Labrat

Re: Drakine pics? Here's what I think Karados looks like. Maybe I should pull GM's caveat and demand it... ...nah. [ATTACH]20549[/ATTACH] That should stain the 'coolness' factor for a while!

Re: Make them Pay! Although I have yet to test it (shame on me) I plan on enforcing this rule. All Magic Weapons and items are considered as Unusual Weapons for which one has to pay 2 pts from XP ONLY to master. Until you pay the 2 pts then you get a -3 for using it... some items CAN have a +2 Penalty Skill Level attached, which gives some freedom, but I think that this is a way to keep characters for building magical arsenals. Thus: A warrior who finds a Sword of Slicing must 'learn to use it' as a unique weapon (not Unusual). After using it for a session or two, he can spend 2 XP to 'buy off' the -3 penalty. This can work for all magic items, just apply the -3 to any skill rolls that are applicable. Anybody done anything similar to this?

Re: System Generation I stumbled upon this site... it has an alien generator too. I have yet to try it out rigorously. http://www.lemoneyes-radio.com/stargen/

Re: If YOU have been playing Hero since the 80's why do you still keep coming back? It's the free food and hot women... and the fat checks they send every time I get into 'game mode'. Oh wait, I'm thinking of Long's reasons. Mine is simple... best danged gaming package ever. Works on all levels, ok, well only after 4th Edition came out. Before that transitioning to a heroic level was a friggin nightmare. Long live Hero!

Re: Turakian Age populations It's a hand-wavy subject that has been treated pretty good here: http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32348&highlight=turakian+population IIRC there are some good guidelines posted by guys who know medieval population dynamics pretty well. Again, IIRC. Hope this helps!

Re: post-apocalyptic genre book First bleary-eyed thought of the morning: 1) To prevent the damage then you kind of answered it in your post, i.e. "drugs that reduce the damage caused by radiation". Damage Reduction should work here and it would be most effective at low levels of intensity. Of course Duration, Limited Power "Only Versus Radiation", and the 'Human Specific' limitations would be approprate... (if you have mutants in your game). 2) To heal damage from radiation, that would be a lot tougher to do. It's not like insect bites. A special chamber might be available or a topical salve for minor doses (treated like burns). I would use the Simplified Healing rules for the tissue damage aspect. Organ damage would be tougher to heal. The sickness can be handled with the Simplified Healing rules with an asterisk... There would have to be a good page or two written regarding the Paramedic skill in a PA game. Radiation isn't always encountered by characters from what I've read in the literature, but more of a plot device and a deterrent to 'get to the good stuff' left behind in cities. If the characters can get a hold of 1) above then it makes for good gaming since it's exploration into a dangerous zone (or a cursed zone depending on what their culture is), but there is a sense of urgency due to the duration element.

Re: Your "2006" Pet Gaming Projects I've been fomulating a genre-crossing theme thus-far called 'The Unseen' that I'm going to adapt to the Valdorian Age first but ultimately it's meant for Star Hero. Not that it's going to be 'cross-genre', it's just going to be a formulaic outline that can be emplaced into any genre. I would like to ultimately try it with all the published genre books. I also want to churn out a few 'modules' for the Turakian Age setting with the intention for free distribution.

Re: A Dummy's Guide to the Turakian Age I've got to figure out how to upload xls documents. Any advice? Mr. Simon? Here's a TXT delimited copy. Open with Excel... but the formatting is lost. There's several other pages that I've done just let me know if there is any interest and I'll post them.

Re: A Dummy's Guide to the Turakian Age I haven't forgotten the project... I just got stuck reading the Valdorian Age. Plus my current game is still stuck in the Westerlands so I haven't had any reason to move on to Mhorecia yet. That's 2006 Project 2006-e, but it will get done! 2006 Project 2006-c will be my free offering of The Hidden Temple of the Ran-Tari 'module' in which I spin some Thun lore into though! Watch out for that! It's almost done...

Re: post-apocalyptic genre book No complaints here... I'd buy both before the ink could dry.

Re: post-apocalyptic genre book Post-Apoc doesn't have to just cover near-future scavenger adventuring either. It can be the genre of any disaster-based backdrop. I'd try to sell it as a Dark Champions genre but it can apply to Sci-Fi as much as Fantasy, even Cyberpunk can be played with a Pos-Apoc feel (ala The Matrix). I heavily used Cyber HERO as reference for Wasteland Hero. Maybe it should just be melded into Cyberpunk and you can get a two-for-one genre book with a more sweeping audience.

Re: Attention GMs... It's all good my brother... I deserve vague answers because I pose a vague question. And I wasn't kidding about how nice the dissertation was.

Re: Attention GMs... Erm... well that's all fine and good. And a wonderful primer on how to tell an interactive story, but the focus here was supposed to involve which game elements are the most fun to GM. So I'll put you down as 'messing with the players'.

Re: Attention GMs... I can see where my initial question was vague, but it's hard not to be. Ok, to compartmentalize even further... what is your idea of the ideal run-through? That's what I'm asking. Keep the players out of it for a moment and assume that like minds think alike. What brings you the most short-term satisfaction of GMing? I guess you could answer it based on 'what would you buy?', but it's more about 'what you look for in a good closed-ended run-through?'

Hey guys, If short adventures are your cup o' tea, what exactly do you look for in a 'closed-ended' game (read 'module'). "Monsters"? "Madmen"? Strangeness? Encounter quality? Encounter quantity? Tricks, traps and riddles? Natural obstacles? Ye Olde Dungeon-Crawl? Treasure? Knowledge? Mass Combat? _________________? Although all of the above should be included to some degree, which are more appealing and to what extent?

Re: Worlds of Empire This gets straight to the point: http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38127 In other words, we're still on for a 4Q05 launch.

Re: Some questions...... Movement in Inches * SPD (Actions/Turn) * 5 (Turns/Min) = “/Min Movement in Inches * SPD (Actions/Turn) * 5 (Turns/Min) * 60 (Min/Hour) = “/Hour Miles/Hour = Result/804.5†Km/Hour = 500â€/Km Check my math, please. There's a nice conversion chart in TUV.

Re: Savage Earth reviewed on Dragon's Landing podcast You da' mutant, KC!

Re: Fantasy Adventures Or Why are we always underground...again Rare is the player who has the ability to stick through non-combat storylines... rarer still is a group who can do the same... but the rarest of the rare is the GM that can pull it off and still have it be entertaining. One should just be happy to have a group who can contribute to their hobby. I'm not saying settling for the mediocre is ok, I'm saying that finding a group of good players who can truly role-play and truly contribute to a story for more than a month is something of an albatross. If you have such a group, my guess is that you've known each other a very long time and have been of a similar mind and of similar tastes for quite a while. I just don't think that there are too many gamers out there who are also good storytellers. Ultimately the strength of a campaign usually is defined by the strength of the enemy's counterforces. Pity that.

Re: Arcano-Philosophy In essence, all magic is 'faith driven', so you're not far off IMO Curufea. Cancer, remember, the premise of this is to work with the categories already established. Categories imply differences and those differences are already established in the TA-defined magic system. To me the 'holistic' magic approach (as well as any purely faith-based system, as understood by TA game mechanics) may be better suited using VPPs. The TA Theurgy Magic System (stealing from the gods) is 'knowledge based'. The power is there to get, but a sacrifice has to be made most of the time (spell components) along with the Naming aspect (Incantations). The gesture component is more theatrical and allows another vulnerability to the spell-casting hero. Faith-based systems shouldn't need components other than the ever-present holy-symbol if you choose that route, and the Naming component is done by addressing the patron source of power. Of course, this is all my opinion and I am implying no authority on the matter... In terms on how this all affects the game, I can see similar disciplines sharing benefits, cost breaks perhaps. Skill Rolls for RSR applications may get complimentary bonuses (say you use a fire spell while claiming to be a druid... that might give you a bonus since Elementalism is related; however no such bonus will be given to a student of Wizardry since it's outside the discipline proper). I can see this structure applied very much like the language or culture charts. Also Combat Skill Levels may envelop similar discipline magics, depending on the GM. Heck, for example in terms of society, if a PC Wizard trains in Tretha at the University there may not even be any Elementalism Specialists present... so the option may be for an Elementalist PC to come from a limited number of cultures. If Elementalism isn't a Theurgistic Magic, would there be spellbooks written or is it all passed on strictly by oral tradition? A lot of consequences can be mulled about if the GM wants to think deeper into categorical magics. Finally, under this kind of structure, enmity between priest-types and wizard-types may be more pronounced. Priests may be sanctioned to hunt down wizards in a Crusade or Inquisition-like environment of High Church societies... there's an instant conflict for Wizard PC's built in, and a chance for plot-hooks a-plenty. Not to mention taking extra thought for PC-Priest/PC-Wizard interaction dynamics and the role-playing opportunities involved there.

So I'm sitting here thinking about how the different magical 'colleges' fall into place and I came up with some points open for argument. Please note that I am referencing magics concentric with the Fantasy Hero/Turakian Age line (FHG/FHG2 and Theurgy from TA). These could be used to help assess point structures, magics falling into certain categories may be picked up easier than magics falling outside those categories (possibly leading to cost breaks or 'Power' applications). Here goes, right from my head onto the board: 1. There are TWO PRIMAL MAGICS: "Naming Magic" (FHG2, kind of Judeo-Christian in mindset where intelligence and order are witnessed by the ability to speak - and thus by a speaking intelligence be able to create, and creation is begat by Order), and "Chaos Magic" (FHG2) 2. For all intents and purposes, I have "Chaos Magic" colleges as: 2a. Witchcraft/Black Magic 2b. Necromancy, which is a sub-discipline of Witchcraft/Black Magic since it's more focused to the darker side specializing only in death. 3. The sub-colleges of Naming Magic are as follows: 3a. Song Magic (FHG2) which is a sub-discipline of Naming Magic 3b. Divine Magic (FHG, TA) which is 'Magic by permission' assuming that the gods hold all the supernatural power 3c. Theurgy (TA) which is 'Magic by theft, or without permission' as outlined (thus the nasty side-effects) And so it goes... 3b. Divine Magic i. Druidry (FHG, Subdiscipline, Alamandre, etc.) ia. Elementalism (FHG, subdiscipline of Druidry, Magic of substance) ib. Shamanism (FHG2, subdiscipline of Druidry, Magic of spirit) ib1. Thaumaturgy (FHG, subdiscipline of Shamanism, spirit polymorphism) 3c. Theurgy i. Conjuration (FHG, the pre-requisite to 'Call Supernatural Powers') ia. Enchantment (FHG, place supernatural powers within an object) ia1. Alchemy (FHG, subdiscipline of Enchantment) ia2. Rune Magic (FHG2, subdiscipline of Enchantment) ib. Wizardry/Arcanomancy/Areomancy (FHG, FHG2, FHG2; Calling/Conjuring the Powers by Name) - treated as the same discipline ib1. Divination (FHG, subdiscipline of Wizardry) ib2. Sorcery (FHG, subdiscipline of Wizardry) And there you have it. Discuss... I'm exhausted. Does all this sound logical. At the very least, it's a good mental exercise when you've got time to sit and think... RAM

Re: Post Apocalyptic Mutations I think I gave full credit to the original Mutant Generator author when I added it to the Wasteland Hero site. The two generators referenced are one and the same, I may have just reformatted it. Really, the tables are just random Power generators... the 'mutation' definitions are up to the player. When I tried to open it, it broke. Figures... RAM Very nice work on yours, BTW. I think the PA genre needs to be addressed by HERO eventually. There should be a pretty nice-sized niche of potential buyers out there for the Apolcalypse industry.

Re: Manless

Re: All Flesh Must Be Eaten As a zombie-genre fan as well as a GM of a (now defunct) zombie holocaust PBeM, I have one word of caution. Zombie-entertainment can be tolerated in doses (they don't have to be small doses). As an RPG format the genre gets old fast... ex. Resident Evil quickly turned from a 'zombie-game' to a 'supernatural-onslaught' game. They tend to escalate to demons and other heavier bad guys or else they get tiresome... only the locations change. You've been warned. Now go ahead and give it a shot! While it's fun, it is most definately fun.

Re: Manless First, it would change nothing since all the other races are 'humanized' anyway as written. All of our experiences are tied into the 'other races' and so when we go for the bizarre or alien we must still stay within the realm of what we can understand... otherwise it would take way too long to create even mundane characters and phenomena due to constant definition and cross-referencing. Making such games with no humans should be a Zero Phase Action (yes, I'm a humungous dork), but it would mostly be just a cosmetic change if you didn't want to overburden your players with more detail than necessary for smooth, enjoyable roleplaying.