cursed

Re: [Would-Be Hero-GM]Lethality Your helpful answers/comments have helped me to make my decision. I'll buy new HERO as soon as I can resurrect my financial situation. It's not doing very well at the moment. So, the system is brutal/deadly/realistic? That's good and something I'm looking for. I recalled that the system was deadlier than real life. I'm happy to be proved wrong. Thank you all. -Cursed

Re: [Would-Be Hero-GM]Lethality Thanks for the all helpful answers! Sure I am. I don't like the idea that people die in the instant their hit points reach a certain value. It doesn't happen in the real world, AFAIK. Bleeding/shock/infection is what kills people actually (IMHO, I'm not a doctor of any degree, and I don't want to give you an impression of any authorative position/opinion). OTOH, rules sound more forgiving/kind that I remembered them to be. About that SPD-hassle: The change I'm about introduce in my campaign is not unbalancing in any way, as the *average* SPD will be 6. It just gives me more fine-grained scale to operate. I don't like the idea that human just a little bit quicker(a minimum, +1 SPD) than an average human has a speed boost of +50%. Now, its only a c. 17% quicker. And SPD-attributes of all creatures are adjusted as before, using absolute values, not relative. (i.e. monster that had a SPD of 6 will have a SPD of (6-2 + 6 = 10, that is 4 points higher than normal PC/NPC/creature/other)... And this is to degrade the importance of SPD. And to set the differences in SPD to not so dramatic effect. Thumbs up. I didn't remember/realize that the rules weren't that deadly(as I recalled). I wonder if they changed a lot between 4th and 5th editions. No SPD attributes are going to be in superhero range, as the average SPD will be 6. Just multiply all SPD-attributes by 3, and there you are. Well, almost. That doesn't affect new characters. And see above for how to adjust/calculate SPD for something that doesn't conform with average values. Nothing changes but the default/base value of SPD(2 to 6). So, +2 to SPD(4) will be SPD8.... And, I don't want to every character to be in the range of STR/DEX, 15-20. I'd like to see values like 10-14. Talented people could have stats much higher that those values. (No hard limits). This is just what I fear. I remember using hit locations resulting in much deadlier game. Playing the game without hit locations will not be an option. Some softer approach, maybe? (I hope that someone understands what I've garbled here. English is not my native language, and I've consumed about 9 liters of beer.) I'm willing to be more specific, but I don't have an access to internet until monday.... -Cursed

Re: [Would-Be Hero-GM]Lethality Ok. 2) Can the system be tweaked to be gritty/realistic? It's not larger-than-life playing style we are after. Following are Fantasy Hero-specific: Are there any rules/ideas for adventuring(travelling distances, diseases, infections...) that make sense? I prefer simulationistic(?) style to abstract rules(like D20), that is, tactical combat, like in GURPS, works for us. 3) SPD 5+ would not be problematic, if average SPD is something like 4. It just doubles the resolution. (Increasing SPD by one wouldn't be +50 boost to speed anymore)... -Cursed

I'm concerned about lethality of the system. I had 4th edition of the Hero System and Fantasy Hero+2 companions. IIRC, system was lethal. Normal STR 16 barbarian could land such a mighty blow that no normal man could take it and live. I'm thinking about purchasing new 5th edition, revised, but I'm not sure if the system suits for me and my gaming group. We use Shadow World, but somewhat toned down-version. Currently we play with GURPS 4th ed., and I probably will not ever stop using it. My concerns: 1) Normal (unarmored) humans are really fragile and die easily when hit by battle-axe. I'd like see them have a decent chance not to die instantly. 2) How current rules work in low-fantasy genres. 3) Speed. Is it really useful in low-fantasy? If I plan to use SPD, then maybe average SPD will be 4-6(system will be more fine-grained then??) Any pointers/insight/helpful thoughts on this one? -Cursed