bpmasher

I'm going with the pulp approach, include some pirates, outlaws, savage men and possibly werewolves and vampires into the mix. The metaplot will revolve around Templars vs. Assassins from the Assassin's Creed game line.
 
 

Yeah I bounced around some concepts in my head (on paper).

Character options:
 (TEMPLARS) Politician/orator, agent, inquisitor, soldier/officer, occultist  (ASSASSINS) Pirate, woodland indian, half-blood, savage, criminal, shaman  Werewolf, Vampire Combat will be melee-focused with muskets firing at the beginning of combat. I wrote up some weapons stats (muskets, flintlock pistols, tomahawks, swords).
I might use a spell memorization system if I don't come up with something more interesting.
Hit locations, disabling, endurance all in use.
Some way to deal with harsh environmental conditions like frost and storms.

I don't have the Pulp Hero book, but I was wondering whether it would have stuff/character powers for a colonial America game based in the FIW period?
 
I have this idea for a mixed fantasy and historical game based on my reading of the Crucible of War book by Fred Anderson. It covers the Seven Years War from the American perspective and gives tremendous setting materials for a game to be based on it.

I don't know what style to run the game in yet, but I'm fascinated by the period, and the concept of Wilderness War. Maybe I'll throw in some werewolves and goblins.

Yep. 
 
I was on a vampire and werewolf kick while devising this design document at first. Now the cooler option seems to be to keep it strictly human-oriented. 

I don't have the Pulp Hero book, but I was wondering whether it would have stuff/character powers for a colonial America game based in the FIW period?
 
I have this idea for a mixed fantasy and historical game based on my reading of the Crucible of War book by Fred Anderson. It covers the Seven Years War from the American perspective and gives tremendous setting materials for a game to be based on it.

I don't know what style to run the game in yet, but I'm fascinated by the period, and the concept of Wilderness War. Maybe I'll throw in some werewolves and goblins.

Yeah I bounced around some concepts in my head (on paper).

Character options:
 (TEMPLARS) Politician/orator, agent, inquisitor, soldier/officer, occultist  (ASSASSINS) Pirate, woodland indian, half-blood, savage, criminal, shaman  Werewolf, Vampire Combat will be melee-focused with muskets firing at the beginning of combat. I wrote up some weapons stats (muskets, flintlock pistols, tomahawks, swords).
I might use a spell memorization system if I don't come up with something more interesting.
Hit locations, disabling, endurance all in use.
Some way to deal with harsh environmental conditions like frost and storms.

So I got to thinking about my figure collection and Hero System. Naturally I want to use my figs as much as possible, so I thought up a game of super-powered airborne infantry invading France in 1944. The characters will be under 5th ed. revised, 250-300 points worth of superpowered individuals, but with human weaknesses to bullets, strangulation and other "natural" means of dying. Think of the Godlike RPG when imagining characters.
 
So the player characters drop into Normandy in the first session, and have to link up with their HQ. Combats will be handled with miniatures on terrain, and other stuff will be ToTM.

I will be designing the characters for this, so ideas are welcome. So far I have a super-strong "brute" with a BAR rifle and a nasty disposition, a private who can fire armor piercing laser from his eyes (though the power will probably have the "Burnout" limitation), and one soldier who can turn into a beastly form to tear into the Nazis with claw and fang.

The PC powers will probably be "raw" talents, so they will require an activation roll, and will have some limitations (EGO roll to prevent beast form guy from losing control of himself?) , but they are still super powers. The nazis will also have superpowered troops, but I haven't come up with concepts yet.
 
I have a battle-mat and terrain for the combats, and a couple of tanks (if I grok the vehicle rules) for variety.
The games theme will be some form of gritty, down-to-earth warfighting and the consequences of human superpowers (hubris anyone?) combined with wargamey concerns and some roleplaying and storytelling to round out the experience.

This was supposed to be a complete book, but I didn't have the oomph to finish it (yet) so I post it here for review/feedback. I love the WW2 setting so that became the emphasis for this. Could be any setting, really.
Skirmish HERO.pdf

These felt right, and I worked with the data I gleaned from the Battletech: A Game of Armored Combat box set, and other sources I forgot.
 
BT damage to Hero Damage Classes:
1 (LRM damage, light machine guns, 6 damage classes) = 2d6
2 (SRM damage, machine guns, AC/2 etc., 9 damage classes) = 3d6
3 (Hvy machine guns, 10 damage classes) = 3d6+1
4-5 (RAC/5, AC/5, flamer, pulse laser, 12 damage classes) = 4d6-1
10 (AC/10, large pulse laser, ER PPC, etc., 13 damage classes) = 4d6
15 (Heavy PPC, ER PPC, 14 damage classes) = 4½d6
20 (AC/20, 15 damage classes) = 5d6-1
25 (Long Tom, 17 damage classes) = 5d6+1 
30 (Long Tom flechette ammo against infantry, 19 damage classes) = 6d6

Armor Total points (Battletech values)
==================
Light (COM-3A): 38 (front), rear torso armor 2/3rds of frontal armor values
Medium (GRF-1N): 133 (front), rear torso armor (40%) of frontal armor values
Heavy (AWS-8Q): 201 (front), rear torso armor 2/3rds of frontal armor values
Assault (Atlas 7D): 270 armor points (front), rear torso armor 1/3rd of front armor values

Internal Structure points (Battletech values)
=========================
Light (COM-3A): 43 internal structure points
Medium (GRF-1N): 91 internal structure points
Heavy (AWS-8Q): 
Assault (Atlas 7D): 152 internal structure points

Armor values (Hero System averages)
============
Frontal armor:
Light (Commando): 3 DEF / 38 Armor Points, 2 DEF (rear armor)
Medium (Griffin): DEF 12 / 133 Armor Points, 6 DEF (rear armor)
Heavy (Awesome): DEF 16 / 201 Armor Points, 10 DEF (rear armor)
Assault (Atlas): 18 DEF / 270 Armor Points (Atlas), 6 DEF (rear armor)
 
 
Armor DEF values per Armor point value
======================================
Assault mechs, have 15 Armor points per point of DEF
Heavy mechs have 12 Armor Points per point of DEF
Medium mechs have 11 Armor Points per point of DEF
Light mechs have 12 Armor Points per point of DEF

Data from the mechs listed.
 
Hero System BODY
================
Basic BODY for vehicles is 10.
Mech BODY values start at 20 (light mechs)
 
Light mechs have 20 BODY.
Medium Mechs have 25 BODY.
Heavy mechs have 35 BODY.
Assault mechs have 45 BODY.

Characters in Battletech HERO
=============================
Mech pilots, mechanics, tank drivers, VTOL pilots, special forces etc.
 
Again, this data felt right to my wargaming sensibilities.
So using the total armor points on a mech gives you the Hero equivalent in DEF. Weapons damage is scaled such that you can run infantry alongside mechs. There is a lot of work to go with this, but it's possible.

Working on tanks and tank guns right now for my hack. Currently distances are at 1 inch equals 10 meters/yards, a turn lasts about a minute.
 
Here's what I came up with:
 
Sherman M4
Hits: 4 (19 Body divided by 4)
Armor: 3/2 (13 front, 9 flank divided by 4)
Speed/Segments per Turn: 2
Move: 5"/8"
Cannon 75mm: 6d6 (AP against vehicles), HE below
 
75mm High Explosive (Anti-infantry) 
- Blast radius 30 meters/yards (3 inches in current rule iteration)
- Blast damage, 1,45kg of TNT plus fragments (killing attack), "14d6EB Explosion" or RKA 4½d6, Explosion
Reduce five damage classes per (1" = 10 yards), so...:
- 9d6 EB OR 3d6 RKA at 20 yards (2") away from the blast
- 4d6 EB or 1d6 RKA at 30 yards (3") away from the blast
 
Adds fiddliness when tanks start firing, but in this core version of the game, I want to try and add some simulationism at various levels, if only because the Hero mechanics allow for it.

So I got to thinking about my figure collection and Hero System. Naturally I want to use my figs as much as possible, so I thought up a game of super-powered airborne infantry invading France in 1944. The characters will be under 5th ed. revised, 250-300 points worth of superpowered individuals, but with human weaknesses to bullets, strangulation and other "natural" means of dying. Think of the Godlike RPG when imagining characters.
 
So the player characters drop into Normandy in the first session, and have to link up with their HQ. Combats will be handled with miniatures on terrain, and other stuff will be ToTM.

I will be designing the characters for this, so ideas are welcome. So far I have a super-strong "brute" with a BAR rifle and a nasty disposition, a private who can fire armor piercing laser from his eyes (though the power will probably have the "Burnout" limitation), and one soldier who can turn into a beastly form to tear into the Nazis with claw and fang.

The PC powers will probably be "raw" talents, so they will require an activation roll, and will have some limitations (EGO roll to prevent beast form guy from losing control of himself?) , but they are still super powers. The nazis will also have superpowered troops, but I haven't come up with concepts yet.
 
I have a battle-mat and terrain for the combats, and a couple of tanks (if I grok the vehicle rules) for variety.
The games theme will be some form of gritty, down-to-earth warfighting and the consequences of human superpowers (hubris anyone?) combined with wargamey concerns and some roleplaying and storytelling to round out the experience.

Dark Champions package deals work very well with this type of game, maybe excluding a few of the options. 
 
Field agent, secret service and military package deals will probably form the backbone of these characters mostly. These can be different nationalities, double agents, soldiers and special operatives with lots of complementary skills and types of approaches to situations. I should read some more fiction to come up with NPC / PC ideas.
 
The weapons used in the CoD game should mostly be in the Dark Champions book (stat-wise at least), with some exceptions like the AK-74U that probably has a higher concealability, and the XM4 which is based on the M4/XM177 most likely. Most of the weapons have a real-life example of it. I'll go over the weapons list, and find real-world versions of them or stat them/name them up as they are in the video game. Pulling additional weapons from movies/video games for a game based in the 90s and later most likely. 
 
The combat will most likely be cinematic, not using hit locations/disabling etc. to keep in line with the video games. Maybe allowing for a -8 shot to the head when sniping or using "bullet time"/focus <- Heroic action points (use an action point to get a headshot without penalty to hit, otherwise take a shot with modifier). Miniatures along with a hex map is probably what I'll be using for face-to-face games.
 
The mood will be one of technothriller stuff (80s/90s technology), Tom Clancy-esque, fast-moving globetrotting adventure, with tons of locations and quick gunfights on different "battle boards" (found a lovely hex grid booklet for sale).
 

Please be aware that Dark Champions came out in 2002 or so, so SOME of it may be dated. Its easy to fix, a lot of things haven't changed that much.
 
 

Dark Champions package deals work very well with this type of game, maybe excluding a few of the options. 
 
Field agent, secret service and military package deals will probably form the backbone of these characters mostly. These can be different nationalities, double agents, soldiers and special operatives with lots of complementary skills and types of approaches to situations. I should read some more fiction to come up with NPC / PC ideas.
 
The weapons used in the CoD game should mostly be in the Dark Champions book (stat-wise at least), with some exceptions like the AK-74U that probably has a higher concealability, and the XM4 which is based on the M4/XM177 most likely. Most of the weapons have a real-life example of it. I'll go over the weapons list, and find real-world versions of them or stat them/name them up as they are in the video game. Pulling additional weapons from movies/video games for a game based in the 90s and later most likely. 
 
The combat will most likely be cinematic, not using hit locations/disabling etc. to keep in line with the video games. Maybe allowing for a -8 shot to the head when sniping or using "bullet time"/focus <- Heroic action points (use an action point to get a headshot without penalty to hit, otherwise take a shot with modifier). Miniatures along with a hex map is probably what I'll be using for face-to-face games.
 
The mood will be one of technothriller stuff (80s/90s technology), Tom Clancy-esque, fast-moving globetrotting adventure, with tons of locations and quick gunfights on different "battle boards" (found a lovely hex grid booklet for sale).
 

Hail again,
 
I have an opportunity to run a game session for beginning players next month, and I'm pondering whether to use Hero with an established setting or just go with the beginner sets I have accumulated (to gather dust) over the years.
 
Hero is such an opportunity for different genres, despite having lots of crunch. I'm wondering whether a Skyrim game or wild west stuff would go well with a new group.
 
Would you run Hero for complete beginners? 

Yeah I thought about doing something like that, set in the Skyrim universe (TES...anyway) where I roll premade characters and the players get to choose.

Cracked open Ultimate Vehicle and started tinkering. Here's the result.
 
Atlas 7-D (assault 'mech)
 
Size: 10 
Length: 10" (20 meters)
Width: 5" (10 meters)
Mass: 100 tons
DCV: -6 STR: 60 KB: -10
BODY: 20
SPD: 4 (3" per phase, 54km/h)

Armor, front: 2+18 (20 DEF) (coverage 180 degrees)
Armor, rear: 2+10 (12 DEF) (coverage 180 degrees)
 
Weapons:
Heavy autocannon RKA 4d6½, 5 charges (1 ton of ammunition)
Long-range missiles RKA 2d6, AF20, 12 charges (2 tons of ammunition)
Short-range missiles RKA 3d6, AF6, 15 charges (1 ton of ammunition)
4x medium lasers RKA 3d6½, increased END cost (x3, 15 END per shot)
 
Power Plant:
Endurance Reserve (60 END, 60 REC)
 
Systems: (same as TUV book)
Mech sensors, Radar
Nightsight System
Mech communications system
 
Ejection seat
Life support

Here's the classic Atlas with modern styling:
 

Commando on the left of this picture:
 

Makes more sense now, I just forgot how the mechanics come together while reading and stopping for breaks.
 

I'd love to run a military-themed campaign using my Battletech minis in tandem with Hero System created characters. The Dark Champions book has good military templates, and one could do a special forces game where the players are a scout team working for a mercenary company in the Inner Sphere. If I get the Clan Invasion box, it could be either a clan game or an inner sphere game.
 
Dark Champions has tons of guns in it too, and one could just "re-skin" them using the lore and weapons manufacturers of the Battletech Universe. I'm picturing a mech pilot loadout with a PDW, camouflage cloak, survival kit and rations for a long-range scouting unit, for instance. Something like the long-range desert patrols in World War 2.

I have seen many photos and films of the Bocage area. -6 to sighting rolls is IMHO is low. I would do -8 unless on the actual top of the earthen mound then lower it to -4. The Bocage is very hard to see through, and hard even for people to move through [movement penality]. Remember the roads and fields are sunken.
German troops learned quickly to pre-register mortars to fire at crossroads to force troops away from using the sunken roads.

I got the Robot Warriors pdf plus the guide for later editions.
 
Will it be easy to convert Battletech mechs to this version of Hero? I want to create a campaign around the mechs I have collected so far (AGOAC box), and make it FUN!

I found some cool ninja minis:
 
http://titan-forge.com/dragon-empire/245-ninjas
 
Also, catfolk rogue:
 
https://www.etsy.com/listing/763803648/tabaxi-rouges-male-and-female-resin?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=catfolk+miniatures&ref=sr_gallery-1-2
 
RPG minis are much more economical, and I can use pawns for monsters and the rest of the cast.

Did some conversion work for Hero.
 
Catfolk and Ninja class converted for Fantasy Hero gaming. Gonna buy some minis: Ninjas, samurai, weretiger and human form (probably monk/barbarian -type, and tabaxi rogue minis to start with.
They will either be player characters or additional party members who I get to run alongside the heroes.
 
The initial adventure will be the Black Fang adventure from Pathfinder Beginner Box, just a character conversion and one extra character short. I will be running the iconic Barbarian chick from the PF lore alongside the PC adventurers. I forget her name, but she was in the Pathfinder PC game too. Will be a good bunch of adventurers with her rounding them out.