Utech

Re: Special Effects vs Rules I'm all for special effects being special. I'd happily allow any of the examples you mentioned. I think special effects should bring along special advantages from time to time. Likewise, they should cause special problems from time to time. Fire Dude may manage to use his flames (Energy Blast) to start a campfire for the Boy Scouts heat up a cold room by repeatedly blasting (and slagging) a metal chair make a flaming signal in the night sky etc. but sooner or later, the bad guys will figure out that it might be a good idea to wear flame-resistant materials soak their hostages in gasoline make their own flaming signal in the night sky to lure unsuspecting heroes to their doom. As long as it's making a better story, we're all good.

Re: buying weapons (money or points?) This is the first response I've seen that touches on what I think is a very important factor in the whole money/points debate: the economy. When a GM creates a game world, he is also creating a world economy. He decides how much he wants weapons to cost, their abundance, and their condition in different portions of his world. In the real world I live in Tokyo. It really doesn't matter how much money you have -- it is almost impossible to find a steel Medieval European broadsword for sale here. Most overseas makers of such weapons will not (or can not) ship them to Japan due to the sword laws in this country. Should I manage to get my hands on nearly any kind of sword*, I'll need to deal with the pain in the ass of registering it with the police every year -- or hide it and risk imprisonment. Guns are even harder to get and keep. *Sport fencing foils are, interestingly, exempt from Japan's sword laws. When I create a game world Tokyo, I can restrict PCs to real world conditions Maybe you should spend some points on Contacts and Favors... let points overcome real world conditions If you pay points for a weapon, you can always find a similar one. If you buy it with money, it'll be hard to replace... go go PC aura Other people have a hard time getting weapons in Tokyo, but PCs never have much trouble -- unless that's important to the story. Save your points. relax real world conditions It's tough to buy weapons, but you can do it. 'Course if you want depleted uranium ammo for your Uzi, you'll need to spend points. ignore real world conditions Tokyo has gun shows, just like in the US! Unless you want something really special, there's no need for spending points. toss real world conditions to the wind Practically every schoolgirl is packing a katana and flamethrowers are two for one this week at 7-11. Spend your points on martial arts and big eyes rather than weapons, PC-kun. work up some combination of the above do something else entirely Whether or not your players should buy their weapons with money or with points, then, depends largely on what you, the GM, decide to do about the economy in the world you create. As long as your decisions are clear to the players and you are consistent in implementing the advantages (if any) of having purchased a weapon with points, everything will turn out well.

Re: CoC HERO feedback sought Many, many thanks! I appreciate the feedback and the support. I'm still not sure that the game will go forward. If it does, it will be on Hero Central.

Re: CoC HERO feedback sought

Re: CoC HERO feedback sought

Re: CoC HERO feedback sought I really didn't do a lot of extra work. So that's a yup.

Re: CoC HERO feedback sought

Re: CoC HERO feedback sought I think it would be a simple matter to write up an aviator, explorer, architect, painter, actor, jazz musician, boxer, accountant, salesman, switchboard operator, barber, rabbi... I don't see this as a bad thing. Could you elaborate? I'm not sure I understand why you feel that way, but I appreciate the feedback.

Re: CoC HERO feedback sought

Re: CoC HERO feedback sought I'm not sure yet. Thinking that I might find out. But that's cheap. Let me give you three reasons: Bell curve instead of flat percentile. I've never had trouble with the flat percentile in CoC before, but I may find myself liking the bell curve better. Players who are more familiar with HERO than CoC. Clearer and more consistent mechanics.

Re: CoC HERO feedback sought

Re: CoC HERO feedback sought No. I don't think combat will be an especially important part of the game. Investigating will. I hope the character creation rules I've outlined would help to facilitate that. Yes. Characters will end up with plenty of Disadvantages through game play. I don't see a need to front-load them. In this game, I don't need the plot hooks. It is far more interesting and entertaining to take a character to the breaking point if he starts far from it. I don't see KS: Trivia in 5ER. Did I miss it? I suspect that the Know Skill I created would serve essentially the same function. Calling it "Know" maintains a CoC convention I enjoy. Reputation remains available to characters but is divorced from Credit Rating. A famous marksman might be a social idiot or the town darling. Wealth remains available to characters but is divorced from Credit Rating. A filthy rich businessman might be shunned by a community because of how he gained his wealth. A friendly barber might have the ear (so to speak) of every important figure in town.

Re: CoC HERO feedback sought (STR+CON+BODY)/3. Yes. (STR+CON+BODY)/3. That would be your choice, of course. Do you see it as problematic? Thank you for your thoughts as to how you'd do things.

Re: Chess Grandmaster - KS, PS, or something else? You get what you pay for. If you only want to be a Chess Grandmaster as an interesting backstory and believe it will never come up in the game, you pay 0 points and call yourself a Chess Grandmaster. Others have given you different possibilities. Choose from among them depending on how much utility you figure you're going to get out of being a Chess Grandmaster. Talk it over with your GM and the other players involved to make sure you're all on the same page. 0 points, 3, 5, 22, or 225 -- you make the call.

I’m considering starting a Call of Cthulhu campaign using HERO rules. (I may simply use the fine existing CoC Chaosium rules. Humor me.) I’ve been thinking about character creation and have some thoughts. Any feedback would be much appreciated. Equipment Equipment is purchased with money. Powers are generally not available to starting PCs; players may certainly petition the Keeper for an exception. Character Points for Character Creation Players begin with 30 Character Points to spend on Characteristics for their character. Disadvantages may not be taken for additional points. After all 30 points have been spent, players are awarded additional Character Points based on their Characteristics. Some strings are attached: INT x 2 = points to spend on INT-based Skills Scholar Scientist Skill Levels with INT-based Skills EGO x 2 = points to spend on PRE-based Skills Professional Skills Jack of All Trades Skill Levels with PRE-based Skills DEX = points to spend on DEX-based Skills Skill Levels with DEX-based Skills (STR + CON + BODY) / 3 = points to spend as you like New Skills Know. Know is a catch-all INT-based everyman Skill that starts at 9 + (INT / 5). The Know Skill is used to cover a character’s knowledge of trivia. Know can be increased through the expenditure of Character Points during character creation and/or Experience Points later in the character’s career. Credit Rating. Credit Rating is an everyman Skill that starts as a familiarity. It is not based on any Characteristic. It may be purchased as a full Skill for 2 points with a +1 to the roll per +2 points invested. Credit Rating is a rough measure of how much the character is valued by other members of society. It is more a measure of personal reputation than monetary worth, but Credit Rating can sometimes be improved by wisely spending one’s wealth. Credit Rating can be purchased (and improved) during character creation with Character Points, but may not be improved with Experience Points. The Keeper may permanently increase or decrease a character’s Credit Rating skill depending on circumstances during game play. Cthulhu Mythos. Cthulhu Mythos is an INT-based Skill that most characters will gain during game play. Starting characters never have the Cthulhu Mythos skill and it cannot be improved through the expenditure of Experience Points. Sanity A character’s starting SAN score is EGO x 5 (maximum 100). This figured Characteristic can never be increased through the expenditure of Character Points (or Experience Points). Luck All characters are given the LUCK power for free. Starting points in LUCK are EGO / 5. This Power can be increased through the expenditure of Experience Points, but cannot be increased by spending Character Points during character creation.

Re: Weird Idea: Clairsentience as a Disad You might want to base Clairsentience as a Disad on the various RAW for Reputation. Reputation can be both a Perk (5ER page 83) and a Disadvantage (5ER page 337). Accordingly, Clairsentience purchased as a Disadvantage may sometimes be useful, but usually it should cause problems for the character. Keep in mind that you could purchase Clairsentience as both a Power and take it as a Disadvantage if that better fits your character conception.

Re: Interceptor You might want to read the "Dispelling Incoming Attacks" section (5ER page 149) and simply rule that (using the same mechanics) a character can snipe at any incoming attack with a suitable Power. In any given attack, naturally, the GM and Players will have to use dramatic and common sense to determine if this can be done at all and what the results are. Examples: Attacker throws a bottle, defender shoots it with his six-shooter. Bottle shatters. Attacker summons a bolt of lightning out of the sky, defender throws a rock at it. Rock explodes and lightning fails to strike target. Attacker attempts to cause pain (Ego Attack), defender modifies it with Empathy based Mental Illusions and the attack causes the target to feel nothing but a mild tingling sensation. A fly who happened to be transiting the area at the time, however, is wracked by intense pain. Attacker throws a bus, defender shoots it with his Firebolt spell. The Firebolt ignites the bus' gas tank and it explodes in mid-air. Attacker tosses a lasso, defender throws a knife and it cuts the rope.

Re: Would you allow this mental power? One more thought on all this: I think we can all agree that the HERO toolkit is (in part) based on the notion that you should get what you pay for and pay for what you get. For the "glass is half full" crowd: If you're paying more for the Telepathy version, you should get more utility from it. If that additional utility is not obvious in the construction of the power* then it is up to the players and GM to ensure that it comes into play nevertheless. For the "glass is half empty" crowd: If you're paying less for the Enhance Sense version, you should get less utility from it. If that lesser utility is not obvious in the construction of the power then it is up to the players and GM to ensure that it comes into play nevertheless. *I think the PER rolls are a large part of this, but that's just me.

Re: Would you allow this mental power? Take your grain of salt, for here are my thoughts:

Re: Do opposed skill rolls work? How about just doing the opposed skill roll twice? The first time you have A active and B resisting. The second time B is active and A is resisting. Compare the two results and create your story around it. Just a few possible results: A gets more success than B and wins the exchange. B gets more success than A and wins the exchange. A fails by less than B and wins the exchange. B fails by less than A and wins the exchange. A and B success or fail equally and another round of rolls is called for. Naturally, the story one creates might change from situation to situation. I trust the GM and players to work together to ensure it is enjoyable. If you prefer hard and fast rules, they wouldn't be difficult to write up.

Re: Social versus Physical/Mental Conflicts

Re: Social versus Physical/Mental Conflicts About as much as you can usually ignore physical combat. If our hero was walking down the street and the beggar threw a bottle at him, our hero could choose to run away.

Re: Social versus Physical/Mental Conflicts Oh, I doubt I can prove you wrong. But I'll respond anyway. So our hero comes across a beggar. He doesn't like beggars, so he ignores the chap and moves on. He has successfully run away from a combat. No worries. Our hero stops at the next corner and waits for the signal to change. Another beggar walks over and starts his pitch. The beggar asks for some coin (Strike) and our hero murmurs something indistinct and waves him off (Dodge). The beggar explains that he's out of work and could really use some help (Strike) but our hero counters that the beggar ought to be out looking for a job instead of a handout (Block). Our hero has the initiative and goes on to point out that there is a "help wanted" sign in the window of a nearby store (Strike). The beggar is taken aback (Stunned). The beggar begins to cry (Drain Ego) but our hero is heart hearted (has Power Defense) and is unmoved. The signal changes and our hero walks on. Our hero, we should point out, has a huge advantage over any beggar he comes upon. Our hero has strong defenses and is willing to counter attack with strong arguments. The beggar has a weak social position and very little ability to force our hero to do anything. The beggar, in other words, is built on considerably less social points than our hero. Sad, but true.

Re: Social versus Physical/Mental Conflicts

Re: Social versus Physical/Mental Conflicts Entering Combat begins on 5ER page 356. The combat rules more or less end on page 432. That's 76 pages of detailed information on OCV, DCV, maneuvers, damage, etc. Information on Skill Rolls begins on 5ER page 42. The rules for determining results pretty much end on page 46. That's 4 pages. (There's also the Combat Handbook and The Ultimate Skill, but those fall outside the binding of our ultimate gamer's toolkit.) We have lots and lots of tools in our toolkit for detailed, second by second tactical combat simulation. We have precious few tools in our toolkit for social conflict. Despite this, it is clear that the two sets of rules could be swapped. One could easily run combats by saying "OK, you see an orc. Skill vs Skill contest. What's your Sword skill? Do you want to take a little extra time to try to slay him or do you want a quick kill? Do you have the right tool (a sword) for the job?" One roll of the dice later and we'd know if the orc was dead. (Or perhaps the GM might ask for several successful rolls before the orc died.) One could easily run a simulated presidential campaign by saying "OK, we start on Phase 12 -- that's one week of campaigning. Mr. X has the highest PRE so he goes first." Each PC and NPC would then launch attacks at each other, try to outmaneuver each other, look for better ground to stand on, take advantage of the political environment, look out for their DNPCs (skeletons in the closet?), hide their Vulnerabilities, try to avoid becoming Enraged, etc. It would play out exactly like a physical combat does under current rules. And it ought to -- I suppose -- be exactly as interesting.