Jump to content

Christopher R Taylor

HERO Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    12,192

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    46

 Content Type 

Everything posted by Christopher R Taylor

  1. Christopher R Taylor
    I'm less interested in god builds like characters and more interested in them being forces the players interact with; more story-driven than numbers on a sheet. I don't want a game where you fight Thor, I want a game where Thor fights with you or on your side, or simply causes trouble you have to deal with.
  2. Christopher R Taylor
    Astro City had a cartoon tiger in it too, the issue where he was the focus was pretty touching and interesting.
  3. Christopher R Taylor
    Thinking about it the "vulnerable to surprise attacks" could just be a campaign rule: half CON, double Stun before defenses from the blow to the head from surprise, etc.
  4. Christopher R Taylor
    I really like this idea, something to consider for a campaign setting if I ever write it up.
  5. Christopher R Taylor
    Pretty sure there's still a requirement to have at least 3 maneuvers or x pts in martial arts. Its always a drawback in a skill tree that you have to go through steps you might not like as much; its a challenge to avoid these clunker abilities or ones someone might benefit from but not realize at first. I envision this more as an alternate power framework, one which gives a cost break and organizes abilities rather than simply a limitation. Doing this would make the Skill Tree consistent and more clear to build for any campaign. I'm just not sure how much of a break its really worth to have to follow a tree down, since there aren't any practical or tangible limitations on anything you've already purchased. Its like rare cards in a collectable card game: the limitation is their rarity; once you have them they aren't rare any longer.
  6. Christopher R Taylor
    A lot of these ideas are ones that don't translate well into modern gaming for a couple of reasons. First, they detract from the strong hero image that players like to play - its an escape from being Joe blow normal guy or even feeling sub-normal in life. Second, these concepts were aimed at kids, trying to pull them more into the story by giving them someone their age to identify with and imagine being, but few gamers are in that age group. And third, they were from a more innocent time. Now, Batman hanging out with Robin makes people giggle and poke each other like 7th graders in the sex ed class.
  7. Christopher R Taylor
    Its probably likely that they were being overcharged by the locals...
  8. Christopher R Taylor
    Excellent information, thanks a ton
  9. Christopher R Taylor
    My campaign is halfway through 1940 so no enlistment yet... except for the Canadian and English character. The Brit was informed that he is to stay in America and help build support for fighting the enemy (by no less than INTREPID himself) and fight against Nazi sabotage/undermining war support. However, I should send the Canadian a draft notice, its a great character story thing. Nobody knows his identity. When the US gets involved finally in December 1941 that will come up for sure. I'm fine with actually drafting the guys, it gives more leverage, but they are going to be state side, not in the war except for special occasions. Plenty to do at home, and there will be an official US military team led by Captain America. They've been in England a couple times and it was fun playing the Brits poking fun at the US for not getting involved in the war, how they talk, etc.
  10. Christopher R Taylor
    The way I handle summoning constructs like bases or vehicles is you treat the loyalty and services as a time limit: they stick around x time without a battle of wills and then poof. The greater the amicability advantage, the longer they last up the time chart. If you re-summon them before the time is up, it just increases duration.
  11. Christopher R Taylor
    I have a question about the maps: would people prefer fancy maps or more old-school fun blue dungeon maps?
  12. Christopher R Taylor
    Heh yeah Wondy was a bit naughty under her original creator. Another odd aspect to Golden Age stuff that doesn't translate over well now is the zany friend. Newsboys, oddities, and silly guys that are always getting in trouble are a common feature in many Golden Age comics that were otherwise serious. They were drawn cartoony even when the rest of the comic was not, like this guy: And then there's the sidekick, the kid related to the hero to help them out and get in trouble (or bail out the hero). This was such a standard for years that its really not possible to be fully true to the genre without one but... these days its either thought of as creepy by the dirty minded or just too silly. Stan Lee notoriously HATED sidekicks and vowed to never allow them, which was pretty much the death of the sidekick. Working these into a game is interesting, I've never tried it, though I've considered it as a freebie follower for characters.
  13. Christopher R Taylor
    A funky triggered duplication build could work too, with altered duplicate (weaker, being an infant).
  14. Christopher R Taylor
    Good points brought up here. It certainly could be just a campaign rule, but having a Hero rules Framework, for example, that helps in building talent/skill tree type structures would be useful for simulating certain concepts of character builds. Usually Hero is so free-wheeling and open that concepts like this don't fit, but it would be something handy for a certain sort of game or campaign.
  15. Christopher R Taylor
    One of the most common devices in computer games for character advancement is the skill tree; a system by which you are able to buy skills, talents, powers, etc one at a time, unlocking later "layers" or "branches" in the tree. For example, a fire mage can buy fire blast, then later because he has unlocked fire blast, he can later buy fireball. While some people despise this system, it is very common and is useful for certain concepts in games. In Hero its a bit unclear how to do this. 2nd edition Fantasy Hero (or, Fantasy Hero in 4th edition Hero) used a system for spells and ninja hero abilities which required x points in the previous tier to buy the next tier's abilities (so you could buy fire ball only after spending 10 points in novice fire spells, for example). But it was pointed out that this was a limitation that didn't limit: once the power was purchased, it was in use and not limited in any way. The problem with this is that a limitation that doesn't limit you is worth no points, and violates a basic Hero concept. Another option is to put restrictions on purchases that do nothing to price, so you simply impose a rule that a character cannot buy Take That You Fiend until they buy at least 10 points worth of novice blasts. The problem with this is that its a penalty with no corresponding reduction in cost, which also violates a basic Hero concept. So, any ideas?
  16. Christopher R Taylor
    This is true, although there's a distinction between early Golden Age and later. After the war, the comics shifted and had a different approach as their popularity waned. However, it does seem that having lower powered heroes fighting against more ordinary foes most of the time is a good direction to go for a Golden Age campaign. This particularly works well for games where the PCs are the first heroes; there aren't many super-villains around.
  17. Christopher R Taylor
    I don't mind a few daffy villains, because that's period but they shouldn't all be goofball. A mix, like Kingdom of Champions had would work well for me: some strange theme villains, some wartime based ones, and some just standard criminal types. Penny Dreadful is fine, but you gotta have Eisenkreutz and The Bowery Boys in there too.
  18. Christopher R Taylor
    To me the essence of a good Golden Age Champions game is twofold: 1) Make it as historically immersive and accurate as possible, because the time is so amazingly rich with historical events and personalities. Having your characters be congratulated by Major LaGuardia over defeating the super-powered version of Lucky Luciano is just fun. 2) Have your morality be absolutely black and white. None of this "its all a matter of perspective" gray areas crap but good guys are good, bad guys are bad. That doesn't mean they have to be stupid or simplistic, but everyone should have a clear idea where the lines are drawn. Timelines for that time period are easy to find, and I've had a load of fun with real-world events and how the PCs interact with them. Sometimes I've even messed with the chronology, so King Kong, the Hindenberg, and the War of the Worlds happen in 39-40 so far. As long as you're reasonably close to the time period, players will accept it. I've also found it useful to include a relative time period reminder, so players get a feel for when things took place. Such as how very recent WWI was, or when prohibition ended, etc. Saying it in terms such as "WWI ended 18 years ago, so for us that would be 1997" can really help bring this home.
  19. Christopher R Taylor
    Yeah I knew a new edition was coming out, and there's a ton of great background info available. Mostly what these supplements need are scenario ideas, adventures, and prepared storylines for GMs. I really liked the NPCs in the GAC book and its a terrific supplement, but the tone seemed too light hearted to me. I don't think the game needs to be grim and gritty with wolverine clones and all that early 90s crap but the comics at the time were not silly or goofy.
  20. Christopher R Taylor
    I've been running a Golden Age Champions campaign for about a year and a half now, and its been a lot of fun to slip in various historical events like the wreck of the Hindenburg and the evacuation from Dunkirk. But the source material for Golden Age stuff is usually really light hearted, even goofy and silly. Having read a lot of Golden Age comic books, they aren't silly so much as pulp-themed. Characters will even kill villains on occasion - not execute them, but if the bad guy happens to fall into the gears of a machine well, no more than he deserved. The really colorful silly stuff was late in the golden age and early silver, mostly silver age. That's fine but it doesn't really say GAC to me.
  21. Christopher R Taylor
    The spirit rules were a good raw idea, and its too bad they never got developed in later editions into a part of the game.
  22. Christopher R Taylor
    In any case, I think the cover works; its interesting to look at, gives a fantasy feel, has the requisite "strong woman" figure in it, and should be well received.
  23. Christopher R Taylor
    Sorry I wasn't more clear; I was referring to Jason's statement about stand alone rule books not selling well, which was about the 2-volume massive 6th edition rule set. That didn't sell well because in the heart of a recession, not many had a spare 100+ bucks to blow on a set of RPG rules. I'm not convinced the market changed so much as the spare change gamers had to invest in a new edition and the cost/size of that new edition went in opposite directions. Plus, looking over the store, it wasn't precisely clear what books were the main rules and to buy; they all looked the same and had pretty similar write ups. I write this not to bash anyone but out of frustration, because I think it hurt my favorite hobby and what I think is the finest game system and set of rules that has ever been created. The new direction Hero is going is selling well, which is good, and that is helping the Champions brand, which is also very good.
  24. Christopher R Taylor
    I think the rule book model can work but its got to be, you know, smaller and cheaper. If your rules cost as much as a college textbook and functions well as a chock to stop aircraft, yeah you're going to be challenged to sell the monster. But if you slim it down and make it cost a bit less, well that's going to be a bit more attractive to buyers, I'd think.
  25. Christopher R Taylor
    My only concerns are that the dwarf is clearly not ready for a fight wearing his pack like that, and that girl doesn't look remotely imposing, so the Dragon must just be a friend of theirs or a very silly creature.
×
×
  • Create New...