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Anaximander

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Posts posted by Anaximander

  1. What are the concepts that should be most emphasized in starter adventures for Hero System? 

     

    For me, the attraction to Hero and similar systems is not being shackled to the class and level concept of DnD, but I am not sure if that is where I would start for an introduction; however, I would think that pushing the idea early would be the best way of getting there.  With that in mind what kinds of pregenerated characters should be designed?  Characters built strait from the archetypes or hybrids that have a good spread of options at their disposal?

  2. I while back I bought the starter box for the Star Trek game by Modiphius.  It came with a 5 pregenerated characters, a pregenerated ship, and a collection of simple adventures written to highlight how the rules were played.  The adventures basically function like the beginning of a computer game where many of the early missions are entirely based around system of play and exploring the game world.  At first, the old school gamer in me took a little umbrage at using ideas from a computer game in a tabletop game, but after I cooled down, I realize that the idea is actually quite genius.  From a gamemastering perspective, I tend to like less than common games, and I often tend overwrite my campaign worlds.  I want to give players as much information about the rules and my campaign world as I can before they invest time and energy in creating characters, but I don't want to sound like a college professor explaining rules of the game and the subtle nuances of my game world; so, what if I borrow the Modiphius model hand potential players some pregened characters representing the full scope of what my game is offering and run them through a series of simple scenarios to highlight elements of gameplay as well as familiarizing themselves with the campaign world before the put their heart and souls into creating their characters.  From a player's perspective, I don't know how many times I have been the introducee.  There have been many times when I started as a player under a new GM and wished I had done character creation a little differently after starting play.

     

    Has anyone else considered doing or have considered starting a campaign this way?  If so, what are your thoughts?

     

    And, while on the subject of taking concepts from one game system and applying them to another, what concepts from other games would you or have you implemented in Hero, and what concepts from Hero would you do likewise for other systems?

  3. I am primarily invested in 6e, and I like it.  I have considered co-investing in 5e to improve my chances of actually getting into a game.  The big issue for me is that I live in small population zone, and though there are more gamers than there used to be, they tend to prefer games where you roll your characters than they do point buy systems.   I have and have had multiple gaming systems that I would have loved to either run or play, but I tend to the odd man out in my area.  I am kind of hoping to have some success with Modiphius' new Star Trek game though I guess that doesn't help Hero Games.

  4. I think this biggest problem with creating a DC cinematic universe versus a Marvel cinematic universe is that Marvel has always felt and read like a consistent universe; where as, every title in DC was practically its own sub-universe.  I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing, but it does make it tough to put characters together on the screen.  I don't think it would be impossible to do a DC cinematic universe, but you would probably have to go the Arrow/Flash TV series route and build it up with its own particular rules.

  5. It seems to me that villains like that should be treated as more of a plot device than an actual character and should be handled with a lot handwavium much as one might do if someone were writing an adventure around a natural disaster or something.  The aren't actually intended to beaten but reckoned with.

  6. Code of the hero and respects the law should probably be different issues as they could come into conflict in some societies, say in Nazi Germany as an example.  The code of the hero would eventually turn the character into a rebel against his government where as the respects the law would be a villain before the war but might become a hero after the war.

  7. Knowing the truth is the best way to tell a lie if the liar is telling lies in regards to a particular subject; so, in some instances, background skills like Professional Skills, Science Skills or Knowledge Skills could be substituted.  As someone who would have PS: Computer Technician in real life, I can often tell if someone claiming to be a technician is really a technician or just reading scripts and tossing out technical terms just to sound smart.

  8. Perhaps, this could have been a prophesied event and there are two opposing shadow organizations working secretly behind the scene waiting for it to happen.  The good organization could turn into allies and supply exposition, and the evil organization can be a source of additional complications.

  9. I have a generally low opinion of most celebrities, and Wil Wheaton seems okay relative to most.  As far as his character on Star Trek, he showed up and did his job.  The fact that many fans hate his character isn't his fault.  As far as the character, there is a precedent for having a kid genius character in science fiction stories.  The writers could have written his character better.  For that matter, it seems that the first two or three seasons were just riding on the Star Trek name rather than any strong storytelling, and most of the characters could have been written better.

  10. It was tough picking a favorite, but since I was first introduced to comic books in the '70s I am most nostalgic about the characters of that period, but Cassandra's idea of an updated 1940s style is cool, too.  In particular, a 1940s without the instutionalized racism would be great.  I love the style, music, movies of the era and most of the attitudes, just not all of the attitudes.

  11. World building is my favorite thing about gaming.  When it comes to world building, I like combining ideas from games (even from other systems), books, and my own ideas.  For example, in the Champions world I am building, I started with some short stories as a primary source and stole liberally from comics, literature, and various gaming systems, and I consider information from real world science, philosophy, and theory.  I would love to take time to brag, but that would be inconvenient right now.  I don't have Internet at home and have to look for wi-fi hot spots to get online, and I often have to multitask to get everything done I want to get done.  I am hoping to have my Internet turned on in October, and if this conversation is going on then, perhaps, I will elaborate more after that.

  12. As far as possible benefits an extra head might offer, how many times has an action hero been tied up and managed to loosen the knots with his teeth?  In some certain circumstance, an extra set of teeth could offer an advantage on an Escape Artist roll.

  13. The way it works in the books is that if a HtH or hand held weapon attack is pushed in slowly it can enter inside the force shield.  I would think that taking a full phase or two accomplish getting inside the shield, but where the damage comes from the force of the momentum, the damage should be reduced or eliminated.  I figure I would have to play it by ear to decide how much damage is caused by the momentum, but I was wondering there are other fans of Dune who have built or considered the affect practically for there games that might offer better insights.

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