, have you considered an assistant GM? You could assign certain tasks/NPC's/scenarios to your assistant so you can keep things moving in a speedy, orderly fashion.

Re: What books?

I was curious if anyone has tried running a game in this setting yet. If you did, could you tell me/us about it?

Thanks for responding to my last question about delayed phases and constant powers, but you wrote "For Constant or Persistent powers, Extra Time (in any form) can be bought to affect just the activation of the power, or its use every Phase. In the case of Delayed Phase, a power that requires a Delayed Phase means it activates each Phase on the character’s DEX divided by 2 (for example, DEX 10 if he has DEX 20). In this case just reduce the Limitation value to - " I don't get the very last part. What does "-" mean in regards to reducing the limitation value??? Is that a -0 or a -1/4 or something else?

Hi Steve, I have the fifth edition hero book (not revised) and couldn't find the answer to this question: Does the delayed phase limitation affect a constant power after it is activated? If a character maintains a constant attack power on consequent phases, does it go off on the DEX of the attacker's phase or DEX/2 of the attacker's phase? The rulebook says that "the character's DEX for purposes of determining when the Power is activated is halved." However, the minimum halving of the extra time limitation value when it only applies to activating a power and not maintaining it, is -1/4, making no sense in having "delayed phase - only to activate". Also, is this cleared up in 5ER? Thanks in advance.

Re: Turakian Age Question. If Kal-Turak has the power to conquer most of the world, I doubt one nation is going to stop him. Kal-Turak for the win.