Funksaw

Re: HERO for the GURPS gamer It seems to me that the problem with most of those - including the VPP stuff - is that you either as GM have to define each "spell" beforehand, OR the players have to do that during play (which creates a hassle.) Is there any way for a character to *not* have to do *any* math with a spell? Let me get more specific - ripping off ideas from Children of the Sun. COTS has a very specific magic system - you can cast on the fly but the spells themselves are organized into primary and secondary pillars. (I think these would work well with HERO, actually) Primary pillars are Body, Energy, Matter, and Mind (you can see why I think they'd sync up well with HERO) Secondary pillars are Alteration, Corruption, Control, Creation, Decay, Harmony, Life, and War. In order to cast a spell, a character chooses a primary and secondary pillar - within reason, he should be able to do nearly any effect that would be governered by those pillars. Now, Hero already *has* an advantage called "Alter" I believe - same with Decay. I'm sure I could shoehorn in, or take out, other advantages to correspond to the secondary pillars - but I want to be able to change the *target* on a whim (frex, Decay could be used on someone's mind as an EGO attack or on someone's Body, or even to rot wood) and I want to be able to change special effects on a whim. I'd also like to be able to have a system where you only need to buy, say, Alter once, and then add Body, Energy, Matter, or Mind as Advantages onto that power... I hope you see where I'm going with this - and why I might find it a bit complicated especially with comparison to Tri-Stat's Dynamic Sorcery or Power Flux (which is VPP, just with simpler numbers to juggle.) Actually - that's a good question, is there anything like a "Dynamic Sorcery" power in HERO that I can use?

Re: Hero Needs Reviewers!! Would you still give out comp copies if the review considers the product mediocre?

Re: Using d20 instead of 3d6 (DON'T KILL ME!) I think you're wrong here - The novice with a OCV of 4 vs. a DCV of 4 would go from 11- to 12-, while the expert would go from 15- to 16-. (remember, OCV base is 11) 16 comes up 6/216 while 12 comes up 25/216 Keep in mind that when you're on the back-end of the bellcurve, the bonuses are greater for the "more skilled" - but that's kinda cheating. See, you're describing a novice and someone skilled - but NOT an expert - because while the two are relatively different, it only matters what the absolute position on the curve is. In other words, a contest between 4 and 8 is going to be radically different between 8 and 12 or 12 and 16 because unlike a linear system, what matters is not the relative position of stats but the absolute position of the number on the curve. If you prefer the "features" of the bellcurve with out the "back-end" problem, you might want to consider asymptotically-approaching zero (dicepool) systems which progress much like a bell-curve but have no back end.

Re: Using d20 instead of 3d6 (DON'T KILL ME!)

Re: HERO for the GURPS gamer So let's say I wanted a highly regimented magic system of effects with a completely free-form style of special effects (i.e, every wizard who knows how to conjure can conjure anything, anyone who knows how to create a blast can create a blast with anything, etc.) Could I do that? What about if I wanted to have a magic system that worked better if the effect could be pulled off as coincidental, i.e., Mage the Ascension - but using the HERO VPP for the system? How might I go about doing that? Could you - as examples - post a number of different ways people have used the HERO system for different psionic or magical campaigns, you know, to show variety?

Re: New to Hero, so how would I... Oh, I haven't had a chance (yet) to go through Hero Sidekick, so I had a couple of questions: How does the above Yo-Yo multipower thing work? There's a couple of things I don't understand. These are: "45-point reserve?" "all slots OAF?" "Reduced Endurance?" (and why are some 0 end and others 1/2 end?) "Active Points?" (-1, +1/2 and other fractional numbers) What's 1u? "NND?" "rPD on vitals?" "Recoverable charge?" I'm also a bit fuzzy on something here - now, if i'm understanding Active Points correctly, that means that the total number of Active Points powers I can have going at one time can't exceed 45, right? So, wouldn't this preclude the 2" stretching while doing a Thwack? (15+44?)

Re: New to Hero, so how would I... This ROCKS.

Re: HERO for the GURPS gamer I'm beginning to get the point - I've oft compared GURPS to Linux - with the Kernel of Linux being a simple starting point (usually analagous to the really basic stuff in GURPS lite being the "kernel" and everything else in GURPS "tacked on.") It's very much like Linux, and I DO enjoy GURPS because of it's modularity - which I see as a feature, not a bug. But there is something to be said for HERO's "designed, rather than modified" approach. It's the approach taken, for example, with the Berkeley System Distribution of Unix and it's progeny - one of which is the very nice MacOSX box I'm on right now. And I'll admit that while I like GURPS because if, say, I design a system for magic, I can graft it in there pretty easily, if I don't HAVE to graft in a system for magic (I wanted a free-form system rather than listed spells in this example) then I'm willing to give up some modularity.

How would I... Create a superpower: be able to superhumanly speed-read and rapidly recall databases of information? Create a "Dramatic Editing"-like or "Drama Point" metagame mechanic as a superpower. Create a weapon: Someone who uses a yo-yo to fight in a fantasy campaign. The Yo-yo would be used as a blunt-object but could also be used to tangle people up, or swing from rooftops. In a deadlier confrontation, the yo-yo could have a sawblade mounted on it. It can also do yo-yo tricks like "walk the dog." Create a fighting style: Someone who uses a parasol to fight in a martial-arts campaign. Create a character with the ability to barter -anything- like years of your life or your empathy, a la Twilight Zone. Create a magic-8 ball that accurately tells the future.

Re: HERO for the GURPS gamer Not really what I'm looking for. I'm not looking to -convert- anything over. I'm trying to get advice on how the game feels in play and in GMing it. If I'm used to GURPS character creation, for example, how will HERO feel different? What are the basic assumptions of HERO combat as opposed to GURPS combat? etc.

Hi. Quick question - are there any guides out there to HERO (specifically HERO Sidekick, which I just special-ordered from the FLGS) from the perspective of a long-time GURPS gamer?