hancock.tom

Re: Has anyone tried doing an Hyborian/Conan game using Fantasy Hero So bluesguy what magic system are you using? When I was looking at running it I was giving serious thought to doing an "anti-magic" style campaign where basically anyone who was a sorceror was a villain... Curious what you are doing

Re: Has anyone tried doing an Hyborian/Conan game using Fantasy Hero Last night I got this book out and read it. Honestly if you have a copy of Fantasy HERO and Valdorian Age you can do a very slick conan-style swords and sorcery game. Even if you don't use the setting from VA you can plug and play the city into your world (rename as necessary) or just use it as an idea mine.

Re: Playing around with the rules...

Re: Playing around with the rules... [starts looking in his dice bag for the d9]

Re: Experience with Narosia I was one of the kickstarter backers and I'm really excited to see this come into print. Honestly the magic system sounds a lot like what I was trying to do with odd VPP restrictions last time I created a magic system. I'm curious Mudpyr (or anyone else) what twists your system provides for fighter types and rogue types to encourage those characters and keep them from being overshadowed by versatile magic users? This is a common problem in fantasy RPGs and it is not a problem that HERO is immune to! I've always tried to counter it with lots of "feats" usually in the form of talents, minor powers, etc.

Re: Has anyone tried doing an Hyborian/Conan game using Fantasy Hero

Re: Clothes only TK That isn't a clear rules "no" - the way I read the TK rules, it would be perfectly legal, except you would add the person's weight to the weight of the clothing for calculating how much weight you are lifting. It isn't any different than someone with TK lifting a platform, which happens to have people on it.

Re: Everyman VPPs In my experience, a VPP does not reduce character sheet bloat, but in fact will increase it - people start carrying around lists of the stuff they might buy with the VPP

Re: The "parasite" or "symbiote" alien race I'm amused that the HERO board things "Old School feminists to the rescue" is one of the "similar threads"

You know the archetype. Like the trills in star trek (Jadzia Dax), or the Shollarans from Star Hero's terran empire. An alien race exists as a small, sometimes insect like parasite, but has a human-like intelligence, and has a psychic connection to some larger organism which allows it to interact with the humanoid world. The Shollarans in TE are built with zero end telepathy, zero end mind control, small size, a follower creature (ape-like) to "live in" and a bunch of disadvantages for being basically sentient millipedes. BUT: I'm finding the "follower" thing a bit of a cop out. It doesn't really explain where the creature exists in/on the host. If I'm a centipede riding a gorilla's back and telepathically controlling him, mind control and a follower doesn't seem to capture that. Follower assumes the follower is going to generally do what you want most of the time anyway because your interests are aligned - I guess you just fudge that you have low level telepathy with him and suggest he does what you want? It also isn't clear on whether the alien is inside the host, or riding on his shoulder. Unless I buy some clinging or something it seems a bit odd. Couple problems with that build. First, I don't want to have to roll my mind control or telepathy several times a day (I guess I could buy it with predetermined effect, constant, and make sure the follower ape is dumb enough to ensure it works) and second, it seems that this character type is treating the follower construct almost like a multiform or something- using the follower's increased mobility, manipulation, etc. to get around the character's disadvantages, when its just a follower. This has me wondering if there is a more elegant build for this type of power. Anyone have any alternate builds for this? I read this morning that there is a "possession" power in the APG, which I own but haven't read that section, I think that might be a more accurate way to describe the fact that the parasite alien is inside the host. Maybe use that with some disadvantage to show the alien isn't actually desolid. I've also seen many posts about this statting it out as a major transform using mental attack values. That makes some sense but doesn't really capture the physical aspects of it, plus what if you leave the ape for some reason? He has been transformed into a mindless host so that doesn't really capture it. Another thing I've been toying with is a cumulative ego drain so the longer you are together the more difficult it is to resist. This would make a lot of sense and eventually get it to where you didn't need to roll mind control at all. Multiform is an interesting alternative Anyone got any alternate builds?

Re: Advocacy on other sites... I agree totally with Chris. I'm a frequent reader, sometimes poster on RPG.net. It is a site with an active D&D / Pathfinder community, and an "open roleplaying" board which is almost entirely rules light style gamers. Thats why over the years there have been times when HERO wasn't received very nicely over there, people who hated complex systems ran the place. That is starting to change a lot and we don't want to be over there making people get annoyed with how frequent and preachy we are

Re: What have you used? The bestiaries are probably the books I've used the most, other than core rules and genre books (fantasy hero for example) Despite really enjoying several of the campaign setting books, I've never actually ran one!

Re: The Forgettable Man Mind control makes this power extremely expensive, when really its just very strong invisibility with an odd weakness. I guess it depends on how you want it to work. In Dr. Who, capturing them on camera didn't matter because as soon as you looked away from the TV, you forgot they were there. Does this really require long range constant telepathy? Or is it better served as always on invisibility that has an oddball special effect? EDIT: Point being, why not just pay to be invisible 100% of the time, and then take a -1/4 disadvantage for the fact that you are seen when people look at you? On Dr. Who, they did not forget that these creatures existed once they learned of them, but it was very hard to learn of them because they thought they never saw them. If I was actually writing up the Dr. Who creature The Silence, I would write it up with an invisible power effect presence attack too, since their main deal seemed to be scaring the shit out of people and then the people forget why they were scared. (I think they zapped a lady with lightining in one episode, but that wasn't very important to their overall plans) This one is a little different than "easily forgettable" which has been done several times in HERO terms

Re: Character Analysis Requested: Character Name: Double-Time Speed Drain causes a big book keeping headache for your GM. Yours might not care but many would. GM shows up with a cheat sheet on the villains you are going to be fighting including a chart with every character and villain's speed plotted out for quick reference. Then you speed drain a couple of them and the cheat sheet must be reworked mid combat or just scrapped. Do you have access to the ultimate speedster book or the speedster powers chapter of Champions Powers 6th? Both probably have good ideas you could use to make this character more interesting and fun for you, and less of a headache for your GM and the other players. I think there were some time manipulation powers in CP6 too. Build the speed drain as some kind of whacky entangle, it will be less of a headache for the GM and more fun. You could turn the speed down a bit and buy desolid, cannot move through solid objects instead. I would also buy some movement powers better than just walking more often than others in a turn. Teleport must pass through intervening space maybe?

Re: So: What Superpowers would your Parents get if they had a "Radiation Accident" Judgmental guilt trip is such a common power for mothers and mothers in law that it should have been one of the examples for "Mind Control" in 6E!!! My father, probably a huge endurance reserve he can only use to accomplish tasks that fulfill his mild OCD, like mowing the lawn, leaf blowing the yard, and saving stuff he will never need. Probably a small variable power pool to represent the innumerable almost worthless household items he has in his shed, too. "Oh, you need a lawnmower blade for an 1982 sears brand power mower? Of course I have one. Its behind that pile of 8-tracks." My mother's power will likely cost a lot more points, while being far more useless. Major Transform, item/location that smells like weiner dog urine to item that smells fresh and clean. Her stupid miniature dachsunds piss in her house, but somehow, its still one of the cleanest looking / cleanest smelling places on earth. She does go through more carpet cleaning devices than anyone I know. OAF limitation.

Re: Multiform Yeah I certainly agree with others here that Superman is not a good candidate for multiform, at least not based on the superman fiction I've read/watched/etc. In fact, its about a classic "only in hero ID"

Re: New Forum? This is sort of the second golden age of this genre. Buffy a few years ago, and more recently the dresden files, harry potter, etc. have really caused a LOT of urban fantasy fiction to hit the shelves. The crossover romance/urban fantasy is really selling a lot to young adult women. Of course that isn't a demographic that buys many RPGs but this genre is blowing up now. A bunch of TV shows too, from True Blood, Warehouse 13, Torchwood, Fringe, Being Human, Haven, Sanctuary, etc. I remember the first time this genre got big following the X-files. TSR (I think?) put out a campaign setting for Alternity, their sci-fi RPG that was basically an X-files rip off, a monster hunter, urban fantasy investigation game. That was a convoluted way of saying I'm excited to see this project on its way!

Re: Champions one-shot to teach/show off the system Teh Bunneh - exactly what I'm looking for. I think I will use your Catch Me scenario, it seems perfect for what I want to do. Just need to finalize some stuff regarding rules and write up the characters.

1. Has such a thing ever been published, by HERO or for free? Got a link? 2. Has this thread been done before? Got links? 3. If not, what would you be sure to include / leave out, etc? Here is my scenario, in a couple months I'm going on my annual camping trip with some buddies. We usually bring along some board games or RPG stuff, and a lot of alcohol. Although a handful of the group are Champions fans, some have never played. I'd like to use this opportunity to get some people hooked. I am going to write a one-shot game, designed to take around 3 hours, with pre-generated characters, with a fun quick plot and a fight, to sort of "show off" the system. Anyone have any plot ideas? I'm torn between taking original characters and doing a simple scenario like a heist or using an established comic book property (like the x-men) just to cut down on introductions. Regarding the rules, I'm obviously not going to use any VPPs, and I'm going to keep the power modifiers pretty simple (almost non-existent). I'm also thinking about not using killing damage, and not distinguishing between ED and PD- just buying them to be equal. Not sure if I want to forget about endurance for this or not. I'm also torn on combat maneuvers. I'm thinking it would be good to use a few (block dodge not sure which others) but obviously not all of them. I think all of this would allow me to design a very uncluttered character sheet without costs on it that won't overwhelm folks who haven't played HERO (or any RPG) before, and probably a "what you can do" list with maneuvers, powers, etc. for each character. I'm also thinking having everyone be the same speed except one speedster character will cut down on a lot of confusion. The goal of course, is to be able to sit down, teach for ten or fifteen minutes, and play. The secondary goal is to show off what Champions can do without requiring too much explanation, rule book lookup, or anything else of the sort. I'd love to run the whole thing out of the basic rulebook and not even bring my big books with me. Looking forward to any and all comments and feedback....

Re: 5th Ed. Help Not gamestop, they are video game only as far as I know. Don't know what "vintage stock" is but could be worth a try. Three suggestions. First, try to get a copy of "hero system basic" for 6th edition or "hero system sidekick" for 5th edition. Those are shorter, simpler versions of the HERO rules Suggestion two, which was given to me when i was 14 or so, and was the best gaming advice I ever got: Find someone local that plays and either get in their game or at least watch them play. Third suggestion, just play. Even if you mess up rules, have to "fudge" things alot, there is no substitute for playing to learn.

Re: Post apocalyptic HERO Lucifer's Hammer is basically what I am going for. Somewhere in between Lucifer's Hammer and Dies the Fire. My game is going to be set in Charleston, WV - a combination of world geopolitical turmoil (nuclear war in the middle east) and tectonic plate shift caused tsunamis have rendered society pretty much back to the dark ages, except for what they have hung onto. The coastline of the USA is devastated, and without power/irrigation, much of the west and midwest reverts to a dust bowl scenario quickly. One of the "suprises" I intend to spring on the players is that West Virginia is one of the places on earth that are better off. The early plotlines are going to have the PCs facing off a bit with minor political overlord A (a cult leader basically) and eventually overthrow her hold on part of the city. Another political leader who seems nice but really isn't will be sitting there waiting for them to put him on the throne - or to be a rival. Meanwhile the in between plots with bandits, scavenging, rumors of equipment, etc. will fill in the blanks. Once they've got the city straightened out, they either decide to stay and improve life there or move on to form their own area. Generally thats what I've got planned, I have a lot more detail written out but don't want to share too much on a board that could be read by players. Its low post apocalyptic, like mad max. nothing fantastic. I'm going to rely a lot on tough moral decisions, environment-as-villains, political intrigue, and your basic bandit/cannibal type plots to make it go. I'm really looking forward to the group being faced with some tough decisions and having to make hard decisions instead of "powering through" with magic or something.

Anyone here running or ran it? I'm going to run a campaign starting in a week or two, and wondering if anyone else has any experience.

Re: Guide Lines for Campaigns

Re: [New Product] Champions Complete This sounds great. A more concise "everything in one book" version of HERO is something I've wanted since 5ER came out and beefed the book up.

Re: Selling All of My HERO 6E Books, 50% Off Cover! PM Sent, offer made.