Cmonkey

Re: Stuff to Make Up about the Gods

Re: Need feedback on house rules for my new campaign Lezentauw's points about making sure their XP goes to skills they actually are improving is a good one, and I'd like to second it. I cannot stress enough, however, that it is much better to have trust and cooperation between Players and GM than any sort of limitations on what the players can and cannot do. It's a heck of a lot less stressful for the GM and much more fun for the players. And isn't that what gaming is about, having fun? I never cap skills or stats or anything like that. I dislike it as a player and I dislike it as a GM. Heck, I don't even cap starting point levels anymore because I trust my players to make a character that will have room to improve, otherwise, what's the point of playing the character? If you're omnipotent and can destroy everything put in your path, bypass every trap and puzzle, where's the challenge? Isn't the challenge why people play? We've sat down and discussed these sorts of issues at length and came to a mutual agreement. I suggest you try and do the same. So now, basically my players and I have the understanding that they will make characters that are realistic (not combat hounds), with much room for improvement (since we all like long campaigns, not short), and I will do my best to not kill their characters at every turn, even giving them better than average odds of surviving most of the time (since losing a character is often not fun), and provide them with the best campaigns/stories I can. All I have to do at the start of a campaign, regarding character creation, is tell them to make ________ characters (where the blank is filled by a genre). I don't have to be there or anything. I still do double check their math, but that's more me being anal than having anything to worry about.

Re: Need feedback on house rules for my new campaign

Re: FYI: why more people aren't playing HERO (rpg.net) I think you should only have to pay points for gear, regardless of genre, only if you don't want the GM to have to power to take it away from you at any moment for any length of time he desires. So, if you've paid points for equipment I, as GM, would consider it an integral part of what makes your character who he is, whereas if you just paid cash for it, I'd have no trouble taking it away from you whenever I feel the need.

Re: FYI: why more people aren't playing HERO (rpg.net)

Re: FYI: why more people aren't playing HERO (rpg.net) The vast majority of people who dislike Hero, dislike it because they have to build their game before they can play it, from what I gather. Therefore, it makes sense to publish a complete game (not system or toolkit) for these types of people. It may not skyrocket sales to d20 figures, but it's a start and it at least lets those types of people see what Hero has to offer and potentially get them buying supplements, if not the big book itself. Sidekick doesn't fulfill that role. It is a primer to the system, the toolkit... but it's still not a game. Sidekick still makes people build their own game using the toolkit, just a more streamlined version of it. The game book need not even have a setting attatched, since many seem opposed to that, D&D thrived without settings in the DMG/PHB/MM combo and people spent $30 a piece on boxed settings for it over 10 years ago, although the books were on $15 at the time. Therefore, I think the best thing to do is to write & publish this game book, let's call it the "Hero System RPG" (I'm sure someone will come up with a better name/acronym sooner or later). HSRPG would not tell you how to build powers, it would have a set of the most widely applicable powers/talents/etc. that are general enough to warrent inclusion. It would have a complete skill, psionic and magic system. No tools, just a complete game. Powers/talents/etc. would not be listed in Herospeak, but their complete uses spelled out in plain English. It wouldn't be as flexible or powerful as the real deal, but if it gets people playing an buying Hero product, it would be worth it. Put a nice little ad in the book telling people they can buy the toolkit book to build whatever they want or if they don't have the time/desire to there are database books full of pre-built stuff ready to go, and ship that book off to the printers. Such a book wouldn't take long to produce, after all you simply have to borrow the existing magic system from FHG1 & 2, take some sample powers/talents/etc. from the big book, maybe build a few more, spell them out in English rather than herospeak, and you're well over half way there.

Re: Turakian Maps Don't buy CC, I have it and though I don't have fractal mapper, I can tell you it would be a much better program. -Edit- I even got a link for you here.

Re: FYI: why more people aren't playing HERO (rpg.net) If everyone used that reasoning, there'd be no Powered By GURPS Hellboy book. Or Discworld, or New Sun (not PBG yet, but next incarnation will be)...

Re: FYI: why more people aren't playing HERO (rpg.net)

Re: FYI: why more people aren't playing HERO (rpg.net) I was basing the assumption on the things you said, not on your disagreement.

Re: FYI: why more people aren't playing HERO (rpg.net) Sorry Zornwil...didn't mean to throw you into it...

Re: FYI: why more people aren't playing HERO (rpg.net) Zorn and The Shattered Universe were just made up... is there actually someone who has the handle of Zorn here?

Re: FYI: why more people aren't playing HERO (rpg.net) Some of you guys (Nexus especially - sorry to point fingers...) really don't seem to understand the concept I implied from the start. You're not building a "one true way" system, you're building an example of what could be done with Hero. What you do is create a setting using Hero. Let's say we have a fantasy setting called.... Nexus. So you package Nexus in a book with everything needed to play in that setting... all equipment, spells, etc. - prebuilt using Hero. You slap a logo on the front of the book, "Designed using the Hero System" and let that game stand on its own. It is not Hero, it is Nexus, but it is compatible with Hero. If someone buys Nexus and likes it, they see they can buy more books of premade stuff (FH Grimoire and such), and all these toolkit books (genre books, Hero system itself, etc.) to build new stuff, or even their own gameworld... and you've got em hooked at that point, or not... maybe they don't have the time or desire to build everything and just want to play games, not tinker with them. But... Nexus isn't the only "Designed using the Hero System" book on the market. There's also this fantasy game called "Zorn", and a Sci-Fi game called "The Shattered Universe", etc. I think it would be best if these books didn't take away from the core writer's time and other companies or writers were allowed to do these "DUTHS" books.

Re: FYI: why more people aren't playing HERO (rpg.net) That's just it, you build a magic system for that particular book, or take it from another published book, at least a stripped down basic magic system (not 1000s of spells). You do the same with equipment and powers and whatnot, until you have a complete game that is compatible with Hero's core book, but doesn't require it, or even sidekick, to play the game.

Re: FYI: why more people aren't playing HERO (rpg.net) I didn't mean custom in that way. Mitchell S, above, has the right idea with the various sidekick titles... They would not be a totally different ruleset, as was the case pre-4th, but rather only the rules needed to run the particular genre in question, perhaps even simplified a bit, if needed. The custom part would be that in a Special Ops game, there's no need for magic rules, so you customize the ruleset to be without magic, but maybe add more guns and equipment particular to the genre.

Re: FYI: why more people aren't playing HERO (rpg.net) Regarding the ease of use of Hero, you may want to consider pre-packaged settings+rules books, like the "powered by GURPS" line by SJG. You could customize the rules to the setting and provide it in a single book. You could write expansion books to these "powered by Hero" lines, or just let the one book stand on its own.

Re: Just to be sure ...psst...Are you the same "Saint" from the SJ Games forums?

Re: No Humans? I've never done it personally, but I doubt it would change the feel much.

Re: What now? When I think of what the future spacefaring empires might look like, I tend to think of the Old-West-Style situation, where there is a core with heavily settled worlds and a fringe of colony worlds. Some borders may be shared with other empires, but all borders are fairly fluid at this point (this is the best time for roleplaying games, at least), except in ancient parts of the galaxy (galactic core) where borders are a bit more static. Trade tends to occur between the cores of the empires by the megacorporations. Freetraders or Freelance-traders supply colony worlds that are close to the core. Worlds further from the core than the freetraders reach have to be self-sufficient. In such a setting there are many options: Quasi-Military Campaign (Mercs, Pirates, Bounty Hunters or Imperial Navy) Settlers (First Wave, Second Wave, Third Wave, etc. - the earlier the more exciting, and the less travelled the region of space, the better) Scouts/Explorers (Private or Corporate) Traders (Freelance or Corporate) Planetbound (In which case it’s just roleplaying in a high tech world - this could be as interesting as any other, the players will just have to pay for travel off of the world, where in other options they have a ship)

Re: What now? I always find it easier to design a campaign meta-plot when I know the setting it's going to take place in....is this campaign for a commercial setting or homebrew?

Re: Any Suggestions for a Hero Newbie? I had heard some really good things about Fantasy Hero, and was even considering purchasing it before I decided to switch to Hero.

Re: Any Suggestions for a Hero Newbie? That sums up the type of "realism" I'm looking for. If I feel it's absolutely needed, I can always make some houserules to add more "gritty realism", though I'll most likely just get used to the rules as written. I've always been one of those types who prefer to use "official" rules rather than tack on some houserule. So, at this point, I'm about 99% sure that Hero will suit me fairly well. I guess my own system design will have to wait another 10+ years to get completed. Now I'm just going to wait until 5ER hits the shelves.

Re: Any Suggestions for a Hero Newbie? Thank you very much Lord Liaden! That has put one of my last two concerns to bed. My other is the idea that some (though not all) believe that Hero doesn't handle realism as well as GURPS. Do you have a link to cure that? Other than that concern, I've just got to play it for myself and see how it "feels", ya know.

Re: Any Suggestions for a Hero Newbie? I'll reconsider on sidekick, once I actually have the 5ER book in my hands. It's simply too hard for me to judge whether I actually need it or not, without having seen the book. The same goes for all the other 'convenience' books published for Hero. I bought most of the 'convenience' books for GURPS, but most are still in like-new condition because I rarely used them. I ended up designing my own in the end. I actually have entire fantasy and space backgrounds (which includes equipment, aliens/races, bestiary, etc.) already made for GURPS, I'd just need to convert them to 'Fantasy Hero' and 'Star Hero'. What can I say? I was born to be an RPG designer and writer. Thanks for the welcome, the reply and the offer of assistance Steve! As for the comment on 'coolness' vs. 'character', the way some have described Hero to me is that it builds a character much like D&D (sorry, no offense!), a set of combat stats & skills, with no personality (it's left to the player to provide - and as I've seen many times, is subject to change anytime a player finds it inconvenient), while GURPS builds personality into the character (which I prefer, because it allows me, as GM, to judge how well the character is being roleplayed), with use of quirks and, disadvantages. I understand Hero has some disadvantages, and I can easily tack 'quirks' into the system, but it's just the way I currently see the system based off of what I've read and been told thus far. My views may change once I've actually read the book. Well of course you would believe that Hero was better at defining a character. Seriously though, from what I've seen thus far, I'd agree that Hero has many more options, except possibly in the area of personality (as I described in the previous paragraph - I'm not saying it doesn't, I just saying I don't know if it does). I would also like to say that I love the 'toolkit' nature of Hero's character creation system. -Edit - Fixed spelling errors.

Re: Any Suggestions for a Hero Newbie? I hope to do as you suggest in your first paragraph. That is, take Hero and basically "build" a customized set of powers/advantages, and present that to my players for use, rather than a massive 600 page toolkit. If they choose to go beyond what I present, that's fine, I'll pass them the book. I tend to play fantasy and sci-fi games. I've only played superheroes once, and it was ok, though not really my cup of tea. Thanks for the welcome, Lord Liaden, and for that link. It confirms everything I've learned thus far, but also gives some more specific insight into how Hero works, which I like. My big fear at this point is that Hero seems to emphasize 'coolness' over 'character', while GURPS is the opposite, and I prefer the latter emphasis.