Cantriped

Re: New Game: Remnants of Hope Well, thus far I think I really like the feel of the setting. Where will you be hosting the game? (HC?) Heres a quick concept for what I'd play. Name: Alex Lynn aka. The Black Piper Age: 23 Personality: Honorable (honor isn’t about making the right choices; it’s about living with the consequences), and Vindictive (actively punishes those who break their honor) as well, Alex is a contradiction to most people. On the one hand he practices an admittedly dark art. But if one we’re to meet him on the street they would find him to be a cheery and optimistic fellow. Granted he is prone to shyness, but he’s also incredibly strong-willed and tough. Bio: Growing up is hard, but it’s even harder in The Plains of the Dead. Alex was born and spent the first 16 years of his life in that hellhole, he and his family lived a nomadic life, scavenging what they could from graveyards. Ironically it was often the only place not filled with corpses (walking or otherwise). Even so, as a child Alex certainly seemed to carry with him the favor of the dead. Even before he learned to compel the dead with music they seemed to rise to his defense. At the age of Eleven Alex was sold to a necromancer in exchange for the lives of his family (who were later killed anyway). Four years of hell later, the troubled youth successfully fled to Europa and began a surprisingly successful musical career there under the nickname he’d earned in the Plains: “The Black Piper”. For the most part that’s where he’s stayed ever since, simply trying to survive and live a decent life. Power: Alex can enthrall the dead with his music, command their spirits, and reanimate their corpses. Most often Alex uses his power to summon long-gone spirits to defend him or strike down his enemies. Unlike most ‘necromancers’ Alex maintains a good reputation with the spirits he calls to his aid, and has never broken his word to them or forced them to obey his will (though he can) Distinctive Features: All of his instruments are crafted from body-parts (ex: flutes carved from bone). The strangest feature of his music is that sometimes only those targeted by it’s effects can hear it (and they can hear it above all other sounds).

Re: Naruto http://www.herocentral.net/campaignInformation.htm?campaignId=421889 Linkage to the Naruto game being run on HERO Central. If you want a good idea of what we did, just check out the characters page. Mine is Naizen Keiichi. Anyway, the reason for all the fillers was that the anime caught up with the Manga more quickly then expected, so because they ran out of plot, they've been doing filler while they wait for the manga to get sufficiently ahead.

Re: Opposing Magic Systems No problem, oh and no , you don't need Cumalative on the DCV since they are skill levels, only powers like Dispel need Cumalative because they do not naturally stack (it's a 'which is strongest takes effect' kinda thing.) If you apply Always On, making the resistance non-optional, then you should make sure you require that even beneficial spells have to make an 'attack roll' to take effect.

Re: Seeking opinions on a spell TK 3, Autofire 12?

Re: Opposing Magic Systems I built spell resistance for one of the conversions I was doing as +5 DCV with a few small modifiers. since thats basicly all spellresistance does anyway is allow you to avoid the effects of magic better (and all offencive magic requires an attack roll anyway). If you wanted to make it Cumalative with others, like have a race who's nullifying effect overlaps, then build it like this. Magical Nullification Aura: +1 with DCV, Area Of Effect (16" Radius; +2) (15 Active Points); Only Against Magic (-1), DCV Benefits only [Race X] (-1/4). Real Cost 7 pts. This gives all of their race +1 DCV for every one of them within 16" of them. if you get rid of the last limitations there, then everybody will get a +1 dcv for every one of the race within that radius.

Re: When you hear Urban Fantasy... The Manga/Anime Full Metal Alchemist could be classified Urban Fantasy, though it's a lot closer to Steam-punk. FMA it should be noted treats 'magic' as a science and a technique. An uncommon one, but a skill nontheless

Re: This is why I play Fantasy Hero My moms old gaming group had a player who's Paladin was nicknamed ShinyBritches. He earned this name because after dying and being resurected by an illusionist (the fact that he was alive may or may not have actually been an illusion), he became a little less right in the head, and was prone to polishing his armor to the point that it would actually blind his enemies.

Re: Because we need another "Magic System Thread"... Well, I was talking about 'charging' for personal attacks. If you had an attack that was a Super Team Combo, this charging method combined with Ritual and RSR (Teamwork), would work I think. And since every person in the 'group' or game has this combo by defination, it's an Everyman ability (If they don't have it they buy it off like any other Everyman ). I havn't played the game you refer to, but in the PS1 game Chrono Cross, certain characters had Combo's that would only work together if they have enough Stamina and had built up their spell meters at the same time. Then they would both use this special maneuver together. NOTE: Chrono cross used a Vancian spell slot system, with spells as purchasable equipment that filled a single slot and could be arranged or equiped to any character. A few slots were automaticlly filled with special maneuvers that related to the characters theme. every time you attacked you 'unlocked' a few levels of your spell progression, starting with the lowly '1st level' slots (of which you usually had the most), and ending with the 8-9th (can't remember).

Re: Magic depending on the country I think it's safe to assume that different cultures would each take their magic in different directions. But really it depends upon how long each culture had to develop it's magical traditions before globalization occurs (which is dependant upon how easily magic allows them to travel great distances).

Re: Lets talk about the untalkable: Levels "I'd like to thank Satan, for making the selling of my soul for fame and fortune SO easy... what? Like you all wern't thinking it anyway."

Re: Because we need another "Magic System Thread"... Couldn't that also be a thematic variation of Extra Time (In that it takes X amount of time for the attack to 'Charge up' (say, +1/2 phase/20 AP; -3/4) or something. In the above, 20AP- = Full Phase casting. 40AP- = Full Phase + Half Phase 60AP- = 2 Full Phase etc.

Re: Changing Magic I see, I'll probably go with -1/4 then, because obscuring the seal won't necessarially stop it from functioning (but even covered by something you'll know it's there when he casts a spell through it). These Seals are also universal foci, so if one Mage Y steals Mage Zs Scroll (mentioned in example above) then Mage Y could use it to cast any of the spells in it that he already knows.

Re: Changing Magic Alright, thanks all. This wouldn't be the first time I've been accused of over thinking something, and I doubt it will be the last time I make a mechanical mountain out of a SFX molehill. So, if it's a generic Focus of Opportunity, that will always be obvious, but can 'easily' be overcome in another way that would make it worth what? -1/4?

Re: Changing Magic Alright, but if I were to treat is as a normal foci, then in order to do something entirely believable like just carry a different focus (for example, Mage Y might also have a scroll with the Fireball Seal in it that he carries when weight is an issue), then he would (mechanically speaking) have to change the value of the limitation either up or down because while a Gauntlet is OIF, a Scroll is probably OAF Fragile. And heaven forbid he loses it and can't replace it for a long period of time, because then the power would have to change from Focus for -2 or more in other modifiers If I were to use a limitation to represent this specialized type of focus, it would have to be a Flat limitation that requires a point expenditure elsewhere (a little bit Like Requires a Skill Roll does). Additionally, the value of such an expenditure would have to be able to be controlled or limited as the circumstances of it's SFX demanded, without doing strange things to the character point total (Ala, having the character point value go up and down depending upon day to day circumstance). Example: For a flat -1/2 limitation (that they don’t take on the Tattooed seals), The character must possess a 5 active point piece of 'equipment' (Apply Limitations to taste), for each spell he wishes to cast, or suffer -X in limitations apropos to Drawing the proper arcane symbols prior to casting. These 'powers' could be combined to allow for objects containing multiple seals (and because the limitations are lumped together I assume it would be cheaper due to rounding rules) The above mentioned 'power' would be treated like mundane equipment (and thus purchased with money or made with skills the character possesses. (because the 'AP of the power would increase as more Seals were added to the item, there would be a Scale of difficulty inherent in putting a bunch of them onto a single item, and it becomes more of a liability to lose said item, which offsets the advantages of potentially reduced weight of having fewer items, and the greater accessibility to the characters magical abilities. If the GM doesn't have time to deal with all of those thematic issues or is running a less gritty game, they could also use DCs Resource point rules to handle these special types of Foci, treating them like any other piece of equipment. OR… I could just treat it as a Flat limitation priced somewhere in between the values for Drawing as opposed to worn/carried and stop being such a nit picking bastard about everything (Can anybody tell I’m a perfectionist?)

Re: Changing Magic Yeah, I've seen that KS. The Rune magic thing was an example because it's similar to what I'm going for thematicly. Hmm, lemme try to give ya'll a practical example of what I'm trying to build. Example: Let us assume there are thee mages, each has a verity of spells at his disposal, all of which require a specific 'Seal' as a focus. for clarification, it doesn't matter how the seal is represented physically, so long as it's close enough for him to channel Magical Energy into it. Mage x, loves Fireball. So much so that in order to ensure that he can always cast fireball, he has the 'Fireball Seal' tattooed upon arms. Now he can never be deprived of the focus for his Fireball spell. Mage Y also loves Fireball, but he isn't as extreme about them as Mage X was, so he Etches the arcane symbols for his fireball spell into a Gauntlet, now as long as he has the gauntlet, he can cast fireball. Should he lose that gauntlet however he would have to spend an inordinate amount of time drawing those same arcane symbols in order to cast the same fireball. Both the Tattoo of Mage X, and the Gauntlet of Mage Y can only be used to cast Fireball, so if either of them wanted to cast Lightning Bolt, they would have to draw the arcane symbols required in order to do so. Mage Z, Seeing what Mage X and Y did, goes over board and scribes a massive scroll containing the Seals for every spell he knows. Now mage Z can cast any of his spells as quickly as he can find the proper seal within the scroll. Of course, if the scroll is stolen or destroyed, he must draw the symbols for EVERY spell he wishes to cast. When I said that the Method of casting was divorced from the actual spell, I truely meant it in the sense that the Method itself could be considered an entirely seperate power except in that the spell cannot be cast without it. Each of hte examples above would have to be dealt with differently. Also of note is that this idea is assuming that characters are NOT Iconic, As it is my general oppinion the a character usually shouldn't pay for their equipment with points. Those points are much better spent upon developing the skills and abilities of the character.

Re: Changing Magic Hmm, while the VL and VPP ideas are along the right lines, your thinking a little too versatile. In my above example I gave a system with three (but only three) casting methods, which is fine until you consider the vast potential difference in limitation value for these three thematiclly similar casting methods. The first, drawing a rune, could be worth as much as -3 or more depending upon how accurately build it. The second, carrying it around, would probably range -1/2 to -1 (because it's essentially a focus) and the Third, a Tattoo, really wouldn't be worth a lim at all because it's an almost permenant addition to the casters body. Only losing the part of the body its on, or some sort of transform would deprive him of the ability to use that power. So really my question is how do you resolve in HERO a system of magic that has multiple, strictly defined methods of casting, which can be used upon the same power interchangably.

How would you handle a system of magic in which the methodology of casting is divorced from the actual spell. In that the same spell can generally be cast in one of several different ways (mechaniclly speaking) EX: Rune Magic - in Rune magic a 'rune' is obviously required to cast a spell. However how would that be handled if said caster could Draw then Rune before casting, Inscribe it upon a object and carry it around for easier casting, Or Tattoo it upon them for even easier casting. AND, should the tatoo/object be somehow lost, still be able (mechaniclly) to resort to drawing it AND how do you make such a system affordable enough for the caster as to encourage people to actually play it.

Re: Divide by Three While it's refreshing to see sombody who likes the system, I have to point out that all of the thematic stuff aside, the real issue is that, in a system like hero, your going to have problems whenever you allow ANY power a cost break under the justification of SFX alone. That includes weapons, armor, etc. However, I am of the oppinion that - irregardless of it's balance issues within this specific system - characters should generally only be forced to pay for themselves, not for their equipment, followers, etc. The problem being, that if you are going to allow cost breaks (in this case, 100% cost breaks) then there has to be an equally advantageous opportunity cost for not focusing upon those things which are effectivly 'free' The best and simplist solution to the entire problem of course, it to make the players pay for everything the character can make use of in points... but that tends to create the wrong feel for most fantasy games.

Re: You practice what-o-mancy? Splatomancy: Divination by the blood splatters of your fallen (sometimes literally) enemies

Re: Divide by Three While I agree that the Divide by Three Method is a "really ugly kludge". I feel that in many cases it's to correct an issue slighly different then that of mages apparantly 'sucking'. Basicly it's an attempt at mimicing the idea presented in most literature of spellcasters that can use their magical abilities to perform a wide verity of different 'spells', often with little in the way of obvious or effective limitations (there may be lots, but the reader may not necessarially ever discover all of those limitations, so they don't get translated into the system). The problem being (IMO) that because of the flat out cost of Powers, it's difficult to create a mage with the verity he deserves thematiclly, while keeping him on Par points wise with the rest of the party. This leads (IMO) to mechanics like "/3" which are shortsighted in that they solve the thematic problem, but don't address the balance issues. Of course there are more balanced solutions (Power Frameworks), but the limitations there-in are less often appropos to the SFX of magic being converted. And in particular, frameworks tend to cause a casters abilities to become homogenized, detracting from the mystique and lessening the players ability to create mechaniclly unique spells.

Re: Divide by Three The Dragon Prince series by Melanie Rawn has a group of spellcasters called Sunrunners (elementalists specializing primarially in Fire and Light, with a little bit of air control) and even then I never read about one tossing a fireball. (granted, the organization that trains them requires a Code vs. Killing, but thats beside the point.) there was some use of things like Firewalls, or shapes (especially dragons) conjured in flames, but these were more manipulation of light then fire.

Re: IK Hero? "Though it is the steam belchin, metal giants- Warjacks- that inspire such awe on the field of battle, the true power is held by the warcasters" (Iron Kingdoms Character Guide, pg 138). [ATTACH]24001[/ATTACH] NOTE:This build is the absolute minimum, and does not account for the cost of the Warjacks themselves nor does it include the Warcaster Armor. As I have yet to make a decision regarding how these will be handled. NOTE:If you have Modifier Intelligence turned on you may have problems with this Prefab. The reason being that I constructed Warcaster Focus as an END Reserve who's REC costs END to 'maintain' (effectivly they 'transfer' personal end into the Focus reserve to power abilities built into their mechanikal devices and Warjacks.)

Re: IK Hero? The Bodger "Bodgers are experts at the quick fix, and specialize in tearing down and rebuilding mechanika" (Iron Kingdoms Character Guide, pg 94). [ATTACH]23998[/ATTACH]

Re: Divide by Three I've used /3 and for the most part I don't mind it all things considered. The mage I played was far fr omthe most powerful in the group, however he did pull his own weight in combat even with lots of utility powers that he never actually got to use. Really it's not much different then a power Framework anyway except in that it is less limited (being applicable to any spell with the right modifiers and SFX), and having a smaller (generally) reduction in cost over a multipower without an apperciable buy-in cost. If I ever used it it would probably be with the caveat that the player had other abilities considered necessary to 'learning' magic, and that they had knowledge or science skills related to the effect of the spell. meaning they would have to understand the effect they are creating before they could create it. (even if they don't need a skill roll the activate said spell)

Re: Sliding bars measuring each spell's "energy" Well, I think part of the problem here is that your misunderstanding how Charges and END work together, it never explicitly (to use your word) states that adding Costs END to a power with Charges negates the duration caveates built into the Charges limitation. So we can assume that it doesn't and that under normal circumstances you still have to buy continueing charges to make the power continous. however, in case I'm misunderstanding your question. Hero 5th (the version I have anyway). It says twice that powers with charges only last at most one Phase unless bought as continous charges.