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zslane

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  1. Thanks
    zslane got a reaction from Word Sensei 515 in New to MHI RPG and Hero System   
    The Hero System is the best roleplaying system I have ever used in the nearly 40 years I've been playing tabletop RPGs. However:
     
    1] There was a time when the Hero System was easier to pick up and run (than it is now), but that was over 20 years ago. You're stuck with the 6th edition which is IMO the most over-specified, unreadable mess that the system has ever had the misfortune to be codified by. However, the (slightly) good news is that you have the MHI core book to guide you through the system. I suggest staying away from the 6e tomes if you can; they will only make you (and your players) give up and try something else.
     
    As for the math, the Hero System is a little math heavy, yes, but the math involved is nothing more than elementary school level stuff (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division). If the thought of having to perform the same basic numeric manipulations fourth graders do every day in school scares your players, then you should give up on the Hero System right now.
     
    2] The MHI book is very nearly all that you will need. From what I understand it does make a couple of references to things not in its pages, but such instances are rare enough that you can ask for that (missing) information here and the forum members will be glad to fill you in on the details. Again, no need to go running to the massive 6e core books for that stuff.
     
    As for monsters, there's the MHI-branded stuff and then there's the Hero System Bestiary, which may be the only other book you'll really want at your side as you build up your MHI campaign.
     
    Ultimately I believe that product lines like MHI are exactly what the Hero System needs to grab new players and show them the wonders of the game system. MHI may very well be the best possible introduction to the system we have right now. Nevertheless, no matter how well the MHI presents the system, there's simply no escaping the intrinsic complexity of designing/building a character from a budget of points, something your players may not be familiar with. The responsibility of designing their characters (rather than having much of it decided for them by dice rolls and tables) will only reinforce Hero's reputation for being hard to play. Be prepared for that.
  2. Like
    zslane got a reaction from David Blue in What's your favorite edition of Hero System/Champions?   
    I agree that the presentation of the system in the 6e Complete books is a vast improvement over the inscrutable reference tomes that are 6e1/6e2. However, it'll never become my go-to edition because there are simply too many low-level system changes I don't get on with. It "fixed" (or eliminated) too many things I never considered broken, and I don't like having to retrain my brain for little or no practical benefit.
  3. Like
    zslane got a reaction from Pedro Pereira in "Old School" Superhero RPG Experiences...Guardians....Villains & Vigilantes/Mighty Protectors?   
    Several years ago I made my own deluxe edition of the original Marvel RGP, along with all the guidebooks. They look great on my bookshelf but I have yet to actually use them. It's difficult to really get into any other superhero game when Champions exists.
     
     


  4. Like
    zslane got a reaction from Korgoth in Hero Games 2022 Update   
    Would still love to see the 6e Vehicles core book that never got published.
  5. Thanks
    zslane got a reaction from Scott Ruggels in Traveller HERO conversion to 6th edition   
    If I might make a suggestion/request: remove any references to/dependencies on Terran Empire or other Star Hero sourcebooks.
     
    The Traveller universe is, or should be, its own standalone setting; the core TH6e book(s) should be self-contained enough that they make no reference to anything except, maybe, Star Hero. I don't mind books from other settings listed in the "Recommended Reading" section, but I just don't feel I should ever see a sentence like this:
     
    "For Senators and Representatives, use the Senator package in Terran Empire, page 108, but change the major contact to the appropriate leader."
     
    Followed by a conspicuously missing template box for the Senator professional template.
  6. Like
    zslane got a reaction from Phantomxistance in Hero Games 2022 Update   
    Would still love to see the 6e Vehicles core book that never got published.
  7. Like
    zslane got a reaction from Scott Ruggels in Traveller HERO conversion to 6th edition   
    Just out of curiosity, as per the title of this thread, is there still an active effort to bring Traveler Hero to 6th ed.?
  8. Like
    zslane got a reaction from Grailknight in DC Movies- if at first you don't succeed...   
    The first Suicide Squad movie was, at least in my view, an exercise in lazy, uninspired, amateurish writing. The second one was outright unpleasant to sit through; I was so utterly put off by the beach landing and subsequent jungle infiltration scenes that I hated myself for watching even that much.
  9. Like
    zslane reacted to BigJackBrass in 5th Edition Renaissance?   
    It’s a long time since I last played Savage Worlds but something I recall finding very useful for that system were the regularly released “one sheet” (i.e. two sides) adventures. Brief scenarios in different genres with a consistent visual style and a concise but usable format. Now, Hero stat blocks might be a bit bulky for a two page adventure, but they can be cut down to the essentials. I reckon that four pages including text, sketch map if needed, stats and an illustration or two would work.
     
    They’re not epics, not campaigns or detailed investigations, just solid adventures you can set up and run easily and quickly. An evening’s entertainment when you haven’t had time to prep, or something to show to a new player. Get a small library of those together along with some pre-gen characters and I reckon it would make the game look a lot less overwhelming.
  10. Thanks
    zslane got a reaction from carmachu in 5th Edition Renaissance?   
    Ever since I started playing Champions back with 2e, I and everyone I knew looked to the Enemies books to serve as creative examples of how to use the powers, modifiers, and frameworks. In my view this was far better than a reference tome full of examples (or examples crammed in the margins of the main rulebook) because villains--as well as NPC heroes/teams, organizations with super agents, etc.--provided much-needed context for the presented power builds. Too often when players and GMs see Sample Powers presented without context, they tend to treat them like pre-designed D&D spells that they use, unchanged, as though ordering from a menu.
  11. Like
    zslane got a reaction from Joe Walsh in 5th Edition Renaissance?   
    During all my most active years of playing in various Champions campaigns, we never used any published superhero settings. The settings, such as they were, were always "home brew", at least in the sense that they were not the Champions Universe, they were not DC, and they were not Marvel. They were just "the real world", but with superheroes and supervillains added. Of course many (but not all) villains and organizations were taken from the Champions supplements in order to save time, but the CU timeline was never used, unique CU cities/locations were never used, and the backstories of the villains were pretty much just ignored. The basic structure of play each week was: hear about the new crisis, investigate the crisis, stop the bad guys in a big fight at the end. Wash, rinse, repeat. Each session was like a single issue of a comic book that was not part of some over-arching plotline. Naturally, all of this pre-dated the whole Crisis Comic Book model of massive serialized crossover storytelling that has ruined comics (IMO), and maybe people have forgotten how to play their campaigns any other way. But when it comes to superheroes, a detailed setting with a new large-scale crisis plotline every year is a dubious and unappealing idea in my view. But maybe that's just me and nobody else wants to play silver/bronze age style supers anymore.
  12. Haha
    zslane reacted to mattingly in Marvel Cinematic Universe, Phase Three and BEYOOOOONND   
    In France, they call him a Sorcerer With Cheese.
  13. Haha
    zslane reacted to death tribble in A Thread for Random Musings   
    There is a video on Youtube saying 'what happens if the Moon crashes into the Earth ?' and the thought went through my head 'No more werewolves.'
  14. Like
    zslane got a reaction from Scott Ruggels in 5th Edition Renaissance?   
    This is pretty much where I land these days.
     
    And I (too) lost interest in "the conversation" long ago when it became obvious, to me at least, that all we will ever get is endless talk and debate amongst the old guard because the necessary resources are simply not available to do what needs to be done (which I still believe would primarily consist of an effort to create a setting that lots of people wants to play in, and turning it into an evergreen product line).
  15. Like
    zslane got a reaction from Pariah in A Thread for Random Musings   
    Current in-vogue slang terms that annoy me:
    glow-up low-key sus fam
  16. Like
    zslane got a reaction from Pattern Ghost in What Have You Watched Recently?   
    I agree, for the most part. However, I'm tired of Tatooine. We've spent way too much time on that one planet over the course of the movies and, now, streaming shows for my tastes. And if filling in the details of life on Tatooine includes establishing the notion that Jawas and humans can and do date each other, then I'd rather we spent our time elsewhere.
  17. Like
    zslane got a reaction from Sketchpad in 5th Edition Renaissance?   
    Well, even WotC seems to recognize the impact of online D&D streaming shows, and as far as I know CR is the most popular. Nathan Stewart is quoted as saying: “For the first time in our research, it used to be that friends and family were the number reason someone joined D&D,” Stewart said. “Now, the number one reason is ‘I saw someone playing online and I joined.’”
  18. Thanks
    zslane got a reaction from Starlord in What Have You Watched Recently?   
    I agree, for the most part. However, I'm tired of Tatooine. We've spent way too much time on that one planet over the course of the movies and, now, streaming shows for my tastes. And if filling in the details of life on Tatooine includes establishing the notion that Jawas and humans can and do date each other, then I'd rather we spent our time elsewhere.
  19. Like
    zslane reacted to Sketchpad in 5th Edition Renaissance?   
    Most definitely one of the drivers. With Matt Mercer working on some 5e stuff, as well as creating their own content for the game, I really don't think we'd see the surge in popularity without Critical Role. 
  20. Like
    zslane got a reaction from Joe Walsh in 5th Edition Renaissance?   
    Ever since I started playing Champions back with 2e, I and everyone I knew looked to the Enemies books to serve as creative examples of how to use the powers, modifiers, and frameworks. In my view this was far better than a reference tome full of examples (or examples crammed in the margins of the main rulebook) because villains--as well as NPC heroes/teams, organizations with super agents, etc.--provided much-needed context for the presented power builds. Too often when players and GMs see Sample Powers presented without context, they tend to treat them like pre-designed D&D spells that they use, unchanged, as though ordering from a menu.
  21. Like
    zslane got a reaction from Opal in 5th Edition Renaissance?   
    Ever since I started playing Champions back with 2e, I and everyone I knew looked to the Enemies books to serve as creative examples of how to use the powers, modifiers, and frameworks. In my view this was far better than a reference tome full of examples (or examples crammed in the margins of the main rulebook) because villains--as well as NPC heroes/teams, organizations with super agents, etc.--provided much-needed context for the presented power builds. Too often when players and GMs see Sample Powers presented without context, they tend to treat them like pre-designed D&D spells that they use, unchanged, as though ordering from a menu.
  22. Like
    zslane got a reaction from Duke Bushido in 5th Edition Renaissance?   
    This is pretty much where I land these days.
     
    And I (too) lost interest in "the conversation" long ago when it became obvious, to me at least, that all we will ever get is endless talk and debate amongst the old guard because the necessary resources are simply not available to do what needs to be done (which I still believe would primarily consist of an effort to create a setting that lots of people wants to play in, and turning it into an evergreen product line).
  23. Like
    zslane reacted to Spence in 5th Edition Renaissance?   
    LOL
    The gaming world never ceases to amaze me.  One persons treasure is anothers garbage.  For me 4e D&D was easily the worst experience in TTRPG I was ever exposed to since I played my first game in the late 70s. 
     
    And yet for some it is their favored game. 
     
    And the world turns 🤔
  24. Like
    zslane reacted to Duke Bushido in 5th Edition Renaissance?   
    I'm on the other end of all that.
     
    I'd just like to see one of the older editions re-published with a note that says "okay; our bad.  That was a bit much.  Sorry about that."   
     
    Clean up a couple of inconsistencies, and some stuff for mapping and tracking large-scale combats, in case that's your thing (it's not mine, but my players are about 50/50 on it, and I admit that it lets you simulate a lot of things like naval battles, etc).
     
     
     
    Now up-front, I'm going to say that I am so tired of this conversation (we're at a point where it rolls around every eight to ten weeks, it seems) that I'm not going to go into any defense or detail to the following statement:
     
     
    My biggest reason for my lack of interest in the "fixes" offered by the last two editions is that I have yet to find anything that proves to me there was something that was actually broken.
     
    "Points value" and "but he gets X or Y without A and I can't if I B" don't specify there is a problem with the system.  Because one thing has an advantage over another doesn't mean that the game is broken or that it is not "perfectly universal."  "Everything should cost the same when it effects the same" or whatever the arguments are that now all Characteristics cost the same--
     
    it's all nonsense.  There is absolutely no amount of STR that perfectly equates to a given amount of SPD; there is no amount of DEX that can substitute for 22" of teleport; no FLT is equivalent to X Mind Control---
     
    Yes; there are numbers involved, and costs involved, and that's that.  The fact that they can be made to cost the same or to cost different does not imply that any of them should, or that they are more or less "fair" or "equal" at given cost points.  It's a fantasy pipe dream that these different things have a point of equivalence somewhere, and everyone was so taken with the math itself that the actual _need_ was never considered.
     
    Just like the cost of STR / cost of HTH attack debate.  There.  We have it "perfectly even" now, somehow, I guess.  Until someone buys STR with two limitations on it.  Uh-oh!  He's getting his damage cheaper!  Back to the revision board!
     
    It's---
     
    no.  I really have lost interest in even continuing the conversation.  It's too late to stop the ever-expending rules in their quest for a fictitious perfection, but I would really like to just scrap the whole thing and back up to when it was still fast, light, and fun.
     
    Good night.
  25. Like
    zslane reacted to Scott Ruggels in 5th Edition Renaissance?   
    The Hero System will not survive a 2020's revision. Either that or it won't be The Hero System.

    The problem of 2020s is the lack of patience to the screen addicted audience. The usual response to this is mechanical minimalism, usually accompanied with a more shared narrative control systems.  Putting these in, will break the backwards compatibility of the system, due to differences in the mechanics, and the assumptions. Focusing the next edition to the younger audience means making things more performative, due to the outsized influence of Matt Mercer.

    For many of us, these high Narrative, minimal mechanical systems, aren't "games", they are "shared storytelling" which, again, for some of us are highly unattractive, and bear no relationship to classic Hero. The 6th Edition may be too far into the crunch, but it's still The Hero System, and backwards compatible mostly.  Even a modest push in the "modern" direction, like Champions Now, broke backwards compatibility, especially with it's narrative emphasis, and taking the game off the boards and moving combat into "Theater of The Mind". 
     
    The Problem also with a 7th Edition, is "Who is going to write it?"  We would need someone to keep the system fun. Fun to read, and fun to play (like 4th Edition).
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