DRThrush

Re: VPP Magic System I would simply create the VVP with the required Skill Roll to alter the pool bought off as a +1 Advantage. Then I would apply the -1/2 Requires a Skill Roll limitation to each and every spell cast in the pool. This way you can alter the pool any way you like, meaning you know the spell but you still need to cast it properly. In this way you have only one skill roll too. A 60 point pool with a 60 point control cost would have a final cost of 100 points before applying any pool-wide limitations that normally come with most fantasy spells, such as Gestures (-1/4), Incantations -1/4), Foci (OAF staff -1), and so on. Using the above examples you would get your 60/60 pool for a total cost of 80 points.

Re: Real Costs for spells and how you handle them? Wow! Thank you for all of these really well thought out replies, everyone. Now I just have to pick the one that feels right for my setting. Thanks, -Dave

Is there a game mechanic that comes into play when a character withdraws from melee combat? I'm looking for one but do not see it. Many games have rules to discourage this and I cannot remember if the Hero System does too. Thanks -Dave

On another thread I saw the suggestion to use the Turakian Age standard of dividing the real cost by 3 to determine the actual cost to the player. I've not tried anything like this and I wonder how it worked out in games where it has been used. Please share your opinions and experiences. Thanks, -Dave

Re: Idea For Cool Magic Bag Or Thief Item Here is the way I would stat out the the clay. If I did it at all. I find it funny how some long time Hero players are practically fetishistic about stating out everything in the game, especially heroic level games. Magic Fake Clay: Minor Transform 2d6 (Clay into a duplicate item, Being soaked in water) (10 Active Points); 4 Charges (-1), No Range (-1/2) Real Cost: 4 The clay has four charges that recover in one week. I like the idea that some non-adept would be able to the make the stuff because it is more skill than art. Kind of a 'magic as minor science' approach in this case.

Re: Idea For Cool Magic Bag Or Thief Item An item I used in a game years ago was a backpack that held an unusually large number of items, sort of a backpack of holding to put it in terms we all know. No matter how you packed it the item you needed was always on top, sort of a 'Fast Draw' backpack.

Steve, I'm a little rusty on HERO as I haven't run it in a while, so please forgive me if this question is bone-headed. I have a player who wants to create an armor spell that she can cast on herself and others. If the target of the spell is wearing armor (this is a heroic setting) do the defenses stack or is the greater of the two applied? Thank you, -Dave

Re: A black hole in orbit: what would it be like?

Re: A black hole in orbit: what would it be like? Squeezed into black hole density wouldn't the gravitational force of the moon be the same as it is now? Mass is mass is mass. It's density would be intense but it's G-force would remain the same wouldn't it? Critters that are evolved to react to the moon do so because they are from an environment with moonlight. If they evolved without it, I suppose it's absence wouldn't change their behavior. Another little thing the moon seems to do for us it to intercept some small percentage of incoming meteors. I imagine that the loss of it's shielding would cause the Earth to recieve more energy, by way of kinetics and heat, then the effects of photon bombardment over time. -Dave

Re: Best Soundtrack for your FH sessions? Thank you! (Don't ya hate it when someone quotes you on a forum and THEN you see your typo? I know I do.) -Dave

Re: Best Soundtrack for your FH sessions? As mentioned above I went to buy some music. I looked for, but could not find O Foruna or Record of the Lodoss War. I'll just have to do an internet search and buy them online, I guess. I did get: Pirates of the Carribean: The Curse of the Black Pearl - It's good but has such a nautical sound to most of it's music that it's sorta campaign specific. I know this 'nautical sound' is just a cultural bias, so YMMV. I knew this was the case but bought it anyway because I have some nautical stuff in a lot of the fantasy games I run. Composed by Klaus Badelt and 'Overproduced' (thier word, not mine) by Hans Zimmer. The 13th Warrior - Pretty good but with a number of the pieces being so neutral that it's more of a background setter, so far. It has some good action/combat music too. I'll give it a deeper listen over the coming weeks. Composed by Jerry Goldsmith. King Arthur - A really great soundtrack for all things heroic and martial. Very inspirational for me because I'm a sucker for that sound. I used it for a couple fight scenes in last nights game and my players liked it too. Composed by Hans Zimmer. Rocketeer - I had this in the past but needed to re-buy it. It's got some powerful stuff in there that could be overused so easily... in fact a lot of movie companies do just that. The main theme on this disc has been used for the music in MANY previews over the years when a movies own score is not yet ready. About half of the tracks are useable for Fantasy or super-heroic adventure. It's all very upbeat. There's very little darkness here, even for the bad guys in the film. Composed by James Horner. Thanks for the suggestions guys... $75 well spent. Ouch. Maybe I should just start downloading music.... nah. -Dave

Re: Fantasy Hero Campaign (ala. Space Opera) I think it's a great idea. Run with it, after you have done some serious planning. Be careful with devices that allow transport that is fast, efficient, easy, and safe. Many players will do terrible things to your game with these tools if they can get their hands on one. Terrortroopers is a mouthful (to me) but Doomtroopers sounds good, if I am understanding the feel your setting properly. Especially if you are trying to get that Flash Gordon pulpy feel. As a side note, (and just a little piece of my prodigious collection of personal opinion), if you want a little guidence in capturing an epic feel you might want to check out this site on the web for advice from a master: http://www.jitterbug.com/origins/myth.html Best of luck, I hope your game goes well! -Dave EDIT: wrong url

Re: Best Soundtrack for your FH sessions? I use a number of the scores listed here, including, but not limited to: Last of the Mohicans, Conan, and LotR. Additionally I have: The Omen (part 3), the Patriot, Silence of the Lambs, Aliens (though I need to go get a new copy...), and a few others. Speedball mentioned a Pavlovian-like response to the Terminator soundtrack. I have trained my players to a similar response with Pink Floyd's Dogs of War from their album A Momentary Lapse of Reason. They hear that and they know that the Black Company is marching. 20 giants who are mercenaries and hardened veterans, riding chariots pulled by teams of gigantic bears. What's to worry about? EDIT: The funny thing is this, my players have not even been threatened by these guys. They just figure I threw these dangerous guys into the world to beat them down eventually. Hehe, paranoids. Thanks for the suggestions. I'm off to buy some new CDs today. -Dave

Re: Reccomended Reading: Fantasy Novels I read an interview of Mr Martin in which he explains that he was going to write two books, until he realized how much story he was ignoring. I will be glad for the effort and time and he is taking on the books, as long as he maintains the level of quality I have seen from him to date. -Dave

Re: Reccomended Reading: Fantasy Novels On George R R Martins website he has a letter to the fanbase where he dicusses these "release dates". He doesn't even know when the book will be done because he hasn't finished writing it yet, and doesn't know when he will finish it, so there is no way that anyone else can produce a valid release date. Check it out: www.georgerrmartin.com -Dave