Anaximander

I had a full head of hair and killer abs back then, and I still love music and a lot of the movies.

On 2/12/2020 at 7:50 PM, Ninja-Bear said:

I’ve said this before but I’ll mention it on this thread. Back when when the Internet was new and dial up, I saw other people’s WEG inspired websites. And the feeling I got from them was that just about anything Sci-fi could be included in a Star Wars games. Just might have to have some of the serial numbers filed off.

The versatility of the Star Wars universe is a big reason why I like over the Star Trek universe for roleplaying purposes.  It also has a lot to do with why I like the idea of super hero roleplaying games.

I'm kind of a natural mimic.  I will sometimes take on the speech patterns of people I am talking to without meaning to.  One of my best friends was originally from Minnesota.  If I'd been spending much time hanging out with him, people would start thinking I was a Yankee.  I was talking to an Australian once.  Before long, I was matching his accent.  I hope he didn't think I was mocking him.  I once worked in a factory where the majority of Hispanic mixed between Mexicans and South Americans.  After a while, I started sounding like I was a mix of Mexican and South American.  Apparently, in my attempts to speak Spanish, I was told that I sounded like a Mexican by a Mexican, but that's all reflex.  I have no idea how well I do accents when I doing them deliberately.  I don't want to get wrong an have anyone thinking I was mocking after all.

2 minutes ago, Bazza said:

@Anaximander Say hi to Thales for me?!

I've used this as my avatar in a lot of places.  I don't know if anyone else has caught the connection, but you are the first person to mention anything about it.  Kudos!

Hard to say since I haven't seen the show, so, any symbolic speculation would be difficult unless they writing the Romulans to represent the Protestant versus Catholic tension that occurs within Ireland, but I haven't heard much on the news about any recent tensions along that route; so, I can't imagine it being enough apart the cultural imagination to feature in TV show.

The fact that TV show and movies use different accents or belonging to certain cultural groups to symbolically represent certain ideas is kind of a problem.  Most villains are given either German or British accents.  A southern or midwestern accent is either backwards and folksy or smart and evil.  Native American are always shown as being ecologically concerned and in touch with the Old Ways that strangely coincides with western New Age ideas, and so on.  Whether intentional or not, I think it leads to a lot leads bad ideas in regard to what different cultures should be like.

I'm Oklahoman.  I'm part Indian, part white, and had a black godfather.  I have a high IQ, and I am well read.  I sound like a hick, but I think at the masters degree level.  Yes, I am politically and socially conservative, but I am not an ignorant goose stepper about it; yet, if Hollywood were to portray me, I'd probably come out looking like a hateful racist who's not even smart enough to tie his own shoes.

I suppose this is where I should admit that I like to use accents when I roleplay, but I try to be respectful about.  Not all of my British are snobs, not all of my Germans are Nazis, and so on.  I hope I do my accents well enough and respectfully enough that real speakers of those accents take it with good humor should they actually hear me.

I've been with WEG Star Wars for years, and even though I have recently started playing the FFG Star Wars, I still kept my WEG.

I'll have to take your word on that.

Thank you!  I must need new glasses or spend less time looking at computer screens.  I have looked past it so many time.

I have a Facebook page that I am using for a discussion forum for Star Wars, roleplaying games, and writing in general.  I would the link in my signature at the bottom of my posts, but I am seeing where I can add a signature, and I want to make sure there isn't a rule violation for doing that.

1 hour ago, Michael Hopcroft said:

As an Anime/British Media/TTRPG fan, I have access to scores of universes to muck about with. Like taking a setting from one game and adapting it to another. So you can, if you want, run Freeport in Hero, and while the game system might not work the same the core idea (a flourishing city built, in a large part, on open-sea piracy).

 

Since we're on a Hero board, many of us will be in the camp that we want a single game system that, with adaptations, will work for anything. Others have different thoughts on the matter.

The existence and other media also raises some discussions on the topic.  Let's my Star Wars game gets off the ground, and I wind up inviting someone into the group who isn't that strong on Star Wars and is having trouble coming up with a Star Wars character.  I think Star Wars is flexible enough to work with most science fiction, fantasy, or action and adventure.  So, let's say this character is strong on Japanese anime.  I am personally weak with anime, but if the player comes up with a good enough description of what they want to do and are willing to make compromises where necessary, I could make it work.   In the end, the player decides to create a Jedi character based on Sailor Moon and actually names the character Sailor Moon, and I allow some ideas and concepts of the Sailor Moon universe to splash over into the Star Wars universe.  Admittedly, it would violate both the Sailor Moon and Star Wars canons, but it might be fun to play, and who knows?  I might actually start to understand Sailor Moon enough to start liking it.

On the issue of Hero system, I am not necessarily looking for a single system to run every game idea I have.  I think different game mechanics work better under some situations and not others.  Besides, I sometimes start with the story first and then look for a game system I can mold into what I want.  That is how I got interested in Hero System in the first place.  I had written short story about super heroes doing their laundry for a creative writing class and wound up writing some more stories within the same universe until I had a cohesive super hero universe.  At first, I thought about expanding the stories and trying to publish them in a short story collection.  I have since decided I have a long ways to go before I am good enough for professional writing but came to the inclusion that the universe might be fun to turn into a gaming universe instead and went looking for a system to put it in.  I had owned GURPS and DC Heroes before, but I didn't think their mechanics really matched what I wanted, and I had already gotten rid of all of my books for them and decided I want to shop around instead.  I came across this site and ordered the PDF for 6e and decided it would work for what I wanted to do.  The game never got off the ground.  I live in a small population area and never found enough players willing to try their luck with an inexperienced GM in a system and genre that just isn't locally popular.

So, I still remain loyal to Hero, but I don't remain true.  I look for game systems to match how I think the mechanics will work with my ideas and for one that I can actually find local players for.

One issue about simply setting an campaign is in the far future or far past is having to adjust for technology differences, re-writing established lore, and such which undermines a major advantage to using a canonical universe. 

And, I would want to limit musical numbers to players who can actually sing.

3 minutes ago, Cassandra said:

So where does the Star Wars Holiday Special fit into canon?

If my players want it and it won't ruin my story, anywhere the players it to is my opinion.

My current view on canon and stories in general has taken a recent twist.  I took some time to study concepts like The Hero's Journey and the Monomyth.  Terms I have heard but have never understood.  I still don't fully understand them but the more I study the more my interpretations of stories change, and for me, canon is about the hidden truths of the story and its window dressing.  

Also, the more I learn the more I want the players to have the opportunity of being the Big Danged Heroes of their story even if it means kicking Luke Skywalker, Captain Kirk, or Batman to the curb.  One example of what I want to do is run a Star Wars game using the Fantasy Flight Games system.  It would be set approximately in the time just before the events the first movie.  I would spend the early part of the game making sure that they and me are comfortable with the system and are invested in the stories and NPCs they interact with.  When I feel that everyone is comfortable and ready for a change, I would introduce a planet killer that may or may not be the Death Star, but instead of destroying Alderaan, I would destroy a planet the characters are emotionally invested in and killing of a few friends and even rivals in the process.  That way when they go after the planet killer it will be personal.  Also, the planet killer's Achilles' Heel will be designed around the strengths and weakness of the player characters rather than necessarily trying hit some poorly designed exhaust port.  In addition, if I introduce any of the main characters from the movies, books, and TV shows, I would try to stay true to their core values as I understand them, but I might change the events of their lives.  When all cases, I want to have my players be my guides on what direction I want the overall story to go.

Thank you, all for your responses!  I wanted to bring this debate to wider audience as it does poses some interesting thoughts and question.  I personally hold the view that canon should be relatively malleable while certain limits have to maintained with the limits being different from franchise to franchise and from individual to individual.  I personally do not think that there is a single objectively true side to take.  I also wanted to bring more minds into this because I can be opinionated, obstinate, and biased.  (I know what you're thinking.  How can anyone who uses an ancient Greek philosopher as a his avatar to could possibly be biased?  But, I'm afraid it's true.)  

I am in a debate with a friend.  I like playing games like Star Wars, Star Trek, and other franchised universes.  I like playing and running those universes because they are pre-built and recognizable, but I also like to play around and twist stories to my own liking.  I see no problem, but my friend has the feeling that changing too much and it will no longer be that universe.  To some degree, I think he is right, but to what degree?  How much can you change Star Wars, Star Trek, Marvel, or whatever before it stops being what it and becomes it is.  I personally think that is a personal opinion and in roleplaying games it should come down to group consensus regardless of opinions of the original creators like Roddenberry and Lucas.  My friend is a little more legalistic about canon.  I've studied writing, but none of my studies covered roleplaying games or LARPing in canonical universes, and I would like to get more opinions on how much can canon be changed before the fictional universe it describes ceases to exist.

This is definitely an issue I have been struggling with a strive to seek a game that I would like to run and play.  I am a business major with interests in creative writing, theology, philosophy, behavioral sciences and so forth.  As a person who is just trying to be the best person I can be, I place a lot of valuable in expanding my understanding of reality.  As someone with creative interests, I also take that view when studying stories regardless of whether they come from books, movies, or whatever.  The negative result is that I tend to over think things and make things more complex than they need to be.  The positive result is that I do have a better than average understanding of different points of view regarding reality, and I feel that I do an above average job of interpreting things.  As someone who has an interest in creative writing using roleplaying games as a medium, I tend to put too much in my games.  My dream campaign for the Hero System is very involved.

But, more recently, I have been wanting to take a simpler approach and just aim at having fun with RPGs.  To that end, I am looking at systems that I call fast and friendly.  I have a general distaste for class and level systems like DnD, but even with simpler systems, I am having problems finding players who are interested in games that are wide open for creative freedom.  I think a lot of the problem is too much access to personalized and immediate entertainment.  There is no fighting and compromising of control of the only TV in the house.  Instead, everyone goes off to watch their own devices.  Looking back at my own life, I can see how I would have liked having that opportunity when I was young, but I also see how I benefited from not having that option.  It forced me to occasionally watch stuff I didn't want to watch forcing me to expand my bubble awareness out of my own selfish interests, and I learned that it was necessary to make compromises to get along with the people around me and to cooperate with others.  When I finally was initiated into roleplaying games, I brought that with me.  I knew how to compromise with other players and the GM to get what I want, and because of being exposed to ideas outside of my little bubble, I could bring in ideas from even those TV shows that I didn't like when I was younger.  

The question for modern roleplayers is how do we compete with an instant access, me first style culture that our society seems to be spawning?  I admit that issue is bigger than just who controls the TV and affects more than just the roleplaying culture, but if pen and paper tabletop RPGs are still going to be a thing, those are thoughts that we will have to consider.  On the positive side, I am noting that many in the younger generation are starting to see the emptiness of that lifestyle and are becoming disillusioned and are ready to seek other options, and I believe that tabletop RPGs can be a part of the solution by creating a sense of community that I feel that the younger set is hungering for.  I think it will involve baby steps pulling people out of the self-centered lifestyles they are suffering under, and to that end, if RPGs are going to a part of the solution, faster and friendlier systems would need to be created and promoted.  

Unfortunately, I don't really have any answers as to what that might look like.  I have been looking at old systems I used to have and at new systems that are coming out.  Some of them would be easier to implement than others.  Also unfortunately, I think systems like Hero and GURPS might be a little too advanced for the current generation though I think the current generation has the emotional capacity to get there.

4 hours ago, Brian Stanfield said:

Just out of curiosity, have you seen Champions in 3-D for 4e, or Book of the Empress for 6e? They cover this idea with some "alternate Earth" and/or multiverse campaign ideas so you can do just what you suggest. The rules pretty much beg for this! They just give some suggestions for how to pull it off.

No, I haven't really gone as deep with the Hero System as I would like.  There is really no opportunity to play the game in my region and am primarily pursue it because it fuels my imagination.  Consequently, it is hard justifying too much time and expense for the system, but if there are already models to work with, like the supplements you mentioned or the books that Bushido mentioned, it would represent a good place to start.

The Amazon Queen has come to conquer man's world and bring it under complete Amazonian rule.  She will stop at nothing to complete her mission even if she has to destroy her counterpart and conquer her fellow Amazons to do it.

26 minutes ago, Duke Bushido said:

Nice!

 

Kind of a throwback to Perrin's old Worlds of Wonder boxed kit from way back.

 

Never figured out why that didn't catch on better than just Super World....

 

Still, it's a solid idea.

 

 

If you are referring to me, I haven't heard of it.  I got the idea from a book I read from in a Native American lit class.

I happen to work as a housekeeper in an operating room.  I've seen surgeons and surgical staff put it in long, hard hours and still keep going; so, I would think some sort of capacity to deal with fatigue.  I figure maybe increased CON for the purposes or resisting sleepiness and fatigue and/or Life Support: Reduced Sleeping.

Going back to the introductory adventure idea, another strength of Hero is the way you can use it across multiple genres.  You could write the different adventures in different genres and to make a cohesive story you could make it surrealistic tale across time and dimension and the players wake up in different realities as different people with different memories.  Once the adventure is done, you could even apply the XP to the characters the make for their first character in your actual campaign.

I take the view that the character sheet is nothing more or less than a kind of contract between the player and the GM.  If a player chooses to spend points on something, I treat it as the GM having the obligation to on occasion make that something helpful in player.    If a player wants his character to be a grandmaster chess player, he can give himself PS: Chess Player 21- for free.  If he wants to use his chess playing skill as an activation roll on his ability, he would of course have to spend points, or if he wants to spend points on the skill just because, I might right a scenario were he has to win a contest with an opposing chess player or allow it as a complimentary skill in situations where strategy is in important.

If a player takes points on something, the GM has permission to make it into a problem.  For instance, if a superhero maintains a secret ID but didn't take the complication then that character will unlikely have any problems associated with maintaining a secret ID, but someone who takes the secret ID compilation will have to occasionally deal with nosy neighbors or explaining to the boss why he's always late.

As far as OCMV goes, if I have no plans to have the trait to be valuable, I will allow players to neither buy nor sell points.  If they don't have an obvious need to for it, but they either buy or sell it anyway, then I will interpret it as a desire to have it be an issue in play and work up some ideas.  I can envision mentalist/gadgeteer hybrid characters who design all their equipment to function based on mental attributes, or what about an entire alien race who designed their technology around mentalism.  You could come up with a scenario where the players have to blast through base defenses using only captured mind guns that function entirely off of OCMV vs DCMV attributes.

4 minutes ago, Doc Democracy said:

The idea I want to bring in from FFG Edge of Empire is the fate pool. It took the idea of Force Points and evolved it. Essentially the group has a pool of Force points, usually around six for a party of four players.

 

The genius is that the tokens are light on one side, dark on the other.  One point can be used in any combat round. If the GM uses it, he turns black to white, improving the fate pool. If a player uses it, a white turns to black, degrading the fate pool.

 

When I ran a game, it was hugely useful. I allowed critical attacks to turn black to white rather than have immediate combat effects and suggested twists that challenged the players but turned black to white.

 

I also constantly tempted them. "Don't roll a dice on this task, turn a white to black and you will sneak up on the guard, I will even give you a bonus to hit.

 

It is amazing how much influence six tokens can have on the attitude of the players at the table! I think this would be perfect for replacing HERO Points in my game.

 

You can also set the tone of the game by opening with six blacks, or six whites rather than an even split...

 

Doc

The Star Trek game I originally mentioned uses a similar function as fate, but there are two pools; the shared momentum pool for the players and the threat pool for the GM.  Players use momentum to create advantage in play, and the GM uses threat to create complications.  There are multiple ways of increasing both momentum and threat in the game.  One way of increasing threat is that if you want a particular character to be a little more ominous the GM could add to the threat pool every time said character comes into the scene.  I have had problems with players treating characters that were supposed to be scary like punks when I wanted the players to at least be a little nervous when they were around.  If the players could see the GM putting more beads into the threat pool every time a certain character shows up, maybe, they would show the correct level of concern.  For example, everyone should be a little concerned about the sudden appearance of Darth Vader or the Joker.  For that matter, they should also be a little nervous at the presence of the tough as nails admiral.

13 minutes ago, Christopher R Taylor said:

Of course hero points are always good, and I'm looking at finding a way to award achievements in games to give a feeling of accomplishment for certain non=experience related tasks like "saved x innocent civilians" and "solved a problem without the use of violence"

This is something I have thought about.  The problem with Hero System is that its XP to CP ratio doesn't allow for a lot of granularity when it comes to rewards for roleplaying choices, IMO.  I have been looking at other options for rewards such as free background skills, free contacts, and free boosts to reputation for good behavior.  My mind is blanking on terms right now, but their options where characters can have points that allow them to alter dice rolls and sneak out of bad decisions.  I have considered offering resources as rewards.  For example, if one of the players showed respect for the law and law officers in the adventures while the rest of the players openly flaunted the law and mocked the law officers, the player showing respect might getting a free contact with one or more officers or receive police powers or some such (Assuming that getting along with the police is a trait you want rewarded in your game.)