CleverName

I would just like to say, I think placing HeroDesigner in the user folder is a better solution than changing system-wide security settings.

Classic City Comics and Games 1063B Baxter Street Athens, GA 30606 Tel. #: (706) 583-9009 classiccitycomics@earthlink.net My friend is just getting started, his grand opening is not until March, but he's getting more stock in every day. If you are in Athens, GA, please give him a look and let him know what you want to see in the store. He has a nice, separate game space for folks to come and play. His hours will be from Noon - 9 PM, Tues-Sunday (Closed Monday). I know he is interested in folks running demos and such at the store. He plans to heavily promote HERO and other super RPGS, etc.

Heafty to you? Jumpin' Russian novelists man, are you trying to kill my bookshelf! Looking forward to it.

Re: British SF HERO Sure, I think Monolith was right though a lot of this is more theme and mood than mechanics. Still though, I think looking for these qualities will be a worthwhile exercise. I'm just going to try to find some themes common to Dr. Who and Blake's 7... 1) Emphasis on storytelling - the GM should be willing to add more avant guarde storytelling techniques such as cut scenes, etc. 2) Fragile PCs - even superhuman characters such as the Doctor can be killed or pretty easily incapacitated. 3) PCs have access to supertechnology -- Most of the heroes have access to technology of a much higher scale than the norm for the setting. In both of these cases, the most impressive bit of supertech weres the heroes' ships. 4) Villians often reccur and are rich in detail and personality. Others?

Re: DeMunkining Forgotten Realms Mike I think a lot of the de-munchkinifying can be handled in-game using the rules for FH. Just tell the PCs that they are making up 150 point characters and pass out some pre-made up NPCs, of various power levels to show them the "scale" of your game. I think this will solve a lot of the "demigod" problem. I would also be up-front about how many D&Disms you are going to port over and what you are leaving behind - pointing out what FH has to offer that d20 doesn't. For example, you can say something like since the idea of colleges of magic is intrinsic to FR, we are going to use them. BUT in FH FR. they are social constructs, not "classes." Joining a college gives one access to higher powered spells, etc. Hard-core D&D players will have to get the fact that some of D&D's class/race based prohibitions aren't going to be there. For instance, you may not choose to implement the concept of specialty mages -- since that's really a d20 game "balance" mechanic. There are no silly XP penalites for race - powerful races just cost more points in FH.

Re: DeMunkining Forgotten Realms Actually Mike I like this list as a starting point and would argue against some of the others re: their dislike of the pervasivenss/utilitarian nature of magic in FR (and D&D). I personally do not like FR, but a LOT of folks do like it -- I'd worry about asking this leopard to change its spots. Personally, I'd be wary of playing in a FH version of some other game's setting - that comes from personal experience and the fact that I don't think it plays to FH's remarkable strengths. Not my flagon of ale. BUT, FH is intrinsically more adaptable than pretty much any fantasy game system out there and can model D&D magic pretty well. So, if you are trying to lure D&D players into giving FH a try, I feel like what they are likely to do is point out every place where FH fails to allow them to do what a 6th level wizard could do, rather than see all the new vistas that FH opens up for them. If you throw on top of that, that you are going to de-magic FR, well, I think , as Steve pointed out, you've given them another reason to dislke FH. So, being that FH is as open as you want it be, rules-wise, and given the fact that FR is a super-duper, magic- rich world, I think you should shoot for a high-magic campaign -- bascially "outmagic"ing D&D! Look at the hoops D20 has to jump through to allow Elminister the ability to wield a sword well and cast spells - he has to be a high-level, multiclassed, uber-complicated character. Not so with FH. Play to FH's strengths. You can kind'a have your cake and eat it too since you can have sword-wielding mages that don't have to be demigod's power-wise.

Good Lord! I've managed about 6-8k over a weekend. Pardon me...I'm going to go throw myself under a truck.

What's odd with that? The 3.0 PHB already outsells the other core books by many, many multiples. In my local group: 8 PHBs 3 DMGs 2 MMs Personally, I would not be surprised if the PHB outsells the others by something closer to 6-8 to 1.

Amen, brother. Yeah, if Another Skip is arguing that HERO and FH in particular are superior systems overall, I doubt you'd get much arguement on these boards - not from me at least. If AS thinks that 3.5 is going to tank sales-wise or diminish the popularity of D&D/D20, well, it ain't going to happen. As Hans and Franz would say "Listen to me now; believe me later." I doubt WotC will get the sales that they did for 3.0 up front, but it will still be huge and _constant_ seller. This is starting to get too much into the d20 vs. Hero realm...blech. I play both, enjoy both and look forward to doing more of the same with both 3.5e and FH.

I have read your las three posts and I can't disagree with your major points. And I must say that I like the tone. I agree that it takes more planning and foresight to run a successful FH campaign than D&D. While there are always exceptions, play "balance" and power progression _is_ hard wired into D&D assuming you know the rules and pretty much stick to them. Most popular systems do one or two things very well. I think that if the two points above, plus let' say more support material any other game in existance are important to a gamer, then D20 gets the nod. I think the main rationale for playing one game over another is based on what you want. I think that FH, especially when it comes to high-magic campaigns offers a hell of a lot to gamers, far more than D&D ever could. Yeah, I know there are 10,000 d20 spells out there. But many are of questionable quality and all classes have tons of restrictions about what they can and cannot cast. Trying to create a spell or magic item in d20 is more art form than anything else. HERO, OTOH, offers the players a FUNCTIONAL system as its basis -- rather than the vague guidelines of d20. The GM can set a few limits and then the characters can go to town -- making up an _unlimited_ supply of magic for their characters.

I think that for every gamer intimidated by the size of a book -- especially a "genre" book -- there's another who thinks, "What a bargain!" I do know of some gamers put off by the size of FReD, the core book. When most people play HERO and see that the 95% of the work is up-front during character creation, then the majority of their objections fade. It sounds kind of trite, but I often start out with the index. That usually blows most experienced gamers away! Whereas, when I've shown Star Hero to even non-Hero gamers, they are impressed by its depth and breadth - so size is a plus in these types of books. (And the index still rocks!) Star Hero was the first supplement from HERO GAMES that really showed a lot of gamers I know that HERO supplements can _exceed_ the general _utility_ of the GURPS supplement line. It looks like FH is on the way to being like SH --- a great genre sourcebook. I think that its size will be a plus. First, it offers HERO players a ton of info on running Fantasy. I think most hero gamers will buy it eventually. Second, it offers non-hero players a ton of info they can use (rip off) for their own systems. Will it woo away _tons_ of d20 players? Probably not -- at least initially. Unfortunately, I think that's partially to do with timing. With the release of 3.5 this summer I think the buzz around D&D will be very strong this summer. Who could have foreseen that it would be going up against 3.5? (Despite some histrionics on forums like rpg.net, I forecast that 3.5 will be a huge success.) BUT I believe that success of any kind in the hobby is good for all in the long run. I am very hopeful that folks looking for a GREAT alternative to d20 will take a look at FH. Will this cross-market approach sell a lot of copies? I don't know, most of my data is anecdotal, but I know that several non-hero gamers will give it a look based on the strength of SH alone. I hope the trend continues. Good job, HERO! Keep it up.

Thanks, Marcus!

Help I'm at work without my Hero book -- horrors! I'm trying to compose some guidelines for my Champions group to spend XP. and I can't remember the standards for defenses / CV's and Attacks. The characters have earned 31 XP over the course of the game so far and I want to increase the power levels a bit. (Most have been hording points for a while now.) I'm thinking about increasing the AP for attacks from 60 to 70, but I'm blanking on "average" defenses and CV's what would you suggest? I want to send out an email today so they have time to think about things. Again, this is pretty much a standard 4-color Champions campaign, using CKC villians, etc. Thanks!

Grond with envy!!!! Arrgh! Crapola, my FLGS says its not even at his distributors yet!!!!

Time to have a long talk I think STORN's solution is pretty intriguing, for the problem the campaing is having. Certainly in a game where everyone has the same speed, this may be the best way of mixing things up a bit. I think it sounds like it's time for an honest sit-down with the players. I personally would not want to run a game in which everyone had the same SPD. I've played in a lot of fun games where SPDs varied by as much as 5 points. BTW, STORN - so are you still playing M&M or have you gone back to HERO?