mallet

Hello all. I guess I should give a bit of a BG first off. I, and my friends, used to play Hero back in the day (pre-fifth ed.) Then we went off to other games. Now though my fond memories of the Hero System have brought me back and I am starting a Star Hero game up. I have the main rules, Star Hero and Terran Empire (although I will be creating my own universe for my game.) My big question is, what other books would you recomend I get and could you give me a quick reason as to why? I am thinking about books like The Spacers Toolkit, Ultimate Vehicle, The Combat book (what does this have that the main rules don't?), the martial arts book, superpower database (for conversion to Sci-fi gear, etc...). Basically I was wondering what are the books that have given you the most ideas, information, use for your games? I books I have so far have been going over very well with my group and there is already talk of also do a superhero game as well, so I figure it is only a matter of time before I start getting a lot of these books, but for now, starting out, what would you think are the best ones to have?

Re: what to do with a psychic gorilla Have his psychic powers keep growing as an unexpected side effect of the expariments on him. Soon his psychic powers are so vast that they begin having an unintended effect on people over a vast area. This is beyond the gorilla's control (and if he is far apart from human society he might not even know that it is happening), but all of the human's in the ever growing range of the powers effect (think megascale here) are begining to take on Gorilla-like traits. Picking fleas off of each other, beating their chests, walking all gorilla-like, etc... As the effect keeps spreading out across the globe the heroes have to find the source and some way of stopping it (hopefully with out killing the gorilla). Maybe they could find the last original scientist and get his help? Whatever happens, it could be good for a laugh to have the NPC's and the PC's unable to help but act "gorilla-like."

Re: what to do with a psychic gorilla Have him raise up an army of Gorillas, monkeys, and other animals in an attempt to create a perfect "Animal Nation" free of human hunters, polluters, etc... His own little kingdom in Africa without humans. Now, from his point of view he is a hero, liberating the lands for it's original inhabitants (the animals) but to the people who live there and the government that controls it, they are "animal terrorists." Now it's up to the PC's to step in and sort things out.

Re: Stop Power Hmmm... I'm not sure exactly how to do it, but I would most likely start with some variation on Teleportation and it's mods like: No relative velocity and Position Shift (which is also available for flight). Combining these two mods get's you close to what you are looking for. Now all you need to do is work out the "trigger" for it and wether it should be a flight power or a teleport power.

Re: The Problem with Even Characteristic Costs How about the GM? How about Common Sense? How about Character Concept? All of these things should be stopping him. I mean, just because you can do something, does not mean that you should do it. And if "Randall" does not realise this then "Randall" is a twinky roll-player, rather then a role-player, and the GM should just kill off his character in the first session. Maybe then "Randall" would get the hint and make a character, rather then a set of numbers.

Hi guys, I am looking for help and ideas for a power build that I would like to create. Here is the gist... A character we will call him "Sponge-boy" automatically "knows" any INT based skills that people around him know, but when left on his own, he looses that knowlage. So if he did not know how to play chess, but walked into a room with a chess player he would suddenly just know how to play the game, until he, or the person who knew chess, left the room. Other possible parts to the power: He get's the skill only at his base roll (ie. in the example above, even if the person who knew how to play chess had an INT of 20 and a Chess Skill roll of 13-; but "Sponge-Boy" only has an INT of 10, "Sponge-Boy" would only have a skill roll of 11-) but depending on the build maybe he would also get any skill levels associated with the skill. (ie. the chess player has 3 skill levels in Chess (so a 16- check), so "Sponge-Boy" would also get those 3 levels (for a 14- check)). Does that make sense? I was thinking of a Telepathy based power for this, with a set effect. But maybe Transform? I am not sure. Anyways, any ideas that you may have would be appreciated.

Re: Overwhelming PRE attacks Create an adventure with a villain who has Transform, usable as an attack, as a power (he uses it to change the apperance of his henchmen into what ever is needed to compleate a mission (rob a bank, break into an office, etc...) ) When the PC's show up he permanetly changes them from high PRE characters into low/average PRE characters. If you are feeling nice, you can give the PC's the equivilent Experience Points (of what they lost) to re-spend on other powers over time. This way you have an "in-game"/"storyline" reason for their sudden loss, but they do not loose out on all of the points they spent. It's win-win, and could lead to some character development when the PC's have to suddenly deal with the fact that they are no longer that impressive. And if they don't like it, well... Tough for them. It's a game, things happen that they can not control. If they don't like then they can GM their own game.

Re: [Campaign] Champions of Vancouver Mallet quickly runs and hides (and looks in to moving to Chilliwack).

Re: Submitted For Your Perusal (Kult Conversion) I've got to ask the most important question. Why? Why make make the conversion to HERO System? I've been playing Kult for quite a long time now and it is one of the very few games systems that I like, outside of the Hero System, and I do not see the need to convert it over. The Kult rules are good, they allow enough room for creative expresion while they still capture the atmosphere of the game. And with Kult the atmosphere is the most imporant thing. So why go through all the headaches (which you seem to be having a lot of), to force the square peg into the round hole?

Re: Announcing — HERO PLUS ADVENTURES! You can't have "Son of the Spear of Tisangani" until after "Bride of the Spear of Tisangani" is released.

Re: pulp hero cover opinions? Wow, you guys are being pretty harsh. I think the logo is fine. Same with the art. It might not be the type of picture I would put on a cover, but it is still good. (I'm partial to the giant robot/mad scientist style of pulp) As for adverse sales? I doubt it. The Pulp genre is pretty unique and the people who want to play it, or are interested in it, will buy the book no matter what the cover looks like. Other people might buy it later with good word of mouth or reviews, in which case, again, cover art won't matter. There has been way too much *****ing on these boards about book art. Art is so far down the list of importance it is not funny. It is the text of the book that is important. If you guys want fancy art go to a f--king museum.

Re: Announcing — DIME HERO ADVENTURES! You said you were looking for ideas? Well, nothing screams PULP more then an Evil Mad Scientist with some sort of Fin on his head, a Secret Moon Base and a Giant Laser Gun pointed at the Earth. Now that's good times.

Hi. I have a two part question regarding knockback, with the second part depending on the answer to the first. First, I was wondering if there was a "fixed" speed for knockback, or if it was always diferent with each attack? Does the character being knocked back always travel the full distance (wether 2" or 18") in the same phase that they are hit? Or does it take a segment or two for them to go the full distance? The second part of the question is now, if there is a time gap between getting knocked back and hitting the ground (or wall) can a character take any action in that time? Or, more specifically, can a character with Teleportation and the Mod's No Relative Velocity and Position Shift (a Zero phase action) "teleport out" of a knockback? Just wondering. Thanks.

So, this is another how would you ______, type question. Sorry. (maybe there should be a whole spereate thread just for these types of questions?) Anyways, I want to build a character that can teleport small, non-sentient, objects to his hand. Like keys, guns, plants, sword, some one else's gun, etc... So I figure Teleport with usable as attack does the trick, but can anyone think of/know any types of Limit's to put on this to cover the lack of size, lifeform, etc...? I mean I could put the limit doesn't work of people -2; but that seems kind of cheap and weasely. Does anyone else have an idea? Maybe low STR telekineses with a special effect of "teleportation"? How would you do it?

Re: Help With Some Builds I wouldn't use OAF for this. The weapon (sword or arrow) is the target of the spell, not it's source. Foci are the source of the spell/power. So, if the charater casting the spell was using a magic wand to cast it then OAF would apply (take away the wand and he can't cast the spell), but since the target of the spell is just a sword/arrow and the enchantment only lasts for a short time, then the sword/arrow should not become/count as a Focus. I would have to think about what limitation to use in this instance. In fact UBO pretty much covers the "weapon" part, I think that the spell enchants a sword or aroow is only a special effect of the spell, not a limitation.

Re: Lack of Fully Developed Worlds It's not a question of love. No one here is putting the Hero System down, or complaining about the people who create it. Rather we are trying to come up with ways that it might be more succesful, more popular. I hate going into local game stores and and seeing walls of D&D crap for sale, but that same store only has one copy of the main Hero System book sale, and that's it for HeroSystem stuff. I hate that when I put up a post on the local gaming site looking for games/players for the HeroSystem (any genre) and it gets no reponces excpet: "Do they still make that game?"; meanwhile there are litterly hundreds of D&D games going on, and many more players then there are GM's to judge them. I mean this, to me, means that there is something wrong. What is it that D&D has that the HeroSystem doesn't? Or the WoD system? Is it better rules? No. Easier to understand/learn? No. Money/Advertising? Well, in the case of WoC, yes, but WoD? White-Wolf was tiny when it started out, but look where it went. So money can not be the sole reason. So, what are we left with? Setting. Concept. Something the average gamer can see and rally around. Get excited about. Just because a lot of people on this site, love the free form, do what you want, build what you want, way of doing things does not mean that everyone does. If that was the case, then Hero would be the biggest game around. A well developed Setting would not take away your freedom, you could still do what you want, play what you want. But it just might bring more players to the Hero game line and lead to more source books that you can use in your own personal game. ravenspath mentioned family, and true it can feel that way around here, but as in any family (it would be hoped) the members try and look out for each other, help each other, and point out errors and mistakes (plus rag on each other from time to time). That's what makes it a family. And I think that is what this thread is ultimately about. How can we help the family and make it grow and prosper.

Re: Creating Our Own World Just some thoughts... I wouldn't be a fan of a Fantasy setting since, as it has already been pointed out, there is a glut of them on the market and it would have to be AMAZINGLY original to draw players away from other systems/setting. As for a straight-up superhero setting, well Campions is already a big one, and superhero games in general do not lend themselves towards fixed setting (since by it's very nature the PC's can be/do almost anything). The most that could be hoped for is a setting that does not draw too heavily from Marvel or DC comics. But if anyone has an idea... (possibly a sci-fi/superhero mix?) A ScienceFiction setting could be good, but wouldn't it be better to build or expand onto Terran Empire? If people were interested (and we we're allowed to) a few sourcebooks, expansions to this setting might be an idea and easier to acomplish. I for one would rather see a NEW setting, possible a mystical or horror based one. With magic and the supernatural you can make use of many of the Hero Systems greatest points (powers, limits, and the like.) while venturing in to territory not already totally explored or exploited in the marketplace. But then maybe this hasn't been explored/exploited because not many people are interested? Anyways, just some thoughts.

Re: Lack of Fully Developed Worlds I would have to disagree with the statement that most (or even half) of the players of the Hero System like to create their own worlds. Just look at the listings of all the conversions people have created. All of the time and effort people have made. All to put Hero System rules into a WELL DEVELOPED SETTING. I'd say that just by looking at this list (just ask Question Man to put one up ) that fans are crying out for a good, solid, well developed setting... That uses the Hero System. If most fans really wanted to make their own world then we would not be seeing as many conversions of other games/settings, to the Hero System. Now I realize that developing such a popular setting takes a lot of time and money, but, if it was part of a long term plan then I would think that it would be worth it to Doj to invest in a solid, well flushed out, original setting. One of the things that I have noticed over the years of playing with the Hero System and trying to woo new players over to our side, is that they LOVE character creation (once they figure out how it works). The ability to make whatever type of character you like (with in the genre being played) is wonderful to them, especially after playing most any other system. They also love the rules for combat, etc... But the bloom is off the rose once they are forced out in to a world that they know nothing about. Sure the GM might have spent a year building his own campaign world, but that doesn't mean much to most random players. Players want to see, feel, read the back of, and get excited about a setting/game and the best way to do this is to have and hold a source book. To see it in stores, to filp through and get ideas, etc... It is all well and good for a GM to have a three-ring binder full of data, but for players to get psyched they need to be able to see it, buy it, read about it online, take with other players, feel part of a large whole, get ideas, etc... And all of that comes from a great sytem (which Hero has) and a catchy, exciting, and well developed published setting (which it doesn't have (yet)). Because it is players who love the setting/game who will eventually want to GM and will go on to buy all the books and run games, which will gather more players, who will want to GM... You get the point. I my opinion, what the guys a Doj should think of doing, is creating an ORIGINAL setting (not a generic fantasy or sci-fi one. I mean I enjoy TE and Turakian but they are hardly ground breaking.) and using that setting to pull in new players, not because of the Hero System rules (which seems to be the main focus for some reason. It's like "hey, we're not D20. We're better. Come play with us. We may not have all the source books, but you can do what you want."). I do not think D&D is so popular because of D20, people learned D20 because they wanted to play D&D. Traveller is going on it's 5th edition and it has changed it's rules a few times now, but there is just something about that setting that pulls people in to it (if you want to see crazy, dedicated fans, just look at some Travller websites.). Shadowrun has a big following, even though it's rules SUCK, because the setting is so well developed, flushed out. I mean, I still love to read the Shadowrun sourcebooks, even though I haven't played the game in years, just because the setting is so good. And, for a final thought (sorry, this post went on longer then I thought it would) a lot of people seem to be bashing premade settings because they "limit" them and their ideas. I think this is totally wrong. A good setting gives the players and GM's an agreed upon "world" that they can act and react in. This prevents a GM from having a Mage toss fireball spells from his finger tips in a Travller campaign or a village guard using an AK-47 to mow down a team of adventures in D&D. In fact, wide open non-settings, are just an excuse for lazy GMing, "not sure how to mess with the PC's this week? Well, anything can happen... Limits and a well built setting actually incourages creativity, rather then stiffle it because you can not do "whatever you want", but rather have to think and plan with in the rules and scope of the world. SO, yes, I think Hero should come up with a focused, flagship setting.

How about a little project? Something like this: Ok, so we all know about Kicking Ass, it's a pretty common occurance in RPG's. So, what about Taking Names? How would you make a power that allowed a character to "take" someone's name after beating them down? Would it be a special type of Drain? A tranform power? A mental power? Some sort of "Highlander quickening"? What types of limitations would you used? Target has to be reduced to 0 stun first? PC has to inflict x amount of damage? And finally what would be the long-term effect? No memory of their own name? Unable to speak their own name? No one remembers thier name? Or is it more mystical like when some groups believe Names have power, so if you take someones name you have power over them? Or some sort of combination? I am working on my own version and I thought others might like to make up their own versions for fun. Plus, it could be a good plot-hook if a villian takes a PC's name, or a fun power in a Ninja Hero game. Imagine the long trail of nameless NPCs left in the heroes wake. So, how would you do it?

Re: Pulp Film Recommendations "Radar Men From The Moon" - Best serial ever.