bpmasher

Allright. So I chose a pretty big project for myself: to convert Pathfinder/D&D 3.5 material for campaign use in with miniatures. I've got pawns in PDF -form, so the PF bestiary is pretty much covered, going to get more of course when the time comes, but monsters are covered pretty much.
 
I've been studying Killershrikes D&D conversion site for the past couple of days, stuff seems tightly put together and takes every facet of characters into account. I won't be converting any existing characters, so there is a lot more wiggle room for when choosing what the PCs can do in this campaign.
 
I have a couple of issues though:
1. I'd be playing with tabletop newbies, who have no knowledge of Hero or similar games at all
2. I will probably use my own version of Hero combat system, to make it more random and a bit gamier, to create the feel of board games that are easier to pick up and play for newbies
3. Choosing miniatures for hero -types. Should I go class -specific or just pick the coolest looking minis there are? The selection of fantasy miniatures is vast and the only thing that has to match the pawns is that the scale has to be 28mm. The current heroes of literature and movies always look more and more similar (take Geralt of Rivia/Game of Thrones/Lord of the Rings) despite their abilites, so you could make any type of character on top of a mini at this point, which is great (!) but takes a bit away from the classical D&D feel.
4. Choice of campaign world. Golarion vs. Forgotten Realms vs. YOUR FAVORITE. I'd like some feedback on this too, whether it's a setting book or just general pointers when running stuff like this.
 
It's a relief that the pawn boxes contain most of the bestiary monsters, and that there were availabe documents for conversions to Hero. I find the freeform nature of Hero character creation to work with my gaming sensibilites best, and counting dozens of modifiers seems a bit offputting when considering running Pathfinder combat in its raw form, while trying to keep the game flowing. There's my own conversion of Hero combat which (supposedly) runs a lot faster than the standard counting of hit points, but there's the danger of total party kill when facing tougher monsters later on in the campaign. But I suppose it's a feature, not a flaw.
 
 

Playing Battletech when I get the chance (rarely), I really enjoy the ponderous naval -style navigation of the mechs, the torso twists and other cumbersome stuff the pilots have to deal with. I looked for Battletech into Hero stats but I found nothing written up.
 
I was hoping to play a mixed "Battletech 2020" game where mechs are part of the modern/near-future weaponry with all the tech stuff they have (Autocannons, lasers, LRMs etc.) but giving them more realistic ranges and throwing in some Abrams tanks with infantry in Strykers and LAV-25s zipping around the battlefield.

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.

(Help wanted)
 
Hi folks. I changed my mechanics again, hopefully approaching final version this time. I would appreciate some feedback on this, as I'm still working on the project.
 
(For character conversions) Every 4 Body becomes a Hit
- Hits under this rules variant are the "health" of the miniatures.

(For character conversions) Every 4 STUN becomes Shock
- Since I changed the way Body damage works, I also had to change the way STUN works in this game. Shock represents the mental
longevity of the troops, willingness to fight and take 5 without collapsing.

Segments/phases per turn becomes randomized via playing cards
- Each side (usually the GM and players) are assigned a color (black or red) and their action turns are determined by the draw of the
card from a regular playing card deck. Speed still determines how many segments/phases in a turn a miniature can take. When a Joker is
drawn, the round ends.

Damage potential by range
- Every weapon type is graded for its capacity to inflict damage at range. Some war games call this "effective range". Weapon range
brackets are divided into Short/Effective/Extreme.
- Roll 3+ at Short range, 4-5 at Effective range, 6 at extreme range. The amount of D6s to be rolled is determined by the weapon (for
instance, most rifles cause 2d6 Killing Damage).

The TO-HIT Procedure penalties
- Normal HERO System distance penalties are ignored when attacking targets at range
- Hitting a mostly obscured target is at -8 OCV (Squads in bocage, caves, etc.)
- 50% obscured is -4 OCV (Moderate cover,  cars, stone walls, inside buildings with windows, etc.)
- 25% obscured is -2 OCV (Light cover, brushes etc.)
- Shooting at targets at Extreme range takes a -4 OCV penalty, unless equipped with a scope

Normal damage becomes Shock damage
- Every 6 rolled with a Shock damage roll becomes a Hit. Every 1 rolled reduces a Hit. Attacks always inflict Shock according to the
amount of dice that are rolled. Roll to check for 6s and 1s, to determine the number of Hits inflicted.

Each segment lasts for APPROXIMATELY 5 seconds for SQUAD -level games

Each inch on the table is about 10 yards/meters for SQUAD -level games (interchangeable for the purposes of this conversion).

Morale Mechanics
- A squad is represented by average morale of the troops (8 (Gritty) or 9 (Normal/Heroic) + [EGO+INT/10], rounding rule = Morale roll).
- Morale rolls are used to determine PIN and ROUT results. After taking Hits from enemy fire the squad takes a PIN roll. After losing
50% troops a squad makes a ROUT roll.
- To remove a PIN result off a squad, a miniature with the skill Leadership needs to roll a successful skill roll to unpin the squad

STUNNING is removed from SQUAD -level games, because Morale rules are in place for getting hit.
 
 
This is a compilation of my documents I've made for the miniatures version of Hero so far, and I'm sure it's unclear in places. That's why I'd like some feedback/questions regarding what I have in mind when it comes to particular rules that might be unclear or a bit ambiguous in their current form.
 
 

Yeah I think te bestiaries would help, BUT I'll run Pathfinder as is for now (Beginner Box), so I can judge whether I want to convert stuff or not.
 
The big idea was to use materials from AD&D (Night Below campaign) D&D 3.5 and Pathfinder to expand the "class options" for players, but with newbies I think the point is moot. They don't care about class options or character building, they want to push miniatures around and participate in group activity.
 
Once I gain the motivation for big projects by starting small, I can look at the huge project again with new energy.

Rewrote some combat mechanics to be used for wargaming. These are draft -level rules at the moment.
 
Note: with success rolls I use every -1 below the required number as a degree of success (which makes the combat deadlier).
 
Lexicon
======
Activation = An action taken in a segment.
SHOCK = STUN damage in Hero renamed to be more descriptive of small arms combat
 
 
Scale and time
==============
- 1" on the table equals 2 meters.
- 1 segment equals 6 seconds of time in a squad -based game.
 
Morale
======
 
- A squad is represented by average morale of the troops (8 (Gritty) or 9 (Normal/Heroic) + [EGO+INT/10], rounding rule = Morale
roll).
- Morale rolls are used to determine PIN and ROUT results. After losing a man the squad takes a PIN roll. After losing 50% troops
a squad makes a ROUT roll.
- RECOVERY can be used to recover both SHOCK and ENDURANCE in the same segment it is used.

Squad Mechanics
===============
- MOOK squads roll (ROF/5) attacks per segment, using the representation of the majority of weapons they are wielding (Assault
squad mooks wielding SMGs roll ROF/5 attacks per segment). Damage rolls are Normal Damage for MOOK squads despite weapons being used
(HEROIC games standard).
- Player Characters targeting MOOK squads make attacks as normal, but instead of rolling for damage for each hit, they roll 1d6. 5
knocks out a mook, 6 kills a mook. Optional rule: 1-4 inflicts wounds on the mook squad, every 2 wounds kills a mook.
- Close combat is a simultaneous success roll, where OCV of squad is used as a success roll, BUT every -1 or -2 under the required
roll results in a kill.
- Depending on the level of the game, a single PC against a squad of enemies that loses a close combat is either killed (gritty),
taken prisoner (normal) or knocked out (cartoon/cinematic). Generally a single character making a close combat roll must make an
escape test using their OCV as a skill check to run away. Alternately, rolling d6 for a result might be best where 1 = killed, 2-5
= taken prisoner, 6 = miraculous knock out.

Damage Mechanics
----------------
- MOOK squads roll Normal Damage despite using Killing Attack weapons. A 5 or a 6 rolled by a MOOK squad means a point of killing
damage. The rest counts as SHOCK. Each 5 or 6 do not count in to the shock totals of the roll.
 
(EXAMPLE: A squad of Germans spot a Hero Character (James Manfield, Private First Class) running across a field trying to satchel
charge a bunker. They open fire on him using their Kar98k rifles. There are six Germans in the rifle squad. They roll their OCV of
11 + 4 = 15, against the DCV of 5 of the Hero character. Their roll of 8 means a success. They roll 3 dice of Normal Damage for
each rifle in the squad (18 dice). The dice for the damage roll come up as 1, 1, 3, 6, 2, 5, 2, 2, 4, 2, 3, 4, 6, 1, 2, 4, 5 and
1. That results in 4 points of Killing Damage to the Hero, and 30 points of SHOCK. They caught the Hero in a hail of fire and shot
his legs from under him, causing him to fall to the ground shocked and possibly unconscious.)
 
(The Kar98 got a generous damage due to it being bolt action  )
 
- Player characters roll Killing Attack + STUN multiplier damage against other PCs. Against MOOK squads every damage die result is
rolled for with a single d6. 1s do nothing. 2-4 causes WOUNDs, 5 causes a knocked out MOOK, 6 causes a killed MOOK. Every 2 wounds
against a squad results in another kill.
 
(EXAMPLE: A sergeant, Player Character Manny Rodriguez fires his Thompson SMG on a squad of German soldiers. He successfully rolls
his auto-attack roll (11+OCV (6) -DCV of defending squad (4) = 13) and beats his roll by 6. He then rolls 6 dice, one for each
hit he scored. The die results for the damage roll are 6, 2, 5, 1, 4 and 3. He kills one German, knocks out one, and causes three
WOUNDs on the squad killing another squad member. 2 KIA and one German knocked out of the fight.)
 
edit: To add to the document, the morale roll required for the squad in the second example is a ROUT roll. They roll their Morale of 11- for a result of 13.
The rest of the Germans turn around and make a hasty retreat. Had they been assaulted in close combat by another squad or a hero character,
they would have surrendered.
 
More wording fixes. Clarifications, updates.
 

Finally got around to designing my own system using the HERO skill and combat resolution system.
I'd like some feedback regarding the possible complications I might run into trying to hack this system into something that can be used with minis on a battle mat.
My design priorities were as such:
 
1. Simplified combat and mass combat rules (haven't read fantasy HERO): Squad hit points (men x BODY), that allow for easy calculation of casualties when using single based minis, and keeps track of things when the minis are based otherwise. Squad damage, a single damage roll that determines the firepower output of the squad that turn. Again: damage roll x number of men firing.
2. Introduction of morale to heroes and squads, and allows a use for hero-type leaders to rally men and the psychological model of battle fatigue and shock. Base morale is INT plus EGO /5 for combat troops. Lowering morale increases chances that a squad or character flees combat or surrenders. Leaders and charismatic heroes can raise the morale of mobs and squads by succeeding in an attribute or skill roll (whichever is higher).
3. Keep the points system for creating powers and effects. Basically the main reason I started hacking the system. Allows for fairly level playing field even when mixing genres and types of characters.
4. Changed up the initiative system to suit fast playing with miniatures to a card-draw based one, where a unit type has a card value (basic playing cards) and the managing player can choose to activate squads of that type on his turn. I-Go-u-go. A squads speed score = the number of activations those types of squads can have in a turn. Counting segments is gone.
 
The point of the hack is to allow me to take any cool-looking miniature, give it stats, and make it run around the table with other cool minis, and play war with them. Then they have all these SUPER BADASS POWERS that make unicorns rain from the sky and cause the gold pot to be found at the end of the rainbow.
 
I'm going to test this one soon and write about the results, so folks can get an idea what happens during a game.