Lucius

So, how many Characteristics does Hero System have? Do you honestly think having so many Characteristics that have to be filled in to create a character does not add to the perception that Hero System is more complicated than it needs to be? Realistically, I don't expect a new edition any time soon. But ideally, I'd like to see fewer Characteristics among other reforms. Lucius Alexander House of the Palindromedary

Doesn't stacking Charges lead to a Burnout Roll? Lucius Alexander The palindromedary wonders what charging stacks leads to

While working out specifics for the vampires in my Fantasy Hero game I researched a variety of bloodsucking creatures. Would you believe there is a moth that feeds on human blood? Lucius Alexander The palindromedary says a mosquito starred in an animated cartoon in 1912

It took me five minutes to notice what a great thread this is. Lucius Alexander But I had a penalty for having a palindromedary standing in the way

I think my futility must be well exercised by now. Lucius Alexander The palindromedary laments that I am not.

I actually thought this was the default rule. Lucius Alexander The palindromedary uses PRE at one end and EGO at the other

Something like this could be part of the standard "cultural package" everyone of a given culture must take, or given free as an "Everyman Power." Common Magic: (Total: 10 Active Cost, 3 Real Cost) +1 with all Non-Combat Skills (10 Active Points); Extra Time (1 Turn (Post-Segment 12), Only to Activate, -3/4), Requires A Roll (16- roll; Jammed, Must be made each Phase/use, ; -1/2), Side Effects (3d6 Unluck; -1/4), Incantations (-1/4), Gestures (-1/4) (Real Cost: 3) By observing particular rituals which only take seconds to enact, the character gains a +1 to any task at hand; but any roll of 17 or 18 after observing such rituals means the character is "jinxed" and will suffer bad luck until such time as the jinx may be countered. Lucius Alexander Lucky Palindromedary

Exactly. Sometimes simplifying one aspect of the game complicates another. On the one hand, we want the process of creating a character to be easier and that might mean having obvious explicit options for things people want. But on the other, we want to keep the page count reasonable. Lucius Alexander Sometimes a palindromedary is useful and sometimes it complicates my life.

I have a number of ideas about how to reform Skills but given that none of us have the power to change the official or canon Rules as Written (Total: 5 Active Cost, 2 Real Cost) Minor Transform 1d6 (Rules into improved Rules, reverted by: House Rules) (5 Active Points); Limited Target Role Playing Game Rules (-1) (Real Cost: 2) maybe we should stick to what we can realistically change in the kind of fan-made supplemental productions some of us are describing making. Lucius Alexander The palindromedary thinks that Power build needs a global area Megascale

Good experienced fighters have high OCV. That's not just a number; that high OCV means that they know and use a lot of feints, sleights, and tricks. Good experienced fighters have high DCV. That's not just a number; that high DCV means that they recognize and thwart a lot of feints, sleights, and tricks. Lucius Alexander The palindromedary on the other hand hasn't the faintest idea.

How fallowers each rank of nobility should give in your opinion. In a realistic historical context 2- Knight 4 - Baron 6 - count 8 - duke 10 - prince 15 - King I may come back toKnight, but right now I'm baron of ideas how to count up the followers for each noble title, other than to say most will also be duke castles and lands and there is no doubt a correlation between lands and strongholds and number of retainers. If you can find a game like Chivalry and Sorcery or other explicitly medieval game I am sure it prince up the information you are seeKing. Lucius Alexander The palindromedary suggests that a knight should have a squire or two, and each 2 pts added to Rank should double the number of followers.

And this is part of the problem. I've been hanging around some in RPG net. The role playing section is divided into three sections(forums) - D&D Everything else Game Design An entire forum, of people creating their own individual games. Did I say upsteam that everybody and their brother and the dog was playing D&D? They are, but everybody else and their other brother's dog is trying to put out a new game. All the people who might otherwise get into Hero - the tinkerers, the tweakers, do-it-myselfers who say "no, that's not what an Elf or a Vampire or a Dragon should be like, I'm going to present my OWN vision of it"- They're all too busy cobbling together their own complete rules sets to pay attention to Hero. Lucius Alexander The palindromedary adds that's only one aspect of the problem

What bugs me about Physical and Energy Defense is that the cost is the same although in almost every case except maybe (maybe) superheroes, the PD is more useful. They should have been unified, as Markdoc is proposing. But if a player really wants to buy DEF good only either physical or energy, the Limitation should be based on how common the category is in that particular game. Certainly the default shouldn't be -1 for either. Lucius Alexander Palindromedary Defense

I forget... Lucius Alexander Palindromedaries! that was it!

Of course you can, but you end up "paying to suck" since if you bought 4d6 vs a defense, you do 4d6 damage subtracting a defense from it, but if you buy 2d6 vs one defense and 2d6 vs another defense you roll 4d6 and subtract TWO defenses instead of one. If you are using 6th edition you can use Attack vs Alternate Defense and define the defense as "the lesser of" PD and ED. Yes, but in almost ANY setting other than superhero, you are going to run into more physical than energy attacks - often far more. The reason we have Physical and Energy Defense, costing exactly the same but separate, is because of Hero's roots in Champions. If you're running a fantasy game where people get hit with energy as much as physical, I think that's unusual. Lucius Alexander Palindromedary Defense

That's a false dichotomy. I could be wrong, but I suspect the majority would have neither "drifted to other games" nor would they have "left the hobby." I expect they would just keep on playing. The rule books, dice, and character sheets would not have magically disappeared just because the company went out of business. Go back and watch that show again. Look at Alice. Her face, her stance. She's standing there, usually arms crossed, totally unafraid. She knows "one of these days" means "never." So does he, really. So, I would argue, did most of the audience. She's never afraid of him. He, on the other hand, whatever trouble he's gotten himself into, is always worried about her finding out. HE fears HER much more than the other way around. I won't say their dynamic doesn't have problematic implications about cultural norms about gender (a discussion that surely belongs in another thread) and I won't say there are no examples of domestic abuse in old sitcoms, but I will say that this isn't an example. Lucius Alexander One of these days I'll make a tagline without a palindromedary.

The only "Invincible" RPG seems to be D&D. The only game that ever beat it out of the top spot was Pathfinder, which did it by being better at D&D than D&D. In other words, D&D is such an invincible market-share-gobbling powerhouse, it can even defeat itself. Lucius Alexander The palindromedary says that sounds self-defeating....

Herberts? Lucius Alexander The palindromedary says I can't put all my cards on the table if I'm not playing with a full deck.

I think that works. Lucius Alexander Drawing mana from a palindromedary

okay, trying again... crossposted from RPGnet Lucius Alexander The palindromedary is chewing the first attempt

Here's some of what I have so far doing it as an AI Distinctive Features: Enchanted Sword (Easily Concealed; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses)(5) "I glow! I sing! I relate stirring tales of battle and amusing anecdotes about...hey, no, don't put me back in the scabbard now I'm just -" Hunted: People wanting a magic sword Infrequently (Less Pow; PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find; Mildly Punish) "Oh, go ahead and show me off, you should be proud to have the world' best enchanted sword! Let 'em look, but not touch. No he is NOT going to sell me, not even for my weight in silver! What kind of blade do you think I am?" (Later) "Maybe it wasn't a smart idea to show me off like a cheap bauble...someone might try to take me away from you! Why'd you go and do that?" Rivalry: Professional and Romantic (Other melee weapons; Rival is Less Powerful; Rival is (sometimes) a Player Character's weapon; Seek to Outdo, Embarrass, or Humiliate Rival; Rival Unaware of Rivalry) "What are you looking at that big stupid ax for? Oh, you think just because a Troll's swinging it at you is an excuse to pay attention to weapons other than me?" Lucius Alexander The palindromedary says I'm on a role now

About a month ago, I'd say. Lucius Alexander This just in from Palindromedary News: Scotland appears to be suffering a severe drought....

Gary the Egotistical Sword: (Total: 103 Active Cost, 25 Real Cost) Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 2d6+1, Difficult To Dispel (x2 Active Points; +1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (61 Active Points); No Conscious Control (-2), OAF Unbreakable (-1), No STR Bonus (-1/2), Side Effects, Side Effect occurs automatically whenever Power is used (Sword has a mind of its own; -1/2), Unified Power (-1/4) (Real Cost: 12) <b>plus</b> Resistant Protection (3 PD/3 ED/5 Mental Defense/5 Power Defense) (24 Active Points); OAF Unbreakable (-1), Side Effects, Side Effect occurs automatically whenever Power is used (Sword has EGO 13 and INT 10 (and can use own Mental and Power Def); -1/2), Unified Power (-1/4) (Real Cost: 9) <b>plus</b> +3/+3d6 Striking Appearance (vs. all characters) (9 Active Points); No Conscious Control (-2), OAF Unbreakable (-1), Side Effects, Side Effect occurs automatically whenever Power is used (Sword has PRE 15 and can use own Striking Appearance to make 6d6 PRE attacks on weilder; -1/2) (Real Cost: 2) <b>plus</b> Fast Draw 12- (9 Active Points); No Conscious Control (-2), OAF Unbreakable (-1) (Real Cost: 2) Killing Attack because it's a sword. Resistant Protection because it's magic. Striking Appearance because it's a sword that glows, hums, and even speaks aloud. Fast Draw because it can leap the wielder's hand - even if they didn't want the sword out right then. INT 10, EGO 13, PRE 15 on defense and PRE 30 on offense. If you feel the need for more detail - say, the sword has Knowledge or Interaction Skills etc. - then an AI is called for. Lucius Alexander Palindromedary tagline, just because

Step 3, PROFIT! Lucius Alexander Step 4, snakes get stepped on by palindromedary

You COULD do all that with No Conscious Control on a set of Powers that include a Hand to Hand Killing Attack and Resistant Protection. You would have to set some arbitrary values for PRE and EGO. But No Conscious Control covers "Power doesn't work when you want it to" and also "Power goes off on its own sometimes." Is "Grant Resistant Protection" meant to represent the sword blocking blows, or some kind of magical force field? If not just a set of Powers with Limitations, I would say you should use the AI rules. Buy Striking Appearance because for some dumb reason an AI can't buy PRE otherwise. Give it a Complication to make it subject to PRE attacks in turn. Buy certain Powers, such as the Killing Attack, so they're Usable By Other, but with Grantor Controls Power - so the wielder can only strike if the sword agrees. Lucius Alexander Usable by Palindromedary