Chris Goodwin

It occurs to me that there's a discussion about Why Some Of Us Hate Elves in a topic on the Champions board called "5th edition renaissance". I'm going to start a more appropriate topic on the Fantasy Hero board, and will link to it when I've done so. Edit: Appropriately titled, "What are the elves like?"

That was a thing that Iron Crown used to do, and got a shout out in FH 1e for. It wasn't long after that that Iron Crown actually picked up the license for publishing and distribution of Hero Games.

Duke's opinion might differ from mine, but for me it's not just elves. It's the D&Dish, Tolkienesque combo, and the notion that fantasy has to include them -- or even diverse races -- or it's not fantasy. Why? Why does fantasy have to lick D&D's or Tolkien's boots? I think the Mary Sue comment (which I've made myself) comes from Tolkien's near worship of them. They were taller, more beautiful, longer lived, and just plain better than humans -- never mind hobbits! I sort of imagine that when a new fantasy game or setting comes out that there's a significant percentage of the fanbase whose immediate first reaction is: what are their elves like?

Lest we forget, it was the Finns that coined the term, "Molotov cocktail".

It's the same probability wise, probably faster handling as far as math goes, and I don't like it for Hero.

That tends to happen in any discussion of fundamental mechanics, and in any discussion of anything else.

In various sourcebooks, there are plenty of Transforms with the equivalent to "reverts naturally" as their reversal condition. Two I recall off the top of my head are Transform: Water to Ice (ice melts) and Transform: Messy Room to Clean Room (becomes messy normally). I'd assume Transform: Awake to Asleep would work similarly. While I still think there's a bigger mechanical difference between Knocked Out (game term) and asleep, I will concede that most combat uses of "go the **** to sleep" are best handled with STUN damage. And they're also carrying Stun's baggage regarding recovery and the like.

STUN and Knocked Out have their own mechanical baggage regarding interaction with other rules. Post-12 Recoveries, negative Stun values and recovery time... on the sleeping side, Lightsleep and Life Support: Does Not Sleep. Plus some Mental Powers work differently based on whether the target is asleep or unconscious. About the only thing they have in common is that both mean the character is DCV 0, can't move, can't fight, and is considered Surprised (takes 2x STUN) when attacked. Otherwise they're not the same.

STUN and the game mechanic of unconsciousness don't appear to have anything to do with sleep. I can't see reducing a target's STUN being a valid mechanic to represent putting someone to sleep. Duke is right in that the rules don't say much about sleep or being asleep, but they should. If they did 40 years ago, then we wouldn't be having this conversation right now. There are a few places in the rules where they are differentiated; namely, 6e1 under "Unconscious and Sleeping Minds". They have some similarities, but this paragraph states how they differ mentally at least. Pretty much everything in the rules that refers to a sleeping character refers to "unconscious or asleep," or "Knocked Out or asleep," or similar. If they were the same, there wouldn't be a need to refer to them like that in multiple places. On the other hand, a "sleep spell" or sleeping potion doesn't have to actually put someone to sleep; it might in reality be a spell or ability to Knock Out (game mechanic) a character. There are a couple of "sleep" sample powers in 6e1 that reduce the target's STUN. So, the first thing you need to do when defining your sleep spell or potion, is does it force the target to fall asleep or does it reduce their STUN to 0 or below? Is a "combat forceful sleep inducer" or a spell to help you get better rest at night? Edit to add: I'm with Duke also in that a sleepytime sleep spell should use Mind Control or Transform. Edit 2: APG2 p. 112 talks a lot more about sleep.

I would do it with Differing Modifiers. Build the Multipower as if it is an ordinary Multipower that the character could use if they constantly had a storm cloud with those effects following them all the time. The various slots cost END, or not, as they would in the source material or the intent of the builder. Note down the total Real Cost of the Multipower. The Base Cost for the spell (i.e. the ability with Differing Modifiers) is the total Real Cost of the Multipower, and then the Differing Modifier Advantages and Limitations apply to that as per standard Differing Modifiers rules. The Differing Modifiers can be Delayed Effect and Lingering or Time Limit, along with whatever other Advantages and Limitations are taken as part of memorizing the spell. Once you have memorized it, then the Delayed Effect allows you to activate whenever you want.

Almost all, if not all, of the Skills that are in 4th, 5th and 6th editions existed in 3rd edition. I know this for a fact because I compiled a spreadsheet about it. Granted, they existed across multiple books, but in the games I was in back then, we assumed that any skills that were appropriate to the setting would be available in whichever game we were playing. One major exception to that was Martial Arts in Fantasy Hero; we didn't seem to want to go there except in the Bushido Hero game.

Here are some pictures of a period firearm that I took at the North Carolina Museum of History. Tagging in @Duke Bushido and @Christopher R Taylor

I have to admit I was half expecting to find a box of white powder as well. OTOH my opened box of AD&D miniatures that had been in my mom's house for many years under no protection whatsoever survived into 2017 at least. I was hoping to see Leviathan in person, but c'est la vie. Duke, I know that was a long drive; thank you, and a big thank you to your family, for being willing to make it! My son the only child was happy to have a "little brother" to hang out with. And I enjoyed the museum a lot more than I'd thought I would. Christopher and Duke, I'll post the pics in the Western Hero topic in Other Genres. 👍

My family and I met Duke and his family today, and they are lovely people! We met them at the North Carolina History Museum in Raleigh, after which we had lunch together. Sadly we couldn't have more time together. Maybe next time we're in Raleigh!

Oh wow. My condolences on your loss. And I'm pretty impressed with your family. I've only been to one funeral (my father-in-law, over 20 years ago) but I'm reasonably certain the next one... no, maybe the one after that... that I go to on my wife's side will probably be like that.

That is a Flailhammer!

I've been considering having characters pay for items at 1/5 their Real Point cost, whether they find or craft the items. Not something that's going to break the bank at character creation or afterward.

I'd just import what you need. Treat whatever new edition as like "Oh, power X costs Y points now, and ww can use Advantage Z" instead of "They changed all of the rules so we now have to use all of the new rules and none of the old ones." I keep saying, edition differences are an illusion. Use the rules you like, the costs you like, etc.

How about Shrinking, pretty tiny, plus Invisibility, plus Light Illusions, displaced off the character. They're not actually desolid, but for all intents and purposes they are, and can still attack solids.

Were you using PDF export before? The PDF export functionality no longer exists in recent HD updates. I too wish there were export templates that were more print aware.

Justice Inc. had some interesting, and slightly different, rules for ghosts. But there's no reason you couldn't use Affects Solids from later editions, with 3rd edition. If you're the GM, then you have GM permission. If not, then you can request GM permission.

Is this from a posted or published system?

You could absolutely do this!

If I'm being honest, I'm not even sure what "feels like magic" even means. "Sense of wonder," maybe? A lot of "old school" D&D play consisted of things like... Player: "I climb the wall to get around the pit trap." DM: "How exactly are you trying to climb the wall?" Then they go back and forth, with the player flailing around with something they may or may not know anything about (rigging ropes, pounding in pitons, ???) until the DM is satisfied, and the PC either makes it across or falls into the pit. This is the closest I can get to something "feeling like magic". The GM should ask, "How exactly are you trying to cast ___ spell?" and there's back and forth until the DM is satisfied, and the spell either works or it doesn't. The divide between "old school" and ... "not old school" is whether you can decide your character knows how to do something. You don't have to say how you climb the wall, or cast the spell, or defuse the bomb, or whatever, because your character has a skill of some kind that you can roll. I can't see that there's much difference between a first edition AD&D spell writeup, with name, school, casting time, range, area, components, save, etc., and a HERO System spell writeup, with its name, effect, base cost, Advantages, active cost, Limitations, real cost. In both cases, the GM and player need to know what's going to happen when the spell is cast -- the player so they can choose the right spell, get into position, make sure it's going to have the effect they want it to have, and the GM so they can adjudicate it and tell the player what happens. Where's the feel of magic in that? I'm not sure there's ever going to be a sufficient definition of feel of magic, any more than there is a sufficient definition of hard-core pornography beyond "I know it when I see it." Magic has to be systematized in some way if we're going to use it in games, in such a way that people who are using it don't feel like they're missing out by not wearing armor and swing swords, and in such a way that the fighty types don't feel like they're missing out. As far as what people prefer, or like, or don't like, de gustibus non disputandum. If you like something, you like it; if you prefer something, you prefer it; if you don't like something, you don't like it. Justifying why you do or don't like something is wasted energy, and gives people a chance to argue your definitions, your facts, whatever. Yes, the thing is very orange; no, it is not a cube, it is egg-shaped. I prefer zorbles to greemli because zorbles are orange cubes. No, not all zorbles are cubes; some are egg-shaped and some are pyramidal.

D&D magic was new, once upon a time. DMs were encouraged to control players' access to it by various means, and there was a lot implied by it and how it was presented. You started out with a few spells in your spell book, and if you wanted more you had to go find them! Where were they to find? That's up to the DM. You might -- might -- be able to meet other "magic users" and trade with them for spells. You might find spell scrolls that you could, if you were careful and had the down time, lab, materials, and so on, copy into your book. If you were very lucky you might defeat an NPC and get their spell book. The spells themselves, though, didn't have a history behind them; they just were. Everything else in the game was something we could filter through things we already knew about. Clerics, thieves, fighters... we could imagine those in our mind's eye, figure out how they got to be what they are. Magic users, though, were new. No background, nothing about how it works, just... here it is, I (the DM) will let you know when and how you get more. Duke, I would guess that modern D&D editions probably don't give you the same "sensawunda" or feeling of magic that early versions did. Unless the DM specifies otherwise, and few do, a wizard's spells just sort of happen. It's assumed that a wizard is always thinking about magic, making notes in their books, performing research in down time, and so on, such that when they level up they automatically already have access to whatever spells they're gaining. (Modern D&D treats a lot of things like that; officially, when you level up, you can take a new level in whatever class you want; "it's assumed" that you were training in it, or had some past prior experience that's relevant, or whatever. Same with learning new skills, languages, tool proficiencies, and so on. I find it all feels kind of flat.) De gustibus non disputandum. In matters of taste there can be no argument.