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BigJackBrass

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  1. Haha
    BigJackBrass got a reaction from Khymeria in Campaign Inspiration   
    It's only cosplay if you're not actually a superhero.
  2. Haha
    BigJackBrass got a reaction from Eyrie in Campaign Inspiration   
    It's only cosplay if you're not actually a superhero.
  3. Like
    BigJackBrass got a reaction from drunkonduty in Campaign Inspiration   
    If this doesn't spark an idea for an amazing superhero campaign then nothing will:
     

     
    (Seen on Mastodon, original source not known)
  4. Like
    BigJackBrass reacted to Legendsmiths in Where did everyone go?   
    I was away for a while working on non-Hero projects.
     
    Now I'm working on Atomic Sky and the Hero System for Foundry VTT so I'm back to more active lurking/occasional posting.

    Not much in need of rules discussions of late, so not posting/reviewing stuff like that. I plan to share more Atomic Sky stuff once the rough edges get filed down. Playtesting for that is going well. Keeping the content/approach more core Hero than some of the experimental stuff I did for Narosia.
  5. Like
    BigJackBrass reacted to Legendsmiths in Hero System for FoundryVTT   
    Howdy folks! I've been anxious to share this news with you until I had more than just promises to share. 
     
    I am developing the Hero System for FoundryVTT, under license with Hero Games, and I am just wrapping up on the foundation before moving into automation. My goal is to keep this as simple as possible, focus on automating the things that have greatest impact (e.g., using/tracking END), and allow others to build on it. 
     
    Hero for Foundry will take 2 forms:
     
    Hero 6E Basic will be a FREE ($0) system for FoundryVTT that will only include content from the Hero System 6E Basic Rulebook. You will be able to add skills, maneuvers, talents, powers etc from any Hero book, so you can do more than just what's in Hero Basic. The core functionality of the system will be present:
    Combat Status Dice Rolling (including counting BODY) Speed Chart/Turn Tracking Character input will be manual (type it in, drag/drop skills/perks/talents/powers) with no power calculation  
    Hero 6E Complete (name to be finalized) will be a PAID ($TBD) system for FoundryVTT will include content from 6E1 and 6E2, and will be built on Hero 6E Basic with the following additions:
    More automation  HeroDesigner Import Support for Complete Adventures Support for Content Packs (e.g., Star Hero, Fantasy Hero, Grimoire, etc.)  
    Once the Hero 6E Basic Foundry VTT System is complete enough I will release it. Timing is unclear, but should be around June/July timeframe, possibly earlier. At that point we will gather feedback, fix things that need fixing, and then start talking about Hero 6E Complete. 
     
    Hero 6E Complete will be funded by a crowdfunding campaign. We will have stretch goals related to more complex functionality, content generation, and more. Once funded, we will begin work on that, providing backers license keys on completion and then offering Hero 6E Complete for sale in the Hero Games store (and possibly elsewhere). 
     
    I am really excited to be doing this. I have long used MapTool as my primary VTT for Hero, and love it dearly. However, I think the fit and polish of Foundry is finally where it needs to be and I think Hero needs to be visible and successful on that platform. 
     
    I have long been an advocate for Hero. My first attempt and bringing Hero to a broader audience as the publication of Narosia: Sea of Tears. Building on that, the Hero community needs a robust VTT that is easy to access, stable, and free of subscriptions. Lastly, with the completion of my NOVA6 Game (that is my next crowdfunding project now that it is ready), I've started work on Narosia 2nd Edition and my love letter to Post-Apocalyptic play: Atomic Sky. Atomic Sky is sandbox style PA adventuring with 240+ mutations, gear out the wazoo, and a QuickStart system to make characters and start playing in an hour.
     
    Atomic Sky needs a slick VTT, so here we are. 
     
    Feel free to ask any questions and I will do my best to answer. Keep an eye here for updates as we make more progress. 



  6. Like
    BigJackBrass reacted to Duke Bushido in Question for the OG Champions players   
    Dude, if you find a copy, let me know!  I heard about this thing when WotV hit the stands, and I have been looking for even proof of its existence ever since.  WotV will never again see the light of day (having provided several of the scans of older material that are in the store, I offered to do a pristine version of Wings, and was politely but firmly told this item will never exit again, period), so the only shot either of us has is a long shot.   
     
     
     
  7. Thanks
    BigJackBrass got a reaction from Instant Coffee in Sell Me on Heroes In A Hurry   
    Obviously not a free peek, but the PDF was released in sections through the Hero Patreon. I've been laid low by covid and a post-covid lung infection, so although I have the files I've yet to even start reading them, I'm afraid. 
     
    Glancing at it now, there are indeed nine sample characters at the end of the book. The format is various modules you assemble to make a character. I'll put a screenshot of the ToC here, which of course I'll remove if it's not acceptable to do so:
     

  8. Like
    BigJackBrass got a reaction from Beast in Sell Me on Heroes In A Hurry   
    No, I don't believe it does. Essentially it describes how the book involves selecting multiple modules—around half a dozen for a 400 point character—and equipment bundles, then goes into some examples. At a brief glance I can't see a mention of random characters.
  9. Like
    BigJackBrass reacted to Sketchpad in Sell Me on Heroes In A Hurry   
    Interesting. This helps a lot, BJB. Thanks!
  10. Thanks
    BigJackBrass got a reaction from Khymeria in Sell Me on Heroes In A Hurry   
    Obviously not a free peek, but the PDF was released in sections through the Hero Patreon. I've been laid low by covid and a post-covid lung infection, so although I have the files I've yet to even start reading them, I'm afraid. 
     
    Glancing at it now, there are indeed nine sample characters at the end of the book. The format is various modules you assemble to make a character. I'll put a screenshot of the ToC here, which of course I'll remove if it's not acceptable to do so:
     

  11. Like
    BigJackBrass reacted to Duke Bushido in Gen Con 2023 - Darren Watts Memorial   
    Somebody who can should definitely helm a Lucha HERO game.
     
     
    If I lived closer or had time off, I would gladly volunteer for that.
     
  12. Like
    BigJackBrass reacted to Lord Liaden in Tribute Game to Darren Watts   
    If I may offer an opinion, I don't think you need to link every character genetically to a Golden Age hero. There's a long tradition in comics, and certainly in the CU, of people who were proteges, or friends, or simply admirers of veteran heroes, to take up their identity after the hero retires or dies. None of the first three Meteor Mans were related to each other, and there's no suggestion the fourth and current one Darren mentioned in GAC, Owen Henry, is related to any of them either.
     
    I would also suggest that since time on Champions Earth passes at a comparable rate to our world, there's probably a Black Mask 11 at this point. Jennifer Ward, aka Black Mask 10, was born in 1970, so is probably too long in the tooth to continue as a street-level crime fighter. It would make sense for her to have passed the identity on to her own younger partner Nocturne (see Champions Universe: News Of The World), until her son Ben is old enough to take up the family legacy (he was born December 2006). It wouldn't be the first time the identity had temporarily passed to someone other than the Ward lineage.
  13. Like
    BigJackBrass reacted to Scott Ruggels in Goodman's Tips   
    Ahh the Late Steve Goodman. He was a regular at Hero games and was famous for rules hacks. He played more Fantasy Hero than Champions, but he was a member of The Guardians. Very chill guy and a font of information. I’ll raise a shot glass of Glenlivet in his memory. 
  14. Like
    BigJackBrass reacted to Duke Bushido in Is Hero still your "go-to" rpg system?   
    Okay, I am going to make a stab at doing this via phone.  I feel like a time traveller, just outside of reality, knowing that I am seeing and speaking to you folks right now, but you will have no perception of my communication, possibly for days....     
     
    we had a rather lengthy thread on this some months back, and I was actually _delighted_ by how civil it was, considering the staunch defense of opposing positions, and by how informative it was for both positions.
     
    you know the technological handicaps under which I currently labor, so please forgive me for not touching on every possible point and skipping straight to what I see as the core problems that lead to both the rules bloat and the ever-increasing oppression of "must, can't, always, and never," which become increasingly common as the rules continue to expand.
     
    Math.
    No; I do not think math in itself- particularly with it being the key to all science- is the problem or even _a_ problem.  In fact, I would like to take a moment to point out that when from time to time you hear me state "that doesn't make science," it is _not_ a typo.  It _is_ a pun though, and you are just going to have to live that... 
     
    Champions is _full_ of math.  One of the contributing factors is the belief that the math is significant; that the math is a fundamental part of the underlying framework that actually holds the game together-- that it is as equally important as the mechanics themselves.  This is line of thinking is easy to understand: the mechanics are by and large mathematical functions, after all.
     
    The Math _does_ have a purpose: it serves the same purpose that clocks serve in the real world: it measures the dwindling of a limiting resource.  I did not say a limited resource: time will go on forever.  However, everything that happens or must happens uses time: it could take ne all weekend to finish this post, for example.  So this amount of time will be spent on this task, and any other task will require not just a different amount of time, but different time altogether: I cannot spend this particular scoop of time swimming down at the river.  I have poured it onto the creating of this post.  I must return to the time poke, ooen it, and scoop out a fresh batch of time to pour into my next task.
     
    When the poke is empty, I have no more time.  It is not limited, however; to refill it, all i need to do is live longer, and my little poke of time will continue to refill.
     
    _I_ am limited.  I will only live so long.  Time will go on forever, and I can keep scooping and pouring time onto various tasks, but ultimately, I will only get so many things done.  Clocks measure the time I have used, and I can roughly extrapolate the time I have remaining.  We make a big deal out of clocks (which is wierd, as none of truly want to know precisely how much time we have left), but they really don't do much.  The clock is not neither the limiting factor nor the enabler.  On the same clock, with the same scoop of time, Usain Bolt would use far less of the scoop than I would to run a quarter mile.  Time,is theblimiting factor.  Time prevents me from doing everything, and the rules of time- one scoop per task- prevent from doing more than a few things all at once.
     
    The Math in Champions is similar. It does nothing but measure a limiting resource.  That resource is character points.  They are not limited: characters may continue to earn them.  Some characters- Superman, Spiderman, Sherlock Holmes, Conan, Buck Roger, Long John Silver- they will earn points even after their creators have run completely out of time.
     
    However, the points are limiting.  Like a poke full of time, there are only so many points available at once.  All the elements upon which points can be spent have a finite cost.  Points are dispensed one scoop at a time.  Points mean that no one can buy everything.  Eventually, the poke will,be empty, and nothing else can be purchased until that poke is refilled.  Points serve as a means of ensuring that no two characters will be the same, because no one can buy everything.
     
    At least, they couldn't until the Multipower of Everythi-- I mean, VPP- was given validity.  Even then, though....
     
    There is another limiting factor, though that even VPP cannot completely overcome:  levels.  Plus one.  Blocks.  All the points-based elements of Champions are purchased in increments.  Energy Blast is bought one die at a time.  Running is bought one inch at a time.  Armor is bought one bit at a time.
     
    This means there are degrees of things.  Each degree has a cost.  There is no enforced upper limit by the rules as presented.  With the limiting factor of points cost, we have both a temptation--  how much of this characteristic would you like to purchase?  How much od this power would you like your character to wield?
     
    We have the limiting factor of the initial,scoop of points:  what will you forego so that you may spend enough points to ger the level of this ability that you hope to have?
     
    Obviously there is some math there: I must subtract the fifty points I spent from the 150 I was allowed, so that I can guide my selections as I continue through the creation progress.
     
    That's it.  That is the purpose of the math.  The red herrings- in my completely and totally unprofessional opinion, mind you- come from the modifiers.
     
    Once the points in our scoop start to run low, we can make some decisions about what we are buying.  I may want to be able to fly a bit faster than I can afford to buy.  What options do I have?  I do not see my character patrolling the city from the skies, so perhaps I will agree to give up some not-so-good-in-combat aspect of the power.  I can voluntarily relinquish the NCN that is part of the power and thus earn a sort of "discount" on the cost of this now-less-expensive version of the power.  Alternatively, one could tweak their power upwards a bit: they could reduce the Endurance cost.  They could declare that their power was able to better penetrate through armor.
     
    For a lot of people, this was a sign that the math was the most important part of the game- not just damage calculation and cost tracking, but everything- the scam of the powers, the facr that they are bought in increments, the fact that there are several different kinds of powers and characteristics to buy, the fact that they could be incrementally modified-- all of these things required math, and for a lot of people, this was more significant than it should be-- well, more appropriately, they felt that it indicated something that it can't: a mathematical balance; a way to ensure that characters are "even" purely by the math.
     
    The fact that "active points" is a thing that is tracked could be taken as some kind of proof.  If the active points spent are the same, the characters are some sort of "even," right?  In spite of the fact that this has _never_ held up to any kind of scrutiny, there are still a lot of Champions players that continue to either believe it true, or cling to the idea that with enough tweaking, fudging, and reformulating, it can be made to become true.
     
    No matter what tweaks are made, Energy Blast, Flight, Force Field, and Life Support will never, ever be even.  If I am falling from the skies, Flight will be the only power on that list that is remotely useful; all others are wasted points, at least in that moment.  If I am tied to a ship's anchor about to be dropped into the frigid black depths of the ocean, Life Support  will be king!  Perhaps an Energy Blast would prevent me from getring into that situation, but here I am. I can only assume it did not help.
     
    Even moving away from the obvious examples of completely different types of powers, we can see problems with assuming a mathematical equality.  If someone is trapped behind a barrier with 10 DEF and he has used 25 of his points to buy 5d6 of Energy Blast, he is trapped there forever.  Another character who has used 25 of his points to buy 2d6 of Energy Blast with Armor Piercing x3 will eventually be able to escape, and without much difficulty.  Alternatively, he could have spent 23 points for 3d6 with APx2 and have escaped eventually.  For less points, this character is free to fight the food fight all over again.  Still spends less points than the first guy, but he isnt trapped.  By the same,token, however, under the modern rules, he,could have spent 20 points on 2d6 at Zero Endurance and been able to blast away all day long, but he would have been trapped behind a mere 6DEF wall.
     
    So this is one example, and one example only, which is easy to cherry pick, I know, but what is faster?  10 inches of flight with its NCM, or 3" of flight with enough NCM to spend equal points?  If you have to race across town to stop a bomb, which is better?
     
    50 inches of flight, or 15 inches with zero endurance cost?  If you have to race across _Wisconsin_ to stop a bomb.... Well l, the cheaper, slower build will work out better for most folks.
     
    Two charcters have a 12d6 Energy Blast.  One has spent 10 more points for an additional point of Speed; the other has put those same 10 points into Endurance.  Are they evenly matched?  If the faster one then puts 10 more points into Skill Levels and the puts ten more into Recovery, they become even more lop-sided.
     
     
    This goes on forever, of course, and needs to be brought up every now and again as a reminder that points do not and cannot Crete or enforcw balance.
     
    But it continues to be believed that it can, even in subtle ways; the "you get what you pay for" mantra.  It implies that you can spend your way to ultimate power.  To use a military analogy I first heard during Desert Storm and found pretty amusing:
     
    Multi-million dollar tanks,being taken out by barefoot goat herders with five hundred dollar rockets.  We can do this all day long with Champions, if only because each charaacter concept has a strength, and owing to the inability to evrything (barring VPP), every charactyer is foing to end up particulalrly vulnerable to something else, even if it was not by design.
     
    Then sometimes something is so skewed that everyone picks up on it.  Remember the 4e Trifecta of Cobble?   Couldn't find a power that did exactly what you wanted it to do?  Well, most likely there was some tweaking of Transform, Desolidification, and Extradimensional Movement that could set you right up!
     
    Want to be as invulnerable as Superman but don't have the points to buy up every kind of defense up to over the campaign limit, or dont have a GM,who has set a campaign limit?  No sweat!  Desolidification: only versus Damage!   Desolidification only versus Mind Control!  That's pretty sweet.
     
    I will let you in on a secret: you will recall that I have said numerous times that I have backported a few things from newer editions?  Forty-point Desolidification was one of them.  I didnt own 3e until until the twenty-oughts, and to this day I cant tell you if 40 pt Desolid was a 3e or a 4e thing, but in 1 and 2e, Desolid was a movement power.  It was some of the late-run abuses of Desolid that convinced me to abandon that and return it to a movement power.  Now don't misunderstand: I had no issue with using it for a very tight sort of invulnerability, at least initially: the king of the fire elementals probably _should_ be immune to fire-- that sort of thing.  But using it to let a normal human ninja "Dodge" a 40-hex AoE Autofire attack of any SFX and still be in the same hex at full CV right after was a bit much, I think....  Of course, your mileage may vary, and if that works in your campaigns, then I encourage you to do it; if your having fun-  if the whole group is having fun-  then you are doing it right, no matter what you are doing.  
     
    Interesringly, such builds were endorsed by the guy who wrote the last couple of rules sets, in spite of also writing that the most expensive option is the correct option.  Going to points equals balance: if there are two options to do one thing and the costs are significantly different, how do points enforce balance?
     
    Another one from the Trifecta, and also endorsed by the current rules custodian, was Extradimensional Movement.  Why buy any powers at all When you can stand before Takofanes and shift to the dimension where you just fisnished kicking his butt?  It is _definitely_ less expensive than buying other powers that could be used to defeat him.  Problematically, it means that all of your friends are out of the game as they are now NPC copies,of themselves (and What do you so about the version of you that just took out Takofanes?  Arm wrestle to see who gets to stay and be you?  For some reason, though, such builds solve these problems by refusing to adress them at all.
     
    Essentially, these are endorsed rules that in one way or the other violate at least the spirit of the rules, and all-too-often, the letter of the rules in those editions that state you must use the most expensive possibility (which is most often doing it with Major Transform:  Major Transform from super villain to supervillains who has taken 3d6 normal damage, and that power itself bought through a VPP, but no; we dont enforce that, either. 
     
    Well, if nothing else, we demonstrated that 40 pts of expenditure for Desolid can negate 200 pts of an attack.  Points do not translate to balance.
     
    We have also established that the rules are kind of a mess, and that adding lots of new rules and mandates hasnt really helped that.
     
     
    But given that there is math, and points to use it upon, and formulae with which to calculate discounts and additional charges for various custom builds.... Well, with all of that, and with so many people who enjoy math for its own sake... Well, it is inevitable that some folks should reach the conclusion that somehow, this proves there is a mathematical balance within this game.
     
    But let's look at those things from a different perspective.
     
    Points are a way to prevent any one character from starting with everything.  If a campaign runs long enough, he may earn enough points to dabble in every possible power, but as most people don't want their character totally eclipsed by people who have a greater amount of some ability, a player is not likely to spread out too far beyond where he started; most will pick up another power or ability they really wanted for the concept but could not,  without an unacceptable sacrifice elsewhere, purchase during character generation.  For the most part, they will continue to focus on what they percieve as core traits for this character, and,even "non-core" elements will be increased more slowly than the core items.
     
    This changes a bit with VPP: a character now _can_ start with every single possible power. (This is one of the reasons I find VPP to be something of a step backwards for the core rules) Still, he is limited in quantity by the amount of points he has available, as all abilities are bough in small increments. (Except for the changes to size powers, which are now bought in large-step "templates," and which I also find to be a step backwards- or at least out-of-synch-  with the core rules.   One does not buy "super amazingly strong!," but instead buys a quantified amount of Strength, which may be greater or lesser than the amount bought by someone else.  This leads me think the credo should be "you get what you paid for, and not one single thing else."  Unless, of course, you have a VPP, but even then: you only have X much of every possible thing.
     
    So it is possible that the points only exist to impose a limit on what you can buy at any given moment; it is possible they were never reslly intended to balance characters with each other, but to ensure that those characters were finite in all things, and thus able to be challenged.
     
    It is possible that the math imposed by power modifiers was created because it seemd just that a less-effective version of the power should not cost as much, or that a more effwcrive version of the power should cost more.  It may well be that this, too, has nothing to do with mathematical value, but as something of a means to reinforce the idea that the characters should be finite, and thus challengeable.  A character wanting an edge to his power must choose between that edge or the things he could,but with the points that must now be spent for his upgrade.  A character choosing to self-limit himself by purchasing a weaker version of the power four himswlf with a few points available to spend elsewhere.  Self-imposed limits are rewarded; increasingly power up abilities are penalized.  While many folks see this as further proof that mathematical balance is possible, or was an original intention, it can equally prove the hypothesis that all the math and numbers do is to ensure that characters are limited in some way, to encourage self-limiting, and to allow for increased efficiency without discouraging it, but while ensuring that it would be limited by reducing the amount that could be purchased at any given time.
     
    A lot is said about Active Points, and how Active Points are the key to mathematical balance.  However, it is also possible that Active Points are necessary-- that they even exist at all- exclusively because they are necessary for the formulae of the various Power Modifiers.  Take the basic cost (initisl active points) and multiply by (1+total,advantages 'costs') and you get the new active points.  You need this number to then apply limitations and get the final cost.
     
    Suppose that is all it is?  A unique name for a term that you need every time your character tweaks his powers or spends some XP?   Do you remember that power level comparison that was publsihed years and years ago?  I can't remember if it was from a magazine or an,update or from GSVC at the moment, but every single person who remembers it remembers using it, and I am willing to bet that my group was not the only group that had fun skewring its validity by "proving" that out equivalent of someone like Leroy was an even match for someone like our equivalent of Doctor Doom.  When it was published, we already had a few years of using Champions for other genres as well, and we had great fun proving "mathematical equality" between  Doc Holliday and Mechanon and things like that.
     
    And I bet you that some of the very same people who did that themselves are in the "points can be used to determine balance" camp today. 
     
     
    Yes; we were talking about power modifiers and,the infinite branching.  Still, it was important to explain that points have yet to be proven to be what a large portion of the fandom wants them to, and that this may well be because they never were that thing, regardless of what any original intentions were, but that there is a thing that they always have been, and may well have always been.
     
    So we have taken a brief look at Math and Champions as a possible contributor to rules bloat.  How so?  If you recall, the original rules way back when suggested building custom limitations by looking at extant limitations and find one that seems to limit in the same way or to a similar extent.  This can go two ways: do what the rules suggested, and model off the limitation that _feels_ similar in limitation, _or_, as seems to have been what happened, try to mathematically,determine what percentage of possible uses for the power are limited, and what percentage of possible uses your proposed limitation will prevent, and price the value of that limitation accordinf to the results of that math.
     
    Now I feel that it is important to say that I understand that.  It is both understandable against the existence of all the math already in the game, and it is verifiably "fair," at least in a mathematical sense.   It also completely ignores two things: which one _seems_ right, and what is the nature of the campaign?
     
    Every edition (I think; I only read 6e once and do not specifically remember this about that rules,set) has paid some kind of lip service  to the idea that assumptiins about the specific campaign _will_ change the value of some power modifiers.  Then it proceeds to give no useful detail.  We do the same,thing on this board: I have seen people ask for suggstions on the value of a proposed custom modifier and I have seen dozens of people suggest answers.  I almost never see someone ask for the leasr bit of information about the game in which rhe limitation s to be used. (Hugh tends to be better about this than the rest of us are. Yes: "us."  I am as guilty as anyone else.  Except Hugh.  He doesnt do it all the time, but he does it more rhan the rest of us).
     
    Why does this matter?  It shapes thinking.  It keeps at the rop of the mind the fact that power modifiers are _flexible_..  They sont have to be exactly what they say they are.  Better Still, you can apply that to both ends of the modifier!
     
    And That brings us to the next issue.
     
    Semantics.
     
    This is also something that we have discussed before, but since it is not math, and since it is subject to a hundred interpretations, it gets quickly tossed aside in favor of quantifiable, reliable, repeatable math.  The same math that demonstrates regularly that it is not the key to the game.
     
    My favorite example- and no; I am not opening up this topic for yet another rehash- is Only in HERO Identity.  Going by the semantic rule of custom modifiers, we find that our desired new custom limitation "only in X identity."  It seems equally as limited: the character will have to assume some other identity to access any power with this limitation.  The Semantics part of the rules- the "feels" rules, have been satisfied.  The Math part of the rules says 'well, how difficult is it to assume that form?  How often will he not be able to assume that form?  How does that compare to the frequency of being unable to assume his HERO Identity?
     
    The problem with semantics is they arent math.  For whatever reason, Champions draws in the math crowd, and the fandom reinforces the over-exaggerated importance of the math (there is a lot of false evidence that supports this, as we discussed above) and the equally-important  semantics part of the rules are lost, and pushed further and further from the core with each subsequent edition.
     
    Don't believe me?   In six linear editions, we have fone from "change anything you want to suit your games" to "don't change the things I changed already" in the latest edition.  In the interest of accuracy, it is _try_ not to change the things that I changed, but given that I disagree with pretty much all of those changes, it's just best for me not to use it all, and to revignize that any subsequent editions have already moved away from my interest, fanboy or not.
     
    So how does that lead to rules bloat?
     
    In our earlier discussion on the semantics portion of the rules and their importance, and especially their relevance to to power modifiers, we discussed the fact that not everyone is going to interpret a specific bit of language the same way.  We estsblished the fact that this lack of sameness makes some people uncomfortable.  Interestingly, I find it wonderful.  I _love_ seeing an interpretation that differs from my own.  It is both inspirational ("how did I not see that?!") and introspective (do I still think my interpretation is valid in light of this viewpoint?"  Note 'valid' as opposed to 'the one correct solution'.).  I love it as both an opporrunity to learn more- or gain more insight into- the game and as a means to customize individual campaigns just by slanting the understanding a certain way.  (That one is a bit harder to explain, and it is off-topic enough that at this point- my third day wroking on this single post- that I am not foing to go into that right now.)
     
    So how does that lead to rules bloat?  Going back to my,favorite example power modifier:  only in her ID is, essentially, only in X ID.  For example, I have Ghost Rider who has all of his powers as Only in HERO ID, but the Wildman has "only in werewolf form.  The fact is that not everyone will make this leap- will not realize that this is the same limitation.  Still others may realize that this _is_ the same limitation, but in spite of the rule saying "it's Okay to roll your own," they just can't bring themselves to use anything that doesn't have Marlboro on the box.  (Do they still make Salems, or have Newports completely eclipsed them?  I don't smoke, so I haven't paid much attention.)  So a minority is unable to see possible off-brand uses for this medication, whike a larger minority- or perhaps even a majority- aren't comfortable,usinf something that isn't specifically for the treatment of their particular illness.  They can either focus on the math, sinve it _should_ be the same from person to person, or they can ask for more rules.
     
    Remember that "only in HERO ID" took a single sentence to explain initially; three or four in 2e (where they felt it necessary to point out that this means the character has two identities and must change between them, and that something might be able to prevent him,from assuming his other identity). 
     
    Whatever the reason, the general lack of interest or ability to apply this limitation in a slightly different way led to Multiform.  We went from a very short paragraph of rules to a page and a half of rules that do the same thing.  Now dont get me wrong: I don't blame those uncomfortable with the semantics exclusively; to some point, I blame the minmax guys a bit for this one, too.  They knew good and well what the rebate was for Only,in X ID, and somehow convinced the powers that be that it should be pushed up to a -4 Limitation.  That is what Multiform boiled down to, at least in the 4e incarnation: one point for 5 is a -4 Limitation.  We Now find a newer rule that violates the "most expensive" rule, and Dude, it _destroys_ it.
     
    Something that does not recieve enough attention, likely because it isn't math, and therefore is not interesting to large portion of the fans then or now:  Multiform _proved_ something suggested by Only in HERO ID.
     
    There was no additional charge for having a brand new form.  The character paid only for the powers and abilities that form granted him.  A crippled doctor (in Champions, a Skilled normal, with a physical Limitation) became a Norse God- big, tall, beautiful, not crippled- for _zero_ cost.  Multiform was identical in that respect: your new form cost _nothing_.  You paid only for the abilities that form granted you.  In the examples,given in the 4e text was a character who changed into different animals-  he literally became a hawk (or an eagle- it was a bird of some kind) and ...  Was it a dinosaur?  It was something big.  And doing this cost him _nothing_.  He paid (at substantial discount) only for the powers he gained in that form- you know: the powers he had _only in that identity_.
     
    The reason Only,in HERO ID is my favorite example is,because of just how far this cognitive split has run in the history of the game.  The examples given for OIHID in the original works implied there was no charge for a new form in and of itself: Ghost Rider doesn't pay to be a flaming skeleton; he pays for the boost to his Presence.
     
    This makes sense.  When you make your character, you dont pay to be an alien or a human or a particular ethnicity or a cyborg or a rock monster or a being of living electricity or a robot.  You pay only for the in-game abilities you gain in that form.  Just because,your character is a robot doesnt mean that you must buy imortality or need not breathe; you only pay for what you intend to use in-game.  But again, that is a different conversation.
     
    Still, there were people who were either unable to make the leap, or who were not comfortable with assuming the connection they saw was valid.  Still others were not comfortable bevause the connection was not made with math. Because of all of these things, and possibly more, Champions III introduced the second-most convoluted rules for shapeshift ever published under the HERO imprint. For the first time, you had to pay for what you were, even before any abilities were bought to go with that form /shape / whatever you would care to name it.
     
    I would like to point out two things at this point:
    1) those rules sis _not_ make it into 4e.  I do not think they made,it into 3e (like 6e, I read it once, after buying it, but that was it).  I susoect they didn't simply because the bulk of the membership here seems,to have discovered the game during the 3e era and were excited when 5e "finally introduced" rules for shapeshift.
     
    I have to wonder about some things at this point.  See, for _decades_ we used "only in appropriate ID" to build shapeshifters.  It was based on OIHID, and, as per the semantics portion of the modifiers rules, we would vary the cost according to the number of "shapes" that could access the power and how difficult it might be to access or be prevented from assuming that shape.
     
    Here's a ludicrous example:  
    A Transformer, in car form, has stopped to pick up two humans stranded,in the combat zone.  As he accelerates away to speed them to safety, he is ambushed!  So he has a choice: does he remain a car and try his best to escape, or does he twist, bend, and unfold himself into his humanoid combat-monster form and counter attack, knowing that the transformation process will crush to death the squishy humans he carries inside?  Or does he eject them and leave them to their own devices, trapped between two Decepticons and their very large feet so that he can turn and fight?
     
    It could happen.  Something could prevent him from assuming his alternate form.  (Slightly-related sidenote: this was the greatest Champions /Robot Warriors hybrid campaign in which I ever played!).
     
    2)  what would have happened if....
     
     
    Back in the heyday of the RPG hobby, there we're _lots_ of third-party gaming magazines.  There were lots of house mouthpieces as well, but the third party ones were my favorite.  While it was frustrating to sift through three or four issues to find even a word about your favorite games, they also exposed you to games that you might not have otherwise heard about.  That's how I discovered SpaceMaster, actually.  For those who arent familiar with it, it was the sci-fi version of RoleMaster, which was the fantasy game that introduced their house system, which I have lovingly come to call "ChartMaster." 
     
    These magazines also provided other people exposure to the games,_I_ loved, and most oublishers happily took advantage of that.
     
    During the 2e era of Champions, George McD and Steve Perrin- names that I do not think need explaining to this crows, in spite of what is likely some horrible misspellings- published an article in Different Worlds magazine- one of the many third party magazines, and one that I had a particular fondness for (it oublished more non-DnD adventure scenarios that any other third party book, and is in fact the source for the Star Devourer adventure that has been bootlegged all over the net for thirty years now.  That article was a series of Champions write-ups for the New Teen Titans.  This team had a shapeshifter, one who could turn into any sort of animal.  This was accomplished by purchasing several powers and several "+X" amounts of characteristics, all with the limitailtion "only in appropriate form."
     
    That was it,  no charge for the individual forms, just foe the powers they granted.  I recall a long time back posrinf an excerpt of that write-up to this board surinf yet another Shapeshift declaration.  I say declaration, because they havent been discusssions in a long time: it is two sides, each telling thebother why they are the right side-- and guess what?!  They are basing that argument on math! Or at least numbers.  On the idea that you _must_ pay for the SFX of being in a given form.   In spite of the fact that no other power requires that you pay for the SFX.  In spite of the fact that from character generation to OHID to Multiform, no one has ever had to pay for their forms, even if they had more than one..  In spite of the fact that two of the original creators demonstrated that you do not.
     
    And that's what I wonder:  if that article had been publsihed in Adventurers Club, or White Dwarf, or Dragon, or better!- a special supplement or a crossover adventure module!  The Guardians meet the New Teen Titans!  Some place other than a consistently-good but under-circulated third-party magazine; some place that more then- and future-players would have seen it, what would have happened?  Would we even have Multiform?  Would we have than most convoluted rules for shapeshift ever published under the HERO imprint?  Would it have done anything other than delighted the Thirteen Ghosts (the unofficial name that Straight John gave to our gaming group) by showing us that we were doing it "the official way?"
     
    We will never know, of course, because it didnt happen, unless we EDM to the dimension where it did. 
    Instead, we slowly moved the focus of the rules away from the semantic more and more, and into the math.  At some point, someone declared "you get what you pay for," and the focus has been numbers-first ever since.  (For the record, though: do you get what you pay for?  If you pay for 12d6 RKA, Autofire x5, zero END, AoE: Cone so that you can take out wave after wave of opponents, you have paid _a lot_ to get that.  You are Der Stuka; you are the God of Death.  You can do this in any edition, actually.  And in 2e, you can be completely useless against a character with ten points of Desolidification.  In later editions, that cost rises to to 40 points, but it is still significantly less than you paid to be the grim reaper.  Did you have enough points left to stave off the beating you are about to get?  You paid to not have to deal with a melee-style butt whoopin', but you didnt get that.
     
    We focus more and more on points and we accept rule after rule intended to bring closer and enforce something that objectively never existed and subjectively seems to have never even been the point of the numbers to begin with, and we move further and further away from what _feels_ like the original goal.  It gets easier to do with every step we take away from the semantic: we are making it less important with each new stab at the numbers.
     
    We have more and more modifiers for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the,creeoing inclusion of "will must only" that at one time did not exist.  This works,_against_ the semantic portion of the rules- the part that says "find something that seems appropriate and model your idea on that."  More and more we see "only this" and,"only that" and this mandates that.  Well, if we want to model something new and similar but not quite the same, seeing "this can only" is going to have a larger impact on those mentioned above: those who are shaky on their interpretations or who are not comfortable intuiting from an existing pattern.  They are eddectively being more shut out; the creative process is being discouraged and replaced with more math: split modifiers each have their own values, established for you, and the rules now say "change anythinf you want, but try not to change the new changes."  I can only come,up with onw statement more discouraging for the uncertain, but we will have to wait foe the seventh edition to,see it print, I think.
     
    I do not want to seem uncharitable about the ever-growing list of modifiers: I am in favor of snything that helps those less comfortable with doing something without guidance.  Realistically, it is entirely possible- in would go so far as today _equally possible_ that someone not comfortable acting without any sort of guidance to arrive at a limitation vakue of -2 when someone else arrives at -1/2. 
     
    So on the one hand, a slew of new modifiers may make it _easier_ for a player to create his own custom,modifier; the odds are better that he can,find somethinf similar to what he has in mind- he may even find _exactly_ what he has in mind.  I cannot find fault with this.  The inclusion of "can't only must" in so much of the material, though, is a bit discouraging of tinkering, and ultimately I think it creates its own need for even _more_ ultra-specific modifiers, which will no doubt arrive with their own extensive pages of can't only must.   
     
    Each bit of that- each bit of can't only must serves to move the focus away feom individual creativity and simultaneously creates a need for even more specific rules to replace the lost abilities once held by flexing  the existing ones just a bit.  A lot of us old guys routinely point out that Champions is so old that it's wargame roots are still visible.  If we keep cutting creativity and forcing specific usage and interpretations, we will go full circle and end up right back there, with no need- or at least no room- for creativity anywhere outside of tactics.  It was only- what? Two days ago that Old Man suggested board games powered by HERO?  I won t lie: I was sort of excited by the idea, having used an old Judge's Guild module to build a Super Agents board game once.  I was quite happy with how it came out, but I missed the RP elements. 
     
    in summation:
     
    math has inflexible rules and every permutation of math is covered by its set of rules as well as the rules of how numbers will interact with each other.  The more we stress The math of HERO, the more inflexibke rules we need for the game to make sure the math works out.  I would be fine with this, if I had ever bought,into the idea that mathematical balance determining game balance was ever the point of the math, actually possible, or remotrly desirable.
     
    okay.
     
    three days, to include the best possible proofreading I could inflict considering the interface I am forced to use.
     
    do feel free to tear it to shreds, but be kind enough to keep in mind that it is presented as nothing more than an opinion piece, and an honest attempt to address,Ninja-Bear's question.
     
    Why all the effort?  To insult or smear the direction the game has gone? 
     
    No, and,I would think that "obviously not" would be a free one conclusion.  I have said it before, and I will say it again: I might disagree with a lot of what Stebe has done, but he did the thing that none of the rest of us could, amd made HERO viable again, at least for a while.  I have too much respect for someone who would do that (even those who would but could not) to simply dump on them.  That is not what any of this was about, and if that is all you got,from it, well, that says more about you than I ever could.
     
    All of this effort was for one reason, and,one reason alone: in spite of the number of times,we have disagreed, I _like_ Ninja-Bear, and I respect him and his contributions to this forum.  I wanted to give him rhe best potential answer (remember I am no more privy to official thinking than most of the rest of you are) that I could.
     
    I hope I have done that, and I hope you are all abke to apprexiate that I did my best to answer potential questions that might be raised, and that I am not interested remotely in composing this much via this interface ever again, and so will liekly not reply to any in-depth questions about this post.  I am sorry, but this was tedious and exhausting, and it is going to take a week for my eyes to uncross.
     
     
     
     
     
     
      
     
     
     
     
     
     
    I always assumed it was because the game,was released in 1980, and that was just knid of par,for the course.  And of course, because the focus was meant to be superpowers, and the onlt skills originally,offered were all very "Batman has these skills"
     
     
     
     
    Yes, but I need to point out for rhose who dont want to read that thread that I usually do it for opposed rolls.
     
    I find,it saves a bit of time, and that players are happier rolling they dice than they are when the GM rolls them.
     
     
     
     
    That last sentence is worth its wait in gold.  It took me _years_ to figure that out: players would rather have to take an extra couole of whacks at a beefier, tougher opponent than to miss him with every third attack roll. 
     
     
     
  15. Like
    BigJackBrass reacted to Chris Goodwin in Short cut Characters   
    The Champions Character Creation Cards would be ideal for short cut characters like this.  I think one of the original use cases was to put the cards together on a photocopier, made a copy, and use that as your makeshift character sheet!
  16. Like
    BigJackBrass got a reaction from Tech in Vertigo Power from the 90's   
    It's in Dragon number 100, August 1985, in an article called CHAMPIONS™  Plus! New powers for CHAMPIONS™  heroes by Steven Maurer:
     

  17. Thanks
    BigJackBrass got a reaction from Jomster in Darren Watts In Hospital   
    The final episode of Darren's podcast Explain This, Comics Guys!! has been released.
  18. Thanks
    BigJackBrass got a reaction from Steve in Darren Watts In Hospital   
    The final episode of Darren's podcast Explain This, Comics Guys!! has been released.
  19. Like
    BigJackBrass got a reaction from mattingly in Darren Watts In Hospital   
    The final episode of Darren's podcast Explain This, Comics Guys!! has been released.
  20. Like
    BigJackBrass got a reaction from Ninja-Bear in Vertigo Power from the 90's   
    It's in Dragon number 100, August 1985, in an article called CHAMPIONS™  Plus! New powers for CHAMPIONS™  heroes by Steven Maurer:
     

  21. Like
    BigJackBrass reacted to sentry0 in HERO System Mobile   
    I am currently updating the HSM app and have picked off a few bugs which have been reported here and on the Discord server.
     
    I am going to look into why Elemental Control costs are off as my last bug before I publish a new build.
     
    If you have a bug or feature request please leave it here and I'll see what I can do.
  22. Like
    BigJackBrass reacted to rjcurrie in Darren Watts In Hospital   
    Posted this on Facebook but I'll share it here too.
     
    I knew Darren Watts for just over 20 years. I first met him in person in line for a burger at the convention center food court the night before Origins 2002. At the time, I was regularly GMing Hero System games at Gen Con (and sometimes Origins). That night, he invited me to join him and Steve Long at their table and from that point on, I felt like I was part of the HERO family.
     
    But that was Darren. He had a knack for making people feel welcome, in a way that felt geniune not schmoozy. Hanging out with Darren (and the rest of the Hero folk) becam a cherished part of my convention-going experiences. When he and Diane moved from San Franccisco to New York and Darren got involved with the Double Exposure conventions in NJ, I started attending those cons regualrly. In fact, since I have an aunt who lives in Manhattan, it was not uncommon for me to fly in a couple of days before a Double Exposure con to spend time with my aunt, wander New York City, grab a Tuesday night dinner with Darren before guest starring his current campaign, and then meeting up with him to take the train out to Morristown for the con.
     
    I always enjoyed my chats with Darren.And we always seemed to find something to talk about: RPGs and HERO System in particular, the game industry, baseball, comic books, Jeopardy!, movies, musical theater, various TV shows, and more. And every once in a while, those chats would become deeper and more serious. He introduced me to Scoresheet Baseball, a sophisticated fantasy baseball simulation and to Learned League, an ongoing trivia league featuring many Jeopardy! champs and other top trivia players. And while I have never become a fan of Lucha wrestling or Lucha movies, I gained an appreciation for the genre, thanks to Darren.
     
    Darren also played a role in getting my game Last Word Standing published. I was having trouble finding a publisher for the game and Darren was doing some consulting work for Chronicle Books' game division. He asked me if I wanted him to talk to Chronicle about the game, I said yes, and they ended up publishing it.
     
    In short, Darren Watts had a large impact on my life and his passing has left a huge hole in it. It's hard to believe that there will be no great meals togetherat Chef Fredy's Table, no more drinking Rum Swizzles together at the Hyatt bar, no more texting Darren if I want more info on a player that the Jays have just acquired, no more listening to Darren expound on comic book history on the Explain This, Comics Guys podcast, and most disturbingly, no more Darren.
     
    I don't think Darren believed in an afterlife and neither do I, but right now, I kind of hope that we are both wrong. Good-bye, Darren. My life was definitely better for having known you.
     
    EDIT: Corrected Origins 2022 to Origins 2002.
     
  23. Like
    BigJackBrass reacted to DShomshak in Vertigo Power from the 90's   
    Big Jack Brass beat me to it! But here's a link to the issue and article, if anyone cares.
     
    https://archive.org/details/DragonMagazine260_201801/DragonMagazine100/page/n75/mode/2up
     
    The other article was in issue 117:
    https://archive.org/details/DragonMagazine260_201801/DragonMagazine117/page/n53/mode/2up
     
    DRAGON also published the "One in a Million" article by Roger E. Moore, about superbeing populations worldwide, which has guided my setting design ever since. A useful reminder to American Champions GMs about how many people *do not live in the USA.* But they can have heroes and villains too!
     
    Dean Shomshak
  24. Haha
    BigJackBrass got a reaction from Duke Bushido in Vertigo Power from the 90's   
    I could claim an encyclopaedic knowledge of Champions material across popular publications of yesteryear… but in fact I looked it up in this index. 😁
  25. Thanks
    BigJackBrass got a reaction from Duke Bushido in Vertigo Power from the 90's   
    It's in Dragon number 100, August 1985, in an article called CHAMPIONS™  Plus! New powers for CHAMPIONS™  heroes by Steven Maurer:
     

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