james4177

5 hours ago, Panpiper said:

Well, if you don't have a circle of friends who can play tabletop in real life, that pretty much relegates you to online options. The advantage of on line is that you have a lot more potential players. The disadvantage is that it is nowhere near as social nor as simple as just drawing on a hex mat and using figurines while everyone chats and shares books.

 

Online options would include gaming utilities like Roll20, Fantasy Grounds and Tabletop Simulator. Roll20 might be the easiest, as long as you aren't expecting it to do much more with it than provide a chat service along with a basic map, character figures you can move and basic dice rolls. Fantasy Grounds has better map functions, but even less support for game systems outside of D&D.

 

Tabletop Simulator due to the efforts of one very dedicated modder may ultimately be the best option. It may require a bit more brain power to get started with, but long term would probably provide the most enjoyment. Check him out through his YouTube site and then follow the links he provides in his video descriptions.

 

Finally there is the option of playing Play By Post, which involves the least learning, but is also the slowest option with regard to actual game play. That said, there seems to be an awful lot more character role play in Play By Post than in other gaming methods, including RL tabletop.

 

If you do get something going on line, please do consider me interested. I have plenty of time in my week and apparently a bottomless enthusiasm for Hero System.

Thanks for the super detailed response. I'll take a look at TT simulator via the link. I'll keep you in mind.

4 hours ago, pinecone said:

Well, first pick a rule set. 5th is still doable, 6th is the current "main" set. It is the size of two phone books, and I do not like it at all, so tastes may vary. Also Champions now! is coming out soon, based on 3rd ed. and there is a champions complete that is a thinned down version of 6 (200+ pages) that I use and like just fine. You will likely want to poll the locals to see if there are preferences, then pick one. After that pick a locality, I always use the closest large city, and use highway maps etc.getting a collection of villians may be a time saver as well. Good luck! And good gaming!

Thanks a ton for your answer! Champions now... is that the current product? I'd really love to run published scenarios can we expect Champions now to have those?

J--

I am a long time player from when Champions first launched back in the early 80s. Played a lot through 4th edition and a little bit of 5th edition.

Interested in organizing a a campaign again but honestly don't know where to start.

Anyone have suggestions for where to begin? 

Thanks!

J--

Re: Lack of published material

I received my copy of Shiny Ptolus and have been reading it in bits and pieces.

I've been to Killer Shrikes website and decided I like the look of the magecraft system. I intend to use it for both arcane and divine magic though the divine magic will have a more rigid set of required power limitations.

I'm still working on the details but I'm contemplating giving divine casters an endurance reserve and disallowing them from using their own endurance to power spells. The deities (or whatever) then control the divine casters access to magic by limiting/augmenting the details of their endurance reserve.

I have some questions about play balance but I'll post them seperately in the FH group.

Thanks for your advice.

J--

Re: Lack of published material

Either that or just allow them to Transfer Personal END to the Reserve and give it a Side Effect (Transfer 2d6 END to Reserve' date=' Side Effect 2d6 STUN).[/quote']

 

I like that combination a lot. It allows for tense moments as the player struggles to get the endurance transferred to cast their spell while risking knocking themselves out.

 

i've been reading Killer Shrikes links and I plan to head over to the Salty Wounds site for some more reviews later.

 

[rattles 3D6 and rolls a 17]

Damn no Ptolus today either.

 

J--

Re: Lack of published material

I didn't realize I'd acquired a hunted but I'll be certain to ask my meta-GM if I can spend the points somewhere very painful for Mr. Salty Wounds.

I have been to the Pencil Pushers site recently and done some reading but I'm not finished there just yet. I don't have all of the Champions fantasy products but they are on my list to buy.

As for GenCon, some of us have to code for a living. I know, it is a lame excuse but it is the best I can do until I recover from being stunned by the one two punch of Teflon Billy and Eosin.

J--

Re: Lack of published material

Self twiddles thumbs waiting for shiny Ptolus to show up.

:|

J--

Re: Lack of published material

...Just convert your PCs and your NPCs in your campaign' date=' one at a time.[/quote']

 

This is good advice and I plan to follow it. I'm currently trying to decide on what kind of magic system to run. My least favorite thing about D20 is the magic system and I wont keep any of it when I convert Ptolus.

 

Once I get the book and have some sense of how dependent the setting is on D20 magic I'll be able to decide which direction to go.

 

I'm leaning towards a reasonably free-form system where the 'paradigm' is fairly subjective but the mechanics are controlled. I intend to not allow frameworks and to require that all spells are fueled by an endurance reserve.

 

The endurance reserve allows me to influence how difficult using magic is by altering the recovery rate based on environmental factors. I'm considering allowing mages to cast spells out of their own endurance but at an increased cost so that it is done only during times of great need.

 

I have a lot of work to do and I'm looking forward to it. I'll be starting a blog for the game once it gets a bit closer.

 

 

J--

Re: Lack of published material

Killer Shrike wrote: "...consider sending me your version with all the Ptolus goodies added for posting."

Maybe I'm misunderstanding you and maybe I have a bad sense of what intellecutual property really is... I'd love to post on my campaign blog and/or at your site my conversions of Mr. Cooke's good work but I'm thinking he might not approve of that.

I feel confident that I'm on legally and morally solid ground if I convert his material for my own and my player's use but posting it on a public web-site seems a bit iffy. I went so far as to email the board moderator Dan Simon before even starting this thread - I genuinely want to respect the rights and property of others.

That said maybe I don't understand the 'rules' am I allowed to convert his characters to FH and post them on the web? I'd love to start a wiki for the campaign and store the converted characters/items/rules there but again... I'd be hesitant to post his materials.

Am I totally off base here...? Your advice is appreciated.

J--

I want to run Fantasy Hero.

I want to use a pre-published module/world that will eliminate most of the work.

I see this bright, shiny new Ptolus thing by Monte Cook.

I think to myself... Self, is it more work to convert Ptolus to Fantasy Hero than writing my own world/story? Self says, no it is not. We've got that Hero Maker software and all of the juicy notes we saw on Killer Shrike's site.

I've ordered the Ptolus package of goodness and eagerly await its arrival. When it gets here I'll post my impressions and progress with the hopes that it may induce some of you to give me good advice and interest others in my progress.

I've briefly looked at the Hero Fantasy settings and honestly I think they suffer from to much generality. I don't have time to develop from scratch my own adventures and thus I'm stuck converting Ptolus.

Or at least that is the sob story I'm giving my wife.

J--

Re: Fantasy color webcomic

Excellent work, I've book marked it for regular reading.

What software are you using to do you work in?

J--